Cross Laminated Timber Market

The growth in the cross-laminated timber market is immense, and the main reason is the strong policies and emerging regulation systems, mainly in Europe and North America. The commonly used sustainable construction materials that governments within such areas are attempting to recommend are currently beating the trend of climate change challenges, which include cross-laminated timber, among others, because of their ability to be renewable and carbon sequestering. Theoretically, it is possible to erect multi-storey, mid-rise, and even high-rise buildings using engineered wood such as cross-laminated timber, which has seen different regulating authorities around the world revise building codes and fire safety requirements to cater to and promote the use of engineered wood products in high-rise construction. An example of such changes to codes would include Austria, Germany, Canada, and the United States revising the codes (such as the International Building Code (IBC)) to permit taller mass timber construction (to 18 storeys, or more in special cases).

Although there is increasing interest in sustainable construction globally, the cross-laminated timber market involves a number of critical issues that limit the potential in emerging and underdeveloped markets. Among the most serious constraints, the fact that there are few manufacturing facilities, especially beyond Europe, which is currently controlling the production and technological development of CLT, can be mentioned. Where European nations, including Austria, Germany and Switzerland, have mature supply chain, and well-established CLT plants and established skilled labor, some regions still remain behind the manufacturing infrastructure, namely, Asia Pacific, Latin America and parts of North America. This creates a twofold problem: longer lead times and higher prices on importing CLT as well as a shortage of regionally specific panel sizes and grades in the required credentials of the local building codes.

Cross-laminated timber is also becoming an attractive option as a solution in the large market of retrofit and renovation of buildings in cities, mainly because of its remarkable strength-to-weight ratio. Cross-laminated timber panels are also much lighter compared to other common building materials, such as concrete or steel, which explains why they are ideal in vertical extensions or use as a rooftop add-on in an old building. In built-up urban areas--where there is not much room to generate new structures and where zoning is restricted, cross-laminated timber allows the construction of high and old buildings without imposing excessive stress on the old foundations or load-bearing walls. With the aging of urban infrastructure, cities worldwide would focus on renovation and adaptation of the existing buildings instead of demolishing and rebuilding to maintain the heritage of architecture and minimize the environmental impact. This has especially been the case in Europe and certain sections of North America, where most of the 1940s to 1960s buildings are being reutilized as modern residential homes, commercial, or combined residential/commercial establishments. The modular design possibilities, the lack of in situ disruption and speed of construction mean that cross-laminated timber fits these timely renovation projects very well as a material.

The sensitivity to moisture and humidity is one of the main technical issues that negatively affect the wider usage of cross-laminated timber. Even though the properties of cross-laminated timber panels were preconditioned to be strong and dimensionally stable, they were made of wood, a material that is inherently absorbent of moisture, and which naturally releases the moisture that it absorbed. Otherwise, it may cause swelling, delamination, fungal decay, mold growth, and a deterioration of mechanical properties, which will eventually reduce safety and compromise the lifespan. This is especially acute in a high-humidity area, the coast, and an area with frequent rainfall or long-term and wet conditions, since moisture penetration is difficult to contain. In such environments, water intrusion into the CLT panels can occur even because of minor flaws in the design, i.e., inadequate sealing, inadequate ventilation, or imperfectly installed vapor barriers. When moisture becomes trapped in panel joints or other open surfaces over time, the moisture that is trapped and properly humidified at the correct temperature may have conditions that favor biological attack, e.g., fungus attack or wood rot.