A brief market roundup from across the globe
World Wide Wood
Austria– softwood lumber exports fell 7% in the first seven months of the year, with a smaller 3% decline to the EU. Softwood sawlog imports also fell 16% to a ten-year low of 2.7 million m³, as major suppliers reduced shipments. Additionally, laminated timber exports decreased by 2.1%, totaling 1.12 million m³ in the same period..
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The WeighPro Wireless Weighing Link represents a precise and dependable weighing system designed specifically for round timber, eliminating the need for re-calibration. This system offers operators minimal maintenance requirements, boasting an impressive battery life of up to two years between recharges.
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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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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.
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Finland- sawmill industry has invested heavily in modern production facilities, but now warns that future timber availability could limit capacity utilisation. This issue has become a key topic ahead of Finland’s parliamentary election. The Finnish Sawmills Association, Sahateollisuus ry, began its election campaign on October 6 at a sawmill in Northern Savonia. After significant investments, Finnish sawmills produced 11.7 million cubic metres of sawn timber in 2025, a 7% increase from 2024. However, conditions weakened in 2026, with first-half output falling 3% year on year to 6.1 million cubic metres.
The campaign comes after several years of major investment across the sector. Finland’s sawmills produced 11.7 million cubic metres of sawn timber in 2025, up 7 per cent from 2024. Production was 10.9 million cubic metres in 2024 and 10.4 million cubic metres in 2023.
However, conditions weakened during 2026. Output in the first half of the year fell to 6.1 million cubic metres, down 3 per cent year on year.
Exports also declined. Between January and May 2026, Finnish sawmills exported 3.3 million cubic metres of sawn timber, 6 per cent less than a year earlier. Export value fell 5 per cent to EUR 870 million.
Finnish sawmills export around 80 per cent of production, making the industry particularly sensitive to both raw-material prices and transport costs.
Keitele is one of the clearest examples of the current expansion. The company is carrying out an investment programme worth around EUR 40 million to increase annual production capacity at its sawmill from about 420,000 to 600,000 cubic metres.
At the same time, annual log consumption is expected to rise to almost 1.3 million cubic metres.
Germany- sawmill industry produced a total of 4.478 million m3 of sawn lumber
According to preliminary figures from the Federal Statistical Office, the German sawmill industry produced 3.490 million m3 of rough-sawn softwood lumber in the second quarter, a decline of 13.9% compared with the same period last year
China‘s total timber imports reached 4.392 million cubic meters, up 9% from the previous year. Logs drove most of the growth, with import value rising 19.8% year-over-year. Supply sources became even more concentrated, with New Zealand firmly in the top spot and Russia close behind, as both volume and prices rose.
In August 2026, China’s timber import market saw both volume and prices rise, with total imports growing steadily. Driven by rising prices, import value rose much faster than import volume. Log imports performed particularly well, and the composition of import sources also shifted slightly.
Norway In the first nine months of 2026, approximately 10.45 million cubic meters of timber were harvested, similar to last year, while average prices for sawlogs and pulpwood continued to decline in the third quarter.
USA-Bearlodge Forest Products will cease all sawmill and pallet operations in the small town of Hulett, Wyoming, on October 31. This decision ends nearly fifty years of operation in a community deeply intertwined with the forest-products industry. The closure is a significant loss for the local economy and ends an era for a town that has long relied on these operations for jobs and economic stability.
Russia: Between January and August 2026, 1,210 new companies and sole traders registered in forestry and logging. This is a 19.9% decrease compared with the same period last year, according to business information service Rusprofile, as reported by Kommersant.
Over the same eight months, 1,590 liquidations were recorded, an increase of 9.6%. That left liquidations 380 above registrations. Rusprofile calculated that the number of businesses closing was 31.3% higher than the number entering the sector.
Canada, in July 2026, sawmills produced 3.5464 million cubic meters of lumber, as reported in Statistics Canada’s monthly Sawmills release on October 5. This production figure represents an 8.6% decline from June and a 6.7% decline from July 2025. Alongside this drop, shipments from Canadian sawmills also fell. In July, they shipped 3.7289 million cubic meters of lumber, down 10.3% from the previous month and 7.8% from the same period last year.
The decline was accompanied by lower shipments. Canadian sawmills shipped 3.7289 million m³ in July, down 10.3% month on month and 7.8% year on year.
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