During the first nine months, the volume of roundwood cut in Finland for use as a material reached around 40.3m m³, which equals a reduction of 15.1 % against a year earlier.

Due to continuing high numbers of corona virus cases and mutated virus cases, members of the federal-state conference made the decision on 19 January again to prolong the hard lockdown that has been in effect in Germany since mid-December. Businesses that do not cover daily necessities - including the brick-and-mortar furniture retail trade - must therefore remain closed until 14 February.

The USA purchased definitely more softwood lumber from Europe again in October than it had in the same month of 2019. At 333,513 m³, the imported volume of lumber was 60 % higher than a year earlier. The growth rate had still been 54 % in the first nine months.

Exports of rough-sawn and planed lumber from Finland to European countries in the third quarter were 22 % higher than in the same period of 2019 at 889,717 m³ with a rise of eight percent in their share of the whole exports at 45 %. 

After reaching -22.8% in the first and -8.0% in the second quarter, Finnish softwood lumber production also remained below the previous year’s figure in the third quarter. 

After the sidelong movement that happened in prices for spruce-fir-pine (SPF) assortments at the end of September, a considerable downward adjustment took place in prices on the US sawn-softwood market until the end of October.

After an insignificant increase in the first quarter (+0.5%) and a major reduction in the second (-18.7 %), Canadian shipments of lumber to the USA in the third quarter were 17 % higher than in 2019.

Turnover in the French furniture trade increased by 35.8% in June, 2020. French market research institute Ipea says, that growth was spread across all product groups, with the highest points being achieved in garden furniture. 

After a decline of 11 % in the first quarter of 2020, Latvian sawn softwood exports decreased even more sharply in the second quarter, falling by 16 % to 739,900 m³. 

During the first half of the year, Latvia exported generally 1.449 million m³ of roundwood, which shows a decline of almost 26% comparing with the previous year.