Volumes and prices in roundwood trade, 2/2024

In standing sales, prices for industrial wood continued to rise in February. Average prices for pulpwood rose by three to five per cent by species, while prices for logs rose by up to two per cent.

In January-February, the total trade volume was 2% higher than a year ago and 6% higher than the average for the previous five years.

Timber prices

• In February, standing sales prices rose slightly from January. The average price paid for spruce logs was EUR 73.3 per cubic metre, and the average price for pine logs was EUR 70.4. The average price of spruce logs ended up 3% below last year's average prices in real terms, and pine logs 1% below.
• The average price of birch logs was EUR 61.5. This was 2% higher than a month earlier and five percent more than the average for the whole of 2023.
• In standing sales of pulpwood, the average price was EUR 28.4 for spruce, EUR 27.4 for birch and EUR 26.9 for pine. Prices rose by three to five percent from January and ended up three to six percent above last year's average prices.
• In delivery sales average prices for all pulpwood fell slightly from January and were close to EUR 47.

Average timber prices and their real changes, February 2024

Trade volumes

• In February, 4% less industrial roundwood was purchased from private forests than a year earlier. This was 10% above the average for the previous five years.
• In January-February, the total trade volume was 2% higher than a year ago and 6% higher than the average for the previous five years. Compared to the previous five years, trade in logs increased 10% and trade in pulpwood increased 2%.

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 February 2024, the annual increase in consumer prices was around three 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.