UNECE/FAO Forest Products Annual Market Review, 2014-2015
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OVERVIEW OF FOREST PRODUCTS MARKETS AND POLICIES
Author of economic overview: José Palacín
HIGHLIGHTS ❚
A general improvement in the economic situation in the UNECE region helped increase demand for forest products in 2014, but results were uneven across countries and substantial currency fluctuations have modified the landscape in the trade of forest products.
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The transition towards a green economy depends heavily on policies and market-based instruments. The EU Forest Strategy, international trade agreements and timber regulations have significant influence, along with non-regulatory systems such as voluntary certification programmes, markets for ecosystem services, and green building innovations.
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Timberland investment by institutional investors began in the US in the early 1980s, when forestry companies needed to divest lessproductive assets and took advantage of a change in the law favouring the institutional ownership of real assets. Financial investors hold close to 24 million hectares of timberland worldwide, at an estimated value of close to $100 billion.
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The consumption of roundwood continued to increase in all three UNECE subregions in 2014 and, overall, was 7% higher than in 2010. Sawlog prices fell in almost all markets worldwide in 2014 and the first half of 2015, however, with the biggest declines occurring in northern and central Europe.
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The production of sawn softwood, sawn hardwood and wood-based panels increased in the UNECE region in 2014. The apparent consumption of forest products rose in Europe and North America but fell in the CIS, primarily due to reduced consumption in the Russian Federation.
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Paper, paperboard and woodpulp production increased in the CIS in 2014 but fell in Europe and North America, as capacity closures in the graphic grades followed years of declining demand. Newsprint consumption has fallen dramatically, with consumption in North America in 2015 expected to be less than half what it was in 2005.
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Wood energy markets continue to develop strongly, and wood remains the single-most important source of renewable energy in the UNECE region.
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The use of cross-laminated timber (CLT) is enabling the construction of tall wooden buildings, such as a 14-storey residential high-rise in Bergen, Norway. About 90% (560 thousand m3) of the global production of CLT was in Europe in 2014, and this volume is forecast to increase to 630 thousand m³ in 2015.
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The housing construction market in Europe remains subdued, but residential housing construction is projected to improve by 2.4% in 2015 and by 4.3% in 2017. The US housing market continues to improve in all its sectors.
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