Volumes and prices in roundwood trade, 11/2024

Roundwood prices in November remained at the high level they had been at during the summer and autumn. In standing sales prices increased slightly or remained at the previous month's level. New peak prices were again recorded in delivery sales of pulpwood.

Roundwood trade continued to be brisk. The volume of trade in November exceeded the year-on-year figures and the average for the previous five years by about one sixth. Cumulative purchases in January-November were one fifth above the average for the previous five years.

Timber prices

• In standing sales, softwood log prices rose by 1% from October, with the average price of spruce logs exceeding EUR 82 and pine logs EUR 79 per cubic metre. Birch logs rose by 1% to over EUR 66. Real log prices have remained stable throughout the autumn, close to the peak prices of June.
• Standing sales prices for pulpwood remained unchanged. The average price paid for spruce pulpwood was close to EUR 34, for birch and pine around EUR 32. Prices were 22-24% higher than in the whole of last year.
• In delivery sales of pulpwood, average prices of pine and birch rose by a few per cent, while spruce prices remained unchanged. Prices for all species of pulpwood ended at an exceptionally high level of around EUR 53. The price of pine pulpwood was 17% above the average price level for the whole of last year, while the prices of spruce and birch rose by 13%.
• Real pulpwood delivery prices in November were higher than ever before in the monthly statistics started in 1995. Annual prices were at this level or higher in the early 1990s.

Average timber prices and their real changes, November 2024

Trade volumes

• Roundwood trade continued to be strong in November. The volume was 18% higher than a year ago and 16% higher than the average for the previous five years.
• The cumulative volume of trade in January-November was 16% higher than last year. The average volumes of the previous five years were exceeded by 20%, the trade in logs by 22% and in pulpwood by 14%. 

Background information on the statistics

Unit prices in roundwood trade are recorded in the statistical database at the fair prices valid each time. However, price changes are examined in the texts and graphs in real terms by eliminating the change in value using the cost-of-living index. In November 2024, the annual increase in consumer prices was around one per cent.

The recorded prices are based on prices entered in wood trade agreements between the buyers and sellers. Any other increments and services related to wood trade are not included in the statistics.

Wood trade data for statistics are provided by the largest buyers of wood and forest management associations. As the information is not rounded up to correspond to the total non-industrial private wood trade in Finland, the published wood volumes only represent about 90 per cent of the wood purchased by forest industries from non-industrial private forests.