World Wood Price Update History

Looking back at the third quarter of 2010, the pulping industry ushered in the highest timber prices in the past two years. According to the “Living Resources Quarterly” report, in the past year, the price index of coniferous wood and the price index of broad-leaved wood have risen by at least 6%, which makes the cost of wood accounts for about 60% of the cost of pulp production. . This makes many manufacturers who play foreign solid wood raw materials are nervous. The sudden increase of raw materials does not depend on reasonable management and it can immediately flatten out. The price of solid wood cabinets has fallen into the fog.

Take the price of coniferous wood in Seattle, USA as an example: The price of coniferous wood in the region after a short-term decline in the second quarter returned to the highest price that could only be reached in the financial crisis in the third quarter. Among them, the price of coniferous wood was US$99.8/m3, which was an increase of US$1.51 from the previous quarter and a year-on-year increase of US$6.68. As for the reason for the price increase, besides the depreciation of the US dollar, the prices of coniferous wood in Europe, the western United States, and western Canada rose sharply. In Western Canada, the price of wood chips closely linked to pulp prices also showed an upward trend in the third quarter. Although the overall price increase was flat compared to the previous two quarters, the latest price also reached US$104/m3, which is 14%. The high prices that have not been seen for years, the price of wood chips in the region naturally became the highest price in North America.

At the same time, the price of broad-leaved wood around the world is also rising. The price increase in Europe has reached a maximum of 5%-10%. In France, Finland, Germany and Spain, the price of broad-leaved logs has increased significantly due to the high operating rate of pulp companies. Only broadleaf wood prices in the southern United States and western Canada have declined from the previous quarter.

From a worldwide perspective, due to the high timber prices in most parts of the world, the average price of hardwoods has increased by $1.51/m3 to $104.88/m3. In the third quarter, the price of hardwoods increased compared to the same period last year. 5.8%.

In the past two years, the cost of wood in the global pulping industry has risen far faster than energy, chemicals and labor costs. The cost of wood raw materials accounts for 59% of the cost of pulp production. In 2008, only 55% of this figure was still the most uncertain factor in the future development of the global pulping industry.