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Total UK imports of timber and panel products declined slightly in 2025, although several product categories recorded growth during the year, according to the latest data from Timber Development UK (TDUK).<\/p>\n
Overall imports reached 9.1 million m\u00b3 in 2025, representing a 2.2% decline compared with 2024. Despite the relatively modest fall, the figure marks one of the lowest annual import totals recorded in the past decade and reflects the subdued level of construction activity that has characterised the UK market in recent years.<\/p>\n
Demand for timber products has remained relatively weak over the past four years. Import volumes during the fourth quarter of 2025 were also lower than in the same period of 2024. However, the final quarter of the year still showed stronger activity than the fourth quarters recorded in both 2022 and 2023, indicating some stabilisation in the market.<\/p>\n
Softwood imports decline but prices rise<\/strong><\/p>\n Softwood continued to dominate UK timber imports, accounting for around 61% of total volumes in 2025.<\/p>\n Total softwood imports reached 5.55 million m\u00b3, down 4% from 5.78 million m\u00b3 in 2024. The reduction was mainly linked to lower shipments from Sweden, Germany and the Republic of Ireland. These declines were partially offset by higher deliveries from Latvia and Finland.<\/p>\n Despite the drop in volumes, the value of softwood imports increased by 8% during the year due to higher prices.<\/p>\n The average price of imported softwood rose to \u00a3289 per m\u00b3 in 2025, compared with \u00a3256 per m\u00b3 in 2024. Within the softwood mix, redwood prices increased, while whitewood prices declined compared with the previous year.<\/p>\n TDUK noted that its softwood price index has historically been based solely on whitewood products. From 2026, however, the index will incorporate a proportion of redwood timber, reflecting the changing balance between whitewood and redwood in structural timber markets.<\/p>\n Hardwood imports remain broadly stable<\/strong><\/p>\n Hardwood imports into the UK remained broadly stable during the year.<\/p>\n Total hardwood volumes reached 431,000 m\u00b3 in 2025, representing a 1.7% decline from 438,000 m\u00b3 in 2024.<\/p>\n Within this category, tropical hardwood imports fell by 9.7%, while temperate hardwood imports declined by 3.9%. In contrast, mixed hardwood imports increased by 10%, reaching 115,000 m\u00b3.<\/p>\n Several supplying countries increased their shipments to the UK market. Imports from the United States, Latvia and France all rose during the year. By contrast, volumes supplied by Estonia, Romania and the Republic of Congo declined.<\/p>\n Cameroon remained the largest single source of tropical hardwood imported into the UK.<\/p>\n The average price of hardwood imports rose slightly to \u00a3768 per m\u00b3 in 2025, up 0.4% from \u00a3764 per m\u00b3 in 2024.<\/p>\n This marginal increase reflected diverging price movements within the category. Prices for tropical hardwoods rose by 1.6%, while prices for the main temperate hardwood species increased by 3.5%. The average price of mixed hardwoods declined by 2.3%.<\/p>\n Strong growth in plywood and particleboard<\/strong><\/p>\n Among panel products, plywood recorded one of the strongest performances in 2025.<\/p>\n Total plywood imports increased 10.1% to 1.32 million m\u00b3, compared with 1.199 million m\u00b3 in 2024.<\/p>\n Imports of hardwood plywood rose by 7.1%, largely driven by higher shipments from China and Malaysia. Softwood plywood imports increased even more strongly, rising 18.1% to 389,000 m\u00b3, supported by larger volumes from Brazil and China.<\/p>\n Particleboard imports also expanded during the year. Volumes increased 10.1% to 637,000 m\u00b3, with France and Germany remaining the main suppliers. Shipments from Spain and Luxembourg also increased.<\/p>\n OSB stable while MDF imports fall sharply<\/strong><\/p>\n Imports of oriented strand board (OSB) remained largely unchanged in 2025.<\/p>\n Total OSB imports rose only 0.3% to 453,000 m\u00b3, compared with 452,000 m\u00b3 in 2024. However, the value of OSB imports increased by 6.2%, reflecting higher prices.<\/p>\n In contrast, medium-density fibreboard (MDF) imports fell sharply. Volumes declined 23%, dropping from 706,000 m\u00b3 in 2024 to 544,000 m\u00b3 in 2025, while the value of MDF imports also decreased.<\/p>\n Engineered wood products show mixed trends<\/strong><\/p>\n Several engineered wood product categories recorded strong growth in 2025.<\/p>\n Imports of laminated veneer lumber (LVL) increased 17.4%, while glue laminated timber (glulam) imports rose 9.7%. Imports of I-beams also increased by 10.3% during the year.<\/p>\n However, imports of cross laminated timber (CLT) declined significantly, falling 23.6% compared with 2024.<\/p>\n Industry comments and supply concerns<\/strong><\/p>\n Nick Boulton, Head of Technical and Trade Policy at Timber Development UK, said the overall figures mask significant differences between product categories.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile total timber import volumes fell slightly in 2025, the figures show that the picture across the sector is mixed,\u201d he said. \u201cMuch of the reduction in overall volume was driven by lower softwood and MDF imports, while several other product categories, such as particleboard and a number of engineered wood products, recorded strong growth during the year.\u201d<\/p>\n Boulton also highlighted the increase in hardwood plywood imports, suggesting that further analysis may be required to understand the reasons behind the rise.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s possible that this change could partly be the result of anti-dumping legislation introduced by the EU last year against hardwood plywood from China,\u201d he said. \u201cIt is also possible that some of this increase could involve conflict timbers, particularly birch plywood originating in Russia and entering the market through third countries.\u201d<\/p>\n He urged companies to ensure that imported timber complies with due diligence requirements and responsible sourcing rules.<\/p>\n Outlook for 2026<\/strong><\/p>\n Although total timber imports in 2025 were among the lowest recorded in recent years, industry forecasts suggest that the market may be approaching a turning point.<\/p>\n Early projections indicate that UK softwood imports could increase by around 3.7% in 2026, potentially bringing volumes back to approximately 5.8 million m\u00b3 if confidence in the housing and construction sectors begins to recover.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":98180,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5204],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-98177","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n