According to the latest wood processing survey of the Swiss Wood Industry Association (HIS), Swiss sawmills recorded a 3.6% decline in sawn timber production volumes in 2023 compared to the previous year. While softwood sawn timber fell by 3.4%, hardwood sawn timber fell by almost 10% - in the “other hardwood” category (oak, ash, maple, etc.) it even fell by 14%.

The volume of logs processed fell by almost 80,000 cubic metres to around 2 million cubic metres. Around 1.2 million cubic metres of sawn timber was produced from the logs sawn. 96% was softwood. Hardwood sawn timber thus accounted for 4%. Swiss sawmills obtained 97.5% of their raw material from Swiss forests.

The decline in production last year can be explained by the slowdown in the construction industry. Numerous construction projects were postponed due to the increased interest rate and inflation, explains HIS. In the case of hardwood, there was also a sharp reduction in demand from the furniture industry in neighboring countries. Overall, capacity utilization in Swiss sawmills was satisfactory in 2023 from HIS's point of view, but the low sales prices resulted in rather poor annual results.