Hardwood pulpwood prices in Brazil, Indonesia, Australia and Chile increased during the fall, resulting in a 5.6% jump of the HFPI price index
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.
Seattle, USA. 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.
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.
Global lumber, sawlog and pulpwood market reporting is included in the 52-page quarterly publication Wood Resource Quarterly (WRQ). The report, which was established in 1988 and has subscribers in over 30 countries, tracks sawlog, pulpwood, wood chip, lumber and pellet prices, trade and market developments in most key regions around the world. To subscribe to the WRQ, please go to www.woodprices.com
Wood Resources International LLC
Hakan Ekstrom
Wood Resources International LLC (WRI), an internationally recognized forest industry-consulting firm established in 1987, publishes two quarterly timber price reports and have subscribers in over 30 countries. The Wood Resource Quarterly, established in 1988, is a 52-page market report and includes sawlog prices, pulpwood and wood chip price and market commentary to developments in global timber, biomass and forest industry. The other report, the North Americam Wood Fiber Review, tracks prices of sawlogs, pulpwood, wood chips and biomass in most regions of Canada and the US.
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