The Austrian Wood IndustriesReport2017/18

Associationof the AustrianWood Industries

The Austrian Wood Industries 2 REPORT 2017/18

Window production is the most important part of the sector, and

reported a positive result for 2017, increasing to EUR 416.5 mil-

lion (+ 2.1 %). The production of prefabricated wooden houses, on

the other hand, decreased significantly, dropping to EUR 512.8

million. Production of doors was on the rise in 2017 (+ 3.9 %; EUR

234.7 million), as was production of glued structural components

(+ 6.8 %; EUR 795.9 million).

Foreign Trade

• Windows: exports: EUR 73.3 million (– 1.6 %), imports: EUR

50.2 million (+ 32.8 %). This resulted in a trade surplus of

EUR 23.1 million. Germany was the biggest buyer of Austrian

windows, accounting for 42.8 % of exports. The second largest

export market was Switzerland with 22.5 %, followed by Italy

with 10.2 %.

• Doors: exports: EUR 41.8 million (– 3.1 %), imports: EUR 46.6

million (+ 6.1 %). In 2017, Switzerland was the largest buyer of

doors from Austria, with a share of 48.6 %. The second largest

export market was Germany.

• Wooden floors: exports: EUR 214.6 million (– 1.7 %), imports:

EUR 84.2 million (– 1.5 %). The key export markets were

Germany (market share: 64.8 %) and Switzerland (market

share: 9.1 %).

• Laminated wood: exports: EUR 473.9 million (+ 6.1 %), im-

ports: EUR 26.9 million (+ 7.0 %). The largest export market for

laminated wood by volume was Italy (market share: 37.4 %).

Germany was the second largest with 21.4 %, followed by

Japan with 9.9 %.

Furniture Industry

For the furniture industry (furniture-making industry excluding

suppliers) the year ended with a slight upturn in production of

0.1 % bringing it to around EUR 1.99 billion. Exports increased by

2.4 % to EUR 902.6 million.

With a production growth of 3.6 % (EUR 375.1 million), the house-

hold furnishing sector (wooden furniture for the bedroom, dining

room and living room) showed significant improvement and man-

ufacturers of retailing interiors recorded a significant growth of

23.5 % (EUR 219.5 million). Seating and kitchen furniture had a

stable production level, whereas the office furniture sector and

mattresses producers had to deal with a decline.

Exports

Exports increased by 2.4 % to EUR 902.6 million. Positive trade

balances were recorded in the living furniture sector (and parts

thereof) with 10.5 % (EUR 253.0 million), in the retailing sector

with 2.7 % (EUR 112.8 million) and finally in the seating sector

Production

According to business statistics, the Austrian wood industry

achieved a total production volume of EUR 7.87 billion in the

past financial year, which is an increase in value of 2.2 %.

Companies

The wood industry consists of 1350 active companies, 1019 of

which are sawmills. The wood industry is a multi-faceted eco-

nomic sector, comprising the saw milling industry, the construc-

tion sector, the furniture industry, the wood products industry,

and the ski industry. Most of the companies in the wood indus-

try are small and medium-sized enterprises. Remarkably, almost

all of these companies are privately owned.

Employees

The wood industry is a significant and steady employer:

In 2017, 26,224 people were working in the wood industry

(2016: 25,947), 765 of whom were apprentices. The Austrian

wood industry is one of the largest employers among the 17

branches of industry in Austria and, at the same time, one

of the few industries with a traditionally steady number of

employees throughout recent decades, albeit a number that

has tailed off during the last few years.

Foreign Trade

The wood industry is a highly export-oriented sector with

an export share of about 70 % in 2017, representing a total

volume of EUR 5.7 billion. This constitutes an increase of

4.2 % in comparison to the previous year. The EU countries

(especially Germany and Italy) were the biggest buyers of

Austrian wood products, with a share of 75.9 % (EUR 4.3 bil-

lion). The remaining 24.1 % was split between other European

countries (12.2 %), developing countries (2.7 %), and other

markets, such as the USA and Japan (9.2 %).

Imports

Imports of wood products also increased in 2017. The total

import value was EUR 4.6 billion, a 3.1 % increase compared

to the previous year. With a total share of 87 %, the EU is the

industry’s most significant trade partner for imports.

Trade Balance

Foreign trade is a substantial cornerstone of the Austrian

wood industry – it is one of the few branches of industry that

has had a consistently positive trade balance. Compared to

the previous year, the trade balance increased significantly,

going up by 9 % to EUR 1.04 billion.

