Volumes and prices in roundwood trade, 5/2022

Average prices for softwood logs rose by three per cent in May. The total volume of all roundwood trade was just under two-thirds of the average of the previous five years.

• In May, an average of EUR 70.4 per cubic metre was paid for spruce logs and EUR 65.8 for pine logs in standing sales. These average prices rose by three per cent from April. The real price level of logs was one per cent higher than during the whole previous year in standing sales.
• The standing sale price was EUR 21.3 per cubic metre for spruce pulpwood, EUR 18.9 for pine pulpwood and 18.5 for birch pulpwood. The price of pine pulpwood rose two per cent from April, while spruce and birch went up by three per cent. However, the real price level of pulpwood was three per cent lower than the average price of last year as a whole.
• The average roadside price of pine pulpwood increased by one per cent from the previous month to EUR 34.0. The average price of spruce fell by one per cent to EUR 34.5 and that of birch remained unchanged in EUR 34.0.
• In May, 45 per cent less industrial roundwood was purchased than a year before and a good third less than the average for the previous five years.
• The timber trade in January–May was 32 per cent lower than a year ago and 29 per cent under the average for the previous five years. Compared to the previous five years, log trade diminished by 28 per cent and pulpwood trade by 30 per cent.

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.