Federal states of Brandenburg, Hesse, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Lower Saxony, North-Rhine Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Schleswig-Holstein, Thuringia. Source: Destatis, market reports from state forestry companies’ archives (until 03/2025); Holzkurier market research | © Timber-Online.net
The contract terms often extend until the end of the year, in some cases even into the first quarter of 2026. Comparable prices of €127 to €130/m³ ex forest road and €128 to €132/m³ ex forest road are reported, respectively, in Rhineland-Palatinate and Hesse. In Lower Saxony, prices are now well over €120/m³ ex forest road. In the eastern German states, especially in Thuringia and Saxony, prices of €115 to €120/m³ ex forest road are achieved, whereas in the northeast, significantly lower prices are recorded, sometimes as low as €100/m³ ex forest road. This is primarily due to existing contracts.
Under-delivery of spruce logs in preliminary contracts
Current contracts are showing delivery backlogs, which are primarily the result of the continued shortage of beetle-damaged wood. In addition to the long-established practice of including contractual clauses for under-delivery, forestry companies have responded to that shortage by starting to harvest fresh log wood ahead of schedule. Nevertheless, it is already becoming apparent that the agreed volumes cannot be fully delivered within the contract terms.
Price gap between spruce and pine
The upward trend in prices for pine log wood and cut logs has also been confirmed through further contracts in recent weeks. Despite premiums that have increasingly brought pine log prices close to €100/m³ ex forest road, the gap to the highest spruce prices is widening. In private forests, prices are still sometimes below €80/m³, resulting in a wide price range.
Pine is not only in demand as a replacement for spruce sawlogs. This high demand is also influenced by competition from sawmills that produce lumber for pallet and packaging production. Contrary to chipboard and MDF factories, OSB production facilities have a high capacity utilization and require industrial log wood. This creates additional competition, especially for small-diameter logs.
Low pallet wood prices in the East
Prices for cut softwood logs for pallet mills still range from €35 to €50/m³ ex forest road. Log traders report the lowest prices for deliveries to an East German sawmill, while the highest prices continue to be achieved in regions near the Dutch border.
