SCA’s record rail volumes save over 50,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide

In 2025, SCA reached a historic milestone: 3.1 million cubic metres of roundwood were transported by rail. This is the highest volume ever moved through the company’s rail system.

‘We have systematically worked to increase the amount of goods transported by rail and hope to maintain a consistently high level, as it strengthens both our environmental performance and our competitiveness,’ said Magnus Wikström, head of industrial supply at SCA Forest.

With 13 strategic timber terminals – from Småland to northern Norrbotten – SCA can load trains quickly and efficiently. Virtually all volume goes directly to the mills, making the transport chain both robust and cost effective.

A fully loaded train carrying roundwood weighs approximately 3500 tonnes and transports the equivalent of about 55 fully loaded trucks, making the railway’s functionality and reliability crucial to the company’s logistics strategy.

‘If you can maintain a high and steady rail volume that provides stable freight flows, you can also achieve lower costs and a lower climate footprint per tonne of transported goods. From our perspective, there is a genuine desire to sustain these volumes, and we also hope that infrastructure policy will deliver maintenance of freight lines, investments to eliminate bottlenecks and, ideally, slow down the increase in track charges,’ said Magnus Wikström.

Rail now accounts for about 45% of all transport work required to supply SCA’s mills with raw material, and this has a significant positive climate effect. By choosing rail over trucks, 51,700 tonnes of carbon dioxide are saved each year – equivalent to 16.8 million litres of diesel.

‘There are quite a few operational issues and bottlenecks on, among other things, the cross-country lines in northern Sweden, which in many ways are the lifeline of timber transport, and these need improvement and modernisation. The right measures could increase transport efficiency and maintain high freight volumes on rail in the future. There are actions that could increase maximum load capacity, which would also strengthen the competitiveness of freight transport,’ said Viktor Wasell, head of logistics at SCA Forest.