Germany’s sawmills struggle to lower log prices as spruce remains scarce

German sawmills are pressing to lower log prices. Some have floated Scandinavian imports as leverage. Forest owners are holding the line. So far, they are winning. Spruce prices remain near record levels even as lumber sales slow. What looks like a contradiction is, in fact, a structural pattern repeating across Europe. Disturbance in Nordic supply chains initially softens prices. But shifts in biomass policy and energy markets quickly tighten fibre availability. Central European pulp becomes uneconomic. Raw material supply contracts. Log prices hold. The result: a persistent disconnect between upstream scarcity and downstream weakness. In Lower ...