On September 20, the 10th World Wood-Based Panel Congress was held in Linyi. During the congress, the "China Wood-Based Panel Industry Report 2025" (hereinafter referred to as the "Report") was officially released, revealing the current development status and future trends of the wood-based panel industry.
According to the Report's data, China's wood-based panel industry is continuously deepening structural adjustment and transformation and upgrading. By the end of 2024, the number of wood-based panel producers nationwide was over 8,600, a decrease of 14.9% compared to the previous year. However, the total production capacity increased by 8.41%, reaching 362 million cubic meters per year, showcasing a trend of "fewer enterprises but higher concentration of production capacity."
Plywood, the panel type with the largest output, had over 6,020 producers and a total production capacity of approximately 221 million cubic meters per year, representing a 7.8% increase from the end of 2023. The average production capacity per enterprise was about 36,700 cubic meters per year. China's plywood industry demonstrates a trend of a year-on-year decreasing number of enterprises, growing total production capacity, and continuously increasing average production capacity per enterprise. The average scale of plywood enterprises has been steadily rising; at the end of 2023, the average production capacity per enterprise was about 36,700 cubic meters per year, a significant increase of 32.5% compared to the end of 2022.
The fiberboard industry shows a trend of decreasing numbers of enterprises and production lines, decreasing total production capacity, but increasing average capacity per single production line. Its total production capacity ranks third in China's wood-based panel industry. By the end of 2024, there were 240 fiberboard producers operating 265 fiberboard production lines nationwide, with a total production capacity of 41.83 million cubic meters per year. This represents a net decrease of 4.15 million cubic meters per year, a further reduction of 9.0% from the end of 2023. The average capacity per single fiberboard production line in China reached 158,000 cubic meters per year, a year-on-year increase of 6.0%, indicating a further improvement in the average scale of single lines.
Particleboard became the highlight of the year. In 2024, 48 new particleboard production lines were commissioned nationwide, adding 15.41 million cubic meters per year of production capacity, making it the year with the highest number of new line commissions in the history of China's particleboard industry. By the end of 2024, 305 particleboard producers operated 329 particleboard production lines nationwide, with a total production capacity of 64.15 million cubic meters per year. This represents a net increase of 11.46 million cubic meters per year, a substantial growth of 21.7% from the end of 2023. The average capacity per single particleboard production line in China further rose to 195,000 cubic meters per year, an increase of 19.6% year-on-year, continuing its upward trend. However, at this stage, China's particleboard industry is still experiencing a phase of overheated investment, leading to a further increased risk of supply-demand imbalance, which is forcing enterprises to accelerate the exploration of new product application scenarios and expand into export markets.
In 2024, China's wood-based panel production reached 349.17 million cubic meters, a year-on-year increase of 3.9%. Apparent consumption was approximately 329.67 million cubic meters, a year-on-year increase of 3.5%. The apparent consumption of the three major panel types experienced varying degrees of increase or decrease. Over the past decade, the average annual growth rate of China's wood-based panel apparent consumption has been 2.8%. Inventory pressure for wood-based panel products intensified further, with particleboard inventory pressure being particularly prominent.
Regarding international trade, last year China exported 17.6094 million cubic meters (converted) of wood-based panel products, a year-on-year increase of 23.3%, with an export value of 6.774 billion USD, a year-on-year increase of 9.7%. The export volume and value of plywood products, fiberboard products, and particleboard products all showed a year-on-year increasing trend. China imported 1.9880 million cubic meters (converted) of wood-based panel products, a significant year-on-year increase of 34.7%, with an import value of 613 million USD, a year-on-year increase of 4.3%.
