The sawmill industry in Germany, Austria and Switzerland

Overview: one wood region, three very different sawmill systems

Germany, Austria and Switzerland (often shortened to DACH) share a language, a spruce-dominated forest history and a dense network of timber trade. Their sawmill industries nevertheless look quite different. Austria has a few very large, export-oriented groups that also operate plants abroad. Germany has the biggest absolute log supply and the largest sawn-softwood output of the three, but its raw material base is shrinking as spruce declines. Switzerland has a small, mostly domestic sawmill sector that processes about 2 million m³ of roundwood a year.

Every statement is tagged with country and year, for example [DE 2024]. "Provisional" means the source says so; "own calculation" means derived by the author; unverifiable points are flagged. A caution on units. German and Austrian statistics mix Vorratsfestmeter (Vfm, standing volume), Erntefestmeter ohne Rinde (Efm o. R., harvested volume without bark), Festmeter (fm) and cubic metres of sawn timber (m³). These are not interchangeable.

Forest resource and the national inventories

Germany: Bundeswaldinventur 2022 (BWI 4)

The fourth national forest inventory, carried out in 2021 to 2022 and presented by the Thünen Institute on 8 October 2024, is the main reference for German forest data.

• Forest area: 11.5 million ha [DE 2022], roughly one third of the land area. The net gain since 2012 was only about 15,000 ha, after about 66,000 ha were converted to other uses [DE 2012-2022].
• Species: spruce covers 2.3 million ha, or 20.9% of the forest area [DE 2022], and has lost about 460,000 ha since 2012. Pine (2.4 million ha) is now the most widespread species. Beech has 16.6% and oak 11.5%, each up by more than one percentage point. Mixed stands make up 79% of the area [DE 2022].
• Growth: 9.4 m³ per ha per year, or 101.5 million m³ per year in total, which is 16% lower than in the 2012 inventory [DE 2012-2022, as stated by the Thünen press release; the unit is not specified further in the release].
• Standing volume per hectare: the national average is 335 m³/ha [DE 2022], according to a presentation by Saxony's forest authority (LANU) that quotes the BWI results. A national total in million m³ was not found on an open page and is therefore marked unverified.
• Carbon: living biomass held 1,184 million t of carbon [DE 2022]. It fell by 41.5 million t (3%) between 2017 and 2022, so the forest was a net carbon source in that period.
• Deadwood: 4.2 t of carbon per ha [DE 2022].

At federal level the inventory's own website notes that standing volume has fallen back to the 2012 level, while the trees are on average older and thicker, and that spruce has suffered severely from drought and bark beetles [DE 2022].

Regional examples: in Bavaria the standing volume is about 1.011 billion Vfm (405 Vfm/ha) and conifers make up about 70% of it; harvest was about 22.1 million Vfm per year, roughly 86% of the 25.7 million Vfm annual increment [DE-Bavaria 2012-2022]. In Baden-Württemberg spruce holds 185 million m³, about 37% of the 495 million m³ volume [DE-BW 2022].

Austria: Österreichische Waldinventur (ÖWI)

The Austrian Forest Inventory works with a continuous sample, so periods overlap. The federal ministry (BMLUK) and the forest research centre (BFW) reported the following.

• Forest area: 4.02 million ha, about 48% of the land area [AT 2018/23].
• Standing volume: 1,174 million Vfm in the productive forest in 2018/23, slightly below the 1,180 million Vfm of 2016/21. It was the first small decline since the inventory began in the 1960s, when the figure was 780 million Vfm (1961/70) [AT 1961/70 to 2018/23].
• Increment: 28.2 million Vfm per year, down from 29.2 million Vfm per year in the earlier period [AT 2018/23].
• Utilisation: about 97% of the increment is harvested, and locally above 100% where salvage wood has to be cut [AT 2018/23].
• Standing deadwood in the productive forest: 10.5 Vfm/ha, up from 9.7 Vfm/ha, about 3% of the stock [AT 2018/23].

The two open ministry pages consulted do not give a spruce area share or an ownership split. Those numbers are therefore marked unverified in this article.

Switzerland: Landesforstinventar (LFI)

The Swiss National Forest Inventory (LFI, run by WSL with the Federal Office for the Environment, BAFU) published interim results of its fifth survey (LFI5, survey years 2018-2022).

