Sustainable partnerships in a stormy market

For a long time now, global demand for wood products has outstripped supply, due not least to the position of wood as a good environmental choice for construction, joinery and packaging. The pandemic has further accelerated the rise in demand in the Swedish market which, along with a 10% rise in exports, has caused prices to skyrocket. Consumption in the construction sector and among DIY carpenters is predicted to see additional growth in 2021 and 2022. At the same time, insect attacks, production cuts in Canada, the planned export ban in Russia and less harvesting in Europe have added fuel to the fire. And despite the Swedish sawmills working flat out, stock levels are now at their lowest in over 20 years. The shortage in wood products is pushing up prices quickly and many are getting frustrated with the turbulent market.

Norra Timber’s Industrial Production Manager Henrik Jönsson reports that the sawmills are redoubling their efforts.

“We’re doing as much as we possibly can, but this is still not meeting our customers’ needs. During the month of March, our industrial plants produced their highest volumes ever. Every year, month and week over the coming years, we’re planning to increase production in order to meet the demand from our customers. Thanks to our strong forest organisation, we are getting the raw material we need. Our aggressive production strategy is possible thanks to the equally high ambitions of the forest organisation, which is aiming to procure 4.6 million cubic metres over the next few years,” explains Henrik Jönsson.

Spotlight on customers

In four interviews, we have canvassed opinion from some of Norra Timber’s priority customers and their contacts at the company. The conversation centres around the question “How do you feel Norra Timber has so far handled the acute market situation and treated you as a customer?”, while our sales team debate whether they could have done anything more for their customers.

A common theme that comes across in the interviews is the importance of long-term thinking. This is also evident in the recent customer survey on quality. In this heated market, some customers consider Norra Timber to be a long-term partner and others don’t.

Read the four interviews in latest issue of Norra Timber News here.