The industry already knew last year that 2024 would not be easy. This fear has become a reality now. After relatively strong demand and multiple price increases in the first few months of the year, there was increasing disillusionment in April. Demand has not recovered yet, and overseas markets, especially the US, have recently been disappointing, too ..read more

The Mariana Luigi sawmill in the north Italian village of Andalo Valtellino is proof that small and medium-sized companies do not have to shy away from investing in scanners. On the contrary, they deliver consistent quality from Monday to Friday and also help increase yield. Mariana Luigi has trusted solutions from Microtec, Bressanone/IT, for many years ..read more

The Holzkurier’s economic survey carried out among timber construction companies at the end of the first quarter shows that times are challenging for the sector. Companies still struggle with the shortage of skilled workers, the poor order situation and the lack of impetus from the government ..read more

In January and February, Austria increased its softwood lumber exports (incl. planed timber) by 4% compared to last year. Italy received more than half of the exported lumber ..read more

In the first two months, Austria imported significantly more softwood logs than in the same period of last year ..read more

In the first two months, Austria exported 287,000 m³ of glulam and CLT, recording a year-on-year increase of 8%. Exports to Italy increased by more than one fifth ..read more

In southern Germany and Austria, spruce/fir log prices have recently been under some pressure. This was due to the more than sufficient supply rather than to the sawmills’ wish for lower prices. In April, some restrictions on supply were already imposed, and there were local calls from forest owners’ associations to reduce the harvest activity. The situation is unlikely to ease noticeably in May, since the many public holidays reduce the possibilities to supply log wood to the sawmills ..read more

Lumber prices have stabilized somewhat in May. The Italian sideboard price fell slightly at the start of the second quarter (-€2/m³ for fresh 17-mm chipped sideboards), German packaging products, on the other hand, have been much more stable so far this year ..read more

As part of the modernization and capacity increase of its saw line, Sägewerk Zahnd, which is located in Rueyres/CH, decided to replace its entire sawmill disposal system. As with the existing machinery, Switzerland’s second biggest softwood sawmill relied on the technology and expertise of Bruks Klöckner of Hirtscheid/DE ..read more

Processes in sawmills have basically been the same for decades. Since 2021, though, change has been on the horizon. That year, the East Tyrolean timber construction entrepreneur and glued timber producer Leonhard Unterrainer started sawing at his headquarters because he was frustrated with the lumber supply. In August 2023, he presented his revolutionary sawmill concept for the first time to the Holzkurier. The article attracted keen interest, but also skepticism: Is it technically feasible? Can the promised performance really be achieved ..read more