• Forest area: 1.3 million ha, about 32% of Switzerland [CH 2022]. Nearly 75% of the recent increase was above 1,400 m above sea level.
• Stock: 459 million m³ including 39 million m³ of deadwood; living stock about 420 million m³ or 347 m³/ha [CH 2018-2022, interim]. Composition: 68% conifers, 32% broadleaves.
• Species share of stock [CH 2018-2022, interim]: spruce 42%, beech 18%, silver fir 16%, larch 6%, sycamore maple 4%, Scots pine 3%, oak 2%. Ash fell by 10% because of ash dieback.
• Gross increment: 10.6 million m³ per year, down 2.2% from 10.8 million m³ per year. Mortality rose from 1.7 to 2.6 million m³ per year, which is 24.7% of gross increment [CH 2018-2022, interim].
• Harvest per the inventory: 7.1 million m³ per year, with forced harvests (Zwangsnutzungen) of 1.1 million m³ per year in the LFI3-LFI4 period, or 13.9% of total harvest [CH, as stated in the Waldbericht 2025].
• Spruce stock fell by 16.5% in the Mittelland and 4.9% in the Voralpen, with stock per hectare falling in the Jura and Mittelland [CH 2018-2022, interim].

The inventory-based harvest (7.1 million m³ per year) exceeds the official 2023 statistic (4.9 million m³, below); the sources do not reconcile the two.

Ownership structure

Ownership matters for sawmills because the willingness of owners to harvest decides log supply.

• Germany: the national ownership split from the BWI 2022 was not available on the open pages consulted, so it is marked unverified here. Regional data show the pattern. In Bavaria, private forest holds 62.2% of the standing volume, state forest 25.5%, corporate (municipal) forest 10.7% and federal forest 1.5% [DE-Bavaria 2022]. In Baden-Württemberg private forest is "a good third" of the area, state forest "just under a quarter", and small private forest up to 5 ha covers 11% [DE-BW 2022]. German sawmill representatives said in September 2025 that forest owners were holding back harvest and that state forests carry a particular responsibility [DE 2025].
• Austria: the Kleinwald (under 200 ha) versus Großwald (over 200 ha) distinction structures the statistics, but no share was confirmed on an open page [AT 2024]. The 2024 forest-enterprise report covers 80 test enterprises with 280,291 ha of productive forest and about 2.06 million Efm of harvest [AT 2024].
• Switzerland: about two thirds of the harvest comes from public-law forests (municipalities, corporations) and one third from private forest [CH, BAFU page, latest year not stated]. Timber sales brought forest enterprises about CHF 188 million per year, 42% of their total revenue [CH, BAFU page; period not stated].

Harvest and wood use

Germany

Destatis harvest statistics (as reported by Destatis and the trade press) show a clear trend from the bark beetle peak of 2020 to a much smaller salvage share.

Source line: Destatis press release on 2025 harvest (April 2026), top agrar reports on Destatis data for 2019, 2022, 2024 and 2025. The 2019 numbers are rounded in the trade press report. The 2020 total is back-calculated from the stated 60.1 million m³ and the stated salvage share of 74.8% (own calculation). The 2018 salvage total was not found; the same 2019 report states that insect-caused salvage in 2018 was about 11 million m³, which makes 2019 almost three times higher. All years above are as reported; 2025 is the latest figure and the source does not label it provisional, so its status should be confirmed in the Destatis database.

Key points:

• The 2020 salvage wood volume of 60.1 million m³ is the highest since the series began in 1990 and made up about three quarters of the harvest [DE 2020].
• Salvage wood has fallen for five years in a row since 2020 [DE 2025].
• In 2024 the salvage share (44.7%) was below 50% for the first time since 2018 [DE 2024].
• Within the 2024 salvage wood, insects accounted for 16.8 million m³, wind for 3.5 million m³ and drought for 2.5 million m³ [DE 2024].
• Species group harvest [DE 2024]: spruce, fir, Douglas fir and other conifers 37.7 million m³; pine and larch 12.0; beech and other broadleaves 9.7; oak and red oak 1.7. For 2025 the corresponding figures are 32.4, 13.2, 9.9 and 1.9 million m³ [DE 2025]. Spruce group harvest was 48% below the 2020 level in 2025.
• Use [DE 2025]: sawlogs (Stammholz) 32.0 million m³ (55.9%), industrial wood 11.8 million m³ (20.6%), energy wood 10.7 million m³ (18.7%). In 2024 the sawlog share was 54.3% (33.3 million m³) [DE 2024]. The three use categories add up to about 95%, and the source gives no explanation for the gap.

Austria

The ministry's annual felling report for 2025 gives these numbers (volume in Erntefestmeter without bark).

