Wood demand

The utilisation rate at Koskisen is rising, as it is throughout the whole forest industry. Good conditions thus exist for the wood trade. It is also being speeded up by a 25% tax relief, which is only valid for this year. In practice, the tax relief brings with it several additional euros in earnings, especially for logwood.

The management of the wood trade has lately raised heated and, in part, inappropriate discussion: nobody sells or refines wood through voluntary work, threats or by making others feel guilty. It is evident that wood buyers and sellers are in the same boat.

Since last autumn we have completed more transactions than we would have needed to, considering our usage of wood during the same period. Our thanks go out to the wood sellers, our personnel and contractors!

We are expecting lively wood trade in the spring and summer. Stands rich in conifer and birch logs can be harvested at a good speed which means that also the money traffic, energy wood harvesting and forest regeneration work can be completed quickly. In addition to the biomass received from the final fellings, there is good demand for energy wood and pulpwood harvested from young forests. This means that it is worthwhile to simultaneously take care of the intermediate fellings of young forests.

See below for the current demand situation (March 2010) by timber assortment and harvesting method. Real time and local information on the prospects of the wood trade can be requested from Koskitukki’s head of supplies and viewed on Koskitukki’s renewed website at www.koskitukki.fi (only in Finnish).

Demand by timber assortment (March 2010)

Good-quality pine log           XXX

Bad-quality pine log              X

Spruce log                              XXX

Birch log                                  XXX

Aspen log                                XX

Pine pulpwood                       XX

Spruce pulpwood                  XX

Birch pulpwood                      XXX

Aspen pulpwood                   XX

Energy wood                          XXX

(logging waste, stubs, energy poles)

Demand by felling method

Summer-harvestable final fellings                           XXX

Summer-harvestable standard fellings                   XXX

Summer-harvestable thinnings                                 XXX

Winter-harvestable final fellings                                XX

Winter-harvestable thinnings                                     X

Winter-harvestable standard fellings                       XX

 Explanation of symbols

XXX         excellent demand

XX           good demand

X             moderate demand