At present, the situation of Germany's timber market is still fragile, which largely depends on the increase in demand for timber brought about by the growth of the construction industry. At present, the decline of the overall price of wood in Germany is not as obvious as what was feared recently - mainly because the prices of industrial wood and energy wood remain stable.



The direct reason for the decline of sawn timber prices is the lowered growth expectation of the construction industry under the high interest rate and high inflation. With the expectation of declining growth, the market demand for wood and other building materials is declining significantly. As a result, prices are also under pressure - for both timber wholesalers and forest owners, as sawmills usually have sufficient stocks in their warehouses.

According to the report of the Federal Statistical Office of Germany, the price of softwood sawn timber in Germany fell by nearly 21% in September compared with last year. Compared with last month (August), the price also fell by nearly 5%.

The market price of hardwood is better than that of cork, with a month on month decrease of only 5%, but still 19% higher than that of the same period last year. The price trend of other construction materials made of wood (such as fiberboard) has not changed much, which has decreased compared with the previous months, but is still significantly higher than the same period last year.

The price of coniferous wood, especially spruce, is far from the mid year high. However, the price of spruce can stabilize to a certain extent in the fourth quarter of this year, even if it is about 15% to 20% lower than that in summer.

In terms of specific price, the price of 2b grade newly cut spruce logs in autumn ranges from 90 euros/m3 to 105 euros/m3. The transaction price of spruce long timber b is 105 to 110 euros/cubic meter. The discount of pest wood is still very high, ranging from 20 to 25 euros/cubic meter, and the price is mostly between 65 and 75 euros/cubic meter.

On the other hand, the price of pine only moderately declined, and sometimes remained stable. For pine, the price quoted for grade 2b is 70 to 75 euros per cubic meter.

The price of pallet wood is also relatively stable. According to the statistics of the forest owners' association, the average price is 60 euros/cubic meter. The price of pulpwood has risen sharply. The price of certified and newly cut pulpwood is up to 42 euros/cubic meter.

In general, the situation of the timber market is still very fragile, and certainly depends to a large extent on the further development of the construction industry - as well as the demand for timber from there. In any case, the Association of Forest Owners reported that most of the sawmill storage areas were filled with fresh spruce logs.

Because economic forecasts look bad and construction activity is declining, forest owners usually have to sign short-term contracts with sawmills. This may also lead to further price adjustments in the coming months.