Back in November and December 2025, Thailand’s southern provinces got hit hard by the worst floods they’ve seen in decades—Hat Yai City, over in Songkhla Province, even logged a whopping 335 millimeters of rain in just one day. At first, it was just a natural disaster, but it didn’t take long for it to spiral into a supply chain nightmare for Thailand’s plywood industry. The thing is, this southern region is a big player when it comes to Thailand’s rubber wood and eucalyptus wood output—and those two are the main raw materials used to make birch plywood. Now, every step in the plywood supply chain, from the logging work way out in the forests to the export terminals by the ports, has been messed up pretty badly. The trouble isn’t just staying within Thailand, either; it’s sending ripples all the way to international markets too.

The crisis starts at the very source: rubber wood/eucalyptus wood logging. Southern Thailand, including provinces like Songkhla, Trang, and Satun, is the heartland of the country’s rubberwood and eucalyptus wood industry, and these areas have been submerged by floodwaters for weeks. Forest floors saturated with water have become impassable for heavy logging machinery, bringing harvesting operations to a complete halt . Even for plantations on higher ground, the destruction of rural roads and access routes has trapped raw logs in forests, preventing them from reaching processing facilities. To make matters worse, there’s a ton of rubberwood and eucalyptus logs that were stored in open-air yards—you know, the kind without proper covers—and a lot of them either got swept away by the floodwaters or ruined from sitting in water for so long. Industry folks who’ve been in this business a while say those water-soaked logs are a mess: their moisture levels shoot way up, and mold starts growing all over them. That totally kills their quality, not to mention their value when you try to sell or use them. So it’s a double whammy here—first, we’re losing a bunch of logs we already had in stock, and second, the ones that are left are basically useless. Right away, that means the plywood factories downstream don’t have enough raw materials to keep making stuff.

The disruption then cascades to the rotary cutting stage, a critical process that transforms rubber or eucalyptus logs into veneer sheets, the building blocks of plywood. Thailand’s southern rotary cutting mills, many of which are located in flood-affected zones, have been forced to suspend operations due to power outages, equipment damage, and material shortages. Even mills outside the worst-hit areas face operational constraints, as the lack of incoming logs has left production lines idle. A report from industry insiders indicates that average capacity utilization at these facilities has dropped to just 80% , with some smaller mills shutting down entirely. The impact is particularly severe for specialized veneer products: mainstream grades like A grade and B grade rubberwood veneer have been facing the supply shortages, while longer-length veneers are nearly unavailable in the market . This bottleneck in rotary cutting has directly constrained the output of plywood manufacturers downstream.

For Thailand’s plywood production sector, the cumulative effects of logging and rotary cutting disruptions have been devastating. Factories across the southern region are operating at reduced capacity, with many struggling to fulfill existing orders. The shortage of quality veneer has forced some manufacturers to either slow production or switch to lower-grade raw materials, compromising the quality of finished plywood. Moreover, the flood-induced damage to production facilities—including waterlogged machinery and damaged warehouses—has further prolonged recovery timelines. Industry analysts warn that even after floodwaters recede, it will take weeks to restore full production capacity, as mills must first repair equipment, clear debris, and replenish raw material stocks. The supply chain chaos has ultimately spilled over into Thailand’s plywood export market, which relies heavily on demand from USA and other countries. Some US importers have already received notifications from Thai suppliers about suspended container loading and delayed shipping schedules, with transport times expected to extend significantly from late November onwards . This disruption has led to immediate price volatility in the global market: raw materials have risen by 5-10 US dollars, plywood FOB Leam Chabang has risen with it. Thai exporters are now facing a dual challenge: meeting delayed orders amid constrained production while navigating a global market with fluctuating demand. Some industry insiders suggest that if the supply shortage persists, Thai exporters may shift their focus to emerging Southeast Asian markets to mitigate losses.

The road to recovery for Thailand’s plywood supply chain remains uncertain. While weather conditions have improved slightly since late November, with water levels receding in some areas , the long-term impact of the floods will linger. Logging operations can only resume once forest floors dry out and access roads are repaired, and rotary cutting mills and plywood factories face a lengthy recovery process. The Thai government’s post-disaster relief measures, including financial aid and low-interest loans for affected industries , may help accelerate recovery, but industry experts predict that supply chain tensions will persist for at least the next three to six months. For global buyers dependent on Thai plywood, this means preparing for continued price volatility and potential supply shortages, while exploring alternative sources or adjusting procurement strategies.

In conclusion, Thailand’s 2025 floods have exposed the vulnerability of the global plywood supply chain to climate-related disasters. What began as extreme rainfall in the country’s southern provinces has disrupted every critical link—from rubberwood logging and rotary cutting to plywood manufacturing and exports—creating a crisis that extends far beyond Thailand’s borders. As the world grapples with increasingly frequent extreme weather events, the plywood industry and its stakeholders must rethink resilience strategies, from diversifying supply sources to investing in flood-resistant infrastructure. For now, all eyes remain on Thailand’s recovery progress, as the pace of its post-flood reconstruction will determine the stability of the global plywood market in the months ahead.

As a plywood factory in Thailand, we will diversify our raw material sources; when raw materials are sufficiently supplied, we will stock up on more raw materials, such as rubber/eucalyptus/pine veneer cores, birch WPF veneers and enhance our factory's flood prevention capabilities. This enables us to provide stable birch plywood supplies to both local cabinet facotiries and foreign customers.