• Harvest: 19.56 million Efm in 2025, down 2.36% from 20.03 million Efm in 2024 [AT 2025]. The 10-year average (2016-2025) is 18.57 million Efm.
• Salvage wood: 6.38 million Efm or 32.6% of the harvest [AT 2025]; the average of the last five years is 7.94 million Efm. Bark beetle accounts for 46% of salvage wood, storm 33% and other causes 21% in the felling report; the ministry's press release gives the beetle volume as 2.91 million m³ [AT 2025]. The 2024 salvage figure of about 11.0 million Efm is a derived value from the stated decline of 42.06% (own calculation).
• Earlier years: salvage wood was 9.00 to 9.02 million Efm in 2023, about 47% of the harvest [AT 2023], and the long-term average is 8.3 million Efm. Harvest was 19.36 million fm in 2022 and 19.02 million fm in 2023 [AT 2022, 2023, forest report 2023]. Year-by-year bark beetle volumes for 2018-2022 were not available on the open pages consulted and are marked unverified.
• Use [AT 2025]: sawlogs 56.3% (11.02 million m³), industrial wood 16.5% (3.22 million m³), energy use 27.2% (5.32 million m³). Conifers made up 84.97% of the harvest.
• Roundwood imports were 8.88 million fm in 2024, 3% below 2023 [AT 2024].

Switzerland

• Harvest 2023: 4.89 million m³ in total, of which 3.19 million m³ softwood and 1.70 million m³ hardwood. By assortment: sawlogs 2.25 million m³, industrial wood 0.48 million m³, energy wood 2.15 million m³ [CH 2023, Federal Statistical Office].
• BAFU reports that the long-term average use is about 5 million m³ per year (1985-2024), that sawlogs make up 49% of the harvest, industrial wood 10% and energy wood 44% (rounded categories as shown on the page), and that the spruce and fir roundwood price fell from about CHF 250 to about CHF 100 per m³ [CH, BAFU page; the years for the price drop are not given]. The page mentions a 2% fall in harvest in 2024 and a rise to 4.9 million m³ in 2025 in its news list; those two statements could not be checked against tables [CH 2024, 2025, unverified].
• The open sources consulted did not give a Swiss salvage wood time series for 2018 to 2024 beyond forced harvests and rising mortality (see forest resource section). This is marked unverified.

Bark beetle damage and salvage wood, 2018 to 2025

The sequence is similar in all three countries, though with different intensity.

1. 2018 to 2020: insect salvage in Germany rose from about 11 million m³ (2018) to about 32 million m³ (2019) and 43.3 million m³ (2020) [DE]; Austria calls 2019 and 2020 calamity years [AT].
2. 2021 to 2023: volumes fell but stayed high (German insect salvage 41.1, 26.5 and 27.2 million m³; Austrian salvage wood 9.0 million Efm in 2023).
3. 2024 to 2025: German salvage wood fell from 27.3 to 12.7 million m³. Austria's ministry says beetle damage stays high and that winter 2025/2026 was about 22% drier than average [AT 2025/26].

A direct consequence: the salvage phase cushioned sawmills, and industry representatives said in 2025 that this supply has dried up [DE 2025].

Species mix and the decline of spruce

Spruce is the backbone of sawmill supply in all three countries, and it is declining.

• Germany: spruce area 2.3 million ha (20.9%) in 2022 after a loss of about 460,000 ha since 2012. Increment of spruce in Baden-Württemberg fell from almost 17 m³/ha (inventory 2002) to just under 14 m³/ha (2022) [DE-BW]. The Thünen market analysis states that the softwood harvest of the last ten years exceeded the potential supply, while the hardwood potential is high [DE 2026 presentation, charts only].
• Austria: the open pages state a trend towards more broadleaved and mixed forest [AT 2018/23], but give no spruce share. In 2023, spruce accounted for about 89% of softwood sawlog revenue of the reporting forest enterprises [AT 2023], which is a revenue share and not an area share.
• Switzerland: spruce is still the largest species with 42% of the stock, but its stock declines in the lowland regions [CH 2018-2022, interim].

For sawmills this means more pine, fir, Douglas fir and larch, and more imported logs; German pine and larch harvest was 13.2 million m³ in 2025 [DE 2025].

Sawmill industry structure and concentration

Germany

The Deutsche Säge- und Holzindustrie Bundesverband (DeSH) is the national association. A conference summary of the Lower Saxony wood industry network (3N) reports the following sector data, labelled 2023 by the source with a note dated 2024 (the page does not give the year for each number, so treat the year as 2023 with that caveat):

• Softwood sawn timber production 22.9 million m³; hardwood sawn timber 880,000 m³ [DE 2023, approximate year].
• Sawing volume (Einschnitt) 39.3 million fm; sawmill by-products 15.4 million m³ [DE 2023].
• 2,132 companies and 30,491 employees in the sawmill and wood industry; gross value added EUR 4.3 billion; investment EUR 611 million [DE 2023].
• Germany ranks fifth in world softwood sawn timber production according to the same source.

