In the fourth quarter of 2020, the average price for softwood logs ex forest road in Sweden was still €43.5/m³ (SEK 500/m³). Since then, an increase of 101% or €44/m³ (SEK 506/m³) was recorded. Compared to the third quarter of 2024, the softwood log price rose by 10% (Q3 2024: €79.9/m³). Year on year, it increased by 28% (Q4 2023: €68.1/m³).
In Götaland, Sweden’s largest land, softwood sawlogs cost €98.7/m³ (SEK1134/m³) in the fourth quarter of 2024. Compared to the fourth quarter of 2020, when the price was €50.2/m³, this corresponds to an increase of 97%. Thus, the price in Götaland (= here in southern Sweden) is 13% above the national average.
For comparison: In Austria and southern Germany, the average spruce/fir sawlog price rose by 43% in the same period, from €72.9/m³ in the fourth quarter of 2020 and €104.3/m³ in the same quarter of 2024. While there was a continuous upward trend in Sweden, prices fluctuated in Austria and southern Germany. There, the price peaked at €119.1/m³ in the second quarter of 2022, which is 14% above the level recorded in the fourth quarter of 2024.
Explanation: Price ex forest road means that private forest owners deliver the log wood to the forest road themselves, without the help of forest service companies and their large harvesting machines. The so-called delivery purchase accounts for a maximum of 10% of the total wood sales volume in private forests.
