Industry Economic Impact

In January 2025, CBI Economics published a report comissioned by the Wood Panel Industry examining the economic contributions of the UK’s Wood Panel Manufacturing sector. 

The full report is availabile – here.

Wood-based panels are ubiquitous in our homes, shops and workplaces, serving as vital components of both the building structure and the furniture within them. Wide swathes of UK industry, including nationally significant firms such as Howdens Joinery and Centre Parcs, could not function without the UK’s wood panel manufacturers.

Demand for wood panels is set to significantly increase as the UK Government sets ambitious targets, far higher than current delivery rates, for housebuilding alongside new towns and all the associated infrastructure. This is compounded by a target to reduce the levels of embodied carbon in construction, which will necessarily involve increasing the amount of wood used.

10% of the UK economy is made up of wood panel reliant industries such as construction and leisure.
The Supply chain of the Industry accommodates 10,600 FTE jobs, inclusive of almost 2,100 FTE jobs at the Wood Panel manufacturers themselves.
The Wood Panel Industry and its supply chain generates £1.1 billion, in gross value added (GVA) to the UK economy, including £418 million just at the point of manufacture.
Productivity in the Wood Panel Industry at £200,118 GVA per FTE job, 2.3 times higher than the manufacturing sector average (£86.375).
Almost £290 million in tax revenues is generated for the exchequer per annum because of wood panel activity.

The wood panel industry consumes approximately 3.5 million tonnes (wet) of domestically sourced wood annually, making it a significant customer of the UK forestry sector alongside sawmills and wood fuel. However, this is still not sufficient to satisfy domestic demand and the UK imported approximately £1.4 billion worth of wood panels in 2023.

Wood-panels are the product of fast-growing conifer plantations which achieve some of the highest greenhouse gas emission mitigation rates compared to other woodland options.

Manufacturers have made substantial efforts to decarbonise their processes, increase the use of recycled materials in production and instil environmental standards in their supply chains. The industry has a path to decarbonise further, but this will require clear government commitments to prioritise the use of wood and wood-based products as a raw material in construction to provide long-term revenue certainty, improve market confidence and drive investment in core operations.

There are five wood panel manufacturing sites across the UK: three in Scotland, one in Wales and one in England, but their economic impact is felt right across the country. The industry’s supply chain draws from vital sectors such as chemical manufacturing and energy.

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