Statistics for the year 2025, first released in March 2026, have been updated to raise total import volumes to 9.6 million m3.
The largest beneficiaries of this revision have been panel products imports, notably, MDF and OSB volumes. Softwood imports have also been revised upward resulting in volumes very close to the 2024 totals, down by only 0.1%.
These better figures for 2025, although welcome, confirm that demand for timber products remains subdued, compared to previous years, with volumes still below those of a decade earlier.
The final quarter of 2025 brought the differences between solid wood imports (softwood and hardwood) and panel products (plywood, particleboard, OSB and MDF) sharply into focus with Q4 2025 softwood and hardwood volumes well below the same quarter in 2024 while all panel products volumes in Q4 2025 exhibited strong growth over Q4 2024.
Softwood continues to dominate UK timber imports, accounting for around 60% of total import volumes in 2025. Total softwood imports reached 5.72 million m³, a marginal decrease compared with the 5.78 million m³ imported in 2024. This small reduction was largely due to lower shipments from Sweden and Germany, but these declines were mostly offset by increases from Latvia and Finland, as well as smaller gains from the Republic of Ireland, Austria, Estonia, Canada and Lithuania.
Despite subdued volumes, the value of softwood imports increased by 12% during the year, driven by higher prices. The average price of imported softwood increased to £287 per m³ in 2025, compared with £256 per m³ in 2024. Within the softwood mix, redwood values increased along with higher volumes , while whitewood values rose modestly on lower volumes compared with the previous year.
Hardwood imports remained broadly stable, with volumes reaching 439,000m³ in 2025 – a 0.2% rise compared with 438,000m³ in 2024. Tropical hardwood imports experienced a large reduction of 9.0%, while temperate hardwood imports declined by 3.6%. In contrast, imports of mixed hardwood species increased by 17%, reaching 122,000m³.
For hardwoods, changes in supply varied by country. The USA, Latvia and France all increased the volumes supplied to the UK market, while Estonia, Romania and the Republic of Congo supplied less timber during the year. Cameroon remained the largest single source of tropical hardwood imports.
Plywood imports recorded one of the strongest performances of any product group in 2025. Total plywood imports increased by 10.3%, reaching 1.32 million m³, compared with 1.20 million m³ in 2024. Hardwood plywood imports rose by 7.4%, driven largely by higher shipments from China and Malaysia, while volumes from Indonesia and Latvia declined slightly.
Softwood plywood imports increased even more strongly, rising by 18.2% during the year to 389,000m³. The increase was largely driven by significantly higher volumes from Brazil, as well as additional supply from China.
Particleboard imports also performed well in 2025, increasing by 11.6% to 646,000m³. France and Germany remained the largest suppliers to the UK market, while Spain also increased shipments. The figures were further influenced by a notable rise in imports from Luxembourg.
Imports of oriented strand board also increased, by 7.3%, reaching 484,000m³, compared with 452,000m³ in 2024. At the same time, the value of OSB imports increased by 12.9%.
Significant revisions to MDF imports resulted in volumes improving on 2024 levels, recording a 6% growth to 749,000m³ compared to 716,000m³ in 2024. The value of MDF imports also rose, by 10.8%
Several engineered wood products recorded strong growth in 2025. Imports of laminated veneer lumber increased by 17.4%, while glue laminated timber imports rose by 10.2% and I-beam imports increased by 10.3%. Imports of cross laminated timber moved in the opposite direction, declining by 23.6% compared with 2024.
Nick Boulton, Head of Technical and Trade Policy at Timber Development UK, said: “Plywood, particleboard and a number of engineered wood products all performed above market expectations especially in H2 2025. Some of this may have reflected continued demand in certain parts of the market even while overall construction activity has remained subdued.
“Trade sources indicated year end stocks of imported wood based panels were high and remained so during Q1 2026. Most recent market discussions indicate Q2 has seen an uptick in supply chain activity. It is not yet clear if this represents some improvement in underling demand or just consolidation of stock positions within the supply chain ahead of anticipated stock tightening as a result of global instability.
“Much will depend on the course of the conflicts in the Middle East and Eastern Europe, which may well further dampen confidence in the market and further worsen the financial climate in the UK and EU.”
