Wood-furniture, sales down 2.7 % in 2024

It has been a difficult year, more than expected, and one that has betrayed the expectations of those who, at the beginning of 2024, had bet on a recovery with respect to a 2023 that was already a rebound. And if the first signs of a downturn were hinting at a normalisation of the market after two years of extraordinary growth, it is now clear that even for the wood-furniture sector we are facing a demand problem, although the drop in sales is for now more contained than in other sectors of Italian manufacturing.

This is shown by the data of the latest Monitor drawn up by FederlegnoArredo's study centre, relating to the first nine months of 2024, according to which the companies surveyed indicate a 4.9% drop in sales in the wood-furnishing supply chain compared to the same period in 2023. Both the domestic market (-5.4%) and the foreign market (-4.1%) were down. The furniture macro-system closed at -3.7%, summing up the 3% drop in Italy and the 4.3% drop in exports. The contraction of the wood macrosystem was heavier, recording an overall -7.5%, which for Italy reaches -8.9% while exports a more contained -4.1%.

The negative trend in the third quarter also leads companies to estimate a minus sign for the entire year, explains the president of FederlegnoArredo, Claudio Feltrin: "The Monitor's forecasts for the supply chain speak of a -2.7% year-end, with Italy at -3.7% and exports at -1.3%. Companies are confident in a small turnaround in the final part of the year that could herald a slow recovery in 2025".

Among the various sectors of the supply chain, furniture companies declare a more contained downturn for the end of the year (-1.7%), with no particular differences between Italy (-1.9%) and abroad (-1.5%). For the wood macro-system, on the other hand, the forecast is more pessimistic: an overall -4.3%, determined by -5.8% of Italian sales and only partly contained by exports, stable at -0.7%. Within the wood system, the panel sector is one of the hardest hit, with a drop in Italian sales of 11.4%, which account for 73% of the total, while exports record -4%, bringing the overall sector trend to -9.5%. The drop affects all segments and is most marked for chipboard, plywood and MDF on the domestic market.

The packaging system also recorded a drop of 8%, due to both a reduction in the price of packaging, down 6.3%, and a decrease in industrial production, which fell by 2.9% in January-September 2023.