In 2023, the world’s 23 biggest manufacturers produced 79,25 million m³ of softwood lumber. The majority of companies curtailed their production due to weak lumber markets last year. At -2%, the decrease compared to 2022 was relatively small, though.
West Fraser still number one – but for how long?
Canadian group West Fraser defended its first place in the ranking of the world’s largest sawmill groups in 2023 with a lumber production volume of 8.9 million m³. Compared to 2022, production was curtailed by 2%.
It remains to be seen whether West Fraser, which announced the closure of two mills in Fraser Lake/CA and Maxville/US at the beginning of this year, will remain in first place next year, too. In addition to the closures, production in Huttig/US was suspended indefinitely at the end of January. So far, West Fraser has not disclosed when operations in Arkansas will resume. Compared to 2022, there was no change in the ranking of the Top 4 softwood lumber producers. Canfor, the second largest softwood lumber producer in the world, also reduced its production output (-3% to 8.2 million m³; incl. production volumes of Swedish Vida group). Weyerhaeuser and Interfor, on the other hand, increased their lumber production by 5% and 9%, respectively.
Interfor’s increase in production is the result of the acquisition of Chaleur/CA at the end of 2022. As part of the takeover, the company acquired two sawmills in the Canadian province of New Brunswick with a capacity of around 550,000 m³ a year.
Changes in the European podium
Since last year, Binderholz has been the number one European softwood lumber producer. With a production volume of 4.2 million m³, the Austrian company moved up to sixth place in the global ranking, overtaking Stora Enso. The Swedish-Finnish group fell to eighth place following a 30% decrease in production output.
In addition to Binderholz, another Austrian company, the Pfeifer Group, made it into the global Top 10. After the acquisition of Finnish wood processing company Pölkky in late 2022, production output increased by 29% to 3.1 million m³ last year. The group, which is headquartered in Imst, is now in ninth place and, as a result, US sawmill group Hampton is no longer in the Top 10.
The third Austrian group, Mayr-Melnhof Holz, lost several places in the ranking, to be precise six places compared to 2022. With an output of 1.7 million m³ of lumber, the company now ranks 21st. In late 2022, Mayr-Melnhof Holz divested the Russian sawmill in Efimovskij with its annual lumber production output of around 380,000 m³. In the same year, Swedish sawmill group Bergkvist Siljan was acquired. The capacity of the three sawmills is estimated at 840,000 m³ a year.
Fewer companies in the ranking
The HS Timber Group, which sold its sawmill in Sebes, Romania, to Ziegler Holzindustrie last year, is no longer represented in the ranking. In April, the group officially opened its sawmill in Argentina. In the current phase of expansion, the annual production capacity is said to be 370,000 m³ of dried lumber. As a result, the company make its return to the ranking next year. Swedish Setra Group and Ilim Timber/DE are also no longer included in the list of the world’s largest softwood lumber producers.
With a production volume of 1.7 million m³, Ziegler Holzindustrie has been one of the largest global producers since last year. In addition to taking over HS Timber Group’s sawmill in Romania, Ziegler also bought two sawmills in Sweden in 2022.
The Idaho Forest Group/US improved significantly in the ranking: It moved up eight places compared to 2022 and now ranks 14th with a lumber production volume of 2 million m³. The main reason for the 12% increase in production is most likely the opening of the sawmill in state of Mississippi in the summer of 2022. According to the company, the annual lumber capacity is around 500,000 m³. A total of US-$120 million were invested.
Reduced cutting in Europe
Last year, European manufacturers produced 23.93 million m³ of softwood lumber, recording a 9% decrease compared to 2022. Meanwhile, softwood lumber production in North America increased by 1% to 53.2 million m³.
As a result, the European share within the global Top 23 decreased by two percentage points. While Europe still accounted for 32% of the total cutting volume in 2022, this percentage fell to only 30% last year.
| Rank in 2022 | Rank in 2023 | Company | Headquarters | Number of sawmills | Production 2022 | Production 2023 | Target 2024 | Diff. 2022/2023 in % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | West Fraser | CA | 34 | 9,071 | 8,901 | – | –2 |
| 2 | 2 | Canfor | CA | 38 | 8,508 | 8,211 | – | –3 |
| 3 | 3 | Weyerhaeuser | USA | 19 | 7,205 | 7,535 | – | 5 |
| 4 | 4 | Interfor | CA | 29 | 6,085 | 6,662 | – | 9 |
| 6 | 5 | Sierra Pacific | US | 18 | 4,596 | 4,491 | – | –2 |
| 7 | 6 | Binderholz | AT | 15 | 4,429 | 4,150 | 4,500 | –6 |
| 8 | 7 | Georgia-Pacific* | US | 13 | 4,016 | 4,097 | – | 2 |
| 5 | 8 | Stora Enso 1) | FI | 14 | 5,539 | 3,897 | 4,100 | –30 |
| 11 | 9 | Pfeifer Group | AT | 9 | 2,401 | 3,100 | 3,000 | 29 |
| 9 | 10 | Resolute FP | CA | 14 | 3,237 | 3,062 | – | –5 |
| 10 | 11 | Hampton | US | 7 | 2,845 | 3,028 | – | 6 |
| 14 | 12 | Arauco | CL | 7 | 2,437 | 2,144 | – | –12 |
| 12 | 13 | Rettenmeier | DE | 5 | 2,299 | 2,050 | 2,050 | –11 |
| 21 | 14 | Idaho Forst Group | US | 6 | 1,783 | 1,991 | – | 12 |
| 16 | 15 | Moelven Group | NO | 15 | 2,054 | 1,928 | 2,198 | –6 |
| 13 | 16 | SCA Timber | SE | 5 | 2,200 | 1,900 | 2,100 | –14 |
| 20 | 17 | ante-holz | DE | 3 | 1,800 | 1,800 | 1,850 | 0 |
| 25 | 18 | Potlatch-Deltic | US | 6 | 1,635 | 1,775 | – | 9 |
| 19 | 19 | Södra Timber 2) | SE | 8 | 1,807 | 1,770 | 1,770 | –2 |
| 23 | 20 | J.D. Irving | CA | 6 | 1,654 | 1,754 | – | 6 |
| 15 | 21 | Mayr-Melnhof Holz | AT | 5 | 2,060 | 1,685 | 1,865 | –18 |
| 17 | 22 | Tolko | CA | 5 | 1,905 | 1,670 | – | –12 |
| – | 23 | Ziegler Holzindustrie | DE | 4 | 1,600 | 1,650 | 2,040 | 3 |
| Total Top 23 | 81,165 | 79,247 | – | –2 | ||||
| Total global | 339,095 | 314,190 | – | –7 | ||||
