After the massive increase in wood prices last year, the market is leveling off again. Werner Fauth, head of the Ebersberg/Munich East Forest Owners Association, explains that prices fell again by around seven percent last month. In the course of the summer, he believes, the prices will probably fall even further.
Above all from the areas in Central Germany, which have been hit harder by drought this year, the large plants could already obtain quite a lot of damaged wood (as broken wood, storm wood, beetle wood). “Accordingly, they are well taken care of and can afford the price reductions,” says Fauth. He cannot say whether the price drop will be noticeable for the end customer, “but the trend is there”.
Prices well below the record of last year
The forest operations manager of the Bavarian State Forests in Wasserburg, who manage the Ebersberg forest, has a similar opinion: Heinz Utschig says that the lumber prices on the German market have long since calmed down. “We’re already far away from the top last year.” According to Utschig, it was between 700 and 800 euros per cubic meter of lumber. Before the price explosion , the same amount cost 350 to 400 euros.
“These are the prices I’ve noticed in recent months,” explains the forest manager. In the meantime, he estimates that the price should be well below 700 euros again, but he cannot say exactly where. “But the market is calming down, and when the lumber costs 400 euros again at some point, everything will be back to how it was before.”
Price trends uncertain
According to Utschig, it is not yet possible to say whether the current wood surplus and price collapse in North America will have an impact on the domestic wood price. For this trend to last a few weeks. According to him, it is currently quiet on the wood market because many carpenters have stocked up and are currently only buying moderately in order to first use up their stock with the more expensive goods. “But at that time of year you never know exactly where the price of wood will go,” says the forest manager. In any case, the relaxation of the market is there.
The rise in lumber prices over the past year, Fauth explains, was because prices for certain wood products had skyrocketed in North America. Manufacturers from Germany and Austria shipped large quantities of lumber to the USA. “Accordingly, the goods were scarce for three to four months.” From this you can see very clearly: If something of a product is not fully available, the prices rise.
“It’s very quick,” says Fauth. But that hardly affected the domestic market anyway: it was just overstimulated for Fauth. Now everything is actually going back to normal, which is why the prices are falling again. “That was predictable.”
According to Fauth, it is impossible to predict how far prices will go down. He is hoping for rain in the near future. “Then we are not as affected by damaged wood in our region as other regions in Germany.” Because damaged wood is traded between 20 and 30 percent cheaper than good wood. “Every cubic meter that accumulates is actually a loss by nature,” says Fauth.
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