Sawn Softwood Markets Not Excessively Impacted by the World Wide COVID-19 Pandemic

The volume of sawn softwood production in Europe and North America is going to fall almost 2% this year to an estimated 190.8m m3. This according to estimates presented at the 68th International Softwood Conference (ISC) which was held digitally this year on October 8th. As such the reduction of 3.5% in Europe (excluding Russia) will correspond to an almost unchanged output in North America. According to estimates by the organizers, the European Timber Trade Federation (ETTF) and the European Organization of the Sawmill Industry (EOS) the reduction is therefore going to turn out to be less pronounced than the regressive figures for the gross national product in each of the ISC countries due to the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the ETTF and EOS, the markets for sawn softwood have generally been less affected by the measures for containing the pandemic.