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Wood coatings: opportunities for growth
The global wood coatings market is valued at EUR 9.2 billion. It represents an estimated 5% of the total paint & coatings market and 10% of the non-deco industrial coatings markets. In recent years, the growth has been limited due to slowness in the global building and construction industry. In addition to that, the United States tariff policy has led to a disruption in the market. Despite that, there are good opportunities for profitable growth in this segment by looking for value added opportunities. By Douglas Bohn, Orr & Boss Consulting.
The market segments include furniture, cabinets, flooring, and other products, which is mostly flatstock products like paneling, siding, trim work, doors, windows and others. Globally, furniture is the largest segment at 55% of the value with cabinets and other products being both 20%. But the percentages by segment vary quite a bit by region. In North America, furniture is relatively small portion of the market at 15% while it is roughly two thirds of the markets in China and Southeast Asia. The situation is reversed regarding cabinets. Cabinets are approximately 20% of the market globally. In North America cabinets are 40% of the market whereas in China and SE Asia, there are 10% of the market. The primary reason for this is that most furniture purchased in North America is produced in Asia and exported to the United States. The values given in the table represent the 2025 estimates.
Due to the slowing building and construction rates around the world, the growth in the wood coatings market has been limited. China, Europe and North America are 72% of the market. All three have had declining building and construction activities. The slow growth in building and construction has resulted in slower wood coatings sales. Not all wood coatings go into new building but many of them do. Furthermore, the renovation market is often driven by new housing and construction activity; when people buy existing homes, they often renovate their homes. Building and construction has been down significantly in China, Europe, and North America. There are some early and tentative signs that the building and construction markets in North America and Europe may show some increases in 2026, but these are still early signs, and the wood coatings industry has not yet noticed any improvement in outlook. Nonetheless. if building and construction improves, it will help the wood coatings market.
Event Tip: EC Conference Frontiers in Wood Coatings
The EC Conference Frontiers in Wood Coatings which will take place October 6 -7, formerly the Wood Coatings Congress, has established itself as the international reference platform for scientific and technical exchange in the field of wood coatings. Over the course of two intensive days in Amsterdam, the conference will bring together stakeholders from across the value chain — from resin and additive producers to leading research institutes, coating manufacturers, and end-use industries — to discuss the latest advances in formulations, application processes, and sustainable solutions.
Growth opportunities
Despite the relative slow growth, there are opportunities for growth. As noted above, the housing markets in the United States and Europe may be improving and show some growth in 2026. Also, new technologies are growing in the market. Radiation-cured coatings are already widely used in the market for flatstock products like flooring, paneling, siding and others. Dual cure products that overcome the limitations of the UV cured products are also popular choices since they have some of the benefits of UV-cured products while allowing for application of the coatings on three dimensional parts. Also, powder coatings are finding a use in the wood coatings markets; these are lower temperature cured products, so they can be used on heat sensitive substrates like wood. Their use is still small, but it is growing (the market values noted above are for liquid coatings; wood powder coatings would add a limited amount to these values; probably less than 1%). In addition, the radiation-cured and powder coatings, any eco-friendly coatings are also likely to grow at above market levels. Water-borne coatings will benefit. Also, bio-based coatings will benefit from growth.
The wood coatings market is a large and diverse market. The market has been relatively slow the last couple of years, since building and construction in China, Europe, and North America has been slow. Despite that, there are opportunities for growth, especially in India and the Middle East and Africa regions. Also, the continued use and growth of radiation-cured products, especially dual-cure products, provide some opportunities. The use of low-temperature powder-cured coatings is an interesting development in the market that bears monitoring.
The complete article can be found in the European Coatings Journal.
