The European softwood sawmilling sector recovered better than hardwood in 2010, according to the latest from the European Organisation of the Sawmilling Industry (EOS).

Production of sawn softwood picked up again by 9% in 2010 to reach a volume just above 75 million m³, confirming the expectations expressed earlier that 2009 had been the bottom of the market.

“However, the sector is still far off the record volumes from 2007 and it is most unlikely that these will be reached shortly again,” said the EOS. “In fact, expectations for 2011 are quite modest, forecasting a minor increase of production levels by 2.2%.”

Double-digit softwood production growth rates were recorded in Austria, Belgium, Finland, Latvia and Norway last year.

With a production of 21.1 million m³ and a share of 28.2%, Germany remained by far the largest sawn softwood producer within the EOS community.

Sweden ranked second with 16.9 million m³ (22.6%), Austria third with 9.44 million m³ (12.6%), only just before Finland (9.4 million m³ – 12.6%).

Sawn softwood consumption is believed to have increased by 10.4% in 2010 to reach a volume of 58 million m³. This recovery was higher than anticipated previously by the EOS.

EOS members expect a minor increase in consumption in 2011 (+2.6%) and 2012 (+1.5%).

Meanwhile, sawn hardwood production increased by a modest 4.3% and should continue to increase throughout 2011 by another 3%.

Strong pressure on raw material supply, due to increased log exports from outside the EU, led to strong doubts on the ability of the sector to fully recover from the recession. Developments differed strongly from country to country, ranging from double-digit growth to even minor losses, such as for Romania.

But Romania remains the most important sawn hardwood producer within EOS, representing more than a quarter of the total production (25.3%). Together with France (23.7%) these countries cover nearly half of the entire production. Germany and Latvia are competing for third place, holding shares of 14.5 and 14.2% respectively.

For 2010, EOS members reported an increase of consumption by 3% to 6.5 million m³ and expect a further increase by 2.4% in 2011.

Italy remains the biggest market for sawn hardwood within EOS, consuming more than a quarter of total EOS consumption.