Wood prices rise sharply at the beginning of September. This is due to the very low quantities of damaged wood and strong demand from the sawmill industry. According to forest owners, roundwood prices for spruce are rising by 5 to 10 euros.

Prices for sawlogs rose during the second quarter and continue to rise in many regions at the start of the third quarter, according to forest owner associations. Demand for fresh wood in particular is growing strongly. Timber harvesting is proceeding rapidly in many regions. The reason: damaged wood has recently been produced in significantly smaller quantities than expected.

The average price for spruce fixed lengths in strength class 2b+ is around 112 to 118 euros per solid cubic meter for 2b+ grade B (BC).

As sawmills cannot meet demand with damaged wood alone, they are trying to encourage additional logging by offering higher prices, according to forest owner associations. The reason for this is that the abundant rainfall in July meant that there was no significant damage to trees by bark beetles.

However, this has now led to supply bottlenecks at a number of sawmills, thereby boosting demand for fresh wood. Apparently, stocks in the sawmill industry are also low, and as a result, coniferous sawlogs in particular are currently in high demand. Demand for fresh pine is also apparently very good.

As expected, August was quiet in terms of both production and sales. Now, demand is picking up noticeably again, according to forest owners.

Rising prices for fresh wood

Fresh wood prices are being raised to varying degrees across different regions. In some cases, roundwood prices are rising by 5 to 10 euros per cubic metre. The price level for spruce fixed lengths in strength class 2 b+ averages around 112 to 118 euros per cubic metre for 2b+ grade B (BC).

The pine discount is between €35.00 and €45.00 per cubic meter of fresh spruce wood.

Beetle-infested wood is sorted separately by sawmills and charged at a price of minus €20/cubic metre from the BC price. The fir discount is €10.00 per cubic metre from the spruce fresh wood price. The pine discount is €35.00–45.00 per cubic metre from the fresh spruce wood price.

Forest owners describe the situation on the industrial timber market as normal to slightly tense. Demand for all industrial timber assortments is relatively ‘normal’. However, the board, pulp and paper industries appear to be very well stocked. Prices are mostly unchanged and deliveries are continuing as normal.

Against this backdrop, forest owner associations recommend specifically harvesting industrial wood instead of energy wood in order to relieve the strained market for wood chips, where the sales situation remains very difficult.

Source: agrarheute.com