At the end of 2025, UPM announced an investment in domestic logistics (news in Finnish), replacing the foreign wagon capacity used for its wood transport with domestically manufactured roundwood wagons from VR Fleet Care. The new wagons enter service at the end of 2026. They will be built and maintained in Pieksämäki, Finland, and carry around a third of the roundwood UPM Forest transports by rail.
“Thanks to the new wagons' design, a train can carry more wood at the same total mass than the current Estonian OSJD/GOST wagons. As a result, energy consumption per cubic meter of transported wood drops by up to 20%. The new wagons also have no end walls, which reduces air resistance, especially when the wagons are empty,” explains Markus Rantavaara, Project Manager at UPM Fibres.
Other measures have also improved transport energy efficiency. One of the most significant developments in recent years has been lengthening roundwood trains in cooperation with rail operators. When a single train can carry more wood, the same transport volume needs fewer train trips. This improves the energy efficiency of the entire transportation chain.
Beyond energy efficiency, domestic manufacturing and maintenance also strengthen employment and the strength of Finland’s supply chain in uncertain times.