Softwood lumber exports up by 7%

Article by Jakob Wassermann (translated by Eva Guzely) | 09.01.2025 - 10:41

Austrian exports of softwood lumber totaled 4.9 million m³ from January to October 2024, increasing by 7% or 336,000 m³ year on year. Exports to Italy, Slovenia and France remained constant, whereas volumes sold to Japan, the Czech Republic and Poland grew strongly. Deliveries to Switzerland and the US, on the other hand, remained below the levels recorded in 2023.

A nearly unchanged volume of 2.2 million m³ of softwood lumber was exported to Italy. In 2023, Italy’s share in Austrian softwood lumber exports was 48%, i.e. 3 percentage points higher than in the current period.

Exports to Germany increased by 3% to 669,000 m³. At 434,000 m³ and 76,000 m³, respectively, deliveries to Slovenia and France were slightly above the levels recorded in 2023, as figures published by Statistik Austria show.

Softwood lumber shipments to Japan grew by around one third to 159,000 m³. Nevertheless, they fell short of the average export volume of previous years (average 2018–2022: 228,000 m³) by about 70,000 m³. Double-digit increases were also recorded in exports to the Czech Republic (138,000 m³; +28%) and Poland (64,000 m³; +31%). In both cases, exports reached record levels, as the timeline in the Datacube shows.

Meanwhile, smaller volumes of softwood lumber were exported to Switzerland (76,000 m³; -3%) and the US (76,000 m³; -33%).