Concentration can be seen in the Holzkurier survey of softwood sawmills above 50,000 m³ of logs a year (reported by timber-online):

• Total German cut of surveyed softwood mills: 30.9 million m³ (2020), 32.76 million m³ (2021), about 32.5 million m³ (2022), 31.54 million m³ (2023) and 28.0 million m³ (2025). The survey notes that estimates including mills that did not report are higher (for example, at least 35.73 million m³ for 2021). The 2024 survey result was not found.
• The three largest sites cut together 17.0% of the reported total in 2023 and 16.3% in 2025 (own calculation based on stated site volumes; the source does not publish shares). The largest sites in 2023 were Ziegler (Plößberg, 2.1 million m³), Ilim Nordic Timber (Wismar, 1.8 million m³) and Mercer (Saalburg, 1.45 million m³). In 2025, Ilim in Wismar is first with 1.7 million m³, Mercer second with 1.45 million m³ and Binderholz in Baruth third with 1.4 million m³. The Plößberg site changed owner (Rettenmeier) and was not listed.
• Group-level 2023 production (Holzkurier, 1,000 m³, unit not precisely defined): Rettenmeier 2,050; ante-holz 1,800; Ziegler 1,650; Ilim 1,500; Mercer 1,287 [DE 2023].

So German sawing is spread over many mid-size mills plus a handful of large plants, with Austrian Binderholz also present (Baruth site). Because the reported company counts include the whole sawmill and wood industry, the number of sawmills alone is marked unverified.

Austria

Austria's association, Holzindustrie Österreich (the sawmill industry sits in its sawmill section), says its sawmill industry has more than 1,000 member companies, mostly family-owned for generations, a 2023 production value of EUR 2.7 billion, and an output decline of about 10% in 2023 compared with 2022 [AT 2023]. The number of employees differs between two open sources: about 10,000 in one and about 6,000 in the other. Both sources are for 2023 and cannot be reconciled here; the figure is unverified. For the entire wood industry, the Chamber of Labour reports 27,423 employees (2023) and a production value of EUR 9,769 million (2023), down 18.2% [AT 2023].

The Holzkurier survey of softwood mills above 50,000 m³ a year shows the concentration:

• Cutting volume of the surveyed mills: about 15.4 million m³ in 2023 including estimates, a decline of 4.8% (about 780,000 m³) from 2022 [AT 2023]. For 2024 the survey reports 13.9 million m³ from reported volumes plus estimates, or about 15.7 million m³ including mills that gave no figures, and expects almost 16.3 million m³ for 2025 [AT 2024, 2025 forecast]. The two articles differ on the 2023 base (about 14.1 million m³ is cited as comparison in the second article), so the baseline is uncertain.
• The ten largest sites cut 8.48 million m³ in 2024, more than 60% of the volume identified by Holzkurier [AT 2024]. In 2023 the ten largest sites cut almost 8.4 million m³.
• Group level, 2023 production (1,000 m³ of logs, with 2024 targets in brackets): Binderholz 4,150 (4,500) with 15 sawmills; Pfeifer Group 3,100 (3,000) with 9 sawmills; Mayr-Melnhof Holz 1,685 (1,865); HS Timber Group 1,500 (2,050) [group data including plants in several countries].
• Single sites 2024 (1,000 m³): Binderholz Fügen, Stora Enso Ybbs, Maresch Retz and Mayr-Melnhof Leoben about 1,000 each; Stallinger Frankenmarkt 900; Hasslacher Sachsenburg 780; Rumplmayr 750; Pfeifer Kundl and VM-Holz Vöcklamarkt 700 each [AT 2024].

The Holzkurier ranking is based largely on company-supplied figures and estimates, and the source says the table is not exhaustive.

Switzerland

Holz-Industrie Schweiz (HIS), founded in 1886, has about 200 directly affiliated members. Public data from HIS and the Federal Statistical Office show a small sector:

• Roundwood processed in sawmills: 2.0 million m³ in 2023, of which 59.8% became sawn timber and 40.2% residues (energy wood sold 17.7%, used in-house 8.4%, pulp, paper and panels 11.8%, other 2.3%) [CH 2023]. Own calculation: sawn timber of roughly 1.2 million m³ (0.598 x 2.0 million m³).
• Sawlog processing exceeded 2 million m³ for the first time in 2021 (2.06 million m³), production rose 6% (115,000 m³), and Swiss wood made up 98% of sawn timber [CH 2021].
• A federal open data set on the roundwood cut by size class exists (issued July 2024) but its content could not be read from the open page. The number of Swiss sawmills is therefore unverified.

