The cumulative foreign trade volume of the 15 largest softwood lumber exporters decreased by 4%, from 79.8 million m³ in the first nine months of 2024 to 76.8 million m³ in the same period in 2025. This confirms a slightly weaker market dynamic, although developments varied considerably from country to country.
Canada remained by far the largest supplier, despite a 10% decrease. This development is mainly due to reduced deliveries to the US, while some smaller sales markets remained stable. Russia follows in second place, with only a slight 3% decrease. In exports, Russia focuses mostly on China, Uzbekistan and the MENA region. Sweden and Finland showed a stable to positive development: Sweden recorded a slight increase of 1%, while Finland saw its exports grow by as many as 12%. Both countries benefited from broad market diversification, particularly in Great Britain, Egypt and the MENA region.
Germany recorded one of the biggest decreases among the major exporting countries, at -14%. Meanwhile, Austria managed to increase its foreign trade by 8%. Brazil (+7%) and New Zealand (+15%) were also among the winners.
In contrast, the USA (-11%), Latvia (-9%) and Romania (-9%) recorded marked decreases in foreign trade. Belarussian and Ukrainian exports were down by around 5 and 6%, respectively.
In terms of demand, the USA remains the most important single market with a volume of 23.4 million m³, followed by China, the MENA region and Great Britain.
| Table of softwood lumber trade flows from the 15 biggest exporting countries to the 15 biggest importing countries as well as to the MENA region (volumes in 1,000 m³). National statistics on lumber exports were used as sources (as of January 2026). | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Countries | Total 1-9 2024 | Total 1-9 2025 | Diff. in % | USA | China | Great Britain | Italy | Japan | Egypt | Germany | Uzbekistan | Netherlands | Mexico | France | Saudi Arabia | Austria | Estonia | Korea | Other countries | MENA region |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canada | 24,046 | 21,727 | –10 | 19,403 | 789 | 18 | 2 | 693 | 5 | 72 | 0 | 14 | 43 | 3 | 23 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 31 | 630 | 66 |
| Russia | 13,900 | 13,500 | –3 | 0 | 7,841 | 0 | 0 | 451 | 475 | 0 | 1,680 | 0 | n/s | 0 | n/s | 0 | 0 | 280 | 2,773 | 1,450 |
| Sweden | 9,966 | 10,106 | 1 | 902 | 223 | 2,101 | 33 | 574 | 800 | 562 | 0 | 800 | 0 | 253 | 185 | 36 | 143 | 78 | 3,417 | 1,821 |
| Finland | 6,026 | 6,725 | 12 | 64 | 342 | 597 | 147 | 583 | 989 | 382 | 0 | 238 | 0.1 | 332 | 323 | 134 | 581 | 18 | 1,994 | 2,057 |
| Germany | 6,852 | 5,886 | –14 | 1,569 | 71 | 309 | 384 | 90 | 13 | – | 0 | 486 | 7 | 496 | 64 | 527 | 1 | 43 | 1,825 | 231 |
| Austria | 4,329 | 4,660 | 8 | 91 | 10 | 65 | 1,961 | 143 | 2 | 766 | 0.1 | 11 | 0 | 74 | 172 | – | 1 | 19 | 1,345 | 756 |
| Brazil | 2,045 | 2,181 | 7 | 750 | 151 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.3 | 379 | 23 | 169 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 702 | 385 |
| USA | 2,329 | 2,067 | –11 | – | 42 | 13 | 9 | 39 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 808 | 5 | 0.3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1,130 | 22 |
| Latvia | 2,200 | 2,003 | –9 | 117 | 10 | 785 | 14 | 56 | 80 | 64 | 0 | 94 | 0.1 | 74 | 2 | 9 | 169 | 64 | 464 | 128 |
| Belarus | 1,716 | 1,625 | –5 | 0 | 823 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/s | 0 | 300 | 0 | n/s | 0 | n/s | 0 | 0 | 8 | 494 | n/s |
| Chile | 1,545 | 1,544 | –0.1 | 205 | 111 | 0.2 | 1 | 67 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 126 | 0 | 63 | 0 | 0 | 168 | 804 | 109 |
| New Zealand | 1,192 | 1,375 | 15 | 205 | 218 | 1 | 0.1 | 30 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 41 | 6 | 0 | 31 | 0 | 3 | 129 | 709 | 82 |
| Tschechien | 1,378 | 1,308 | –5 | 52 | 7 | 22 | 105 | 37 | 0 | 389 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 269 | 0 | 9 | 401 | 6 |
| Ukraine | 1,273 | 1,191 | –6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 142 | 3 | 0 | 87 | 0 | 26 | 0 | 2 | 0.3 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 924 | 26 |
| Romania | 958 | 871 | –9 | 61 | 23 | 10 | 39 | 73 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 96 | 32 | 0 | 3 | 529 | 454 |
| Total | 79,757 | 76,768 | –4 | 23,419 | 10,661 | 3,923 | 2,840 | 2,838 | 2,375 | 2,329 | 1,980 | 1,721 | 1,370 | 1,271 | 1,129 | 1,010 | 902 | 859 | 18,142 | 7,594 |
