OSB Fast Facts

When compared by weight, wood is used more than all plastics, metals, and concrete combined.
Pound for pound, wood is stronger than steel because it has a more favorable strength-to-weight ratio.
The Structural Board Association reports that Japan is updating its building codes, which is expected to result in more wood frame construction. The decision is expected to allow wood frame buildings to be built on 73% of the available lots in Tokyo.
Analysis of earthquake damage in California and Japan revealed that panel sheathed wood frame structures fared better than did masonry and concrete buildings.
In 1980, North American OSB panel production was 751 million square feet (3/8" basis) (0.7 million cubic meters). By 1990, this figure was 7.6 billion square feet (7.0 million cubic meters). In 2005, this figure had grown to 25.0 billion square feet (22.1 million cubic meters) - that's enough to circle the earth 46 times.
Since the 1990s OSB has proven to be an economical and competitive structural panel.
Unlike steel or concrete, OSB is made from a completely renewable resource -- small-diameter, fast-growing trees.
In 2000, for the first time, OSB production marginally exceeded plywood production. By 2006, OSB production grew to nearly 60% of the North American panel market share.
OSB is also produced in Europe and Latin America, with a combined approximate production figure of 3.5 billion square feet (3 million cubic metres) by the year 2005.
Additional production facilities are in the planning stage or under construction, bringing the total number of plants worldwide to over 80 by 2009.

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