Production, imports and exports

Germany

• Sawn softwood production was 22.9 million m³, softwood exports 10 million m³ and imports 3.1 million m³ [DE, source labelled 2023]. Own calculation: apparent softwood consumption of about 16.0 million m³ (22.9 + 3.1 - 10.0); this ignores stock changes and different definitions of the source figures.
• Hardwood exports 486,000 m³ and imports 240,000 m³ [DE, source labelled 2023].
• Sawn softwood trade partners [DE 2024, Destatis, final; the slide does not state the unit]: exports led by the USA (2,109,110), Austria (804,585), France (700,874), the Netherlands (692,843) and Belgium (649,665). Imports led by Austria (647,098), Sweden (575,839), Finland (396,555), the Czech Republic (347,504) and Belgium (233,006). If the unit is m³, the USA took roughly one fifth of German softwood exports of 10 million m³ (own calculation, valid only if the 2023 and 2024 totals are comparable).
• Roundwood trade (Thünen with Destatis, million m³):

Source line: Thünen Institute presentation "Stoffliche Holznutzung, Marktcheck" (March 2026), using Destatis. Own calculation of net softwood exports: about 5.0, 4.2, 3.7 and 2.6 million m³ for 2021 to 2024. The slide says about 75% of imports come from the EU and more than 60% of exports go to the EU.

German softwood roundwood exports have therefore fallen by about 41% from 2021 to 2024 (own calculation: 6.4 / 10.9), which matches the sawmills' complaint that logs are scarce at home.

Austria

• 2021: domestic sawlog harvest 10.4 million Efm, roundwood imports 8.0 million fm, total roundwood input 18.4 million fm, sawn timber production 10.6 million m³, sawn timber imports 1.9 million m³, total sawn timber supply 12.5 million m³ [AT 2021, Statistik Austria data as cited in a BOKU presentation; units are not strictly comparable].
• Softwood sawn timber and planed timber exports fell 8% in 2023 [AT 2023]. The forest report 2024 gives sawn timber exports of 5.49 million m³ for 2023 and 5.93 million m³ for 2024, with 58.2% of European exports going to Italy [AT 2023-2024]. The same report states 2024 sawn timber production of about 16.5 million Efm, which cannot be correct as sawn volume and is probably log input; it is marked unverified.
• January to November 2024: exports of about 5.43 million m³ (plus 7%), of which Italy 2.45 million m³, Germany 755,000 m³ (plus 6%), Japan 168,000 m³ (plus 23%), the Czech Republic 157,000 m³ (plus 33%, a record), the USA 80,000 m³ (minus 37%) and Saudi Arabia 70,000 m³ [AT 2024, trade press based on Statistik Austria data].
• The wood industry as a whole recorded exports of EUR 6,825 million (minus 14.9%) and imports of EUR 5,340 million (minus 15.1%) in 2023, with 78% of exports going to the EU [AT 2023].

Switzerland

• Swiss sawmills processed 2.0 million m³ of roundwood in 2023 [CH 2023]. The Federal Statistical Office shows imports and exports of roundwood and sawn timber 2003 to 2023 only in a chart without readable values, so trade volumes are unverified.

Engineered wood: CLT and glulam

Central Europe is the world's centre of cross-laminated timber (CLT, Brettsperrholz).

• CLT output in the DACH region plus Italy and the Czech Republic, as tracked by Holzkurier: just over 1 million m³ in 2020 (plus 15%), about 1.1 million m³ in 2021, 1.28 million m³ in 2022 (expected), 1.27 million m³ in 2023 (plus 4% according to the source) and 1.31 or 1.42 million m³ in 2024 (the source gives both numbers in different sections) [Central Europe 2020-2024].
• Company data: Binderholz Bausysteme about 220,000 m³ (2020, Unternberg in Austria and Burgbernheim in Germany); Stora Enso about 170,000 m³ (2020, Ybbs and Bad St. Leonhard in Austria); KLH Massivholz about 130,000 m³ (2020, Teufenbach-Katsch, Austria); Mayr-Melnhof Holz about 90,000 m³ (2024, with the new Leoben plant); Best Wood Schneider about 75,000 m³ (2024, Eberhardzell and Meßkirch in Germany) [AT/DE as stated].
• A trade summary of a German industry meeting in 2025 says that engineered wood products (glulam, LVL, CLT) are forecast to grow above 10% a year to 2033 [DE 2025, forecast quoted by the trade press, source of forecast not stated; treat as unverified].

Production figures for glulam (Brettschichtholz) per country could not be confirmed on open pages and are marked unverified. The CLT producers named above are mostly also large sawmill groups (Binderholz, Stora Enso, Mayr-Melnhof), but the sources do not quantify how much of their sawn output flows into their own CLT plants. No Swiss CLT output could be confirmed.

