The sawn softwood production of most European sawmills is currently at a high level due to the increased demand for structural timber in Europe and continuing brisk demand in the USA and China, among others. Source: Euwid
This can be seen in the 2017/2018 Annual Report of the European Organisation of the Sawmill Industry (EOS); the Annual Report was presented at the Summer General Meeting organised by the Norwegian Timber Industry Federation in Oslo on 15 June.
However, sawmills cannot expand their production capacities to some extent due to a shortage of logs.
Representatives of various state associations also report that the supply of residual saw timber is too high.
The demand for sawn hardwood is increasing compared with previous years. However, cutting cannot be increased in many European producer countries due to an insufficient supply of round timber.
The increased exports of hardwood logs to overseas markets in recent years should be countered with appropriate measures to maintain the competitiveness of European hardwood lumber producers.
