Introduction

The Sawmill Survey is an annual survey conducted by Forest Research (on behalf of the Forestry Commission, Scottish Forestry, Natural Resources Wales and the Northern Ireland Forest Service) of sawmills in the UK that are believed to use UK-grown logs.  The survey comprises a short questionnaire (for smaller mills) and a detailed questionnaire (for larger mills).

The detailed survey has changed over the years, both in terms of coverage and periodicity. From 2016, the threshold for inclusion in the detailed sawmill survey has been raised to annual production of at least 25,000 m³ sawnwood. Information on changes prior to 2009 are available in previous editions of Forestry Statistics.

Statistics reported for each year are limited to mills that are known to use UK roundwood, but also include any imported logs used by these mills.

Tables for softwood are broken down by country (England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland) and by size of mill.  Given the low number of sawmills using UK hardwood, tables for hardwood are presented at a total UK level only.

The number of active mills (those that produced sawnwood in the reporting year) is presented in tables 2.8 to 2.10.

Longer time series, providing data on numbers of mills and on softwood consumption and production are available at Time Series Data – Forest Research. The time series data feature breakdowns by size of mill, by country and by region (in England).

Data collected

Two questionnaires are used for the Sawmill Survey:

• a detailed questionnaire goes to around 30 mills that have annual production of at least 25,000 m³ of sawnwood, and
• a short questionnaire is sent to all other mills that are believed to use UK sawlogs (around 125 mills in 2018).

As the threshold for inclusion in the detailed survey was changed for the collection of data since 2016, the results presented here for earlier years have been adjusted to this new threshold to provide a consistent time series.

Both the detailed and the short questionnaires collect information on:

• the consumption of UK and imported logs,
• the production of sawnwood,
• chain of custody certificates and certified timber,
• (from the 2006 survey) sales to bioenergy,
• (from the 2008 survey) sales as firewood and internal use for heat/energy,
• (from the 2010 survey) other products,
• (from the 2008 survey) total employment and
• (from the 2018 survey) total wood inputs.

In addition, the detailed questionnaire also collects information on:

• the source of UK logs (England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland),
• sawnwood product markets,
• other products by type and destination and
• sawmill employment by type.

More information on the Sawmill Survey, including copies of the questionnaires sent to businesses in recent years, can be found at Surveys – Forest Research.

Response rates

Detailed questionnaires were issued to 30 mills for the collection of 2018 data, of which 26 responded, giving a response rate of 87%. For the short questionnaire, 38 responses were received from the 125 forms issued, corresponding to a 30% response rate. This gives an overall response rate of 41%.

Overall, the 64 sawmills responding to the sawmill survey in 2018 are estimated to account for around 79% of total UK sawnwood production.

Sawmill Survey Response Rates (all questionnaires), 2009-2018

^Notes:

^{1. Response rates are calculated as the number of responses received divided by the number of forms issued.}

^{2. Weighted response rates are an estimate of the proportion of total UK sawnwood production that is accounted for by respondents.}

Methodology

Each year, figures for non respondents are estimated by rolling forward data from previous years for these mills.  For larger mills, these estimates may be modified to take account of advice from the Expert Group on Timber & Trade Statistics.

Time series data for the detailed sawmill survey

From one year to another, some mills may have moved above or below the threshold for inclusion in the detailed sawmill survey. This may affect the trends over time in tables 2.16a to 2.19a.

The total volume of roundwood consumed and sawnwood and other products produced by sawmills covered by the detailed sawmill survey varies over time, so a change in the percentages shown in tables 2.16a to 2.18a does not necessarily reflect a change in volumes.

As a result of the change to the threshold for inclusion in the detailed survey since 2016, results for 2014 to 2015 presented in tables 2.16a to 2.18a have been revised to cover only those mills producing at least 25 thousand m³ sawnwood, for consistency with the data from 2016.

Quality

Detailed information on the survey quality is available in the Quality Report: Sawmill Survey.

Further quality information on our Official Statistics is available at: Quality of Official Statistics – Forest Research.

Revisions

Results from the Sawmill Survey may be revised between the provisional figures published in the First Release “UK Wood Production and Trade: provisional figures” and the final data published in “Forestry Facts & Figures” and “Forestry Statistics” to take account of late returns and the results of additional data quality checking procedures.

All the main results (number of mills, consumption, production) are subject to revision annually, as information becomes available about mills opening or closing, or new information becomes available for previous non-respondents.  The most common revisions are relatively small downward changes, but this can vary from year to year as special exercises are run to validate the survey population.  Information about new mills opening can on occasion cause much larger upward revisions to softwood volumes.  Results from the survey of larger mills, which provides more detailed information, may be revised to take account of new information for previous non-respondents.

Figures for 2018 are final; provisional figures were previously released in “UK Wood Production and Trade: 2018 provisional figures”. The following figures have been revised since “UK Wood Production and Trade: 2018 provisional figures”:

• the consumption of UK grown softwood in 2018 has been revised down by 10 thousand green tonnes,
• the production of sawn softwood in 2018 has been revised down by 4 thousand m³.

Information on revisions made since “Forestry Statistics 2018” are provided in “UK Wood Production and Trade: 2018 provisional figures”.

Further information

Figures for UK production of sawn softwood have previously been used alongside data from other sources to assess consumption of sawn softwood in the main end-user markets in the UK. Reports are available at Timber Utilisation Statistics – Forest Research.

Release schedule

Provisional figures for 2019 will be released on 14 May 2020 in “UK Wood Production and Trade: 2019 provisional figures”.

Final figures for 2019 will be released on 24 September 2020 in “Forestry Statistics 2020” and “Forestry Facts & Figures 2020”.

Additional resources

Chapter 2: UK-Grown Timber