Weak demand and high costs push Europe’s softwood lumber market into a structural squeeze

Europe’s softwood lumber market has entered 2026 under sustained pressure, caught between weak demand and persistently high production costs. While headline prices for many standard products have shown little movement in recent months, this apparent stability conceals deeper structural problems affecting producers across Northern and Central Europe. Slow construction activity, expensive raw materials and regulatory uncertainty are combining to reshape the market in ways that go well beyond a typical cyclical downturn. Construction slowdown keeps prices flat Across key markets including Germany, France, the UK and the Benelux countries, prices for mainstream softwood lumber products have moved ...