French sawmills struggle with falling sawn timber prices

The spruce market in France is becoming more complicated. At the end of 2024, the spruce bark beetle crisis continues to flood the forests of Eastern France with large amounts of dry wood, while demand and prices for sawn timber are on the decline. For the past two years, the deterioration in both the volume consumed and the prices has only continued. Many French sawmills, particularly those specialized in white softwoods, are expected to show significant financial losses for 2024. The reasons primarily lie in the construction sector, which has failed to recover. The individual housing sector is struggling ...