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Comparison of removals and deliveries of UK softwood roundwood

The table below provides a comparison between the figures for removals (obtained from Forestry England, Forestry and Land Scotland, Natural Resources Wales, Forest Service and Private Sector Removals Survey) and deliveries (obtained from industry surveys and trade associations) of UK softwood roundwood.

The estimated total for softwood removals in the UK in recent years has been at least 0.3 million green tonnes higher than the estimate for total UK softwood deliveries.  At least some of this difference may indicate a possible undercounting of deliveries, particularly for roundwood that is used directly for woodfuel.

Comparison of removals and deliveries of UK softwood roundwood, 2009-2018

Year FE/FLS/NRW/FS removals Private sector removals Total removals Deliveries Balance1
thousand green tonnes
2009 5126 3266 8392 8304 88
2010 4625 4633 9258 9269 -11
2011 4870 5186 10056 9722 334
2012 4836 5259 10095 9831 265
2013 5084 5852 10936 10547 388
2014 4900 6627 11527 10903 624
2015 4691 5968 10659 10265 393
2016 5011 5734 10745 10419 327
2017 4862 6075 10938 10468 469
2018 4523 6827 11351 10731 620

Source: Forestry England, Forestry and Land Scotland, Natural Resources Wales, Forest Service, industry surveys, industry associations

Notes:

1. The difference between reported removals and deliveries can be caused by variations in the level of stocks between harvesting and delivery to the wood processor, and/or by the differences in data sources and methodologies used to compile removals and deliveries statistics.

The methodology used to estimate the quantity of UK softwood removals from private woodland was revised for the release of provisional 2011 estimates in “UK Wood Production and Trade: 2011 provisional figures”. Details of the change in methodology and its impact on the figures are available in the “Methodology Review of Softwood Removals from Non-FC/FS Woodland” paper, available at Methodology and Outputs – Forest Research.

Additional resources

Chapter 2: UK-Grown Timber

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