Prices for North American softwood lumber continue to move ever higher as we cross the midway point of 1Q2021. Southern yellow pine (SYP) lumber prices set new records last month before temporarily dropping for three consecutive weeks. We’re now seeing a two-week rally take shape that has driven Forest2Market’s composite SYP lumber price to a new all-time high.

After predictably losing ground during the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2Q2020, the southern timber market bounced back in 3Q and 4Q led by strong demand for pine products across the board. However, the torrential precipitation that battered much of the South in late 4Q2020 and now into 1Q2021 has resulted in some tremendous spikes in regional wood demand… and prices.

The growth of the forest products industry - including the renewable biomass sector - continues to create new demand for wood raw materials, which has resulted in an increase, rather than a reduction, in forest inventory. These new markets are imperative for keeping the supply/demand of forest raw materials in balance, especially since southern forests have been oversupplied for the last decade.

Winter weather challenges have the potential to suspend harvesting operations in every wood basket in North America. Prolonged wet weather in the South results in inoperable conditions for harvesting crews. Lack of snow and warm winter temperatures in the Northeast and Lake States also keep crews sidelined. While harvesters in the Pacific Northwest (PNW) can work pretty effectively through wet weather, hauling can become an issue.

IndustryEdge advises that Australia’s log exports fell to a five-year low in December 2020, down 47% on the prior December and totaling just 196,519 cubic meters (m³). The dramatic fall saw exports 34% lower than for November, which was itself 32% lower than exports in October.

Going forward, the limited lumber supply from Canada – as well as log supply issues in the US Pacific Northwest – will mean European lumber producers will have an opportunity to play an increasingly important role as suppliers to the US construction industry. How have those markets responded to the events that transpired during 2020?

Tissue Conference 2021 was recently held virtually and included a presentation from Fisher International’s Matt Elhardt, Vice President, Global Sales. The conference was hosted by Tissue Analytica in collaboration with NC State University and TAPPI.

When it comes to the issue of managing forests, environmental and economic concerns oftentimes seem incompatible to those unfamiliar with forestry and silviculture practices. The idea of managing America’s working forests for the production of timber might seem archaic to some who approach this subject believing that there is either one advantage or the other, but not both.

Forest ecosystems make up the largest terrestrial carbon sink on Earth. Trees draw carbon dioxide from the atmosphere through a process called photosynthesis, and every part of a tree - trunks, branches, leaves, and roots - stores carbon. By weight, dried tree material is about 50% carbon. As part of the lifecycle of trees, they also release carbon dioxide back into the atmosphere when they decompose after death or burn during fires.