Forest Products Markets

In the research area of forest products markets, we analyse the use of wood. We examine national and international developments of timber markets and analyse global trade of wood products.

In our research on national and international developments in timber markets, we take into account various factors such as population growth, income, and the internationalization of the timber industry, which influence the supply and demand for timber products. We also examine possible effects of political initiatives such as the promotion of renewable energies or climate protection on the use of timber, as well as on income and employment in the industries related to wood.

One key focus of our work is the wood resource monitoring. Here, we examine how much wood is used in Germany to manufacture wood products and how much wood is used to generate energy.

With our global timber market analysis, which is another focus of our work, we dare to look into the future. We use our global timber market model TiMBA to estimate how political initiatives or changing socioeconomic conditions may affect the German, European, and global timber markets.

We continuously store and process a wide range of information in our databases. This enables us to respond to inquiries and to serve national and international reporting schemes. We publish many of the results on our website under ‘Figures & Facts’. These include information on the recalculation of wood fellings in Germany, income and employment in the forestry and timber cluster, and wood balances.

We collaborate with national and international partners, particularly in the areas of global timber market modelling, wood energy, and material flow analyses. We contribute our scientific perspective to various panels, such as the BMLEH, the European Commission, and the United Nations.