Profitability in the Finnish sawmilling industry is widely expected to be hit because of the knock-on effects of lockouts in the country’s paper industry.
The industrial dispute, finally resolved on July 1 after more than a month of lockouts, had forced many sawmills to shut down for the summer earlier and others to reduce shifts.
Both UPM and Stora Enso said the lockouts had led to log supply shortages and a build-up of woodchips, which are usually taken by paper manufacturers.
UPM said: “The immediate impact on UPM’s operating profit caused by shutting down the Finnish pulp and paper production has been approximately €4m per day. Due to the strikes and the lockout, UPM’s second quarter result before taxes will be clearly negative.”
Miia Narekorpi, spokesperson for UPM wood products division, said: “The loss of production will decrease profitability on the sawmilling side. It will have some effect on the profitability of the plywood business, though we only had one factory standing so the effects are not that big.”
Timo Kanerva, sales director at the Versowood Group, said the Finnish sawmilling industry’s profitability would be impacted.
He said: “It’s difficult to see how much of an effect it will have at the moment, we will need to see how much production is missing. But if you lose production, you lose money.”
A new collective labour agreement for paper industry employees has been struck between the Finnish Forest Industries Federation and the Finnish Paper Workers’ Union.
