Wood sales have been brisk all autumn, so there are large volumes of cut timber waiting to be picked up in the forests. However in many areas, forest tracks are too wet and soft for trucks to get through without causing significant damage to the woodlands.
More than two-thirds of the country remains snowless after one of the warmest, rainiest autumns on record. Kari Lahdenmäki, Seinäjoki district manager for the Metsäliitto forest owners' cooperative, told YLE TV News that crews are only able to deliver about one-fifth of the normal number of loads to sawmills and factories. The pinch is hurting sawmills the worst, as demand for sawn goods is rising. Unless the ground freezes soon, industry insiders say the sector could be in crisis. Traditionally the backbone of the Finnish economy, the forest products sector remains one of the country's two biggest export industries, alongside electronics.