May 6, 2025 (M-Brain Nordic News) –
The discussion on wood prices has diminished in the forest industry companies' first quarter reports of 2025. Metsä Group's retiring CEO Ilkka Hämälä noted that forest owners are selling pulpwood poorly, despite its price having doubled. In practice, companies are responding to prices by restricting production at wood-processing factories when necessary. Companies are optimistic about Donald Trump's tariffs and plan to pass them on to prices. Companies believe in their negotiating position and that US end-customers will accept the additional price from tariffs. This view can be contested as alternative products are available, such as kraftliner for packaging, which is imported from the US to Europe. Meanwhile, all major cardboard producers seem to agree that the market is not improving in the near future. Stora Enso launched a billion-euro machine in Oulu, Finland, which produces folding boxboard used for pharmaceutical and food packaging.
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