VIENNA. As a result of much less is being inbuilt Austria, the wooden trade additionally didn’t have a great yr in 2023. The trade’s manufacturing worth fell by 18.5 % to only over 9.8 billion euros, mentioned the chairman of the Wooden Business Affiliation within the Chamber of Commerce (WKÖ), Herbert Jöbstl, at a press convention on Thursday. He represents round 1,300 wooden processing firms.
Along with the stoop within the development trade, the sector additionally felt the continued excessive prices of uncooked supplies and power. The trade has prevented large-scale job cuts: the workforce in 2023 was simply over 27,400 staff, a lower of simply over three % or 720 jobs.
The furnishings trade solely suffered a lack of slightly below two %, with kitchen furnishings dropping 9.2 % and toilet furnishings 14.7 % of manufacturing worth. Worldwide timber commerce additionally weakened (imports and exports down 15 %), with the overseas commerce surplus amounting to 1.5 billion euros.
The development trade is weak
The trade’s outlook stays cautious for this yr and for 2025. “We assume that development actions is not going to improve within the quick time period. Constructing permits proceed to say no. Tasks that aren’t financed and permitted now is not going to be constructed later. It’s troublesome to be optimistic once you take a look at the development trade,” mentioned Andreas Ludwig, deputy chairman of the commerce affiliation. The federal authorities’s newest housing bundle has been welcomed by the representatives of the timber trade, however further stimulus is being referred to as for. The KIM regulation, which units out strict guidelines for the granting of actual property loans, ought to subsequently be reconsidered.
Criticism of EU paperwork
The skilled affiliation didn’t solely criticise the present draft of the EU deforestation regulation. Generally, the rising and more and more advanced necessities of the European Union would symbolize a rising burden on the financial system.
Between 2019 and 2023, the European legislator imposed a complete of 850 new obligations on firms, which corresponds to greater than 5,000 pages of laws. “The subsequent EU Fee should concentrate on worldwide competitiveness and the flexibility to innovate,” mentioned Erlfried Taurer, deputy chairman of the commerce affiliation.
