The Estonian woodworking industry is experiencing contrasting trends in early 2025. While overall turnover has seen some growth, this is largely concentrated among a few major players, particularly strong sawmills, according to an Infopank quarterly analysis. Many smaller or export-dependent manufacturers, however, continue to operate under uncertainty and pressure, facing declines.<\/p>\n
Sawmills lead turnover growth\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n The primary processors' segment, which includes sawmills, collectively saw a turnover increase of 6.5% in Q1 2025, reaching approximately 990 million euros. This growth was significantly driven by the strong performance of several key companies. Despite ongoing wage pressure, many in this sector have managed to stabilize or even reduce employee numbers, indicating gains in efficiency as average turnover per employee increased.<\/p>\n Here are the top 10 primary processors by turnover in Q1 2025:<\/p>\n Secondary processors see mixed results<\/strong><\/p>\n Secondary processors, which include manufacturers of products like pellets and glued wood, experienced a collective turnover decline of 2.6% in Q1 2025, totaling two billion euros. This decline is largely attributable to a significant drop in turnover for Graanul Invest AS. Without this specific company's impact, the sector's turnover would have shown a 3% increase, suggesting a broader, albeit slow, stabilization among other secondary processors.<\/p>\n Here are the top 10 secondary processors by turnover in Q1 2025:<\/p>\n \n Industry leaders cautious on outlook<\/strong><\/p>\n Despite pockets of growth, a survey of woodworking industry leaders reveals a sobering outlook. The sector faces a clear trend towards contraction in terms of sales revenue, profit, investment volume, and employee numbers. Primary concerns include low demand, rising input costs, and volatile energy prices. Companies are largely focused on optimization and damage control rather than aggressive growth strategies, with the hope for profit recovery contingent on an uncertain rebound in volumes.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Estonian woodworking industry is experiencing contrasting trends in early 2025. While overall turnover has seen some growth, this is largely concentrated among a few major players, particularly strong sawmills, according to an Infopank quarterly analysis. Many smaller or export-dependent … Continue reading \n
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