January - March 2014
The Word on the Street
By Jason E. Jensen, CF
Markets for every species and every product class are good. This is good news for landowners who may have been waiting for markets to improve. Demand for nearly all products is good. Approximately _ of the volume of wood harvested in Missouri is an oak species. Markets are currently good for nearly every species including hickory, maple (both hard and soft), and cottonwood. Markets continue to be very good for stave quality white oak and every grade of walnut. Red oak markets in the northern part of the state have really picked back up. This has been a long time coming for foresters and landowners wanting to sell red oak in the north. Pine markets have been improving as well. There is a variety of pine products being sold including posts, poles, shavings logs, cants, and even an increasing number of pallets being built from pine. This is good news for landowners with pine. Pine markets have been sporadic at best for the last 15 years or more. A sustainable pine market is critical to maintaining the health and productivity of much of our southern Missouri forests. I've also had several requests from mills looking for cedar. Although often looked at as a weed, cedar is a valuable species and actually lends itself to potentially more value added opportunities than any other species that we have in the state.
In the southern part of the state, markets for nearly all products and species are good. Every product is in high demand. Grade markets have improved to the point where there may even be a few railroad ties being sawn down into lumber. As a result, tie prices have been increasing in value as well. Flooring and pallet markets continue to be strong as well.
The winter has certainly been a tough one for those that work in the woods. The weather was probably closer to what used to be an average winter with cold temperatures and snow. Many mills went into fall and winter with low log inventories. The weather for the first quarter of the year did not lend itself to helping build log inventories. As a result many mills are still struggling to try to build inventory.
Competition is intense for standing timber in the southern part of the state. Competition has driven stumpage prices up in many areas. It is not uncommon to have eight or more bidders for timber sales in several southern counties. This can be a double edged sword. It is good if you are a landowner selling standing timber because increased competition equals increased prices. It can also be bad since increased pressure is placed on the forest resource.
I am often asked why we don't report certain products. My goal is to make this report the best and most inclusive of all species and products that I can. The reason that we don't include products such as cedar, posts, utility poles, scragg blocks, pulpwood and sometimes even staves is because of the lack of reports that we receive for those products. This report is published based on stumpage prices that are received from foresters. If we don't receive reports, then we can't report that particular product. As always, readers should realize that this report only provides a snapshot of the markets. It is not meant to be indicative of what you should (or shouldn't) receive for your timber at any particular time. Ultimately what the landowner is willing to accept and what the buyer is willing to pay is what your timber is worth at any particular time.