Softwood lumber exports down by nearly 10%

Article by Jakob Wassermann (translated by Eva Guzely) | 20.02.2025 - 09:29

Last year, Germany exported 8.8 million m³ of softwood lumber and planed timber. Compared to 2023, this corresponds to a decrease of 9% or 870,000 m³.

In 2024, 2.1 million m³ were exported to the US, Germany’s most important foreign market. Compared to 2023, shipments there decreased by 382,000 m³ or 16%. After softwood lumber exports to the US have peaked at 2.8 million m³ in 2022, 2024 was the second year in a row with decreases in trade volumes. Exports to Austria were down by 2% and totaled 775,000 m³. As figures published by Destatis show, this is the second smallest trade volume since records began in 2006.

Year-on-year decreases were also recorded in deliveries to France (696,000 m³; -12%), the Netherlands (653,000 m³; -2%), Italy (645,000 m³; -5%), India (397,000 m³; -16%) and China (329,000 m³; -44%).

Softwood lumber exports to Belgium, on the other hand, increased by 5% to 645,000 m³ in 2024. Meanwhile, shipments to Great Britain remained more or less stable compared to 2023 (412,000 m³; -1%).

In the Datacube, you can find a detailed timeline of German softwood lumber exports.