Roundwood sales up, prices down

Published:

Roundwood sales increased by 2 per cent from 2015 to 2016. The quantity of timber cut for sale is the highest since the end of the 1980s. Despite the increasing harvest, the forest owners obtained NOK 10 less per cubic metre of timber sold to the manufacturing industry than the year before.

Figure 1. Quantity industrial roundwood cut for sale

1 000 m3
1986/87 9108
1987/88 9962
1988/89 10225
1989/90 10534
1990/91 9443
1991/92 8889
1992/93 9043
1993/94 8046
1994/95 8871
1995/96 7384
1996 7746
1997 8041
1998 7670
1999 7706
2000 7478
2001 7685
2002 7263
2003 6790
2004 7353
2005 8290
2006 7282
2007 8212
2008 8071
2009 6631
2010 8322
2011 8506
2012 8787
2013 8889
2014 9772
2015 10113
2016 10304

A total of 10.3 million cubic metres of timber were cut for sale in 2016, according to the statistics Commercial roundwood removals. This is 191 000 cubic metres more than in 2015. The aggregate gross value of roundwood sold to the manufacturing industry was NOK 3.4 million in 2016; a decline of 1 per cent.

Figure 2. Average price per cubic metre industrial roundwood for sale. NOK current prices and NOK 2016-price value

Current prices 2016-price value
1996 329 500
1997 344 510
1998 340 493
1999 334 473
2000 322 442
2001 327 436
2002 294 387
2003 290 372
2004 299 382
2005 312 393
2006 318 391
2007 375 458
2008 364 429
2009 307 354
2010 355 399
2011 364 404
2012 328 362
2013 309 334
2014 349 369
2015 339 351
2016 329 329

2 million cubic metres for fuel

In addition to timber sold for industrial purposes, it is estimated that 2 million cubic metres of Norwegian roundwood were used for fuel purposes in 2016.

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