Increasingly Mechanized Logging Supports Strong Gains in Demand for Forestry Equipment

Global demand for forestry equipment is forecast to reach $9.2 billion in 2021 on gains of 4.5% per year, more than four times faster than in the 2011-2016 period. Gains will be driven by the transition from manual to mechanical logging solutions in the developing economies of the Africa/Mideast and Asia/Pacific regions and Latin America, as well as the rise of logging methods, such as cut-to-length, that require more sophisticated (and expensive) forestry equipment in industrialized nations like Canada and Finland. Global Forestry Equipment, 2nd Edition, a new study from The Freedonia Group, a Cleveland-based industry research firm, offers in-depth analysis of these and other trends.

Western Europe, the world’s largest exporter of forestry equipment, will see its trade surplus increase by $200 million to $1.0 billion in 2021. Factors driving these gains include the reputation of West European forestry equipment suppliers, whose hefty R&D budgets deliver cutting edge products, and the massive scale of their global distribution networks. The Asia/Pacific region, the only other global market with a trade surplus in this industry, will see an increase of $70 million as local producers and foreign multinationals invest heavily in new production capacity and upgrading existing facilities.

Felling machinery will see the fastest gains of all product segments through 2021. Demand for felling machinery is projected to rise nearly 5% per year through 2021 as market conditions improve in the US and other mature markets, and logging sector mechanization rates in developing nations increase. Sales of separately sold parts and attachments will rise 4% annually as the global stock of forestry equipment grows and more advanced attachments are developed. In dollar terms, chippers and grinders will experience the fastest growth in the forecast period as global demand for wood pellets as a power plant feedstock rises and the use of on-site processing equipment in developing nations increases.

Global Forestry Equipment, 2nd Edition (published 10/2017, 378 pages) is available for $6300 from The Freedonia Group. For further details or to arrange an interview with the analyst, please contact Corinne Gangloff by phone 440.684.9600 or email [email protected].

Related studies include:

• #3539 Global Construction Machinery, 6th Edition (August 2017)
• #3519 Global Power Tools Market, 9th Edition (May 2017)