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A total of 164 sawmills processed UK roundwood in 2017 (Table 2.8).  Most mills (84%) produced less than 25 thousand m3 sawnwood (softwood and hardwood) during the year.

Over the past ten years, the number of active sawmills has reduced by 17%.  Most of this decrease has occurred in the smallest size categories.

Table 2.8 Number of sawmills by size of mill, 2008-2017

Year Size of mill (total production)1       Total
  < 1 1 – <5 5 – <10 10 – <25 25 – <50 50 – <100 100+  
2008 76 56 15 20 11 12 7 197
2009 79 52 12 23 11 10 8 195
2010 75 50 12 24 8 10 9 188
2011 70 51 12 23 9 7 12 184
2012 69 49 13 19 11 8 11 180
2013 67 46 13 19 11 6 13 175
2014 69 42 12 19 11 8 12 173
2015 66 43 15 17 12 6 12 171
2016 61 42 15 20 6 10 13 167
2017 61 42 13 21 5 10 12 164

Source: Sawmill Survey

Notes:

1. Categories are based on total sawnwood production (softwood and hardwood), in thousand m3.

Data:  Longer time series of the above table are available from the Data Downloads web page at: www.forestresearch.gov.uk/tools-and-resources/statistics/data-downloads/.

 

Additional resources

Sources chapter: Sawmill Survey

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