Which Country Imports the Most Prefabricated Buildings in the World?

Builders' Carpentry And Joinery May 28, 2018

Blog Blog / Wood and Paper Products / Builders' Carpentry And Joinery

Author: Sergey Avramenko

PositionHead of Global Markets Research Team

In 2016, the global prefab housing imports stood at 5.3M tonnes, coming up by 3% against the previous year figure. Overall, prefab housing imports continue to indicate a relatively flat trend pattern. The pace of growth appeared the most rapid in 2011, an increase of 7% against the previous year level. Over the period under review, global prefab housing imports attained its maximum volume in 2016, and are expected to retain its growth in the near future.

In value terms, prefab housing imports totaled $6.9B in 2016. In general, prefab housing imports continue to indicate a relatively flat trend pattern. Over the period under review, global prefab housing imports attained its maximum level of $7.4B in 2014; however, from 2015 to 2016, it failed to regain its strength.

Top Prefab Housing Importing Countries in the World

1. Germany (772.3 million USD)

2. Norway (501.6 million USD)

3. USA (323.8 million USD)

4. France (276.9 million USD)

5. Switzerland (274.8 million USD)

6. Netherlands (141.0 million USD)

7. Belgium (84.6 million USD)

8. China (56.8 million USD)

9. Czech Republic (52.3 million USD)

10. Turkey (42.4 million USD)

11. Lithuania (36.0 million USD)

12. Estonia (10.3 million USD)

Prefab Housing Imports By Country

In 2016, China (815K tonnes), distantly followed by the U.S. (381K tonnes), and Germany (296K tonnes) were the largest importers of prefab housing, together achieving 28% of total imports. The following importers - Czech Republic (212K tonnes), Estonia (208K tonnes), Norway (188K tonnes), Turkey (152K tonnes), Belgium (148K tonnes), the Netherlands (145K tonnes), France (123K tonnes), Lithuania (123K tonnes), and Switzerland (118K tonnes) together made up 27% of total imports.

China experienced a relatively flat trend pattern. At the same time, Lithuania (+5.7%), Germany (+5.5%), Estonia (+5.4%), Norway (+2.4%), Czech Republic (+1.8%), and Turkey (+1.6%) displayed positive paces of growth. Moreover, Lithuania emerged as the fastest growing importer/exporter in the world, with a CAGR of +5.7% from 2007-2016. Switzerland, and the U.S. experienced a relatively flat trend pattern. By contrast, the Netherlands (-1.4%), Belgium (-3.0%), and France (-3.8%) illustrated a downward trend over the same period. Germany (-2.1%) significantly weakened its position in terms of the global imports, while the shares of the other countries remained relatively stable throughout the analyzed period.

In value terms, Germany ($772M), Norway ($502M) and the U.S. ($324M) constituted the countries with the highest levels of imports in 2016, together comprising 23% of global imports.

Germany (+8.1% per year) recorded the highest growth rate of prefab housing imports, in terms of the main importing countries, over the last 9 years, while the other global leaders experienced more modest paces of growth.

Prefab Housing Import Prices By Country

In 2016, the average import price for prefab housing amounted to $1,301 per tonne, remaining stable against the previous year level. In general, prefab housing import price continues to indicate a relatively flat trend pattern. The most prominent rate of growth was recorded in 2011, when it surged by 18% against the previous year level. In that year, average prefab housing import price reached its maximum level of $1,467 per tonne. From 2012 to 2016, growth of average prefab housing import price failed to regain its strength.

Import prices varied noticeably by country of destination. the country with the highest import prices was Norway ($2,671 per tonne), while Estonia ($50 per tonne) was among the lowest.

From 2007 to 2016, the most notable growth rate of prefab housing import prices was attained by China (+6.7% per year), while the other global leaders experienced more modest paces of growth.

Do you want to know more about global prefab housing market? Get the latest trends and insight from our report. It includes a wide range of statistics on