Joinery producers increasing investment despite slowing sales growth

“Sales are still growing at a reasonable rate and there are no indications of a sudden decline for the British woodworking industry despite the pessimism around construction from some quarters,” said BWF policy and communications executive Matt Mahony.

“Slightly fewer order books extending beyond three months and consecutive quarters of lowered sales growth expectations conceal the reality which is that our members have been selling products and adapting to the higher costs that have now unfortunately become the new norm.

“More than two-thirds of respondents noted that Brexit-related uncertainty has already affected their business, with two-thirds of those identifying the impact as being increased raw material costs. If we look to the longer term however, manufacturers are unsure as to what the effects of Brexit might be."

Key points from the BWF Joinery State of Trade Survey Q4 2017 include a balance of 33% of respondents reporting a sales volume growth over the last quarter, with 41% reporting an increase over the last year. Some 68% of respondents felt Brexit-related uncertainty had affected their business so far with 67% saying raw materials costs had been impacted.

A balance of 32% felt Brexit negotiations would have a negative impact on their business in the next year. When asked about the impact of Brexit over 5 years, respondents were split between whether it would be positive or negative (25% for each) with 40% unsure of the implications and 10% expecting no impact.