Sales statistics recently released by the Composite Panel Association (CPA) have shown that particleboard sales grew more strongly than MDF/HDF sales in the second quarter of 2013, continuing a trend seen in the first three months of the year. This situation is being spurred by North American MDF/HDF manufacturers having run at better capacity utilisation since last year. Consequently, they are only able to raise production and sales slightly. North American particleboard manufacturers are also now enjoying a palpable improvement in their sales. Second-quater particleboard sales were 8 % higher than the first three months and 6 % higher than the same three-month stretch last year. Significant variations continue to exist from one region to the next. The strongest growth was recorded in the western US and in Canada between the first and second quarters. Manufacturers in the south and east of the US reported only minor growth. However, this region fared the best compared with the second quarter of last year. The Canadian market slowed during this period.