Technology

Open data on technology are thin; most publicly available numbers come from company statements and trade press. What could be confirmed:

• Drying capacity is a differentiator of the large Austrian mills: Binderholz 800,000 m³ per year, Pfeifer 500,000 m³, Stallinger 490,000 m³, Mayr-Melnhof 450,000 m³ and Rumplmayr 405,000 m³ [AT 2023, Holzkurier].
• In Germany sawmill by-products amounted to 15.4 million m³ against a cut of 39.3 million fm [DE 2023], so about 39% of the cut is residual (own calculation, units differ between fm and m³).

Details of scanners, optimisation, strength grading machines and automation levels were not verified on open pages and are not quantified here.

Standards and grading

• Germany: DIN 4074-1 (strength grading of coniferous sawn timber, "Sortierung von Holz nach der Tragfähigkeit, Teil 1: Nadelschnittholz") is the national visual grading standard. The DIN catalogue pages consulted show older editions 2003-06 and 2012-06 as withdrawn, and a 2025-07 edition listed as a draft with a withdrawn tag. The current valid edition could therefore not be confirmed [DE, unverified]. Part 5 covers hardwood sawn timber.
• Austria: ÖNORM standards are issued by Austrian Standards. ÖNORM B 3012 ("Characteristic values of wood species") is listed with a 1989-08-01 edition marked withdrawn, and the page mentions later editions of 1998 and 2003 [AT]. Which ÖNORM is currently applied for strength grading was not verified.

Research landscape

• Thünen Institute (Germany): runs the national forest inventory and the wood market analysis. Its October 2024 press release presented the BWI 2022 results and its March 2026 presentation analysed trade and consumption of sawn softwood and roundwood.
• Fraunhofer WKI (Braunschweig, Germany): founded in 1946, the institute works on wood-based and natural fibre materials, adhesives, fire protection, recycling and indoor air quality, with further sites in Hanover and Wolfsburg. A new institute director took office on 15 May 2026 [DE 2026].
• BOKU University (Vienna, Austria): BOKU hosted the Forst-Tagung 2022, where wood balance and sawlog market analyses were presented (sawlog figures for 2021 used above). The BOKU unit and its research programme were not described on an open page.
• Swiss research: WSL and BAFU run the national forest inventory. BFH and ETH Zurich were not checked on open pages, so their work is not described.

Challenges 2022 to 2026

1. Log shortage after the beetle years. In September 2025 the DeSH president warned of an "acute under-supply with roundwood" and of an existential crisis from early 2026 if harvesting does not rise; some companies had already used short-time work [DE 2025]. A report on a December 2025 industry meeting says that major sawmills run at at least 80% of capacity, that the effect of production cuts reaches up to 95% of capacity in some areas, and that log prices reached a 30-year high in some regions [DE 2025, trade press, not precisely quantified].
2. Weak construction demand. Sawn timber prices are depressed by weak domestic residential construction [DE 2025]. In Austria the wood industry production value fell 18.2% in 2023 and 5.5% in January to October 2024 compared with the previous period, and order intake fell 39% in 2023 [AT 2023-2024].
3. Cost pressure. Austrian industry said in 2024 that higher costs could not be offset by sales prices, and that sawmill production fell by about 10% in 2023 [AT 2023-2024].
4. Export market shifts. China demand for German softwood sawn timber fell 38% in the first quarter of 2024 (180,000 m³), while Japan nearly doubled (25,000 m³) [DE Q1 2024]. Austria's exports to Japan fell 25% in the same quarter (32,000 m³) [AT Q1 2024]. The USA remained the largest German export market for sawn softwood in 2024 (2.11 million, unit unconfirmed), while Austrian exports to the USA fell 37% (January to November 2024). The trade press does not contain tariff figures, so the effect of US tariffs from 2025 is not quantified here.
5. Regulation. German industry representatives called the EU Deforestation Regulation unworkable for fragmented forest ownership [DE 2025].
6. Climate and species change. Spruce area is shrinking, energy wood took 18.7% of the German harvest in 2025 and 44% of the Swiss harvest, and Swiss mortality and Austrian standing deadwood are rising [CH 2018-2022; AT 2018/23].