Construction Industry

2017‘s sold production in the construction sector amounted to EUR

2.63 billion. This is an increase of 3.3 % compared to the previous

year.

The Austrian Wood Industries 3 REPORT 2017/18

with 1.4 % (EUR 300.9 million). Declining exports affected in both

the mattresses sector (– 2.8 %; EUR 77.5 million) and the office

furniture sector (– 9.1 %; EUR 87.5 million).

The Austrian furniture industry‘s most significant export partner

was the EU, with an increase of 2.2 % (EUR 647.6 million). The

largest growth in exports was recorded for exports to Germany,

with an increase of 5.6 % (EUR 380.1 million).

Imports

Furniture imports into Austria were slightly up (by 1.6 %) com-

pared to the previous year. The office furniture sector (+ 21.9 %;

EUR 87.2 million), the seating sector (+ 4.1 %; EUR 660 million),

and the living furniture sector (+ 3.0 %; EUR 597 million) have all

seen import figures rising.

Most furniture was imported from Germany (EUR 877.6 million).

In second place was Poland with EUR 183.2 million, while Italy

was third with EUR 134.7 million.

Saw Milling Industry

The Austrian saw milling industry is a large and very successful

sector, with approximately 1000 companies and close to 6000

employees. The saw milling industry is the biggest processor of

wood in the entire wood industry, handling 80 % of all processed

solid biomass. The industry contributes substantially to Austria‘s

foreign trade balance and consists almost exclusively of small and

medium-sized enterprises. The eight biggest sawmills generate

approximately 90 % of the total production volume; the remaining

10 % of production is carried out by 960 small and medium-sized

enterprises.

In 2017, the production of sawn wood amounted to 9.6 million

cubic metres, putting it above the average for the last 10 years.

In 2018, production is expected to increase on a monthly basis. In

2017, approximately 16.2 million cubic metres of round logs were

cut, of which 5.9 million cubic metres were imported.

Sawn Softwood

As 60 % of production is exported, the development of world mar-

kets is very important. In 2017, approximately 5.45 million cubic

metres of sawn softwood was exported. This is an increase of

about 2.4 % (2016: 5.32 million cubic metres). The total value of

products exported was EUR 1.4 billion.

In all, 45 % of sawn softwood exports went to Italy, our long-stand-

ing key export market. With an overall sawn softwood export of

2.6 million cubic meters, the Italian market increased by 8 %.

Exports to Germany increased by 4 % to 954,000 cubic metres

(2016: 915,000 cubic metres); this was mainly due to various

housing initiatives.

Due to wars, exports to the Levant decreased significantly, drop-

ping by 16 % to 795,000 cubic metres (2016: 951,000 cubic metres).

The production of saw mills specialised in hardwood increased to

172,000 cubic metres in 2017 (2016: 153,000 cubic metres).

Ski Industry

Skiing back in vogue

Skiing has made a huge comeback. The products offered to the

consumer have never been as good or as varied as they are today.

The market, which is quite fragmented on the whole, is taking

the different needs and requirements of consumers into consid-

eration, be it those who favour the piste, free-skiing, off-piste

skiing, ski touring or cross-country skiing.

From tourism to equipment, including hiring, to the quality of

the pistes and ski lifts to the ski schools, the winter sports prod-

uct range has improved dramatically in all its facets. The full per-

formance package is of an extremely high and unique quality and

consumers are reacting very positively to this package, which is

aimed at being a holistic experience for all of the senses. Quality

awareness has taken hold and the customer is now willing to pay

the price for something special.

Skiing trends: a reflection of society

Every era and every society has its own mega-trend. The winter

sports industry is keeping an eye on this development, following

mega-trends and purposefully implementing these tendencies in

its business area.

These are today’s top three mega-trends: shared economy, con-

venience and customisation.

‘Shared economy’ is a future-oriented business model, enabling

an active contribution to be made towards greening and the best

possible use of resources. Approximately 60 % of today’s ski sales

are accounted for by Austrian sports retailers in the hiring sector.

Efforts are being made to increase the hiring potential by means

of process optimisation with a view to being ‘quicker and easier’.

With its extremely high quality requirements and thanks to quick

and easy administration during the hiring process, Austria once

again takes the lead in this hiring segment, making sure that

a day out on the slopes doesn’t become a costly or complicated

challenge even for the occasional skier. The development of a

shared economy offers the general population easy access to a

spontaneous ski trip.

