Sweden\u2019s forestry sector is working to recover large volumes of storm-felled timber following the most severe storm in a decade, but transport constraints and weak road conditions are slowing operations and increasing the risk of major value losses.<\/p>\n
Storm Johannes, which struck in late 2025, brought down an estimated 11 million m\u00b3 of forest<\/strong>, according to the Swedish Forest Agency<\/span><\/span>. The volume corresponds to roughly one year of roadside harvesting in central regions such as Dalarna, G\u00e4strikland and H\u00e4lsingland.<\/p>\n The situation is described as highly strained, with large storm-felled volumes and several simultaneous bottlenecks across harvesting, transport and logistics.<\/p>\n \u201cThe work in the operations focuses on jointly creating current and comprehensive situational pictures and disseminating knowledge about risks and priorities,\u201d said Jonas L\u00f6fstedt<\/span><\/span>.<\/p>\n The recovery effort is highly time-critical. The industry is attempting to extract timber before early summer, when biological risks increase sharply. By July, the spruce bark beetle<\/span><\/span> begins to swarm, posing a major threat to remaining spruce volumes.<\/p>\n \u201cJust a few weeks of delay during spring and early summer can mean that timber goes from sawn quality to pulpwood or, in the worst case, becomes completely unusable,\u201d L\u00f6fstedt said.<\/p>\n At the same time, warmer and more humid conditions increase the risk of fungal damage such as blue stain, further reducing timber quality if wood remains in the forest.<\/p>\n At present, around 25% of the harvested timber remains in the forest awaiting transport<\/strong>, with large volumes already stacked along forest roads. The scale of the task is described as equivalent to handling a full year\u2019s harvesting volume within less than six months.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a year\u2019s volume that will be taken care of in less than six months,\u201d said Agneta Johansson<\/span><\/span>.<\/p>\n The economic exposure is significant. Based on a pulpwood value of around SEK 500 per m\u00b3<\/strong>, and volumes approaching 10 million m\u00b3, potential losses are estimated at approximately SEK 5 billion (\u20ac450 million)<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Transport has emerged as the main constraint. Large quantities of timber are currently waiting along forest roads, unable to reach the main network.<\/p>\n \u201cRight now there are piles of timber along the forest roads waiting to be driven off the individual roads,\u201d said Elin Swedlund<\/span><\/span>, who is responsible for transport and infrastructure issues affecting the forestry and wood industry.<\/p>\n Privately managed forest roads are a key bottleneck. During the spring thaw, these roads lose load-bearing capacity as melting frost softens the surface, and many have been closed or restricted to avoid damage.<\/p>\n \u201cIn the winter, these small roads freeze and heavy vehicles can drive on them. But when spring comes, these roads become extremely muddy,\u201d Swedlund said.<\/p>\n The situation is compounded by a long-standing maintenance backlog in the private road network.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is not news that there is a large maintenance debt in the individual road network. This storm confirms how great the need is,\u201d Swedlund added.<\/p>\n In some areas, transport is only possible during short periods of overnight frost, when conditions temporarily improve.<\/p>\n According to Jonas L\u00f6fstedt<\/span><\/span>, many private roads are not built for the scale of operations now required, increasing the risk of further damage and higher costs.<\/p>\n Industry organisations, including Mellanskog<\/span><\/span> and LRF Skogs\u00e4garna<\/span><\/span>, are calling for a SEK 400 million (\u20ac36 million)<\/strong> support package to strengthen the road network.<\/p>\n \u201cWith so much transport and the pressure that is now arising, even the private roads that are currently in good condition will have problems,\u201d Johansson said.<\/p>\n The Swedish Transport Administration<\/span><\/span> has so far approved around SEK 9 million (\u20ac0.8 million)<\/strong> in grants, but further applications are expected.<\/p>\n To increase transport capacity, the government has introduced a temporary exemption allowing foreign timber trucks to operate domestically.<\/p>\n \u201cGiven how short a time the companies have to transport the storm timber, there is a significant risk that Swedish timber trucks and drivers will not be enough,\u201d Swedlund said.<\/p>\n Recovery activity is expected to intensify toward the turn of April and May, with full operations continuing for several months as the sector works to clear storm-damaged volumes within a limited time window.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":98545,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"Default","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5204],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-98543","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n