Sources used

• Thünen Institute, press release on the Bundeswaldinventur 2022, 8 October 2024: https://thuenen.de/media/ti/Newsroom/Presse/Pressemitteilungen/2024/2024-10-08_Bundeswaldinventur_2022/2024-10-08_PM_BWI.pdf
• Bundeswaldinventur website (BMEL foreword): https://www.bundeswaldinventur.de/vierte-bundeswaldinventur-2022
• waldwissen.net, BWI 2022 Baden-Württemberg: https://www.waldwissen.net/de/technik-und-planung/waldinventur/ergebnisse-der-bwi-2022
• waldwissen.net, BWI 4 Bavaria: https://www.waldwissen.net/de/technik-und-planung/waldinventur/ergebnisse-der-vierten-bundeswaldinventur
• LANU Saxony presentation on forest research news (335 m³/ha): https://www.lanu.de/media/tyfo24222-83d5f6be4aada5e4842a136281239423/1_Hempfling_Aktuelles+Fowi.pdf
• Destatis, Schadholzeinschlag 2025: https://www.destatis.de/DE/Themen/Branchen-Unternehmen/Landwirtschaft-Forstwirtschaft-Fischerei/Wald-Holz/aktuell-holzeinschlag.html
• top agrar on Destatis, harvest 2025: https://www.topagrar.com/jagd-und-wald/news/holzeinschlag-2025-insgesamt-um-64-gesunken-schadholzaufkommen-halbiert-20024751.html
• top agrar on Destatis, harvest 2024: https://www.topagrar.com/markt/news/schadholzaufkommen-nimmt-ab-holzeinschlag-um-133-gesunken-20013546.html
• top agrar on Destatis, harvest 2022: https://www.topagrar.com/energie/news/holzeinschlag-2022-holz-als-energietraeger-gewinnt-an-bedeutung-13358636.html
• top agrar on Destatis, harvest 2019: https://www.topagrar.com/jagd-und-wald/news/durch-insektenbefall-verursachter-schadholzeinschlag-2019-fast-verdreifacht-12122675.html
• 3N Niedersachsen Netzwerk Nachwachsende Rohstoffe, conference presentation 2025 (Möbus): https://www.3-n.info/media/4_Downloads/pdf_NwsTrmn_3NVrnstltng_NHNTagung2025_M%C3%B6bus.pdf
• Thünen Institute, presentation on material wood use market check, March 2026: https://www.thuenen.de/media/ti/Newsroom/Aktuelles/2026/20260320_Brown_Bag_Seminar/Matthias_Dieter_Stoffliche-Holznutzung_Marktcheck.pdf
• BMLUK Austria, Holzeinschlagsmeldung 2025: https://www.bmluk.gv.at/themen/wald/wald-in-oesterreich/wald-und-zahlen/holzeinschlagsmeldung-2025.html
• BMLUK Austria, press release May 2026: https://www.bmluk.gv.at/service/presse/wald/2026/totschnig-holzeinschlag-und-schadholz-ruecklaeufig-borkenkaefergefahr-weiterhin-hoch.html
• BMLUK Austria, Österreichische Waldinventur page: https://www.bmluk.gv.at/themen/wald/wald-in-oesterreich/wald-und-zahlen/oesterreichswaldinzeitendesklimawandels.html
• waldwissen.net, Österreichische Waldinventur 2018/23: https://www.waldwissen.net/de/technik-und-planung/waldinventur/oesterreichs-wald-von-klimakapriolen-betroffen
• BMLUK Austria, Forstbericht 2024: https://www.bmluk.gv.at/dam/jcr:68515c5c-dd6e-4edf-9540-d8426d6818c1/FORSTBERICHT%202024_Neu%20Hangler%20barrierefrei%20Reutter%20korr%20Pirolt%202%20fin%20Hangler.pdf
• BMLUK Austria, Forstbericht 2023: https://www.bmluk.gv.at/dam/jcr:5a8bcb3a-209d-4d54-aebb-57a10bac40f9/Forstbericht%202023.pdf
• Arbeiterkammer Wien, Branchenreport Holzwirtschaft 2025: https://wien.arbeiterkammer.at/service/studien/WirtschaftundPolitik/branchenanalysen/Branchenreport-Holzwirtschaft-2025.pdf
• Industriemagazin, Austrian wood industry and EUDR, 2 September 2024: https://industriemagazin.at/industrie/oesterreichs-holzindustrie-uebt-scharfe-kritik-an-eu-entwaldungsverordnung/
• Advantage Austria, Holzindustrie Branchenbericht 2023/2024: https://www.advantageaustria.org/ao/zentral/branchen/forst-_holzwirtschaft/zahlen-und-fakten/Holzindustrie_branchenbericht_2023_2024_web.pdf
• Holzkurier/timber-online, Austrian cutting volumes 2023: https://www.timber-online.net/sawn_timber/2024/01/cutting-volumes-decreased-in-2023.html
• Holzkurier/timber-online, Austrian cutting volumes 2024: https://timber-online.net/sawn_timber/2025/01/cutting-in-austria-almost-at-last-year-s-level.html
• Holzkurier/timber-online, Austrian softwood lumber exports 2024: https://www.timber-online.net/sawn_timber/2025/02/austria-exported-more-softwood-lumber.html
• Holzkurier/timber-online, Germany's biggest sawmills: https://timber-online.net/blog/germany-s-biggest-sawmills.html
• Holzkurier/timber-online, Europe's top sawn timber producers: https://www.timber-online.net/blog/europe-s-top-sawn-timber-producers.html
• Holzkurier/timber-online, biggest CLT producers: https://timber-online.net/blog/biggest-clt-producers.html
• Holzkurier market development Q2-Q3 2024: https://www.holzkurier.com/content/dam/holz/holzkurier/de/downloads/Holzmarktentwicklung_Q2-Q3_2024.pdf
• BOKU Forst-Tagung 2022, Blinzer and Treml on coniferous sawlogs: https://boku.ac.at/fileadmin/data/H03000/H73000/H73300/Unterlagen/Tagungen_Forst/Forst_Tagung_2022/3_Blinzer-Treml_Nadelsaegerundholz.pdf
• Holz-Industrie Schweiz, press release 26 July 2022: https://www.olwo.ch/api/rm/ZU785SMZCXJ69W2/220726-medienmitteilung-his-6-prozent-mehr-einschn.pdf
• Federal Statistical Office (Switzerland), forestry and wood publication: https://dam-api.bfs.admin.ch/hub/api/dam/assets/32407603/master
• opendata.swiss, roundwood cut in Swiss sawmills by size class: https://opendata.swiss/en/dataset/entwicklung-des-rundholzeinschnittes-in-den-sagewerken-der-schweiz-nach-grossenklassen5-1/resource/ac9f43a5-920a-4ea7-8117-f4a259f217b8
• BAFU, Holzernte: https://www.bafu.admin.ch/de/holzernte
• waldwissen.net, LFI5 interim results: https://www.waldwissen.net/de/technik-und-planung/waldinventur/zwischenergebnisse-lfi5
• waldwissen.net, Waldbericht Schweiz 2025: https://www.waldwissen.net/de/technik-und-planung/waldinventur/waldbericht-schweiz-2025
• DIN, DIN 4074-1 catalogue entry: https://din.de/en/wdc-beuth:din21:151716980
• DIN Media, DIN 4074-1 (2003-06): https://www.dinmedia.de/de/norm/din-4074-1/63011639
• DIN, DIN 4074-1 draft 2025-07: https://www.din.de/en/getting-involved/standards-committees/nhm/drafts/wdc-beuth:din21:392579013
• Austrian Standards, ÖNORM B 3012: https://austrian-standards.at/en/shop/onorm-b-3012-1989-08-01~p1209758
• Fraunhofer WKI, about us: https://www.wki.fraunhofer.de/en/about-us.html
• top agrar, sawmills seek raw material (DeSH), 9 September 2025: https://www.topagrar.com/markt/news/sagewerke-suchen-rohstoff-waldbesitzer-sollen-mehr-einschlagen-20017779.html
• Wood & Panel, German sawmills warn of timber shortage paradox, December 2025: https://www.woodandpanel.com/woodnews/article/german-sawmills-warn-of-timber-shortage-paradox-at-industry-summit-2025/

