TTJ canvassed industry organisations and companies about their plans and predictions for the sector for the year ahead. Respondents identified challenges due to the wider economic situation and geopolitical tensions,
Timber Forecast-Market opportunities and continuing strong prospects for timber generally given its capacity for reinvention and its increasingly relevant environmental credentials.
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That’s a remarkable amount of work hours for a single machine, the Norcar 600 owned by Erkki Rinne is taken well care of, it even has the original Diesel engine.
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Kieran Anders is a forestry contractor working in the lake district. His work involves hand cutting and extracting timber using a skidder and tractor-trailer forwarder.
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It is not possible to eliminate chain shot, but there are simple steps that can be taken to reduce the risk.
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Arwel takes great pride in the fact that the mill has no waste whatsoever, “the peelings are used for children’s playgrounds, gardens and for farm animals in barns in the winter and the sawdust has multiple uses in gardens and farms as well.
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Timber hauliers need to encourage young blood in, and also look after the hauliers we have, we need make the sector a safe and positive place to work.
FIND US ON
David Hopkins, Chief Executive of Timber Development UK
Last year saw some of the toughest trading conditions we’ve seen since the financial crash and the impact of this, particularly ending with the collapse of one of the sector’s largest trading groups, will cast a long shadow into 2026.
Nobody will be feeling over-confident going into this year, but there are some positive signs ahead amid the negative gloom. Most of the constituent parts of NTG have now been picked up by other, more stable, trading companies, thankfully saving many jobs in the process. And, it is a sign of the strength of the sector that we’ve seen very few other failures during this period.
The lateness of the November budget was one of the main economic drags in the second half of 2025, with multiple false flag announcements causing uncertainty across the economy.
With that out of the way though, the housing market – a key driver for the timber sector – starts the year in a relatively stable position. It may be from a very low base, but we can assume some of the demand that ‘sat it out’ in 2025 will now re-enter the market in 2026. Affordability and mortgage availability is improving with slightly decreasing interest rates, even if confidence is likely to be slower to recover.
While this may only point to a gradual increase in transactions, it is an increase nonetheless, with plenty of potential for refurbishments and repairs.
The new-build market is also forecast for modest growth under these conditions with timber-frame already taking an increased share. Incoming regulations, such as the Future Homes Standard, favour timberframe’s superior thermal and carbon performance.
With the Government investing £39bn into the Social and Affordable Housing programme and still banging the (frankly unbelievable) ‘1.5 million homes’ drum, we should see steady housing growth across the country.
However, this assumes the economy doesn’t get blown off course by events beyond its control.
John Newcomb, Chief Executive Builders Merchants Federation
Looking back over 2025, it’s fair to say that it’s been another challenging year for the construction industry and those working in the building materials supply chain. Despite a couple of false dawns, when it seemed as if the recovery might be about to begin, the year is ending not with a bang but with a whimper.
The housing market stalled in Q3, as housebuilders waited to see what the Chancellor had in store. While the Budget could have been worse in terms of tax rises or further revenue-raising measures targeting businesses, there is real disappointment that the Chancellor failed to announce any measures to stimulate growth in the housing market.
There is now a clear shortfall between the Government’s housing ambition and its delivery. It isn’t easy to see how the original 1.5 million target can be achieved unless this is tackled head-on, but the BMF will continue to press for measures to unlock the new housing market.
That said, with interest rates continuing to fall, we do anticipate market growth both in new build and RMI by the second half of 2026. To ensure BMF members are in the best position to take advantage of this, we continue to invest in initiatives to support their business.
BMCareers, our biggest project to date, which showcases the full range of opportunities within building materials, is already attracting new and diverse talent to the sector. With a new online recruitment service featuring hundreds of current vacancies, that number is set to grow exponentially in 2026.
As we approach 2026, the focus for James Latham is clear – delivering excellence for our customers within an industry facing substantial challenges. Whilst market headwinds continue to buffet the sector, we’re focused on what we can control, providing stability, reassurance and exceptional customer experience through strategic investment in our operations.
