Decreasing laminated timber imports from several countries

Article by Philipp Matzku (translated by Eva Guzely) | 01.12.2025 - 08:39

In the first ten months, Japanese imports of glulam and CLT decreased by a fifth compared to the same period last year. Purchases from main supplier Finland were even down by nearly a quarter year on year.

From January to October, Japan imported 450,000 m³ of laminated timber. According to Statistics of Japan, this corresponds to a decrease of 20%, or 114,000 m³, compared to the same period last year (2024: 564,000 m³).

In the first ten months, Japan purchased 187,000 m³ of glulam and CLT from its main supplier Finland. That is 23% less than in 2024. Imports from Austria were down by 3%, totaling 62,000 m³, whereas slightly more was imported from Estonia (44,000 m³; +2%).

At 41,000 m³, deliveries from Romania nearly halved. Meanwhile, imports from Poland were 6% above last year’s level, at 31,000 m³. Decreases of a fifth to 30,000 m³ and 24,000 m³, respectively, were recorded in shipments coming from China and Russia. Japan only purchased 23,000 m³ (-9%) of laminated timber from Germany.