The volume of roundwood processed by the forest industries increased in 2021
The volume of roundwood consumed by forest industry companies increased by eight per cent from the previous year, totalling 72 million cubic metres. The volume of domestic roundwood processed was nine per cent higher than in the previous year, and the volume of imported roundwood increased by one per cent. Half of roundwood was consumed in pulp manufacturing as in previous years, while the volume of wood processed by the sawmill industry and its percentage of total consumption have especially increased.
“The volume of wood processed by the forest industries in production decreased during the two previous years, but the trend turned in 2021. Even though the felling of industrial roundwood and the volume of wood consumed by the forest industries increased significantly from before, they were still lower than during the peak years when wood consumption was as much as 76 million cubic metres,” says Tuomas Niinistö, senior statistician at the Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke).
The growing consumption of wood is based on domestic raw materials
In 2021, a total of 62.4 million cubic metres of domestic roundwood was consumed by the forest industries in production, being nine per cent more than in the previous year. The consumption of all domestic assortments increased.
The total volume of imported roundwood was 9.8 million cubic metres, up by one per cent from the previous year. The consumption of pulpwood and hardwood logs increased.
The volume of chips imported into Finland was 4.4 million cubic metres as in the previous year. Of this, the pulp industry consumed 2.5 million cubic metres, down by one per cent from the previous level.
Based on the difference between the total volume of imported chips and the volume of imported chips consumed by the pulp industry in production, it can be estimated that heating and power plants consumed 1.9 million cubic metres imported chips in energy generation. This volume increased by three per cent from the previous year.
“The increase in the consumption of wood by the forest industries and the volume of forest chips consumed in energy generation was based on domestic wood,” Niinistö says.
The pulp industry still accounted for nearly half of all processed roundwood
According to Niinistö, the consumption of roundwood increased in all sectors in 2021 with the exception of the semi-chemical pulp industry. Nearly half of all roundwood, 34.7 million cubic metres, was consumed in the pulp industry, showing an increase of seven per cent from the year before.
“The volume of roundwood consumed by the sawmill industry, 27.2 million cubic metres, increased significantly, or ten per cent, from the previous year. The percentage of the sawmill industry from all wood processed by the forest industries increased slightly. The growing demand for and popularity of wood-based products, and wood construction in particular, are reflected in the consumption of wood by the forest industries,” Niinistö says.
The consumption of roundwood increased relatively the most (13 per cent) in the plywood industry, reaching nearly three million cubic metres. However, the plywood industry’s figures are only a tenth of the sawmill industry’s corresponding figures.
The volume of forest industry by-products, mainly comprising sawmill chips and sawdust, consumed in the manufacturing of forest industry products was 9.8 million cubic metres, down by 12 per cent from the previous year. Of this, three quarters were consumed in pulp production.
The highest processing volume in South Karelia
As in the previous year, one fifth of roundwood, or 14 million cubic metres, was consumed in the region of South Karelia. It was followed by Kymenlaakso with its total consumption of 8.4 million cubic metres.
Information about the statistics
The annual consumption of roundwood by forest industries is largely based on data collected by the Finnish Forest Industries Federation from its members. Luke collects the remaining information directly from companies that consume wood. The consumption of roundwood by smaller sawmills has been identified through separate surveys conducted every ten years.
