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US South Timber Prices 2013

Picture of Suz-Anne Kinney Suz-Anne Kinney : July 27, 2013

Timber Prices

Forest2Market collects and reports timber prices for micromarkets (three regions in the South - see map). With the exception of pine pulpwood in the East, hardwood pulpwood in the East and Mid regions, and hardwood sawtimber in the West, timber prices have dropped throughout the South in the first half of 2013.

Pine Sawtimber Prices

In the first half of 2013, despite the recovery that took shape in the housing market, pine sawtimber prices fell in all regions. Prices in the East and Mid regions fell 1.5 percent and 2.3 percent, respectively (Figure 1). The West region experienced the biggest drop at 6.3%. Mid region prices remained lower than in other areas of the South. Sawtimber prices remain depressed because landowners delayed harvests during the recession-era housing slump, and this excess supply is now hitting the market.

Chip-n-saw prices in the East region increased modestly, up 0.5%, while Mid region prices bumped higher in the March/April period before falling below their 2013 starting point (Figure 2). Overall, prices fell 0.7% in the Mid region. Prices in the West have fallen consistently in 2013; they are now 7.8% below January/February prices.

Hardwood Sawtimber

Hardwood sawtimber prices increased only in the West region this year, up 2.3% (Figure 3). They fell slightly in the East region (down 1.8%). In the Mid region, hardwood sawtimber prices fell 9.3%.

Pulpwood

Pulpwood pricing in the East region saw the biggest gains of all classes of timber in all regions in 2013, primarily due to strong demand from OSB and pellet manufacturers. Pine pulpwood prices in the East region gained 13.7% in the first half of the year, and hardwood pulpwood gained 15.6% (Figures 4 and 5).

In the Mid region, pine pulpwood prices fell by 17.1% (the biggest drop in pine pulpwood pricing in the South in the first half of 2013) while hardwood prices gained 6.5%. In the West region, pine pulpwood prices fell 9.5% and hardwood pulpwood prices fell 27.8% (the largest drop for all classes of timber in the South in the first half of the year).