Global Trends Review

At the International Softwood Conference held from 14 to 18 October in Edinburgh, Scotland, the European Forest Institute (EFI) presented a forecast, according to which in 2014 softwood lumber output will rise by 2.9% to 109.13 million m3...

Data from the UNECE Timber Committee indicates that European glulam consumption fell 2.6% to 2.83 million m3 in 2012, ITTO reported. Germany and Austria have traditionally been the largest markets for glulam, while Italy and France showed rapid...

According to Fordaq, first-class lumber on ex-works terms in France costs €240-245 in October, second-class squared timber – €187-193, so generally lumber is 1-3% more expensive than in January 2013. The French sawyers doubt whether the upward trend...

Glulam production costs in Central Europe as of September 2013 stand at €411/m3, according to Timber-online, website run by Holzkurier journal. Price for glulam-lamellae ranges from €209 to €213/m3. To have them dried down brings the costs to...

Glue-laminated timber was not able to achieve satisfactory profit margin in Central Europe this year, and finally in September, price mark-ups for glulam were made in Italy and Germany, though they did not reach the goal totally, Holzkurier...

In 2013, the output of the eight largest European softwood lumber producers is expected to increase by about 1.8 million to 100 million m3, as reported by Holzkurier journal quoting the Association of the Austrian Wood Industry. Production...

Fortum company opened a new combined heat and power (CHP) plant in the Latvian city of Jelgava. The new power plant uses biomass as fuel and will provide district heating to the residents and businesses in Jelgava as...

The European Union recently published its annual biofuels report for 2013 with the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service’s Global Agricultural Information Network. The report identifies the UK, Denmark, the Netherlands, Sweden, Germany and Belgium as the major users of...

Pellet output in Germany in the first half-year amounted to 1.073 million tonnes (+2.7% year-on-year), Holzkurier said quoting German energy wood and pellet association (DEPV). Sawmill residues were the main raw material source for the pellets production (86%),...

Competition in the further processed products has been intense recently. European producers of laminated flooring (EPLF) association expressed concern about competition from Chinese manufacturers in Russia in a press statement issued after their June meeting, as ITTO reported....

Austrian company Egger has published its outlook on the industry quoted by Holzkurier. According to Dr. Thomas Leissing, Head of Finance, Administration and Logistics, there is worldwide growth except for Europe. However, in Northern Europe and Germany, a...

Pellet imports from the US to Europe are still on an upward trend. According to statistics provided by Eurostat, in the first four months of 2013, import volume grew by 51% year-on-year to 756,789 tons. In value terms,...