Timber

Wood cut from forests and plantations, sawn into building timber or pulped for paper and packaging, traded mainly by northern softwood exporters.

Fibres & forest · No. 108

• Not on a critical list

In 1820, over half of Belgium's forest went into charcoal for ironmaking; forests could never fuel modern iron output.

Chart: Illustration: Timber

Where it comes from

Chart: Map of where it comes from

Timber comes from natural forests and, increasingly, plantations. Softwoods such as spruce and pine grow in boreal forests. The world harvests about 3.5 billion cubic metres a year.

Three things to know

1. The world harvests about 3.5 billion cubic metres of wood a year, roughly 2.3 billion tonnes, much of it burned as fuelwood.
2. The United States (23.1%) and China (20.2%) were the main buyers of sawn wood in 2024.
3. Kiln-drying lumber to below about 19% moisture stops it warping and rotting.

The journey

1. 1 ForestNatural forest or plantation
2. 2 LoggingTrees felled into roundwood logs
3. 3 SawmillLogs cut to boards, chips, sawdust
4. 4 DryingKiln dried and stress graded
5. 5 Pulp millChips cooked into kraft pulp
6. 6 End usesHouses, furniture, paper and packaging

Go deeper pick a tab to open it in full