General market comments/trends in the Appalachian Hardwoods region since April 2016
- Log supplies have stayed consistent since last month (4/16), slightly ahead of demand
- Sawmill production in our region has increased slightly since last month (4/16)
- Good quality (“grade”) lumber supply is still being absorbed well by demand
- Low quality (tie, pallet, cant, etc.) lumber demand continues to have slowed
- Export markets continue to be fairly strong, with 1Q16 almost 9% higher than 1Q15
Black cherry; demand is weak; stumpage prices have dropped slightly; lumber prices – 2.0%
Sugar maple; demand slightly down; stumpage prices slightly down; lumber prices – 1.5%
Red maple; demand increasing; stumpage prices steady; lumber prices – 0.5%
White ash; demand continues down; stumpage prices trending down; lumber prices – 5.0%
Soft maple; demand leveling off; stumpage prices leveling off; lumber prices +2.0%
Since timber/lumber prices are largely based on demand levels, and demand levels are a function of over-arching economic conditions, it’s interesting to see how the International Monetary Fund views the economic projections of some of the world’s largest importers of our hardwood logs and lumber.
As discussed in previous timber pricing articles, our most influential importers of our timber are on this chart above. The US shows very modest projections, along with the UK and Canada; China and Southeast Asia are projected to continue along at a relatively robust pace compared to the rest of the pack.
Perspective and % Changes are measured from beginning of 2Q2016
Data is a composite from two sources; % rounded to nearest 0.5%