Continued increase in felling costs

Nyhet | Statistik - 20 June 2023

The cost of felling increased by 11 per cent in 2022, according to new statistics from the Swedish Forest Agency and Skogforsk. Costs for regeneration felling have risen every year since 2017, by 29 percent in all. The producer price index has risen by 42 per cent during the same period.

During 2022 the costs (current prices), on average for the whole country, have increased by:

• 12 percent to SEK 123 per cubic metre for regeneration felling and transportation of the roundwood to roadside.
• 12 percent to SEK 249 per cubic metre for thinning and transportation to roadside.

The cost for regeneration felling increased in both northern and southern Sweden during 2022.  

The cost of both regeneration felling and thinning is at its highest level since 1996, when production of these statistics commenced. During these years the cost of regeneration felling has increased by 36 per cent while thinning has increased by 62 per cent. During the same period the producer price index has risen by 85 per cent

The costs and inflation

Logging costs can be put in relation to other price trends in the economy to better take inflation into account. Three index series are presented below for comparison. 

• Consumer Price Index (CPI) which is the official measure of inflation.
• Producer Price Index (PPI) which shows the average price trend at the producer and import stage, in the figure below only for the production of goods.
• Producer Price Index home sales (HMPI) which measures the price development of products produced by Swedish companies for sales in Sweden (the figure below only refers to industry and production of minerals excluding food production).

The two index series that measure prices at the producer level have a greater increase than the consumer price index and the costs for felling from 1996 to 2022. See figure in link below.

This survey also includes estimations on fellings that were more difficult because the forest was damaged by fires, storms, insects or fungal disease. The costs of these fellings due to natural disasters was 27 percent higher than ordinary regeneration felling in 2022. That is higher than in 2021 when the cost of these more difficult fellings was 22 percent higher than for fellings in general. It is important to note that there is great variation amongst different types of damages which also applies to the costs for more difficult fellings.

Costs for silvicultural measures and pre-commercial thinning

The costs for:

• clear-cut cleaning has increased by 11 percent to SEK 1 770 per hectare
• scarification has decreased by 24 percent to SEK 2 970 per hectare
• planting (including plants) has increased by 2 percent to SEK 6 140 per hectare
• sowing has increased by 18 percent to SEK 6 030 per hectare
• precommercial thinning has increased by 3 percent to SEK 2 900 per hectare

Explanation

These statistics are volume weighted or area-weighted and relate to current prices. The survey population is large scale forestry with an ownership of more than 16 000 hectares forest land or an annual felling of more than 50000 m³.

The survey is a collaboration between the Swedish Forest Agency and Skogforsk (The Forestry Research Institute of Sweden) and is included in Sweden’s official statistics.

For a comparison with other price developments in the economy the producer price index or home market price index is recommended, it is made available by Statistics Sweden, see link below.

The estimations are also available in the web-based statistical database.

Please note that after this publication the felling costs has been revised 2023-07-08.