Excerpts from the 1Q 2015 issue of the Wood Resource Quarterly. To subscribe to the full 52-page market report, please visit www.woodprices.com
• Sawlog prices fell again worldwide and the GSPI Index was down 8.2% q-o-q. Biggest price reductions were in Russia, the Nordic countries, the Baltic States and Central Europe.
• The costs for both softwood and hardwood fiber fell in practically all major pulp markets around the world. The hardwood fiber price index (HFPI) was down 4.0% from the 4Q/14 and the SFPI declined 3.4% q-o-q.
• In 2014, importation of softwood lumber to the US rose 11%, the highest since the global financial crises. The 1Q/15 was 13% higher than in the 1Q/14. Lumber prices fell substantially in the US in the 1Q/15. Downward price pressure also occurred in Canada, the Nordic countries and China.
• Pellet exports from the US South was up for the 12th consecutive quarter in the 4Q/14.
Special report in the current WRQ issue: Future pulp prices can be good indicators for predicting wood fiber costs.
Also, quarterly prices for sawlogs, pulpwood, wood chips, pellets and lumber from around the world.
Hakan Ekstrom, Wood Resource Quarterly
