Through its member federations and associated members, EOS represents sawmills in 13 countries across Europe (Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Norway, Romania, Sweden, Switzerland) manufacturing sawn boards, timber frames, glulam, decking, flooring, joinery, fencing and several other wood products.

Together they represent around 80% of the total European sawn wood output in a sector that includes around 32,500 companies across Europe with a turnover of around 50 billion EUR. The sector employs about 230,000 people in the EU.

Sawn Softwood

Sawn softwood production in the member countries of EOS plus the UK has peaked in 2021. Starting from H2 2022 markets turned south and the last couple of years were difficult overall for all countries across Europe. Sales prices of sawnwood have generally sharply declined so, while production has shrunk by 5-10% across the EOS members, the decline in turnover has been much more sizable. Last year after two consecutive years of decline, production slightly increased by 1%. Overseas the situation was equally difficult with subdued exports in the main export markets with the exception of the North African region.

Sawmills’ profitability has been dented by persistently high energy prices, in many instances high raw material prices (in the Nordic countries record-high) and increasing personnel costs. Many countries have emphasized a disconnect between sawnwood prices and high raw material prices. The supply of logs at affordable prices will be an issue which will dominate the markets in coming years.

Capacity increases have been observed over the last few years as the sector remains confident that long-term underlying demand can be strong. Production has probably bottomed out in 2024 (in some countries actually in 2023) and as of Spring 2025 many countries report signs of recovery.

With a projected production of 22.4 million m3 in 2024 (-2.3% vs 2023) Germany remains the largest sawn softwood producer within the EOS community. Sweden ranks second with about 17.8 million m3 (same level as 2023). Finland remains the third largest producer with 10.9 million m3 (+4.8% vs 2023), ahead of Austria with 9.7 million m3 (+6.2% vs 2023). France remains the fifth largest producer with 6.3 million m3 (-2.9% vs 2023).

Sawn softwood production volumes in the EOS member countries 2015-2025 (1,000 m³) – TOTAL

Sawn Hardwood

Production in the sawn hardwood sector has been significantly impacted by the negative economic context in 2024 with the three largest producing countries – Romania, France and Germany all reporting declines between 6 and 8%. Overall, at EOS level a downturn of over 5% was forecasted for 2024 while production in 2025 is expected to bottom out and somewhat stabilize.

Raw material availability was somewhat challenging for many countries with wet weather in Western Europe taking a toll. Also, national and European legislation is curbing the availability of raw materials while many hardwood species remain underutilized. Raw material prices are rather high and some countries such as Germany lament a general increase in logs exports. On a brighter side, oak logs exports to China sharply declined amid the economic slowdown in the Middle Kingdom.

Many hardwood companies rely on foreign trade and are negatively affected by the geopolitical situation and the tense trade relations across the globe.

Finally, it is worth noticing that some EOS Members have reported a capacity decrease in the hardwood sector for 2024-2025.

Sawn hardwood production volumes in the EOS member countries 2015-2025 (1,000 m³) – TOTAL