Hardwood use in China’s furniture industry

While much attention has recently been paid to China’s forest products market as a whole, very little information has been available concerning wood products consumed by the Chinese furniture industry. The primary goal of this study was to gain insights into hardwood use in China’s furniture industry. To achieve this goal, a mail survey of furniture manufacturers throughout China was conducted in October 1997. Results indicate that, while firm size, firm location, and furniture type have some impact on the type and volume of wood material used, hardwood lumber, hardwood dimension, particleboard, and medium density fiberboard were the wood-based materials in high demand by China’s furniture manufacturers. For hardwood lumber and/or dimension, domestic species grown in temperate regions were found to be the dominant species used in all responding firms. Red oak from the United States was the most popular temperate hardwood species imported. In the near future, high quality hardwood lumber, dimension, and wood veneer will need to be imported to supply upper-end solid furniture manufacturing. However, panel products will retain their dominant positions in furniture making to meet the needs of consumers with low to middle incomes.

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