Timber market report of the Presidential Conference of the (Austrian) Chamber of Agriculture for January 2000

On Saint Stephan's Day in 1999 Hurricane Lothar, mainly in France, Switzerland, Baden-Württemberg, and Bavaria caused heavy damages to the forest. The fraction of usable spruce sawmill round timber is now only a fraction of the total felling. Austria is barely affected by the storm catastrophe. Less than 5% of the normal felling will not make it to market. The Austrian sawmill industry is busy and sold out. This applies to the European market for sawn softwood and also to Asia and the USA. Clear hardwood of good quality is in demand. The demand for larch is active. The economic development of the paper and board industry is good. The storm catastrophe should have no influence on the pulpwood market. Forest owners in the logging process are recommended to be prudent and flexible in the coming months. The tending to and rapid removal of storm timber is necessary on account of the danger of beetles in the spring. The market data are tabulated in terms of schillings per solid cubic meter frei Straß for the various Austrian states in terms of small and large quantities and for the categories of spruce/fir logs, trunk timber of other principal timber types, industrial small timber, and other assortments.