Metsä Group to purchase timber at full capacity this Autumn

 Friday, September 26, 2025

The Metsä Group has confirmed its commitment to procuring timber at full capacity throughout the autumn season. This major operational directive comes at a crucial time for the woodworking industry across Finland and the broader Nordic region, providing a significant anchor of stability amidst persistent global market volatility and previously reported financial pressures within the Group. +This full-capacity procurement strategy directly signals a strong, albeit perhaps cautious, confidence in the utilisation rates of its production facilities, including vital sawmills and paperboard operations. For forest owners and the vast network of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that constitute the forest supply chain, this announcement is a vital assurance of consistent demand and volume in the coming months.

The decision to maintain maximum procurement volumes is set against a complex backdrop. The first half of the current year saw Metsä Group report challenging financial figures, leading to the planning of a substantial cost savings and profit improvement program. This programme, focusing on the optimisation of the wood supply chain from the forest to the final production unit and the reduction of logistics costs, is not about cutting production capacity but rather about maximising the efficiency of every log purchased.

The market for wood products, particularly for spruce plywood and sawn timber, has been described as muted due to a slow construction outlook in much of Europe. However, demand for timber in the rapidly growing engineered wood sector and for industrial applications like pulp and paperboard remains a foundational pillar of the Nordic forest economy.

The commitment to full procurement capacity suggests that the Group is prioritising the maintenance of strong raw material inventory to feed its key production hubs. These hubs include the new Kemi bioproduct mill and facilities in locations like Äänekoski and Rauma, which require continuous, high-volume supply to run efficiently and justify their massive investment in new capacity.

For the downstream woodworking industry, the continuity of supply is paramount. A predictable and sustained flow of logs from the forest floor to the mill gate ensures that processors, from large sawmills to specialised wood manufacturers, can plan their own production schedules and honour delivery commitments.

• Supply assurance: The certainty of full capacity wood purchases reduces the risk of future raw material shortages, which can lead to volatile price spikes—a major concern for manufacturers of furniture, flooring, and mass timber products.
• Price stability and trends: Data on the Finnish wood market have shown that roundwood prices, particularly for pulpwood, reached near-record high levels earlier in the year despite overall market softness. Metsä Group’s sustained purchasing volumes will act as a stabilising force, supporting prices for forest owners while attempting to secure optimal logistics to manage costs per unit.
• Strategic stockpiling: The autumn procurement push is also a seasonal necessity to build up winter inventories. Given the challenging operating environment for harvesting in colder months, maximising intake now is a strategic move to ensure mills remain operational through the winter, directly supporting employment and economic activity in forest communities.

The strategy is inherently a regional economic driver. Geographically, the impact is most profound across the regions of Finland where Metsä Group operates:

Northern Finland (Kemi): The Kemi bioproduct mill, a massive investment, is designed to consume approximately 7.6 million cubic meters of pulpwood annually. The autumn push is critical to securing its operating base and supporting its entire localised supply chain.

Central and Southern Finland (Äänekoski, Rauma, Joutseno): The commitment supports the integrated operations of wood products, pulp, and paperboard mills in these established industrial centers.

The Group is aiming to achieve cost efficiencies by optimising the entire wood supply chain, which includes smarter logistics, better harvest timing, and a greater emphasis on technology-driven route planning, rather than by reducing volume.

This modernisation effort will ripple through the entire contractor and logistics ecosystem, demanding higher efficiency and better performance from transportation and harvesting partners.

Metsä Group’s unwavering commitment to full-capacity timber procurement this autumn is more than a simple operational announcement; it is a strategic declaration. It underscores the Group’s determination to feed its technologically advanced mills, support its thousands of cooperative owner-members, and maintain its position as a pillar of the Nordic forest and woodworking industries despite the global economic headwinds.

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Tags: engineered wood, Finnish forest industry, Metsä Group, Nordic wood market, roundwood prices, timber procurement