The Forestry Forum
General Forestry => Forestry and Logging => Topic started by: bitternut on July 31, 2003, 05:07:07 PM
I bought some 7/16" x 4' x 8' aspenite at the big orange box store in April for $7.25 a sheet. Today I was in the same store and the same sheets of aspenite are now $11.95 a sheet.
So how come the aspen in my woods is practically worthless? Why the big jump in prices in 4 months time? Is this stuff being produced by OPEC or some other greedy bunch of ba$#ard$?
Bought a sheet of 3/4 T&G aspen OSB for the firehall today, paid 22.50. :o It was made at an LP plant not more than 30 miles away.
If your woods were here it would be worth something. Especially if its big enough for sawlogs. I don't know what we are paying for stumpage right now but I do know we are paying 95 a cord for 10 inch and up wood at the mill.
Funny, the G.P. plant here has cut most mills off on thier mill chips. This plant primarily makes the core board for sauder furniture. You know, that stuff you buy in the box. Its more like a particle board. They say our aspen is going by rail to W.V.
Simple laws of supply and demand. When you don't need it, its cheap. When you do need it, along with lots of other people, its expensive. :D
Other factors are at play. Most notably the amount of construction, and the reduction in available logs. You've also had a record number of tornadoes that did a ton of damage in the Midwest. That all depletes supply.
Supply goes down, prices go up to an equilibrium point, where supply satisfies demand.
As for your woods, just because demand is higher doesn't mean that mills are paying a great deal more for fiber. Some of the higher prices go into transportation - getting products to mill from a farther distance.
The rest goes into profits. You have to maintain the 20% profit margin - right? :D
Can Fibre is a company that makes OSB opened a plant in the city on my way to where I worked. So I stopped in to see how much they were paying for scrap lumber. To my suprise I had to pay them!!! :o So they make money coming and going.
Herb, give me a shout and we'll turn your aspen into sheathing.
C