Forest2Market Monthly News

October Poll

Will the devastating fires in the western US impact log availability enough to disrupt supply/demand and keep lumber prices elevated?
______________________________________
Yes, lumber prices will stay elevated
No, lumber prices will continue to decrease
Results From September's Poll

What is the status of the economic impacts caused by COVID-19 on the forest products industry in your region?
Have North American Lumber Prices Peaked?

By John Greene
After eight consecutive record-breaking weeks culminating in an astoundingly high price, southern yellow pine (SYP) lumber prices finally reversed course in mid-September. Forest2Market’s composite SYP lumber price for the week ending September 18 (week 38) was $895/MBF, a 3.6% decrease from the previous week’s price (and all-time high) of $928/MBF, but an amazing 146% increase from the same week in 2019.
How Has COVID-19 Impacted US Wood Consumption?

By Pete Coutu
It has taken a few months’ worth of data to see exactly how the pandemic has affected regional wood supply chains and manufacturing. In analyzing some of the data for the American Loggers Council (ALC), Forest2Market found that US raw wood material consumption between January-July 2020 was 6.7% less than the same period in 2019 – dropping by 21.4 million tons of material. This resulted in a 13% reduction ($1.83 billion) in value of the delivered wood.
Despite Record Lumber Prices, Southern Timber Prices Plummeted During Lockdown

By Mike Powell
After inching up in 1Q2020, the southern timber market reacted to the COVID-19 pandemic (and related shutdown of the global economy) like most commodities markets during 2Q, and prices dropped pretty much across the board.
Louisiana Timber Losses from Hurricane Laura Surpass $1.1 Billion

By Mike Powell
Per recent data and accompanying news from the LSU AgCenter, Hurricane Laura will go down in history as one of the most destructive and expensive storms to ever hit the state of Louisiana.
Manage Raw Material Price and Plan for Success During Budgeting Season

By Forest2Market
Raw material price volatility is perhaps the single biggest enemy of successful budgeting for manufacturers. Extreme price volatility and market speculation, even if temporary, can undermine resource planning initiatives and erode margins.
Major European Player Enters North American Corrugated Market

By Katie Mencke
Spain-based Saica Group, the third-largest European producer of recycled paper for corrugated packaging, recently announced its plan to build a $72 million packaging plant outside of Cincinnati, Ohio.
California’s Solution for Climate Change Goes Up in Smoke

By Forest2Market
We estimated the amount of biomass burned in California over the last 30-day period (3.4 million acres) and converted it to electrical power that could have been beneficially generated from the biomass. The result was shocking: 58,000 megawatt hours (MWh)!
Housing Starts Stalled in August Despite Hot National Housing Trend

By John Greene
After three straight months of consecutively impressive gains, US housing starts dropped in August led by softness in the multi-family segment. With record-low interest rates and surging demand for single-family suburban homes in the suburbs, will this be a temporary dip in the rally or has the housing market hit headwinds?
US Forest Industry Continued Recovery in July, but is Growth Slowing?

By Joe Clark
Total industrial production (IP) rose 3.0 percent in July (but -8.2 percent YoY) after increasing 5.7 percent in June; even so, the index in July was 8.4 percent below February’s pre-pandemic level. Manufacturing output continued to improve in July, rising 3.4 percent.