Timber Blog

January 12, 2007

Hardwood Market Report (January 2007)

Brian Critchelow Logging Co. (Sullivan, IL, Moultrie County)

Report Given 01/12/2007

Prices are for Mill-Delivered Logs

Strong: Black walnut and white oak continue their strong showing. Delivered black walnut grade logs are bringing $1.45/bd ft, and $3.00-8.00/bd ft for veneer logs. White oak is in the neighborhood of $0.80-1.20/bd ft for grade logs and $1.50-3.50/bd ft for veneer logs. Big, clear logs are receiving the premium prices.

Steady: Black cherry market is steady to above average, mostly because good Illinois black cherry logs are rare. Black cherry is fetching around $1.00/bd ft for grade logs and up to $3.00/bd ft for veneer logs. Soft maple market is still pretty good, with wormy logs bringing $.30/bd ft, with clear or no-worm logs fetching $0.45/bd ft. Hickory is also holding its own, bringing upwards of $0.45/bd ft for saw logs. Ash is pretty much the same, bringing $0.30-.40/bd ft. Blocking market is steady - basswood, elm, hackberry, sycamore, honeylocust, and cottonwood logs bringing $0.20-.22/bd ft.

Weak: Red oak prices, including black oak, pin oak, and shingle oak, are still in decline. Delivered red oak species are only bringing $0.30-.50/bd ft.

Comments: Since Thanksgiving, the excessive wet weather has kept Brian and his crew out of the woods for the most part. This seems to be the general trend across much of Illinois. Log inventories are running low at some sawmills as a direct result of the wet weather. Brian did not have any price figures on hard maple. However, he did hear that hard maple prices have been on the decline.

Thanks for the Report Brian!

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Posted by Jay Hayek at 4:34 PM