Forest2Market Monthly News







January Poll

Globally, what industry segment is poised for the most growth in 2019?
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Lumber
Pulp & Paper
Panels
CLT & Engineered Timber Products
Results From December's Poll

Will lower lumber prices impact capital investment in the US South in 2019?
11 Predictions for Global Wood Consuming Industries in 2019

By Pete Stewart
China will continue to buy more pulp in 2019 as its continued moratorium on Mixed Paper imports (as a feedstock) drives more virgin pulp demand. Brazil’s pulp producers are best poised to take advantage of the situation due to their production capacity and low-cost global position. As long as global GDP remains robust, pulp prices will remain strong.

SYP Lumber Prices Finish 2018 in a Slump; Outlook for 2019

By John Greene
At the tail end of 2018, southern yellow pine (SYP) lumber prices barely inched up from their lowest level of the year during the prior week, which was also the lowest level since June 2017. Forest2Market’s composite southern yellow pine lumber price for the week ending December 14 (week 51) was $377/MBF, a 0.8% increase from week 50’s price of $374/MBF, but a 9.2% decrease from the same week in 2017.

Why Have Lumber Prices Fallen?

By Pete Stewart
The US housing sector—a bellwether for economic health—has showed signs of stagnation (and even the prospect of reaching peak housing in this market cycle) in recent months. As I wrote last month, forecasts for housing starts are simply overblown, as there isn't much room for an increase beyond the 2018 level of 1.266 million units. As a commodity largely tied to housing starts and broader building and construction activity, lumber prices also reflect the general health of this market via supply and demand metrics.

US South Timber Prices: 3Q2018 Performance & Outlook

By Gabe Rogers
US South timber prices during 3Q2018 were mixed. Pulpwood products increased significantly and pine log products decreased slightly, but the general trend of timber prices was up +1.5 percent in 3Q.

US Plywood Imports from Brazil on Track to Increase 34% in 2018

By Thomas Bennett
According to trade data compiled by the US Census Bureau through September 2018, plywood, veneered panels and similar laminated wood imports to the US from Brazil are on track to increase by nearly 0.19 billion square feet (BSF), or 34 percent, over 2017. This increase would result in a vessel customs value of $343 million—which is 55% above the $222 million vessel customs value observed last year.

The Rise & Fall of Log and Lumber Prices in the Pacific Northwest

By Joel Swanton
To get a picture of lumber price performance compared to log price performance in 2018, we analyzed three of the most popular regional products using Madison’s Lumber Reporter data over the last year: Doug Fir Green Std&Btr 2x4, Hem/Fir KD Inland Std&Btr 2x4 and WSPF KD #2&Btr 2x4.

New Farm Bill: What’s in it for Forestry?

By John Greene
Funding by the bill lasts through 2023 and reauthorizes $400 billion in agricultural subsidies, conservation programs and key safety programs for agricultural producers, including federal crop insurance and farm commodity programs that provide a floor price and income support for covered commodities and farmers.

Seeing the Forest and the Trees: Understanding Forest Inventory

By Joel Swanton
Distinguishing total forest inventory from commercially-available inventory is critical for accurately understanding current and future supply in a wood basin. Insight into the volume of commercially-available timber is gained through the analysis of forest inventory (supply) and the percentage of harvests (removals).

US Housing Starts Gain in November; Market Continues its Perplexing Slump

By John Greene
US housing starts exceeded forecasts and rallied in November to their best pace in over three months, while permits rose to a seven-month high. However, single-family starts—a key segment for the housing market—fell to their lowest level since May 2017.

US Forest Industry Performance: November 2018

By Joe Clark
Total industrial production (IP) edged up 0.1 percent in October (+4.1 percent YoY), as a gain in manufacturing offset decreases elsewhere. As a result of upward revisions primarily in mining, the overall index advanced in 3Q at an annualized 4.7 percent instead of the previously reported 3.3 percent. Hurricanes in both September and October pared total IP by less than 0.1 percent per month.

Forest2Market Product Spotlight: SilvaStat360 Precipitation Data

By Forest2Market
Since rolling out the cutting-edge SilvaStat360 platform last year, Forest2Market continues to develop innovative solutions for the entire forest value chain. SilvaStat360 is the only flexible, customizable digital environment that provides Forest2Market customers with the on-demand data that is most important to them.