In January, log prices have been rising in southern Germany and Austria. Increases ranged from €1/m³ (Austria) to €4.5/m³ (Bavaria) at the beginning of the year, leading to more uniform price ranges. Buyers currently pay between around €96/m³ and a maximum of €110/m³.
Just like in 2021, only earlier …
With increasing orders and prices for lumber, sawmills were apparently willing to pay higher prices than in December. Just before the temporary shutdowns in December, the market started heating up. The most recent price developments in the US did the rest. Sawmills now expect a repetition of the first half of 2021, although the upward trend in prices started a good four weeks earlier this year.
Sharp rise in Bavaria
In January, the biggest jump in prices was recorded in Bavaria where spruce saw logs (B, 2b, small volume of C) cost between €98 and €105/m³. The main reasons for this increase are a significantly smaller volume of damaged wood and a strong demand for log wood. There is some talk of a reduced log wood supply. Prices in Bavaria are currently 36% higher than in the same period in 2021.
A similar situation can be observed in Baden-Württemberg where prices have risen by 40% compared to January 2021, and are ranging from €99 to €109/m³ lately (€2/m³ more than in December).
Containers to China?
On the German market, there is still a lot of talk about Chinese buyers who pay €90 to €95/m3 for (damaged) spruce logs in containers, according to the motto: one product, one price. In many cases, buyers supposedly did not pay because of complaints.
Based on the Holzkurier’s survey, prices ranged from €103 to €110/m³ in Austria, which is €1.5/m³ more than in December and €25/m³ more than in January 2021. “Wood is coming,” is what you hear across the whole of Germany. The harvested wood is quickly transported to the sawmills.
Reduced supply in the Czech Republic
Austria currently receives smaller volumes of log wood from the Czech Republic. In the past four years, 30 million m³/year of damaged wood were available on the market. Usually, an overall logging volume of 17 million m³ of spruce is considered normal. As a result, forests are relatively “empty” and supply is currently quite limited. Lesy CR’s new management will (have to) significantly reduce spruce logging in the State Forests.
