{"id":62347,"date":"2026-10-05T18:46:21","date_gmt":"2026-10-05T15:46:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/orsiad.com.tr\/?p=62347"},"modified":"2026-10-05T18:46:21","modified_gmt":"2026-10-05T15:46:21","slug":"wood-chip-prices-in-germany-rise-13-in-the-third-quarter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/orsiad.com.tr\/en\/wood-chip-prices-in-germany-rise-13-in-the-third-quarter.html","title":{"rendered":"Wood Chip Prices in Germany Rise 13% in the Third Quarter"},"content":{"rendered":"

According to third-quarter 2026 data from the German Pellet Institute, DEPI, the price of A1-quality wood chips used for energy increased by approximately 13% compared with the previous quarter, reaching EUR 38.90\/SRM. DEPI points in particular to weaker lumber demand, which has slowed sawmill production and consequently reduced the availability of sawmill by-products.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Wood chip prices for energy use in Germany rose significantly in the third quarter of 2026. According to data published by DEPI, the average net price of A1-quality wood chips reached EUR 38.90\/SRM<\/strong>, based on a purchase volume of 80 loose cubic meters, SRM. This represents an increase of approximately 13% compared with the second quarter<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

According to DEPI\u2019s third-quarter indicators, the price of A1-quality wood chips corresponds to 4.76 euro cents\/kWh<\/strong> on an energy-equivalent basis and approximately EUR 238.17 per atro tonne<\/strong>, or oven-dry tonne. The price survey is based on sales prices voluntarily reported by producers across Germany and is completed on the 15th day of the third month of each quarter.<\/p>\n

Log Prices and Sawmill By-Product Prices Move in Different Directions<\/strong><\/p>\n

One of the notable developments in the third quarter of 2026 was the divergence between log prices and the prices of by-products generated by sawmills.<\/p>\n

According to DEPI, log prices have declined in recent months while the prices of sawmill by-products, an important raw material source for wood chip and pellet production, have risen significantly<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The institute identifies weak lumber demand and the resulting reduction in production at many sawmills as one of the main reasons behind this divergence.<\/p>\n

The mechanism is directly linked to production volumes. When fewer logs are processed at sawmills, the volumes of sawdust, wood chips and other by-products generated alongside the main product, lumber, also decline.<\/p>\n

As a result, the presence of sufficient wood resources in forests does not necessarily mean that the same volume of by-products required by the energy and pellet industries will reach the market.<\/p>\n

DEPI Managing Director Martin Bentele also emphasizes that the existing supply of logs alone does not determine how much sawmill by-product becomes available for fuel production. The decisive factor is how much raw material sawmills actually process.<\/p>\n

Weakness in Germany\u2019s Construction Sector Is Affecting the Lumber Value Chain<\/strong><\/p>\n

The performance of Germany\u2019s construction sector in recent years is also important for understanding the development of wood chip prices.<\/p>\n

According to Germany\u2019s Federal Statistical Office, Destatis, the number of completed homes fell by 18% in 2025 to 206,600 units<\/strong>. This was the lowest annual level of housing completions recorded since 2012.<\/p>\n

A certain recovery has been observed in building permits during 2026.<\/p>\n

Between January and July, permits were issued for a total of 148,800 housing units<\/strong>, representing an increase of 12.9% compared with the same period of the previous year. Permits for new residential buildings increased by 13.5%.<\/p>\n

However, Destatis notes that this increase follows the relatively low levels recorded in previous years.<\/p>\n

For this reason, the recovery in permits cannot yet be said to have translated into sawmill production at the same pace.<\/p>\n

According to DEPI\u2019s assessment, demand for lumber remains weak in 2026 and lower production levels at sawmills are limiting the availability of by-products used by the energy sector.<\/p>\n

Demand for Energy Wood Strengthened Toward the End of Summer<\/strong><\/p>\n

The contraction in supply has also been accompanied by higher production costs.<\/p>\n

DEPI reports that although demand for logs remains relatively weak, demand for wood used for energy increased noticeably toward the end of summer<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

This creates an interesting market balance. On one side, slower lumber production is resulting in fewer sawmill by-products. On the other, demand for energy wood is strengthening as the heating season approaches.<\/p>\n

When these two developments occur simultaneously, upward price pressure emerges on the raw materials used in wood chip and pellet production.<\/p>\n

Price Advantage Over Fossil Fuels Continues Despite the Increase<\/strong><\/p>\n

Despite the 13% increase in the third quarter, DEPI\u2019s comparison indicates that wood chips continue to maintain a price advantage over fossil fuels.<\/p>\n

According to DEPI calculations, the third-quarter net energy cost of A1-quality wood chips was approximately 68% lower than heating oil<\/strong> and around 50% lower than natural gas<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

This indicates that the short-term increase in wood chip prices has not eliminated biomass\u2019s energy-cost advantage.<\/p>\n

However, if the contraction in by-product supply continues, access to raw materials could become as important as price in the coming period.<\/p>\n

What Do A1, A2 and B Quality Classes Mean?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The quality classes used in DEPI\u2019s wood chip price survey are based on criteria under the ENplus system.<\/p>\n

For A1 quality<\/strong>, moisture content is defined as no more than 15%, ash content no more than 1.5% and fine particle content no more than 5%.<\/p>\n

For A2 quality<\/strong>, moisture content ranges between 20% and 35%, ash content is limited to a maximum of 2.5% and fine particle content to a maximum of 8%.<\/p>\n

For B quality<\/strong>, moisture content may be 35% or higher while ash content is limited to a maximum of 5% and fine particle content to a maximum of 10%.<\/p>\n

Germany A1-Quality Wood Chip Price, Third Quarter 2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

EUR 38.90\/SRM<\/strong>
\n4.76 euro cents\/kWh<\/strong>
\nEUR 238.17\/atro tonne<\/strong><\/p>\n

DEPI\u2019s third-quarter data once again demonstrates that the wood and energy markets cannot be evaluated independently from one another.<\/p>\n

A slowdown in lumber production affects not only the lumber market but also the pellet and wood chip industries, which depend directly on sawdust and other sawmill by-products.<\/strong><\/p>\n

For this reason, the pace of recovery in Germany\u2019s construction sector and lumber production will be among the key developments to monitor in the coming period in terms of both the supply and pricing of wood raw materials used for energy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

According to third-quarter 2026 data from the German Pellet Institute, DEPI, the price of A1-quality wood chips used for energy increased by approximately 13% compared with the previous quarter, reaching EUR 38.90\/SRM. DEPI points in particular to weaker lumber demand, which has slowed sawmill production and consequently reduced the availability of sawmill by-products. Wood chip […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":62344,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[9538,254,179,3779],"tags":[9540,494,9035,8991,9539],"class_list":["post-62347","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-wood-chip","category-headline-news","category-journal","category-log","tag-german-pellet-institute-en","tag-germany","tag-log","tag-pellet","tag-wood-chip-en"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/orsiad.com.tr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/wood-chips-oct-2026.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/orsiad.com.tr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62347","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/orsiad.com.tr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/orsiad.com.tr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orsiad.com.tr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orsiad.com.tr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=62347"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/orsiad.com.tr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62347\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":62349,"href":"https:\/\/orsiad.com.tr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62347\/revisions\/62349"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orsiad.com.tr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/62344"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/orsiad.com.tr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=62347"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orsiad.com.tr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=62347"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orsiad.com.tr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=62347"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}