At this time of the year, we have written about the Swedish forwarder market, which we did also this year. The statistics that the sister site Skogsforum.se has studied and referred to so far are only about large forwarders, machines with a payload of 8 – 25 metric tons. But there are quite a few alternatives below 8 tons payload.
Good market for small forwarders
We wrote about the smaller machines the other day. They represent a segment that has developed well lately. The top year 2018 was matched in 2022 in the number of registered forwarders. Almost all forwarders in the segment between 5 – 7 tons are registered* by the Swedish Transport Agency. Therefore, numbers and market shares for the Swedish market can be compared, just like for the larger forwarders.
The chart below shows the registration data for 2017 to 2022. One new model entered the market in 2022 and takes market shares – the Vimek 870 NG (New Generation).
Photo: Torbjörn Johnsen
The Vimek 870 NG is a new machine in an interesting size segment. It’s larger than e.g., Malwa and Terri, but smaller than the traditional 10-ton forwarders for thinning. It will be exciting to follow the development of the 870, especially in Sweden where pulpwood prices are increasing, just like the demand for thinning.
Terri is on the move
One brand that has had a good year in 2022 is Terri. The number of registered/sold forwarders in Sweden has doubled in 2022 compared to previous years. According to Arne Isaksson, marketing manager at Terri, the reason is that the company has succeeded in making the new Terri 3 a good machine. Terri 3 is available both as tracked (FT) and wheeled (FW) machines. Apart from the forwarder, there is also a harvester and a combi version of the Terri 3.
The increased sales for Terri demand an increased production capacity. Therefore, a new factory will be inaugurated later this year.
Photo: Terri.se
Smaller forwarders for thinning – only a Swedish matter?
The Swedish market for smaller forwarders is totally dominated by Swedish machine manufacturers. Terri, Malwa, and Vimek are all made in Sweden, and they represent 38 of the total 39 registered small forwarders in Sweden in 2022. The exception is one machine from the Czech-made Novotny.
(Vimek is made in Sweden but owned by Italian Fassi. Terri is also made in Sweden, but has its roots in Finland.)
Photo: Torbjörn Johnsen
Not only forwarders
All three mentioned Swedish manufacturers of small forwarders also have harvesters and combi machines in their range. Malwa and Terri make pure harvesters and use their forwarders as bases for combi machines. Vimek also makes a dedicated harvester (Vimek 404) but uses that one as the base for the combi machine Vimek 404 T8 Duo.
More manufacturers around the corner
The Finnish manufacturer Jarcrac is planning to enter the Swedish market through a dealer. The Estonian company AS Fors, is already present in Sweden and has a new forwarder coming up – the one that was presented at the Elmia Wood show last year.
Number of registered 5-7 tons forwarders in Sweden 2017-2022
Apart from Vimek’s 3-ton forwarder Vimek 606, there are no statistics on machines below 3,5 tons available. In the chart below you will find the stats for 5-7 tons forwarders in Sweden from 2017 to 2022.
You will find the Vimek 606 separate in the last row in the chart.
| 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manufacturer | number | % share | number | % share | number | % share | number | % share | number | % share | number | % share |
| Malwa 560F/C | 11 | 28.2 | 15 | 60 | 16 | 61.5 | 16 | 51.6 | 23 | 57.5 | 19 | 61.3 |
| Novotny LS520 | 1 | 2.6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3.2 | |
| Terri 34/34.3 | 17 | 43.6 | 9 | 36 | 6 | 23.1 | 8 | 25.8 | 7 | 17.5 | 4 | 12.9 |
| Vimek 610 | 4 | 10.3 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 15.4 | 7 | 22.6 | 10 | 25 | 11 | 35.5 |
| Vimek 780 (NG) | 6 | 15.4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 39 | 100 | 25 | 100 | 26 | 100 | 31 | 100 | 40 | 100 | 35 | 100 |
| Vimek 606 | 9 | 23,1 | 11 | 44 | 10 | 38,5 | 8 | 25,8 | 11 | 27,5 | 6 | 19,4 |
Source: Swedish Transport Agency, compiled by Skogsforum.se
* In Sweden, all forwarders are registered by the authority Swedish Transport Agency (Transportstyrelsen) at delivery. As the Swedish market for CTL machines** is the largest in the World (2022), those figures give a fairly good picture of the total market for CTL machines. The harvesters are, however, not registered by the Transport Agency, but the number of manufactured harvesters follows the number of forwarders in most cases.
This article is based on figures from the Swedish Transport Agency’s forwarder registrations and has been analyzed and compiled by Skogsforum.se.
** CTL = Cut-To-Length is a system based on two machines: one harvester that fells and cuts the trees into lengths at the stump in the forest, and a forwarder that brings the timber to roadside. This is the type of machines that are manufactured and used in the Nordic Countries. The CTL technology is gaining market share globally and is today used in more than half of the World´s felling operations. Most manufacturers of CTL machines are located in Sweden and Finland.
