A highly versatile product, plywood is used for a wide range of structural, interior, and exterior applications. Plywood is a wood panel made of veneer sheets, glued together using strong adhesives, such as phenol or urea-formaldehyde resin, to create a wood panel equally strong or stronger than wood. It is manufactured from hardwoods, softwoods, or a combination of both. It is widely used in the construction industry to manufacture shutters and light doors, to make mold or framework for wet concrete, the formation of external walls or light partition, and to produce furniture such as kitchen cabinets, cupboards, etc. Furthermore, plywood finds application in a variety of non-construction industries, such as packaging, truck trailers, material handling, upholstered furniture, and more.
The plywood market is expected to witness a substantial growth due to factors such as the growth of end-use industries, such as furniture, packaging, construction, etc., coupled with the growing applications of plywood as building materials due to its excellent properties, such as thermal and sound insulation, water and chemical resistance, flexibility, panel shear/braced panels shear, high impact resistance, dimensional stability, and high strength. The above-mentioned properties make them an ideal packaging material, especially for long-distance transportation. However, factors such as the high cost of plywood (compared to particleboards, medium density fiberboard, and orient strand boards) and the availability of various alternatives such as plastic and glass are expected to hamper the plywood market growth.
Moreover, government initiatives to provide housing to every individual and the growing investments in commercial and residential construction activities worldwide are expected to boost demand for plywood, which, in turn, is expected to drive the market growth, especially in the Asia Pacific. For instance, the Government of India introduced the Housing for all by 2022 scheme or the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana to provide affordable housing to all citizens by 2022. Moreover, China is the world’s largest producer of plywood due to local machine suppliers, simple technology, and economical labor.
In terms of geography, the plywood market splits into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, South America, the Middle East, and Africa. Based on the product type, the plywood market is segmented into commercial ply, semi-waterproof ply, and waterproof ply, while based on the application, the plywood market is segmented into tropical plywood, softwood plywood, decorative plywood, and hardwood plywood. Key players operating in the market are adopting various strategies, as well as launching new products, to strengthen their product portfolio. For instance, in August 2020, Century Plyboard announced that the company used nanotechnology to manufacture Virokill plywood and laminate products.
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