Material-Use Trends in U.S. Furniture Manufacturing

Abstract

Abstract Furniture manufacturers in the United States are major users of a variety of wood products. In the last two decades, traditional wood products, such as hardwood lumber, veneer, and plywood have been, in part, replaced by composite panel products, such as particleboard, hardboard, and medium-density fiberboard. This paper examines the uses of traditional and composite wood products by the wood household, upholstered household, and commercial furniture industries in descriptive and numerical terms. The analysis indicates that the substitution of composite products for traditional hardwood products has subsided in recent years in the household wood furniture industry but has continued in the commercial furniture industry. Strong growth in softwood lumber use has occurred in the household wood industry and the household upholstered furniture industry but not in the commercial furniture industry. Although hardwood lumber has been displaced by softwood-based composite panel products, greater relative decreases have occurred in hardwood veneer and veneer core plywood use because of composite panel substitution. Most recent market activities, however, indicate increased use of hardwood lumber in furniture production in the 1980s. South. J. Appl. For. 12(2):102-107.