Woodland Roots

By Lauren Grand, OSU Forestry and Natural Resources Extension, Extension Agent serving Lane County

We are still seeing a lot of action as we move into summer with prices coming back to our new normal. While prices have come down a couple hundred dollars per thousand board feet since last quarter, we are still up about $250 per thousand board feet (mbf) from our yearly average over the last 25 years. Which if you ask me, is not too shabby! Douglas-fir prices are currently sitting in the $850/mbf, with the potential for a $50-$150 increase for a really good quality log.

By Lauren Grand, OSU Extension Forestry & Natural Resources, Lane County

Prices skyrocketed last month with Douglas-fir peaking at $1650 per thousand board feet in the Eugene/Springfield area. Did your mouth just fall open? Mine did! That is an amazing price. With recent lumber prices 43% higher than the 5 year average, high log prices make sense. But, lumber isn’t the only thing driving this increase. Do you remember sitting in your living room in December thinking, “Please!! Not another snow storm so soon!?” Well THANK YOU la Nina weather. The snow and rain slowed operations and caught mills with lower than ideal inventories. Once all the snow melted, mills made a run to bring inventories back up. Before you knew it, purchase orders were being distributed like hot cakes and prices were rising. Now that wood is filling back up at the mills, prices are starting to come back down, but things are still looking mighty good for the time being.

By by Lauren Grand, OSU Extension Forestry and Natural Resources serving Lane County

Things are starting to level out after seeing large fluctuations in the lumber market and inventories at the mill. Mills are buying now, but each mill’s needs are different. With the onset of the rains, fewer logs usually make it to the log yard. This could encourage more aggressive buying, so keep an open communication with buyers if you are looking to sell. Rain also means that dirt roads are off limits. So, if you plan to take advantage of winter prices make sure to look into rock for your roads. Rock can be a great investment if you harvest frequently and the road accesses a large portion of your property.  

by Lauren Grand, OSU Extension Forestry and Natural Resources serving Lane County

Things are a little bit chaotic these days. Had I written this article last week I would be telling you log prices are high for the summer. Since then, lumber prices have taken a dive, and in response, log prices have come down a bit from the last couple of months. Most mills have a good inventory, having prepared well for the summer demand with fire season in mind. This along with decreased lumber prices means some mills aren’t actively looking for logs, but other mills are in high demand. It is a good idea to call around and see what buyers are looking for before cutting gets underway.

By Lauren Grand, OSU Extension Forestry & Natural Resources, Lane County

Summer came early this year. While that is good news for those of you that are looking for an excuse to spend more time out in your woods, unfortunately, it also usually means lowering log prices. “But Lauren, lumber prices are still breaking records, shouldn’t log prices be high too?” Yes, normally. That’s why we saw such high prices last fall. However, thanks to the Labor Day fires, there is an abundance of wood coming to the mills. This along with our early summer means more access to burned areas that were not salvageable in the winter. With inventories this high, some mills are off the market until they can work through what they’ve already got. For these reasons, Douglas-fir prices have been slowly decreasing to today’s prices.

By Lauren Grand, OSU Extension Forestry & Natural Resources, Lane County

Things got hot and heavy this summer with prices increasing to the $900/mbf range. While these prices aren’t record breaking, we set those in the summer of 2017, lumber prices were. Record breaking lumber prices along with a reduction in wood as a result of the coronavirus brought up those log process to numbers rarely seen in the summer. Usually a bad fire season also adds to a slight increase in price as we come out of the summer due to equipment shut downs, slowing wood to the mills. But, we didn’t have just a bad fire season, we had a bad fire year. As we recover from the Labor Day fires, many landowners will be looking to salvage their burned timber and this increase in wood to the mill will likely start to drive down prices.

Lauren Grand, OSU Forestry and Natural Resources Extension Agent, Lane County

We are officially out of the COVID slump. Usually prices are at their peak in April and then drop into July, but things are topsy-turvy again this year. Summer usually offers a plentiful log supply keeping prices the lowest during the year. With many of the mills slowing or even shutting down in the spring they just can get enough cutting done to meet the current demand and prices are up as a result.

By Lauren Grand, OSU Extension Forestry & Natural Resources Agent, Lane County

Everyone said it would happen, that we were “due,” but we just didn’t know how or when. Well, it’s finally here. The arrival of the coronavirus has caused our economy to become recessed. While the country deems all aspects of forestry and the forest industry an essential service, it has not been protected from these uncertain times.

By Lauren Grand, OSU Extension Forestry & Natural Resources, Lane County

It is winter and we are on the heels of spring which means we’ve got a good feeling about log prices. Wet weather means timber is less accessible and fewer logs make it out of the woods. As a result, prices tend to increase. This year is par for the course. Prices are up or holding steady across the board from last quarter.

By Lauren Grand, OSU Extension Forestry & Natural Resources Extension, Lane County

Our log prices have never been predictable. However, one could argue that they could predict the best time of year or even month to sell their logs based on historical trends. This is because our log prices tend to have seasonal rises and falls with micro corrections based on circumstances such as weather, fire, foreign policy, and the lumber markets. When looking at a graph of the average prices of Douglas-fir logs over the last 25 years, you should be able to predict that the best time to sell should be the in the early spring, March and April, when prices have been the highest. The worst time to sell is the summer when the market is flooded and the prices are the lowest.