Seattle, WA -- The two Global Wood Fiber Price Indices were close to parity in the
3Q/16. The Hardwood Wood Fiber Price Index (HFPI) has rebounded by 5.6% from
the 1Q/16 when it reached an 11-year low. The biggest price increases this year have
been in Brazil, Indonesia, Australia and Chile where prices have gone up despite the
strengthening of the local currencies. However, hardwood fiber prices have not gone up
in all markets this year. Hardwood pulplog prices were lower throughout Europe, Eastern
Canada and the US South.
Hardwood fiber prices have slowly turned around this year with the HFPI price index
being up 5.6% from the 1Q/16 to the 3Q/16, according to the Wood Resource Quarterly.
The softwood fiber price index SFPI fell in the 3Q/16 both because of lower costs in local
currencies and a stronger US dollar.
Except for Russian pulpmills, which have by far the lowest hardwood fiber costs in the
world, hardwood pulp-producing regions throughout North America, Europe and Latin
America currently have wood costs ranging in a fairly narrow range between
US$75/odmt to US$100/odmt. Five years ago, when the HFPI reached its all-time-high,
this range was substantially wider at US$75/odmt to US$175/odmt.
Softwood chip and pulplog prices fell in the local currencies in much of Europe and
North America which, together with a stronger US dollar against the Canadian dollar and
the Euro, resulted in a decline of the Softwood Wood Fiber Price Index (SFPI) in the
3Q/16. The SFPI is currently close to the lowest level in over ten years. During the past
12 months, softwood fiber costs in US dollar terms have fallen the most in the US
Northwest, British Columbia, France, Norway and Germany, while they have gone up the
most in Brazil, New Zealand and Japan.
Note: The Global Wood Fiber Price Index is a weighted average of delivered wood fiber prices for the pulp
industry in all regions tracked by the publication Wood Resource Quarterly. These regions together
account for 85-90% of the world’s wood-based pulp production capacity. The price is based on current
quarter average prices, and country/regional wood fiber consumption data. The global average price for
softwood and hardwood is calculated in nominal US$ per oven-dried metric ton (odmt) of wood fiber. Copyright 2024 Walden-Mott Corporation All rights Reserved.
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