Volume of Wood Harvested

IBISWorld forecasts the volume of wood harvested to dip by 1.2% over 2023-24, to a total of 24.4 million cubic metres. A decrease in demand from residential building construction and tightening regulations surrounding native hardwood harvesting is expected to significantly weigh on this growth. The Western Australian and Victorian government imposed a ban on native timber logging, that came into effect in January 2024. This trend is expected to contribute towards the decline in the volume of total wood harvested in the current year.

The volume of wood harvested in Australia has decreased over the past five years. Wood volumes declined sharply over the four 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. Decreased supply was met by a sharp fall in demand from residential construction industries. New dwelling construction declined strongly over the two years through 2019-20. Oversupply of multi-unit dwellings discouraged new construction projects, restricting the use of timber and placing downward pressure on the volume of wood harvested. Additionally, demand for sawnwood and wood-based panels in export markets has plunged in the two years through 2020-21. Demand from China for woodchips has fallen significantly in the two years through 2022-23, largely as a result of the deterioration in the trading relationship between the two countries. However, China lifted its import ban on timber logs in May 2023. Overall, IBISWorld forecasts the total volume of wood harvested in Australia to decrease at a compound annual rate of 5.6% over the five years through 2023-24.