Cherry Market

[Cazzhrdwd]

Where do you guys see the Cherry market going?

Still seems to be rock bottom here.

Someone needs to do a TV show on it.

[bkaimwood]

Overseas... Unfortunately, where it's been headed...guessing China the largest %?...

[Glenn1]

Where do you guys see the Cherry market going?

Still seems to be rock bottom here.

Someone needs to do a TV show on it.

I live near Winston Salem, NC and I am selling as much cherry as walnut.  It seems to still be quite popular in this market.

[Ron Wenrich]

Europe has historically been more of the market for upper cherry.  It replaces tropical hardwoods.  The Euro has been falling in value which makes cherry more expensive, and therefore limits demand.  You have to factor in that the European economy is not particularly strong. 

Our housing market isn't really on fire.  It's better than it has been for the past 6 years, but it is still at the level it was in 1991.  That means the domestic demand is also down. 

I don't recall China being that active in the cherry markets.  It always seemed that favored walnut a whole lot more.  Even so, the Chinese economy isn't good, and their housing market is overbuilt.  My wife's cousin was there last month, and the businessmen he talked to said the overcapacity was enough to house India.  Also, they have devalued the yuan and that makes our exports more expensive. 

[sealark37]

First quality cherry naturally goes for export and high end cabinet work.  The domestic channels seem to be somewhat convoluted.  Several years ago a friend who owns a commercial mill complained to me that his usual customers (furniture manufacturers and cabinet shops) were not buying cherry at any price.  He made me a price on 6 thousand bdf of green cherry that I could not refuse.  We stacked and stickered the whole load in a dry shed and put out the word.  In three weeks, the home wood butchers had snapped it up, as cherry was very scarce and expensive from their usual sources.  Why the local demand did not translate to wholesale sales indicates that the word did not get to the hobby suppliers.  Cherry is a favorite material for a lot of woodworkers, so it is a matter of getting the wood to the users at a reasonable price.        Regards, Clark

[Cazzhrdwd]

I don't think the market is good anywhere. I was selling to a hobby shop in the 5.00 PBF range. Now you can get it all day long for 2.50 -3.00. That's a crashed market guys. Even the Hardwood Market Report has Cherry way down.

[rjwoelk]

I would be interested in cherry saw logs. What is the going price.

[paul case]

I wish it was worth some extra dollars too. I just bought a tract of timber that has some in it. The local exporters both say the same thing. No we don't buy them, try the other guy.
I can tell you the value of mine. Cross ties and dollar boards. No demand for it that I have found yet.
PC

[Knute]

I sold 300 bf of cherry a couple of months ago and must have had at least 12 calls for it. Probably to cheap at $1.50 bf. air dried.

[YellowHammer]

Where do you guys see the Cherry market going?

Still seems to be rock bottom here.

Someone needs to do a TV show on it.

I live near Winston Salem, NC and I am selling as much cherry as walnut.  It seems to still be quite popular in this market.

Me too.  I sell as much FAS and better, kiln dried, as I can produce and can get good logs.  My retail market doesn't care what the wholesale market is, because the wholesalers won't sell to them.  I'm out of 3CF and 4CF logs right now, looking for more.  Lots and lots, literally mountains, of low grade logs, but can't move #1 or #2 for almost free, but can sell dead clear wide for $5/bdft all day.  It's nearly impossible to get really high grade cherry around here

[WDH]

My least favorite wood to saw and dry because of poor quality and especially because of pith cracking.  I just planed 350 bf yesterday and I bet there will be 30% loss just from cracking, not to mention big nasty loose knots.  I have a hard time moving the #1 and #2 common grades unless I cut out the defects and render the boards into short clear pieces.  These short clear pieces will sell.  The cutting board people use a lot of it.  However, it is a lot of extra work on the chops saw, jointer, and tablesaw. 

Small cherry logs are really bad because of the proportion of the boards impacted by the pith and juvenile wood.  Cherry, when it is good is real good, and when it is bad, it is very bad.

[WIwoodworker]

Cherry is a steady selling species for me. I have 1200bf of 6/4, 8/4, and 12/4 ready to go in the kiln.

[4x4American]

 :P

[YellowHammer]

Cherry, when it is good is real good, and when it is bad, it is very bad.

Yup.
The waste on cherry is very high.  Significant sapwood on a face of a board really pulls it into a bend as it dries, the pith cracks can get major ugly, and knots show up the deeper you get into a log.  So slabbing deep is the rule, as is rotating cants to avoid knots and find good faces, rotating to avoid stress, and sawing down to minimize the pith deflects.  Surprisingly, of the three big mega mills within about a 40 mile radius of me, none routinely saw cherry because of the waste factor and the very low FAS yield.  Good news is the loggers know this and sell me their good logs.