The latest National Statistics on Timber Price Indices produced by Forest Research were released on 19 May 2022 according to the arrangements approved by the UK Statistics Authority.
Timber Price Indices are based on sales by Forestry England, Forestry and Land Scotland and Natural Resources Wales and consist of the Coniferous Standing Sales Price Index and the Softwood Sawlog Price Index. They present data to March 2022 for Great Britain.
In addition, this release also covers a new index for small roundwood and two new sub-indices of the Softwood Sawlog index, covering spruces and other conifers.
The key points from the latest release are:
In the Coniferous Standing Sales Price Index:
- The index was 40.5% higher in real terms (38.8% higher in nominal terms) in the year to March 2022 compared with the previous year.
- The average price for coniferous standing sales was £42.55 per cubic metre overbark standing in nominal terms in the year to March 2022, an increase from £31.03 in the year to March 2021.
In the Softwood Sawlog Price Index:
- The Softwood Sawlog Price Index was 13.3% higher in real terms (13.5% higher in nominal terms) in the 6 months to March 2022, compared with the corresponding period in the previous year.
- The average price for softwood sawlog sales was £76.89 per cubic metre overbark in nominal terms in the 6-month period to March 2022, a decrease from £79.39 in the 6 months to September 2021, but an increase from £67.70 in the 6 months to March 2021.
- The Spruce Sawlog Price Index and Other Conifer Sawlog Price Index were 18.5% and 6.1% higher respectively in real terms in the 6 months to March 2022, compared with the corresponding period of the previous year.
In the Small Roundwood Price Index:
- The Small Roundwood Price Index was 6.6% higher in real terms (6.7% higher in nominal terms) in the 6 months to March 2022, compared with the corresponding period of the previous year.
- The average price for small roundwood sales was £37.30 per cubic metre overbark in nominal terms in the 6-month period to March 2022, a decrease from £37.92 in the 6 months to September 2021, but an increase from £34.95 in the 6 months to March 2021.
First Release:
Timber Price Indices: Data to March 2022
Data:
Tables in Excel and ODS (OpenDocument Spreadsheet) format.
Longer time series data for the Coniferous Standing Sales Price Index, for years ending March 1985 to March 2022, are available in Excel and ODS formats. The data also give underlying figures for volumes, total prices and average prices by average tree size in Great Britain.
Quality:
Quality Report: Timber Price Indices
Quality Assurance of Administrative Data (May 2021):
QAAD Timber Sales
Methodology Paper:
Methodology for the Coniferous Standing Sales Price Index
Statistician: Daniel Braby
Contact: Robert Stagg
Tel: 0300 067 5238
E-mail: statistics@forestresearch.gov.uk
Next update:
Timber Price Indices (data to September 2022) will be released on 17 November 2022.
Timber Price Indices (data to March 2023) will be released on 18 May 2023.
Pre-release access:
Information on pre-release access to these publications can be found in the pre-release access pages.
