While the world market prices for wood are falling, there is no sign of this in Germany.
Producer prices for wood in Germany continue to rise steeply and across the board. As the latest survey by the German Federal Statistical Office shows, spruce wood costs a good 50% more in April than in the previous year. The price increase for all types of wood was almost 35 percent.
Spruce logs price evolution in Germany
The price increase also continued compared to the previous month. German forest owners can therefore be satisfied. As in the previous months , the price increase was strongest for spruce wood, which is particularly important for the construction industry and the export market. Here the timber producers were paid an average of 50.2 percent higher prices than in the previous year. Compared to the previous month, spruce prices rose by 3.2% in April and have risen by 1% since January.
This means that spruce prices also exceeded the previous high of March 2014. It is still unclear how the crash in global export prices will affect the German market, as it only happened later (May and June) and will probably only gradually have an effect on domestic prices. In any case, the fact is that the selling prices of the industry for softwood lumber also rose sharply in April – namely by a whopping 52.3% and the industry raised the prices for hardwood lumber by 16 percent.
Veneered wood and chipboard prices went up by 45.1%, and all kinds of other wood products also saw double-digit increases. For the first time in a long time, this strong price dynamic is also reflected at the producer level. The statisticians report that German forest owners received 27.2 percent higher prices for pine wood in April, for oak wood the premium was 10.9 percent and for industrial wood forest owners recorded an increase of 33.6 percent.
The firewood prices can finally benefit from the rising prices and of course from the energy crisis : Here the price increase was 12.5% - also to a new record level.
Log prices are rising and rising
German forest owner associations from southern Germany also report that the prices for roundwood increased again significantly in the second quarter. Most of them now exceed the highest prices from the previous year. In the leading range of spruce wood 2b+, 100 to 117 €/m³ were recently paid for fresh logs.
Very good prices were also offered for spruce beetle wood at 70 to 97 €/m3. Pine wood also recorded a price increase to 80 to 85 €/m3. Demand for pallet wood also remained at a high level. In the second quarter, softwood pallets peaked at €68/m³.
Industry buys like crazy
Apparently, wood sales continue to benefit from a very good order situation from the past few months. The further development for the coming autumn is characterized by great uncertainty due to the dramatic inflation, the falling export prices and the economic risks. According to market observers, the German sawmill industry only has an average stock of softwood sawlogs after the end of the felling season.
The demand for all ranges is therefore still high, and the quantities provided are quickly purchased. However, logistics problems and limited transport capacities can affect trade. The lack of imports from Russia are also evidently having an impact on the European market.
The demand for softwood pulpwood from the paper, board and pulp industry is particularly lively at the moment. The demand for all types of energy wood is also very brisk, and in some cases prices have risen significantly here as well.
The post Wood prices in Germany: spruce 50% more expensive – new record prices appeared first on Global Wood Markets Info.
