Medium density fiberboards, is also witnessing weak lifting despite of being a multi utility product of panel industry. The manufacturing plants in MDF segment produced at higher capacity uses but markets have not reciprocated with demand in same tandem. MDF producers have been expecting, faster recovery with respect to MDF demand but it is not all on same lines. According to reports, MDF markets have witnessed 20 to 25 percent of the sales of Pre-covid time, although June is expected to see a surge which is not the case in other similar wood based panel and substrate materials.
The reason for a better demand expectation has been also based upon the logic, that MDF industry operates on very low credit with very few players in the sector. Besides,MDF lines need lesser number of manpower to run the plant, as most of machines are automated and continuous manufacturing line, hence restoring full fledge manufacturing is far easier compared to plywoods. With around 10 production plants in MDF segment, and safe guard duty initiation on thin MDF sheets, June is expected to deliver better results for MDF, anticipate Ply Reporter research analysis.
It is known that, when the government allowed manufacturing sectors to start production from 4th May, most of the MDF manufacturers started production and began supplying materials to markets, quicker than others. According to reports till writing this information, few of the plants were shut, and few were operating with heavy stock pile up in their finished good warehouses.
Despite that, data points to an approximate 30 % production capacity utilization in MDF category if we combine all plants operation in one table. Majority of MDF producers are highly optimistic about June Month demand, and said that all stocks would be consumed in coming month, once the most of market will open from 1st June.