The price of logs now days.

[welderskelter]

I used to sell logs for 13 dollars a cord delivered in 1967. Just wondering what you guys would have to pay if you needed to buy some logs nowdays. I can buy basswood delivered for around 120 a cord. But I need some black ash , white ash, and maybe some poplar, also. Wondering what they are worth now days. We dont have any elm like we used to have. Elm beetles got them. Thats about what my shop was made of.

[mddillon78]

I dont have a good answer, but sure would love a cord of wood for 13 dollars.  Im following this as well since I am curious as well.  Thanks, Mike D.

[SawyerTed]

Here in NC the average price for standing oak saw timber is $40.79 a ton.  It takes about 8.75 tons to make 1,000 board feet.  That works out to $357 per 1000 board feet just for the standing timber.

Pine saw logs ate at $24.51 a ton standing timber.  It takes around 7.5 tons to make 1,000 board feet.  That's $184 per 1,000 board feet for the standing timber.


Edit:  My source is NCSU Extension Service/Timber Mart Quarterly Standing Timber Report.  I use it to price logs I purchase.

[Gearbox]

Last I saw Basswood was about 120 in Cohasset MN .

[welderskelter]

I dont have anyway to buy by the ton. Wonder how that comes out by the cord? Anybody know?

[welderskelter]

Also I dont have anyway to go out to skid and would have to buy delivered. I am doing the sawmill as a hobby more than a living. Thanks

[Ianab]

I dont have anyway to buy by the ton. Wonder how that comes out by the cord? Anybody know?

If you use the log weight calculator in the Forum tool box you can get some approx weights, based on the size of the log and species. So you then know an 8ft x 18" dia Ash log would weight about 678lb. Three logs like that would be ~2,000 lb, getting close to a ton. 
Otherwise, saw logs are often sold on a "scale", which estimates the bd/ft you should get out of a log. Measure the logs, add up the total, and pay for that. "International" scale is probably the more accurate, "Doyle" underestimates small logs, but they are usually lower quality, so you want to pay less for those anyway. 
Main thing is that you and the seller need to be on the same page with how you measure the logs. Tons / cords / scale. 
Ted's numbers are for standing timber, add the logging and trucking costs to that for a price at the "mill gate". Otherwise see if local tree service or land clearing outfits have logs. Sometimes they have to pay to dump them, so being able to sell some of the better ones to you may be attractive. 

[WDH]

Ted,

Those conversion number of tons/MBF are likely based on a log scale like Doyle.  In actual fact, it takes less tons to saw a thousand bf than those conversions indicate. 

[tacks Y]

I was offered 750 a thousand for ash, down from 900 last year. Shipping to China, so I am cutting mine now.

[moodnacreek]

If your buying SAW LOGS by the ton how do you deduct defects ?                   Paying $300 t0 $500 for common hardwood sawlogs I need, international.

[SawyerTed]

I can see how it might be interpreted differently but I don't purchase logs by the ton. My post shared what standing timber average prices are in our region.  

There's a method to my madness and I believe it answers the original question.  See if this explains it better.

North Carolina State University in cooperation with timbermart-south.com publishes a quarterly report of average standing timber prices.  They publish the prices by the ton and provide the tons of logs required per 1000 board feet.  A per board foot price can be calculated.

By calculating the average price per board foot paid for standing timber, I can figure out if I'm paying a reasonable amount for logs.  Oak is at 35.7 cents a board foot, pine is at 18.4 cents a board foot for standing saw logs.  Chipping logs and pulpwood logs go at a much lower price.

Logging and hauling is in addition to the standing timber price.

I do scale my logs and defects are considered.  I rarely pay full market prices for logs.  Yesterday I paid $260 per thousand board feet for white oak logs.  The logs were cut and loaded on my trucks and trailers for that price.  With hauling considered, I still paid less than the average standing timber price for good white oak saw logs.

[Dana Stanley]

Here they offer logs by the cord on craigslist. I got 3 cord for 200.00 mix of oak and pine 12'-6" lengths, 12 t o 24" dia.

[JB Griffin]

If your buying SAW LOGS by the ton how do you deduct defects ?                   Paying $300 t0 $500 for common hardwood sawlogs I need, international.

Where I work they pull the culls out and weigh them and deduct from the load, they only pay once a week.

[quadracutter222]

Really cool to hear about other geographies having unique ways of purchasing wood.  Here its $/m3 based on species and grade.

[Gearbox]

it varies I think Basswood is about 3800 pounds to cord .

[petefrom bearswamp]

Hemlock and EWP 300 to 350 per mbf delivered here

[JB Griffin]

To help everyone out, if you post a price per mbf, please post the scale you use. 350/mbf doyle is WAY less that 350/mbf international. 

[mike_belben]

I cannot fathom why any market would agree to deal in sawlogs by the cord.  How can one measure to be sure?  A cord is a cubic footage.  Short of chipping the pile, youve got to trust weight conversion.  And how consistent is that when youve got sap up vs sap down?  Fast grown big ring wood vs dense old slow growing stuff.  

For how easy it is for everyone to buy a log scale tape measure and be on the same page, i just dont think cords makes sense unless its for one party'a advantage.   How can craigslisters be accurate on cords other than eyeballing it and saying just trust me.

With a truck load of firewood atleast you can stack it once in a while to verify. 

[boonesyard]

I cannot fathom why any market would agree to deal in sawlogs by the cord.  How can one measure to be sure?  A cord is a cubic footage.  Short of chipping the pile, youve got to trust weight conversion.  And how consistent is that when youve got sap up vs sap down?  Fast grown big ring wood vs dense old slow growing stuff.  

For how easy it is for everyone to buy a log scale tape measure and be on the same page, i just dont think cords makes sense unless its for one party'a advantage.   How can craigslisters be accurate on cords other than eyeballing it and saying just trust me.

With a truck load of firewood atleast you can stack it once in a while to verify.

I completely agree. Unfortunately, large quantites of logs we need have to be purchased and delivered, and we are at the mercy of what/and how we can get our hands on them. All of the loggers (within reasonable distance) sell by the cord and it is not negotiable. At times it's worked out and others, not so much.

[terrifictimbersllc]

To help everyone out, if you post a price per mbf, please post the scale you use. 350/mbf doyle is WAY less that 350/mbf international.

Not always, depends on diameter.

[Ianab]

cannot fathom why any market would agree to deal in sawlogs by the cord.  How can one measure to be sure?  A cord is a cubic footage

Well a cord is a stack of logs, or wood, with the expected air gaps between them. So a 128 cu/ ft cord of firewood actually has about 85 cu/ft of solid wood. Now if you know the length, the width between the log stakes, and the height of the stack, then you have the cubic feet on the truck, and can convert that to cords. It's not a very precise measure, but it's an easy one, compared to scaling every log, or weighing the load at least. 

As long as both parties agree on the measurement, then it's only the price that needs negotiating. 

[SawyerTed]

For what it is worth, I generally use the international scale because the band sawmill usually equals or beats that scale.

[mike_belben]

I didnt think about the trailer being the measuring stick, thats a good point.  My first thought was two guys in a driveway trying to hash out how many cord was in a pile of wood.  I mean i guesstimate my piles all the time then cut/split/stack and never hit the mark soo.. 

[JB Griffin]

To help everyone out, if you post a price per mbf, please post the scale you use. 350/mbf doyle is WAY less that 350/mbf international.

Not always, depends on diameter.

Its not like 30"+ logs are commonplace anymore.

[petefrom bearswamp]

Oops! Doyle here as that is what is common here.
I rarely get logs big enough where the 2 scales meet.