Log Prices?

[Woodfarmer]

Well this is a tiny thing, but it kind of fits in this thread. I got an unusual call today from a guy in Ontario looking for Ash logs. Now I don't sell logs and rarely buy them and at that, just a few here and there, never a load.
 But this guy called and left a message, so I returned his call after checking with my friend Bill who does sell logs on occasion.
 The fella had an odd accent that was hard to pick up over a bad cell connection. It did not sound French or Canadian, but I could be wrong. Frankly I thought it was Asian. We chatted briefly. He would buy anything over 10" diameter and said they would send a truck or container. My spidey sense went up on full. His only criteria was 2 clear faces and that the trees could not be EAB killed. I told him he was 15 years too late. But he could try cutters over in Delaware or perhaps Schoharie counties where they still had a few trees that were clean and green. What I should have done was asked him the price he was offering. Dumb move on my part. Bill is ticked at me for that.
 I thought it was weird that a guy from that far north was making cold calls for logs down this way. I am pretty certain it was for export (send a container?), and as I have read here several times, the Chinese buyers are pretty notorious, and getting paid is not always a sure thing. The whole thing just struck me as weird and smelled a little funny.

I’ve also talked to guys like that. They want them peeled and packed In a container. Now how am I going to do that?
I was selling to a legit log buyer that was shipping them to China for a few years but that market has dried up and the logs are no longer viable .

[stavebuyer]

United Furniture Industries layed-off all 2700 employees last week. A lumber broker in the loop told me between the company plants and contractors they used 500,000 feet of mostly mixed hardwoods per day. A major market just evaporated. The Mississippi river drought and now this has to be lean times for the likes of Anderson-Tully who dominates the mixed hardwood market with its river bottom holdings. 

Pallet market was getting tight before this. Going to be a world of cheap lumber dumped shortly.

[barbender]

I read about that massive layoff. Any idea what led to it? Not good, whatever the case.

[Southside]

Ummm, $5+ fuel, run away inflation, shrinking power of the dollar come to mind. 

[nativewolf]

Fired the entire senior management team back in June.  Something was up then and I expect the lawsuits to figure that out, they didn't give required notice so the lawsuits are flying, fired everyone day before Thanksgiving.  They will go into bankruptcy.  

[BargeMonkey]

I know alot of shopping is done online anymore, but it was quiet when I went out black Friday. Couple firewood guys are talking about how quiet it is, fuel prices have taken the extra money people had. We are seeing half the ship traffic we did from July till now. 

[ehp]

Here its fuel and food that is taking everyone spare coin , It's still hard to get lots of things that before covid was just go to the store and pick it up . Hard maple is not doing great here , we will see how I do on red oak this week as I'm cutting fairly big stuff and big white oak and white pine 

[stavebuyer]

Fired the entire senior management team back in June.  Something was up then and I expect the lawsuits to figure that out, they didn't give required notice so the lawsuits are flying, fired everyone day before Thanksgiving.  They will go into bankruptcy.  

Bankruptcies on this scale will take many small suppliers down with them; guys that have been strung out for 60-90 days waiting on payments for lumber that they already delivered and have been operating on borrowed funds. Tragic.

[nativewolf]

Fired the entire senior management team back in June.  Something was up then and I expect the lawsuits to figure that out, they didn't give required notice so the lawsuits are flying, fired everyone day before Thanksgiving.  They will go into bankruptcy.  

Bankruptcies on this scale will take many small suppliers down with them; guys that have been strung out for 60-90 days waiting on payments for lumber that they already delivered and have been operating on borrowed funds. Tragic.

Yes it is.  They were giving people promotions the week before.  This is pure cold blooded private equity evil.  Feel sorry for the guys owed money, they'll never see a dime I guess.
For people that don't know this was the old and famous Lane furniture brand from Virginia plus many others.  

[bigblockyeti]

Fired the entire senior management team back in June.  Something was up then and I expect the lawsuits to figure that out, they didn't give required notice so the lawsuits are flying, fired everyone day before Thanksgiving.  They will go into bankruptcy.  

I worked for a plastics recycling company that had already reorganized twice previously so when things started getting weird, I knew the seed money was running low.  I was banking 4 weeks of vacation I was worried might evaporate so I moved some assets of interest into storage where few people had access as quasi colateral.  I was at a wedding several states away when I got the call the doors were chained shut and everyone was SOL.  Being in maintenance I, along with several other maintenance personnel, could run the entire plant on a skeleton crew at reduced capacity.  We were asked to do just that to finish inventory and a couple dog and pony shows for potential investors.  Over that 4 weeks, most of the stuff in the maintenance department disappeared, including some pretty big stuff like a Bridgeport among other things.  No one said a word.

[beenthere]

Over that 4 weeks, most of the stuff in the maintenance department disappeared, including some pretty big stuff like a Bridgeport among other things.

Meaning stolen? 

[Bradm]

So did he take the Bridgeport out in the same manner Johnny Cash got his Cadillac or did he just strap it to his back and walk out with it? 

[Woodfarmer]

Re-homed.

I was offered 380/1000 on my Ash, I’ll firewood it before I’ll give it away!

[bigblockyeti]

So did he take the Bridgeport out in the same manner Johnny Cash got his Cadillac or did he just strap it to his back and walk out with it?

That one I have no idea about and I wasn't about to ask.  I think I might have seen the plasma table in another guy's truck but I specifically avoided looking to maintain plausible deniability.

[mudfarmer]

Re-homed.

I was offered 380/1000 on my Ash, I’ll firewood it before I’ll give it away!

Just curious, any details you care to provide? CAD or USD? Standing timber or logs, Delivered or on landing, Bug killed or live, Woods run or a pile of logs all one grade?
Being nosy, have some more live ash to cut  
That is #3 or even lower grade pricing from two buyers on your side of the border

[Woodfarmer]

Cdn, logs at the landing. Hasn’t been an Ash tree around here in 5 years that wasn’t killed by the borer.
All graded as saw logs.

[nativewolf]

Cdn, logs at the landing. Hasn’t been an Ash tree around here in 5 years that wasn’t killed by the borer.
All graded as saw logs.

Dead ash is hard to give away.  

[ehp]

find a different mill , ash is worth alot more than around here , bigger stuff is double that price

[ehp]

black and red oak that made timbers paid $200/1000 more than grade logs so this stuff will be cut into as many timber logs as I can get , white oak grade pays more than white oak timber logs , No much in here that will make slicer veneer as stuff is beat up abit more than I would like to see