The mega-trend ‘convenience’ offers amenities and comforts

to the customer in terms of the entire product range. Com-

prehensive comfort refers to skis, ski boots and bindings

as well as clothing. The lighter weight of the skis/bindings

and boots combined with new materials and technologies

The Austrian Wood Industries 4 REPORT 2017/18

in sales in domestic and international markets. This trend is ex-

pected to continue in the near future. With this outlook, there is

cause for optimism. Additionally, the positive development in the

international economic environment promotes a further expan-

sion of exports in the sector.

Sales markets

The domestic wood panel industry is an international player,

acting all over the world. This is reflected in an export quota of

roughly 80 % and proved by the performance and competitiveness

of the Austrian locations. The foreign trade surplus amounts to

roughly EUR 700 million. The main sales markets are in Europe,

with Germany in first place, followed by Italy and the Czech Re-

public. Currently, the wood panel industry employs approximate-

ly 3000 people.

Important employer with stable location in Austria

The domestic wood panel industry is heavily influenced by its

family-based ownership structure. Closely connected with this is

the safeguarding of Austria as a location, which in turn means

job security for its employees. Austrian expansion schemes are

looking good, but efficiency enhancement measures and innova-

tion are a permanent requirement for sustainable company devel-

opment and the safeguarding of the location After all, domestic

enterprises and the global orientation of their locations across

Europe and around the world have now become competitors with-

in their corporate groups.

The industry owes its importance as an employer to the position

of the company locations, which are cut off from urban centres

in regions that tend to be structurally weak. This affords it the

ability to offer high-quality jobs to highly qualified employees

and excellent conditions to apprentices for their future careers

with the company as skilled tradespeople. Job security as well as

high-quality standards for education and training are a recipe for

success within the industry.

Raw material supply as a prerequisite

The current raw material supply for the wood panel industry

is safe and satisfactory across almost all fresh wood segments.

Occasionally, there are regional differences in the supply levels,

but these are mainly due to the weather or other disasters. A

prerequisite for the retention of the locations and therefore of

the jobs is a continually high supply of raw materials in order to

ensure full utilisation of the capacity. This means a guaranteed

and permanent supply of raw materials is always the top priority

in the industry. Sustainable success in the wood panel industry

can only be guaranteed by an adequate supply of raw materials.

The Austrian Wood Industries

Editor-in-Chief: Margot Schatzl • Schwarzenbergplatz 4, A-1037 Vienna, Austria Phone +43/1/712 26 01 • Fax +43/1/713 03 09 • E-Mail: schatzl@holzindustrie.at © Photo-Credit: iStock.com/t_kimura

facilitate not only walking, but also the process of putting

on and taking off boots, which is so important in skiing.

The mega-trend ‘customisation’ responds to the individuality

of the customer’s needs and their personal characteristics. The

individualisation of a serial product, especially with ski boots,

has manifested itself well and truly in the ski industry. Scanning

systems support the initial selection and fitting tools are then

applied in the inner boot, which enable the customer to receive a

tailor-made ski boot. A personalised design on the surface of the

ski is even possible.

The execution of these mega-trends in the ski industry, retail

sector and the equipment hire sector is beneficial for skiers. They

benefit from simplicity, comfort and personalisation of their own

requirements.

The ski industry also conveys Austrian culture

As an ambassador of Austrian ski ‘snow-how’, the Austrian ski in-

dustry with its world-famous and highly regarded brands Atomic,

Blizzard, Fischer and Head conveys an important part of Austrian

culture.

The industry is globally oriented and achieves an export quota

of more than 80%. In order to maintain this high level and to

be perceived as the top skiing nation in the important core mar-

kets, constant innovation is key. This includes the entire product

range on offer.

Growth opportunities – emerging market of China

As one of the world‘s fastest growing winter sports markets, Chi-

na, indisputably, has strong potential for growth. Extrapolating

from the number of inhabitants alone, China is home to approx-

imately 300 million people who take part in winter sports. The

upcoming Winter Olympics in 2022 as well as generally positive

economic trends and the growing middle classes all contribute

to a wide-ranging impact. Economic delegations with a political

presence, such as the one that visited China recently, are also

ideal pioneers to strengthen business relationships.

So far, however, this market potential has not translated into

increased sales figures, which currently revolve around 75,000

pairs of skis. It is expected, however, that roughly 100,000 pairs

of skis will be sold to China in 2020. In 2022, this figure will have

increased to approximately 150,000 pairs and in 10 years’ time, it

will be as high as 300,000 pairs.

Wood Based Panel Industry

High-level market situation unchanged and still

exhibiting a positive trend

With full utilisation of the production capacity, 2017 saw contin-

uously high production figures as well as an increase in turnover.

Once again, the industry succeeded in generating a slight increase