Andreas von Möller, President of the European Timber Trade Federation (ETTF), speaking during the Q&A session © Holzkurier.com
Russ Taylor, managing director of organizer FEA, assumes that up to 800 participants watched the speeches and contributions online.
European contributions were made by Andreas von Möller, President of the European Timber Trade Federation (ETTF), Alexander Aleksin of the Russian VLP-Group and Gerd Ebner, Holzkurier’s editor-in-chief. The latter analyzed the damaged wood situation in Central Europe. Holzkurier/Timber-Online subscribers could read the majority of this speech already.
Short summary “Global markets 2020”
China:
- record log and sawn timber stock levels in the first quarter
- higher freight costs made buying more expensive
- very hectic and speculative market – market cycles are getting shorter and shorter (six to eight weeks)
- Russia less present after a mild winter; Germany, Sweden and Belarus gain ground when it comes to softwood sawn timber
- infrastructure projects to keep softwood sawn timber demand high in the coming years
Europe:
- markets on their highest level until February 2020; demand and prices rising until the outbreak of COVID-19
- very low stock levels until March
- demand for furniture slowly recovering after lockdown
- wood for outdoors very popular
- possibly another record year for the packaging industry
- sawmills in a dominating role due to damaged wood
- European softwood sawn timber competitive worldwide thanks to low raw material prices
North Africa / Middle East:
- very high sawn timber stock levels due to a weaker demand
- lower oil price reduces availability of foreign currency (rumors about new import licenses in Algeria)
- different COVID-19 measures (very restrictive in Algeria)
- importers pessimistic in most countries
- falls in demand of 25 to 90% due to COVID-19
Russia:
- “no” winter made harvesting more difficult; sawmill industry with an insufficient supply in 2020
- noticeable low-grade price war against European exporters on main market China
- hope for stable sales in Europe after COVID-19
You can find a detailed analysis in the next issue of Holzkurier and soon on Holzkurier.com.
