Laminated Veneer Lumber Sales to Drive Engineered Lumber Market Growth Through 2025

Cleveland OH, January 24, 2022 – A new Freedonia Group analysis forecasts US demand for engineered lumber to climb 1.6% annually through 2025 to 2.5 billion board feet valued at $2.2 billion:

• The largest market gains in both value and volume terms will be recorded by laminated veneer lumber (LVL), bolstered by demand increases in the South, which accounted for 50% of the LVL sales total in 2020.
• I-joists will remain the most commonly used type of engineered lumber in 2025 in volume terms, primarily due to these products’ relatively low cost and superior structural strength, which allows them to support heavy loads with less lumber than solid wood joists.

Structural & Framing Applications Will Continue to Dominate Engineered Lumber Demand

Structural and framing applications – which include floors and foundations, roofing, and walls – will continue to account for the majority of engineered lumber demand through 2025. Engineered lumber suppliers will benefit from favorable outlooks for new home additions and commercial construction, but overall sales growth through 2025 will be negatively affected by a decline in new housing activity following a 2021 cyclical peak:

• Structural floors and foundations will register the largest increases in volume terms, boosted by the intensive use of I-joists and LVLs in floor joists and other flooring supports.
• Wall supports will record the fastest advances, as builders looking to create more durable wall sections will opt for trusses and supports that incorporate engineered lumber.

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Engineered Lumber, now available from The Freedonia Group, analyzes US demand for engineered lumber by product type, market (new residential, residential repair and remodeling, commercial, and nonbuilding), and application. Historical data (2010, 2015, and 2020) and forecasts for 2025 and 2030 are presented for engineered lumber demand in board feet and current US dollars (including inflation).

The major product segments are:

• I-joists
• laminated veneer lumber (LVL)
• glulam (or glued laminated timber)
• other engineered lumber products, such as cross-laminated timbers (CLTs); rim board; and structural composite lumber (SCL), which comprises parallel strand lumber (PSL), laminated strand lumber (LSL), and oriented strand lumber (OSL)

Applications include structural and framing and outdoor and nonbuilding. Structural and framing consists of:

• structural floors and foundations
• structural roofing
• structural walls

Outdoor and nonbuilding includes:

• decking
• fencing
• porches
• structures such as gazebos and sheds
• bridges

Also analyzed are engineered lumber shipments, imports, and exports; corporate trends including market share; and demand by major US region.