Apr 16, 2009. /Lesprom Network/. Impacted by the global financial crisis, China’s export of wooden flooring suffered a severe setback in the 4Q 2008, as ITTO informed Lesprom Network. Due to lack of activity in the real estate sector, domestic timber markets were also slack. The total sales volume of wooden flooring in the country dropped for the first time in 2008 after successive growth over a 12 year period. According to data from the Flooring Specialty Committee of China’s National Forest Products Industry Association, the gross sales volume of wooden flooring in the country was about 344 million square metres in 2008, down 4.8% from last year. Of the total, laminated flooring fell 10% to 198 million square metres; solid wood flooring dropped 4.5% to 42 million square metres; wooden composite flooring was down 4% to 78 million square metres; bamboo flooring fell 20% to 24 million square metres; and other types of flooring were down 10% to 1.8 million square metres.