Oriented strand board: Opportunities and potential products in China

North America’s first oriented strand board (OSB) mill was built in the early 1980’s. Twenty years later, the industry was thriving, with over 50 mills producing the product. China’s first OSB mill was built in 1990, and 25 years later, there are a few mills with a total capacity less than two large North America mills, most operating below capacity and struggling to identify domestic markets for the growing production. This paper briefly looks at the histories of OSB industries in North America and China, presents the current situation of China’s wood-based panels industry and its downstream industries, and identifies OSB opportunities and potential products in China. Opportunity for sheathing-grade OSB is very limited in the current Chinese market, whereas industrial opportunities for specialty OSB products to replace plywood have great potential. Those specialty products include materials for furniture, wood doors, wood flooring, container flooring, concrete form, etc. OSB producers must designate the right OSB products for the Chinese market and cost-effectively manufacture those differentiated products to meet specifications for various end-applications.