© Holzkurier
In May, assessments regarding the general business situation have become more negative. Only 7% of the surveyed solid structural timber producers described their situation as good. Meanwhile, the percentage of satisfactory ratings fell from 64% in April to 43% in May. At the same time, negative assessments increased from 29% to 50%.
31% of manufacturers reported an increased order backlog. The same percentage stated that theirs remained unchanged in May. 38% of the survey respondents reported a decrease.
A mixed picture emerges when it comes to stock levels: 31% of manufacturers saw their raw lumber inventories decrease, while 31% reported no change here. At 38% of respondents, raw lumber stock levels increased. As for inventories of the end product, a decrease was reported by 23% of survey participants. Stock levels remained constant at 31% of the manufacturers and increased at 46% of companies.
The purchase price index for spruce/fir raw lumber fell by 0.3% month on month to 154.1% in May. Year on year, it decreased by 5.3%.
When it comes to sales prices, only one of the four sales channels showed a positive development: The price index for standard-length spruce/fir goods (non-visible quality) sold to timber trade companies rose by 1.3% compared to April to 145.1% in May. The price index for direct buyers, on the other hand, fell by 1.3% to 139.9%. The sales price index for list spruce/fir goods (non-visible quality) sold to timber trade companies decreased by 0.5% to 145.2%, and that for direct buyers by 0.7% to 142.2%.
Dr. Bernd Wippel of Unique land use, Freiburg/DE, researches the prices and carries out the survey on market assessments on behalf of the association Überwachungsgemeinschaft KVH.
