The final quarter of the year brought record pre-Christmas wave volumes and clear signals about 2026 procurement plans.
October was the year's peak: retail's final Christmas orders and industry's year-end budget spending coincided. November and December calmed down as expected, but stayed above the same months of the previous year.
Almost all of the categories in our database ended the year with a plus sign: the strongest were furniture, packaging and machine components.
Over the year, a pattern we have been tracking strengthened: US importers are reducing their dependence on single large suppliers and adding European sources. The number of asterisked buyers in our database grew by a double-digit percentage over the year - the most direct measure of the windows of opportunity for new suppliers.
For the Baltics, the year was a turning point in plywood and wood-product flows: the post-sanctions market realignment has run its course and new supply relationships are in place.
January is the month of procurement rounds: budgets confirmed, supplier reviews underway. If you are planning the US market in 2026, now is the right moment for first contacts, so as to be on the table in the February-March decision round.
The first consultation is free: together we'll see who in the US already buys your product and how to reach them.