For the first time in many months, Germany's timber trade has produced figures that allow the industry to speak about growth rather than decline.<\/p>\n
Sales among member companies of the German Timber Trade Federation (GD Holz) increased by 6% during the first half of 2026, supported by a particularly strong June. After more than two years of subdued construction activity and cautious purchasing, the data suggest that parts of the market are beginning to stabilise.<\/p>\n
The improvement, however, should not be confused with a large recovery in demand. Germany remains one of Europe's weakest construction markets, residential building activity is still well below historical levels, and timber merchants continue to describe customer sentiment as hesitant. The latest figures indicate that the pace of contraction is easing rather than that the market has entered a new growth cycle.<\/p>\n
June was responsible for much of the positive momentum. Sales increased by 17% compared with the same month last year, with wood-based panels, flooring and building components recording the strongest gains. Lumber and planed timber also moved higher, although at a considerably slower pace, reflecting the continuing weakness in structural timber demand.<\/p>\n
Part of the June increase was supported by technical factors rather than a sudden change in purchasing behaviour. The month included more working days than June 2025, while higher prices in several product categories lifted turnover. Even so, the figures show that demand has become more active than earlier this year, particularly in renovation-related products and interior applications.<\/p>\n
Recovery remains uneven across the timber market<\/strong><\/p>\n The contrast between product groups provides a useful picture of where the German market currently stands. Segments linked to refurbishment and finishing continue to outperform those that depend directly on new residential construction. This pattern has become increasingly visible across Europe during the past year as homeowners and public projects have provided a more stable source of demand than new housing developments.<\/p>\n For timber distributors, this means the recovery is increasing only gradually. Higher sales do not necessarily translate into stronger volumes across every product line, nor do they suggest that sawmills supplying structural lumber will immediately experience a comparable improvement. The supply chain remains uneven, with different parts of the market moving at different speeds.<\/p>\n The latest data also fit a wider European picture. Several timber markets have reported better trading conditions during the second quarter, helped by lower interest rates, improved availability of finance and selective restocking after a prolonged period of cautious purchasing. At the same time, most companies continue to avoid building inventories aggressively, preferring to buy only against confirmed demand.<\/p>\n Confidence still lags behind the sales figures<\/strong><\/p>\n Perhaps the clearest indication that the recovery remains fragile comes from the expectations of timber merchants themselves. According to GD Holz, around three-quarters of participating companies expect business either to remain unchanged or weaken over the next three months. Only a minority believe current conditions will continue to improve.<\/p>\n That cautious outlook reflects the uncertainty still surrounding Germany's economy. Residential construction has yet to recover meaningfully, investment decisions remain slow and many customers continue to postpone larger building projects. Until activity in the construction sector strengthens more decisively, timber merchants are unlikely to interpret one positive month as the beginning of a sustained expansion.<\/p>\n Public infrastructure spending could gradually provide additional support during the second half of the year, particularly for products used in commercial and public building projects. Whether this translates into stronger demand for lumber will depend on how quickly planned investments move from political announcements to construction sites.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" For the first time in many months, Germany’s timber trade has produced figures that allow the industry to speak about growth rather than decline.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":99509,"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-99508","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n