Volumes and prices in roundwood trade, 1/2022

• Roundwood trade slowed down in January, as 2.9 million cubic metres of industrial roundwood was recorded in statistics. This was 18 per cent under previous January and 27 per cent less than the earlier five-year average.
• Spruce logs fetched an average of EUR 65.0 per cubic metre in standing sales in January. In real terms, this was two per cent less than in December. The average price of pine logs decreased one per cent to EUR 61.0. The real price level of logs was three per cent lower than during the whole previous year in standing sales.
• The standing sale price was EUR 19.6 per cubic metre for spruce pulpwood, EUR 17.6 for pine pulpwood and 17.3 for birch pulpwood. Prices of coniferous pulpwood went down one or two per cent compared to the month before and price of birch remained unchanged. The average price level of pulpwood was six per cent lower than in the whole previous year.
• The method of felling affects the stumpage price paid for the wood. The price of logs harvested from regeneration fellings was three per cent higher than the average stumpage price paid for all logs. In thinnings the price of logs was 14 per cent below the average price. In the case of pulpwood, the difference in stumpage price was respectively in regeneration fellings +11 per cent, in thinnings –7 per cent and in first thinnings –27 per cent.
• Delivery sales are typically dominated by pulpwood and in January pulpwood assortments accounted for 69 per cent of the total roundwood trade by delivery sales. The mean roadside price for pine pulpwood was EUR 32.3, for spruce pulpwood EUR 33.2 and for birch pulpwood EUR 32.5 per cubic metre. The average price of spruce fall three per cent as prices of pine and birch went down one per cent from the previous month.
• 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. Before February 2022, the wholesale price index was used in this calculation.

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.