The past year has seen us successfully trial our new Warehouse Management System (WMS) at our Thurrock depot in Essex, and the results have been excellent.
This end-to-end digital system has transformed everything we do; from order taking through to delivery, achieving a 99.5% accuracy rate. Importantly, it’s not about replacing our experienced teams with technology. Instead, it’s about enhancing their performance and empowering them with better tools. In our view, the balance of automated precision and human expertise has proven to be the winning formula.
Following this success, from 2026, we will begin rolling out the WMS across our depot network. This forms part of a broader logistics development programme that will greatly enhance our service capability.
The centrepiece of this programme is our new 300,000ft2 National Distribution Centre in Chatteris, Cambridgeshire. We expect completion by end of 2026 and to be fully operational by end 2027. This investment represents a significant step forward in our ability to better serve our customers.
The NDC will give us greater control over imported product storage, support our value-added product development and enable us to expand our range whilst improving stock throughput.
Perhaps most importantly for our customers, the NDC will transform our internal distribution network. Our depot locations will be able to hold wider, more balanced product ranges, directly improving availability and service levels across the country. This means we can continue growing whilst maintaining our existing depot footprint, and delivering a better experience at every customer touchpoint.
In an uncertain market, we’re backing ourselves and supporting our customers with confident investment in operational excellence. We’re looking forward to what the new year brings.
Geneviève Standaert, Export Manager Vandecasteele Houtimport
The timber market gradually improved through the year, after a softer 2024, with demand tied closely to a slow but positive turn in construction activity. Hardwoods performed a lot better than in 2024 with an increase of 15%. We navigated this environment by leveraging our large multi-species stock and prioritizing certified supply where customers needed speed and certainty.
Among our key developments in October 2025, we became the first company in Belgium to achieve Preferred by Nature certification for both Chain of Custody (CoC) and our Due Diligence System (DDS)—a milestone that affirms our traceability systems and EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) readiness. We also once more received the Sustainable Development Goal Champion Award.
Being honoured again, this time in the category of Strategic Champion, highlighted our strategic approach and integration of sustainability across all aspects of our operations.
Operationally, we continued our modal shift: moving import containers from Antwerp by inland waterway to River Terminals Wielsbeke, Wevelgem and Rekkem, all situated within 15 miles of our warehouse in Aalbeke. This cut road kilometres per multimodal delivered container by 80% and halved CO2 for the total route.
In terms of investment, we undertook further development of our racking system and purchased two special side loaders which can reach up to 9 metres. We also continued electrification of our fleet, with all our reps now driving electric or at least hybrid vehicles.
Our broad European footprint and diverse stock—around 135,000m3, comprising 140 different species across hardwoods and softwoods for markets including construction, cladding and garden timber — enabled fast, certified deliveries to customers across Belgium, France, the Netherlands, the UK, Germany and the rest of Europe.
We saw increased interest in lesser-known species, supporting biodiversity, and our quest for certified teak has been very successful, with our worldwide export offer boosting sales.
In 2026 we expect steady, demand-led growth as construction stabilizes, and mass timber solutions continue gaining traction, albeit with price volatility and supply chain complexity still possible. A major factor will be the EUDR: the European Council and Parliament have now backed a one-year delay to 30 Dec 2026 for large/ medium operators and 30 Jun 2027 for micro/small operators, with adoption of targeted simplifications. We welcome clarity on timelines while continuing to invest in robust due diligence, geolocation data and supplier auditing. In the meantime, the EU Timber Regulation remains valid for all timber companies and competent authorities in Europe will police compliance for this for another year!
In the coming year we’ll keep strengthening our certified-only strategy and our lesser-known timber species (LKTS) portfolio.
Source TTJ Online
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Written by loggers for loggers and dedicated solely to the equipment used in forestry operations.