Volumes and prices in roundwood trade, 4/2023

In April, pulpwood prices continued to rise to record levels. The last time the average real price of spruce in standing sales was higher than this was 15 years ago, and for pine and birch about 25 years ago.

The volume of timber trade was the second highest ever recorded in April. For the entire early part of the year, 16 percent more timber was purchased than the average for the previous five years.

Timber prices

• In standing sales, the average price paid for spruce logs in April was EUR 77.3 and for pine logs EUR 73.5 per cubic metre. Real prices rose by 2–3 per cent from March and by 4–5 per cent compared with the whole of last year.
• For pulpwood, the average standing sale price rose by 4–7 percent on a monthly basis and by 23-28 percent over the whole of last year. The average price of spruce rose to EUR 28.2, birch to EUR 26.2 and pine to EUR 25.6 per cubic metre.
• Standing sale prices for pulpwood were at a record high. The last time the real average price for spruce was this high was in 2008. Pine and birch prices have not been as high since the late 1990s.
• In delivery sales, pulpwood prices remained at March levels. Compared to average prices for the whole of last year, 15–18 per cent more was paid.
• The last time pulpwood roadside prices were this high was in 2008.

Trade volumes

• In April, 3.6 million cubic metres of industrial roundwood purchased from private forests were recorded in the statistics. This was the second highest in the history of the statistics in April and 32 per cent higher than the average for the previous five years.
• In January-April, timber trade was 47 per cent higher than a year ago and 16 per cent higher than the average for the previous five years. Compared to the previous five years, trade in logs is up 20 per cent and trade in pulpwood is up 12 per cent.

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 April 2023, the annual increase in consumer prices was around eight 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.