The 58th International Timber Fair in Klagenfurt brought together more than 500 exhibitors and 22,000 trade visitors at a moment when Europe’s timber industry is producing enough wood but struggling to sell it at margins that justify current raw-material, energy and financing costs. GWMI attended the four-day event, where conversations with sawmill operators, timber traders, equipment suppliers and construction companies pointed to a market that has stabilised at a low level rather than entered a genuine recovery.**

Global Wood Markets Info was present throughout the four-day event, following the market discussions inside the exhibition halls and at the International Timber Day.

There was no sense of panic in Klagenfurt, but there was equally little evidence of a broad return in demand. Softwood lumber prices were described as relatively calm, roundwood was generally available, and customers continued to purchase. What has disappeared is confidence in longer forward positions. Buyers are covering immediate requirements, mills are reluctant to build stocks, and machinery investments are being judged against financing costs and uncertain capacity utilisation rather than against ambitious growth forecasts.