Rural houses slow down PVC trim sales decline

The market of PVC window and door trim, one of the construction market's growth engines after the '90s, has been on a steep decline ever since 2008, and the largest players' forecasts are not highly upbeat for the following years. As a matter of fact, the moment consumption will pick up is uncertain, but increases posted prior to the crisis will surely not be matched.
Consumption of thermo-insulating trim halved last year, getting to below 500m euros, of which PVC trim, the main raw material, stand at around 150-200m euros.
Moreover, estimates for this year point to a drop by at least 10%, according to information from market players. The market decline also led to the disappearance of around 20% of market players, mainly small and medium-sized ones, which emerged in 2007-2008 period, when the market reached one billion euros.
The fall continued in the first half of this year, but there are diverging views about this period. Some companies estimate sales dropped by 30%, while other point to a slight drop of 5-10%.
The most dynamic buyers of thermo-insulating trim in the first half were from rural areas, where the potential is very high owing to the low finishing level of houses, but also from city areas where renovation works were mainly carried out.