Sawn Timber Price Completes Four Years of Declines

The radiata pine timber market closed December with mixed signals, according to information reported by Infor. While sawn timber registered a new drop in its value, planed timber managed a slight year-on-year rebound, in a context where the gradual recovery of the construction sector is beginning to influence demand.

According to the most recent data, sawn timber showed a year-on-year variation of -3.3% in December, thus completing four consecutive years of declines in its real price. For 2025, the value stood at around 140 thousand pesos per cubic meter, below the 145 thousand pesos recorded in 2024 and far from the peak reached in 2021, when it reached 165 thousand pesos per m³.

In contrast, planed timber showed a different behavior, with a positive year-on-year variation of 2.5%, reaching approximately 235 thousand pesos per m³ in December 2025. This is the first annual increase since 2021, the year this product reached its recent maximum at around 260 thousand pesos per m³.

Meanwhile, the price of sawlogs, which constitute the main raw material for the production process, decreased by 4.7% year-on-year. With this, its value is once again approaching the levels observed in 2019, before the cycle marked by the pandemic and the strong construction boom. Even so, the prices of processed products—sawn and planed timber—remain considerably above the levels prior to that period.

Construction Recovery Boosts Demand

The behavior of the timber market occurs in a context where the construction sector is beginning to show signs of recovery. According to the most recent figures, new building permits increased by 3.2% year-on-year in November 2025, measured in units to be built. Furthermore, the area authorized for new construction grew by 7%.

In parallel, the real estate market also reflects an improvement, with an 18.3% increase in homes sold during the third quarter of 2025, compared to the same period the previous year.

This upturn in construction activity is boosting demand for wood-derived products. In particular, planed timber has managed to sustain its prices, even when the cost of the raw material—sawlogs—has decreased.

Favorable Margins for the Industry

The combination of higher demand from construction and lower raw material costs has allowed the prices of processed products to remain relatively firm. This translates into significant profit margins for the timber industry, especially in the case of planed timber.

Thus, although the market has not yet returned to the dynamism levels of the construction boom period, the data suggests that the sector's recovery could begin to stabilize timber prices in the coming years.