Softwood lumber imports continue to decline

Article by Martina Nöstler (automatically translated) | 29.01.2026 - 12:15

Last year, Japan's softwood lumber imports continued to decline. With the exception of 2023, it was the lowest amount since records began in 1998.

Japan imported 3.6 million m³ of softwood lumber last year. The volume decreased by 6% compared to 2024. As a look at the Datacube shows, imports were only lower in 2023 (3.2 million m³). By comparison, Japan imported almost 5.8 million m³ in 2015, compared to 7.9 million m³ in 2005, according to figures from Statistics of Japan.

Japan imported 763,000 m³ from Finland last year. This is an increase of 8% year-on-year.olumes also increased from Russia, by 6 % to 560,000 m³. Imports from all other top destinations declined, especially from Sweden (–3% to 754,000 m³). The volume from Canada fell by 11% to 731,000 m³, that from Austria by 12% to 163,000 m³.