Expectations for 2026 within the European timber industry are increasingly shaped by the assumption that the current period of subdued demand and elevated costs will give way to more stable market conditions. After two years marked by sharp price swings, weak construction activity, and disruptions in raw-material flows, producers and market analysts anticipate a slow but measurable improvement beginning in the second half of 2025 and gaining traction through 2026.

Roundwood markets across Europe have already entered a cooling phase. Log prices, which reached unusually high levels in 2023–2024, softened in the autumn as procurement volumes normalised and energy markets stabilised. However, the correction has not erased the structural upward shift in cost levels. Labour, transport, environmental compliance, and financing costs remain materially higher than before the pandemic, limiting the scope for margin expansion even as prices retreat from their peaks.