Moulding and trim to reach $5.8 billion, but plastic clouds outlook
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CLEVELAND -  Wood moulding and trim demand is expected to grow 5.7 percent annually, reaching $5.8 billion in 2020 due to sustained gains in new housing construction.  
 
A new study by The Freedonia Group, a Cleveland-based research group, says that going forward, strong gains in office and commercial construction spending and a recovery in institutional building construction activity will boost demand for wood molding and trim in the nonresidential market.  

MOLDING & TRIM DEMAND BY MATERIAL, 2005-2015 (million dollars) 

 
Researchers note that wood faces competition from plastic and engineered wood as growing numbers of builders and homeowners specify these materials, owing to their superior performance properties and lower maintenance requirements.    

These and other trends are presented in Molding & Trim in the US, 6th Edition.

Through 2020, plastic molding and trim demand is forecast to outpace the overall molding and trim market, rising 6.3 percent per year.  Gains will be bolstered by sustained growth in residential construction, both new and replacement.  Homeowners and contractors are expected to increasingly install new, more durable plastic molding and trim products.  According to analyst Nick Cunningham, “Contractors and remodelers are much more likely to adopt new products -- such as plastic molding and trim -- than homebuilders, who are more likely to specify wood.”

Rising residential building construction spending will also drive gains for engineered wood molding and trim, as will growing acceptance of the material’s performance properties.  The new residential segment is expected to remain the leading outlet for engineered wood molding and trim, posting the fastest gains of any segment.  
 
Molding & Trim in the US, 6th Edition (published 11/2016, 188 pages) is available for $5100 from The Freedonia Group.  For further details or to arrange an interview with the analyst, please contact Corinne Gangloff by phone 440.684.9600 or email [email protected]
 

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About the author
Bill Esler | ConfSenior Editor

Bill wrote for WoodworkingNetwork.com, FDMC and Closets & Organized Storage magazines. 

Bill's background includes more than 10 years in print manufacturing management, followed by more than 30 years in business reporting on industrial manufacturing in the forest products industries, including printing and packaging at American Printer (Features Editor) and Graphic Arts Monthly (Editor in Chief) magazines; and in secondary wood manufacturing for WoodworkingNetwork.com.

Bill was deeply involved with the launches of the Woodworking Network Leadership Forum, and the 40 Under 40 Awards programs. He currently reports on technology and business trends and develops conference programs.

In addition to his work as a journalist, Bill supports efforts to expand and improve educational opportunities in the manufacturing sectors, including 10 years on the Print & Graphics Scholarship Foundation; six years with the U.S. WoodLinks; and currently on the Woodwork Career Alliance Education Committee. He is also supports the Greater West Town Training Partnership Woodworking Program, which has trained more than 950 adults for industrial wood manufacturing careers. 

Bill volunteers for Foinse Research Station, a biological field station staddling the border of Ireland and Northern Ireland, one of more than 200 members of the Organization of Biological Field Stations.