Seattle, WA -- Global sawlogs prices fell in the 3Q/16 after a temporary increase in the
2Q/16 following an almost two year-long downward trend. The Global Sawlog Price
Index (GSPI) has fallen by 14.3% in two years and is currently almost 12% below the
ten-year average and 21% down from the all-time high in the second quarter of 2011.
The GSPI sawlog price index fell again in the 3Q/16 and was 21% below its all-time high
five years ago, as reported in the Wood Resource Quarterly. Over the past two years,
sawlog prices have fallen far more in Europe than in North America, where prices have
only seen a modest decline.
The biggest price declines quarter-over-quarter occurred in British Colombia, Eastern
Canada, Poland and Sweden. Although most key lumber-producing countries
experienced lower log costs in the 3Q/16, there were also several regions where prices
increased in US dollar terms, including Brazil, Russia, Norway and New Zealand. The
major reason for the higher prices in this group of countries has been the strengthening of
the currencies relative to the US dollar. In the local currencies, log price adjustments have
been minimal in 2016.
Over the past two years, sawlog prices have fallen the least (just over five percent) in
North America as compared to Latin America and Oceania, where prices were down by
about 14%, and in Europe where prices currently are more than 20% below 2014 prices,
reports the Wood Resource Quarterly. The biggest price declines on the European
continent have been in Central Europe.
Regional sawlog prices around the world have generally converged during 2015 and 2016
with prices in high-cost regions having declined more than prices in low-cost regions.
Despite these developments, price discrepancies between the large lumber-producing
regions of the world have been higher in 2016 than they were back in 2000-2005.
Note: The GSPI Price Index is a volume-weighted price index comprising of average sawlog
prices in 20 of the largest sawlog-consuming regions of the world. The Index tracks prices from
the 1Q/95 to the current quarter and is published each quarter in the WRQ. Copyright 2024 Walden-Mott Corporation All rights Reserved.
|