Volume of wood harvested in Australia - Data and Analysis (1968-2032)

IBISWorld forecasts the volume of wood harvested to edge up 0.4% over 2024-25, to a total of 24.6 million cubic metres. An increase in demand from residential building construction is driving up demand, encouraging greater production. However, tightening regulations surrounding native hardwood harvesting has constrained this growth, with 2024-25 the first full year of native forest logging bans in Victoria and Western Australia.The volume of wood harvested in Australia has decreased over the past five years. Wood volumes declined sharply over the three years through 2022-23 as a result of the severe bushfire events of 2019-20. Damaged native forests and plantations meant wood available to harvest was limited in many locations across eastern Australia. A ban on logging in the 90,000 hectares of old-growth forest in Victoria, announced by the State Government in November 2019, and a Supreme Court decision that led to stricter rules for VicForests operations in November 2022, exacerbated this decline. A total ban on native timber logging in the state came into effect in January 2024, six years earlier than originally planned. A ban on native forest logging in Western Australia also went into force. These actions have contributed towards the decline in the volume of hardwood harvested over the past two years.A decreased supply of timber has been met by a sharp fall in demand from residential construction industries. New dwelling construction declined strongly over the three years through 2023-24. Oversupply of multi-unit dwellings in some markets, as well as skyrocketing interest rates have discouraged new construction projects, restricted the use of timber and placing downward pressure on the volume of wood harvested. Additionally, demand for timber-based products in export markets has been highly volatile. China banned imports of Australian timber logs in late 2020. Sawnwood and wood-based panel exports plunged over the two years through 2020-21. Exports of wood-based panels recovered in 2021-22 but sawnwood exports fell further. However, these have bounced back over the past three years. China lifted its import ban on timber logs in May 2023. Demand from China for woodchips fell significantly in the two years through 2022-23, largely as a result of the deterioration in the trading relationship between the two countries (there was no official ban). According to ABARES, overall woodchip export volumes from Australia are set to surge to a five-year high in 2024-25. Overall, IBISWorld forecasts the total volume of wood harvested in Australia to decrease at a compound annual rate of 3.6% over the five years through 2024-25.