EU nations make less furniture, import more in '02
By Brian Carroll -- Furniture Today, January 27, 2003
Brussels, Belgium — For the first time since the recession of 1993, the European Union's furniture and cabinet production declined last year.
Larger EU countries such as Germany, Italy and France saw drops, while the smaller countries at best broke even with the previous year in production value of manufacturing. Only the United Kingdom saw a slight increase.
Total EU production is estimated to have decreased by 4% to 79 billion euros, or about $75 billion, according to the L'Union Européenne de l'Ameublement (UEA). The figure includes residential and contract furniture and kitchen cabinets.
During the first half of 2002, exports of furniture to non-EU countries fell 1.2% from the comparable period in 2001. Norway, a non-EU country, imported 7% more from the EU group, but all other traditional markets bought less. In real terms, adjusted for inflation, the EU exports shrank 4.4%.
Exports to the United States rose in unit volume 5.5%, but declined 1.5% in value.
While the EU countries were producing less furniture last year, they were importing more. Imports into the EU in the first half jumped 5.5%. As in 2001, imports from Poland, China and the Czech Republic rose more than 10%. Because of the surge in imports, the EU's trade deficit in furniture amounted to 1.2 billion euros (US$1.1 billion) for the first half of 2002, or more than the deficit in all of 2001.
In Germany, production was down 9.8% to about $16 billion for the first 10 months of 2002. The mattress sector recorded growth, but all other categories saw double-digit dips. More than 6,000 jobs were lost due to the slowdown.
Italy's total shipments fell nearly 2% to $19.7 billion. Exports fell nearly 4% in value and 6% in unit volume for the first three quarters of 2002. The only countries buying more Italian furniture last year were the United States (up nearly 7%) and the United Kingdom (up 14%).
After four years of steady growth, the French furniture industry weakened in 2002 with output shrinking more than 5% to $8.3 billion, according to the UEA. Upholstery saw a modest increase, but residential wood furniture was off 10%. French exports slipped 7% in the first half of 2002 because of the weak demand in other EU markets.
In the United Kingdom, the production value of furniture rose by less than 2% in the first three quarters of 2002 compared with the same period in 2001. Domestic consumption was up sharply, but exports declined.
