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We must resign ourselves to paying more furniture makers, carpenters and carpenters in the coming months than we have ever done so far. In the United States, in fact, wood futures have had a sudden acceleration; the price grew by 49% in the space of three weeks, reaching a value that is more than double that of last year in the same winter period: $ 1,000 for 1,000 board feet, equal to 2.36 m³. The same dynamic is recorded in Europe where the cost of raw materials on the market, mainly construction wood (both solid and glued), has increased by 60-70% compared to the commercial negotiations of September 2020. To give an example, wood lamellar, one of the most used, has gone from 400 to 700 euros per m³.

The reasons for the boom in wood prices

It seems that everything starts with the abundant snowfall in the mountainous areas of the northern hemisphere which led to a shortage of material and very low stock levels. To this was added a construction boom in North America starting from the last months of 2020, so much so that last year Europe sent 54% more sawn coniferous wood to America (for a total of 3, 5 million m³). The phenomenon was further aggravated after the ban on wood exports gradually implemented by Russia and which particularly affects China, Finland and the Baltic states. An upward trend in prices that is likely to be confirmed and worsened during this year.

China changes course

For the first time, in 2021, global demand for sawn coniferous wood will exceed production and could exceed 350 million m³. All this is due to China’s choice to convert to timber construction. In 2021, therefore, Beijing’s demand for structural wood could reach 70 million m³ and 75 million m³ in 2022. In the current year there is also a massive demand from the European sector of wooden houses and prefabricated houses. Data from German industry, the most advanced in this sector, recorded a + 42% turnover in 2020 and an estimate of further growth in 2021.

Italian companies suffer

Italian companies are suffering from the sudden spike in costs. “A fluctuation in prices of up to 10% – says Angelo Marchetti, president of Assolegno – is physiological and bearable by companies in the sector, but here we are faced with something much more serious: this sudden growth has a heavy impact on procurement costs of our companies, already hit hard in recent months by the crisis linked to Covid ». For this reason Assolegno (FederlegnoArredo’s national association of primary processing industries and wood builders) has asked the government to intervene: the possibility of reviewing the contracts already signed, both with private individuals and with the public administration, so that absorb this extraordinary price dynamics.

[Source: CORRIERE ECONOMIA April 2021 | https://www.corriere.it/ economy | by Domenico Affinito]

[Source: myfruit.it]