Reconstituted board imports in decline
Further evidence of patchy trade performance for timber-based building materials is evident in Australia’s reconstituted board or wood panel import data for the year-ended October. Most ‘major’ products: particleboard, MDF and OSB saw imports lower year-on-year, despite improvements in the main end-product market: housing.
With sovereign manufacturing capacity and supply chain integration major national topics, falling materials imports require closer examination. It is timely to examine imports of finished products (like kitchen cabinets, bathroom assemblies and so on) that may be on the rise.
Here, we set out the imports of the main products, with a future item to address the relationship between board and finished product imports.
Particleboard imports continue to fall
Australia’s annual particleboard imports fell 37.1% across the year-ended October 2025, to total 60,719 m3. Over the same period, import prices averaged AUDFob491/m3. The weighted average price of imports was 16.5% higher than a year earlier.
Underscoring declining imports, the total value of particleboard imports fell 26.7% over the year, to total AUD29.8 million, measured on a free-on-board basis.
The major import grade is ‘Particleboard (Other)’, that is, raw Particleboard without a melamine finish. Imports of this grade totalled 41,879 m3 across the year, down 36.6% on the previous year, accounting for 69.0% of all Particleboard imports.
In October, the average import price for the Particleboard (Other) grade recovered to AUDFob515/m3, up 21% on the prior year.
Australian Particleboard Imports: Jan ’22 – Oct ’25 (m3 & AUDFob/m3)
Source: ABS and IndustryEdge
The table below shows the annual import volume for Particleboard imports for the year-ended September 2025.
MDF imports lift 17.2% year-ended October 2025
Australia’s imports of Medium Density Fibreboard (MDF) were 17.2% higher year-ended October 2025, compared to the previous year. Imports totalled 142,859 m3 for the year.
Of the different density grades, imports of the ‘Other-Other’ grade continue to record significantly higher volumes. This ‘grade’ saw imports total 58,922 m3 across the year, down 3.5% on the previous year.
‘Other-other’ is a refuge grade that in theory should only be used where the MDF imports are unable to be classified in the specific grades.
The countries delivering MDF imports have changed over the last few years, with Romania and Thailand experiencing sharp declines as imports from mainland China have increased.
Australian MDF imports by country: YE Oct ’23 – YE Oct ’25 (m3)
OSB imports down 15.6% year-ended October 2025
Imports of Oriented Strand Board (OSB) totalled 23,765 m3 year-ended October 2025, down 15.6% compared to the prior year.
Monthly import volumes continually fluctuate as the chart shows. In October 2025 shipments totalled 3,250 m3.
Prices have stabilised since January 2022 and have retained their range from AUDFob400-600/m3 over that period. In October 2025, the weighted average price was AUDFob397.44/m3 or a decrease of 27.5% compared to the month prior.
Australian OSB Imports: Jan ’22 – Oct ’25 (m3 & AUDFob/m3)
Source: ABS and IndustryEdge
