The investigation examines export sales of Finnish sawn softwood sales in 1951-1958, concentrating on the volume of the sales. The material was collected from the archives of Finnish Sawmill Owner’s Association and the Finnish Sawmill Control Organization and the annual reports of the former. Correlation analysis was used in assessing the interdependence of the monthly sales volume and the price, and opening sales and the total sales volume of the year.
A slightly negative correlation was seen between the sale price and the monthly sales volume. Goods sold at under average prices are more abundant than goods sold at over average prices. Generally, with a rising price trend, the annual sales volume increased, but with falling prices the situation was reverse. The sales volume has been dependent on the business cycle development of prices. There was positive correlation between the opening sales and the total sales quantity for the year. The sales volume was at its maximum in the period between November and January, and at the minimum between March and September.
The time of the sales made to different countries differed little judged by quarterly statistics. It seems that the major shippers have generally concluded opening sales first. Northern Finnish shippers and the small shippers of Southern Finland have sold proportionately least during the last quarter. In general, the poorer the qualities in question the smaller on an average the proportion of opening sales but the greater the share of clearance sales.
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