Limits of this article

• Years: sources are tagged with the year given by the publisher; where a page did not state a year per figure (for example the German sector summary labelled 2023) the caveat is written in the text.
• Provisional data: German 2024 roundwood trade is marked provisional by Thünen; the 2025 German harvest and the Austrian 2025 felling report are the first releases and may be revised. Austrian 2026 export trend is a teaser line only.
• Not verified on open pages: national German ownership shares and total standing volume; Austrian spruce share and ownership shares; Austrian bark beetle volumes for 2018 to 2022; German salvage wood in 2018; official Swiss salvage wood series; number of sawmills in Germany and Switzerland; Austrian sawn timber output for 2022 to 2024 (only 2021 found); glulam production by country; current valid edition of DIN 4074-1 and the ÖNORM status; employment of the Austrian sawmill industry (10,000 or 6,000 in 2023); technology details; BFH and ETH research content.
• Conflicts left open: Austrian cutting volume 2023 (15.4 versus 14.1 million m³ in two Holzkurier articles); CLT output 2024 (1.31 versus 1.42 million m³); Swiss harvest 4.9 versus 7.1 million m³ (statistics versus inventory); the German use shares for 2024 and 2025 do not add up to 100% and the source gives no reason.
• Own calculations are labelled. Company volumes from Holzkurier mix log input and estimates and are not official statistics.
• Statistics from Destatis, Statistik Austria and Eurostat were read through press releases, ministry reports and trade press, not through the databases themselves, because the database pages could not be queried here. DeSH, Holzindustrie Österreich and Holz-Industrie Schweiz data were read through secondary publications. Web search access ended during research, so the last checks were made only on pages already found.