Log Prices?

[nativewolf]

Our QS guy never raised his prices so he didn't cut them either but he's a unique operation. 

RO..veneer and butt logs but like OH Logger says...what to do with the rest?  Terrible.  

YP has stayed ok.  Peelers still very strong a couple a dollar a ton reduction but it's ok.  Compared to 2018 pricing is all good.  

I'm gambling a bit on projects trying to cut some funky but big WO and so so walnut thinnings for the next few months.  We'll see.  I'd like to be out of the prime YP till I see better veneer and export prices.  

[nativewolf]

My Qtr saw White Oak log market just took a $.40bd/ft hit. Overdue but still hurts.

out of curiosity how hot had it gotten over there?  I didn't sell a single QS WO log last winter as the *DanG fraudster banker screwed up our entire winter harvesting plan (bank fired him but had to do an investigation and then rushed completion of our loan and 20 others) so we just cut walnut all winter which was ok but not what we had planned.  Before then I'd have said that WO QS was maybe  2.00 or a bit more then down to 1.5 for 2 sided logs? But I'd have to dig to find out exactly what it was.  

[stavebuyer]

We were averaging $2.30 with the top grade bringing $2.80 Three clear sides and 18" was the log needed for top grade. Just about all the White Oak or Chestnut Oak 18"+ went into the sort. It was a good run.

[nativewolf]

We were averaging $2.30 with the top grade bringing $2.80 Three clear sides and 18" was the log needed for top grade. Just about all the White Oak or Chestnut Oak 18"+ went into the sort. It was a good run.

Oh $2.80 wow...That would have been nice.  I missed that entire bump (I mean we had small walnut stands to cut so I should not complain as a blessing is a blessing) .  I think we're still going to be just above 2 for the top logs (3 sided).  Our veneer buyers do pretty well on 3 sided veneer $3.5-4 depending on size so the really nice 3 sided go to veneer.  CO at $2.80.  That would have been nice!

[petefrom bearswamp]

My Ash is averaging .65 pr bd ft on the landing, but as I posted earlier it is small stuff.
The buyer got some guff from his boss for buying the small stuff, but he is still taking it,
Buyer has rejected 2 dead trees so far as they were both stained.
We left one more dead one in the woods.
Slow going for us as it is scattered over 60 acres and small .
We are about 2/3 done now, hope to finish up by the end of net week.

[bigblockyeti]

Anyone between NC & GA that has any info?  A neighbor around the corner is going to start clearing for his build and it looks like mostly WP, tulip poplar, turkey foot oak, a couple walnut, some maple and one cherry I've seen so far.  This is just going to be a driveway clearout and ~1/2acre for the house, a little grass and somewhere to put the septic field.  I know what my time is worth to fell them but then to hack 'em up and haul 'em off (luckily only 1/4 mile) I'm struggling with anything more than throwing a $$/hr. price to him.  Still trying to figure out what to do with the slash but I know he's not opposed to torching it all.

[barbender]

I don't pay market prices for that kind of stuff. If the land clearer wants to fell it, limb it, and buck it for grade I'll pay them market price on the landing or delivered to my yard. Invariably that stuff is poorly bucked, dirty, etc. If you're going to do the work for him, bid that out seperate. He can pay you for all of the work of putting the wood up the way it's supposed to be, then you can just buy the wood that was put up to your specs. He doesn't like that tell him to cut it and bring it to a mill and see how that works out. 

[bigblockyeti]

I'll keep that in mind, it does make sense I could offer him less than market as the logistics of getting them to a mill to maybe get market would still cost quite a bit more.  The biggest advantage to me is cutting them to my spec and putting them on a small trailer I can weave through the stumps to winch them on.  The logs I want can be laid down on smaller trees so they never see the dirt at all.  I need to walk it again to figure out how long this will take me and what his time frame is to come up with a price for felling & limbing.

[Ed_K]

 I always did lot clearings by the acre or by the hour, and i got the wood.

[Hogdaddy]

Has anyone heard anything new about log prices? (hardwood)   Nothing really new here, everything is about the same as was a month ago. Mills are saying hardwood lumber is still on a downward slope, they just don't have much inventory for the winter, therefore not any drop in log prices. No one wants red oak at all, still give .60-.70 for butts and the rest tie or pallet price. I have some walnut cut to sell, was gonna cut a few more in a week or two and see how they do.

[ehp]

there holding here but by spring that will be a totally different story 

[dnash]

there holding here but by spring that will be a totally different story

If it weren't for the favourable exchange rate, I think we would be in pretty tough shape here.

[OH logger]

Walnut, red oak, white oak, hard maple, soft maple, hickory, and pallet are down here. Other than that everything seems great!!  😆 

[nativewolf]

@Hogdaddy Things are mostly holding here.  YP pulled off quite a bit at the end of the summer but veneer buyers are back if you can find some nice white butt logs (up to 21') and thats somewhere in the $1/bdft.  RO export veneer is ok so is domestic.  Good RO butt sawlogs at 850, 650 on the 3 side.  Walnut is down $0.50-$1 on sawlogs here.  

All that seems drastic but really only because of the last 18 months being a bit better than the prior few years by a longshot.  For us this is still better pricing than we had 2019 etc etc.  WO pulled off very slightly.  Otherwise ok.  CO is down to $1.50-1.75 on good  sized butt sawlogs.  Lots better than a few years ago.  

Hickory I don't know about, I guess not so good- we'll be sending some and will find out.  

[ehp]

Dnash, Oh I'm pretty sure were in for a pretty rough go here next year , another that helps us is the sand as our wood is a lot whiter in color than most 

[Hogdaddy]

Thanks everyone for the comments... sounds about the same here. next spring could be very rough... may have to do a little extra fishing...

[barbender]

NW, prices that are equal to 2019 may look ok on paper, but look at the prices of everything else in that time frame.

[ehp]

And the land owners want the same amount per tree that was last year when prices were high , you pay that amount or the bush stands until someone does pay that price

[nativewolf]

We cut on shared revenue models so we do t get burned, but we do 30 year contracts so it's the only way we can work.  

Barbender the cost of groceries sure is higher, so is hydraulic oil.  I think lots of things start falling, big company purchasing managers say input pricing 6 months out is all falling.  Diesel is back to about $4.  Not great but getting better.  I bought off road below 4 last week.  About what it was in 2018.  

Shipping costs are far far higher and I am having to plan shipping more carefully.   Ups wanted $600 to ship a 12 pound box next day by 10am.  They failed so we got shipping for free but I think that would have been $100 2 years ago. 

So far numbers are still in our favor.  We track every dollar in and out and everything is categorized.  Still up over 2018/19/20.  But it is lower than 2021

[ehp]

I got a quote to service my skidsteer today as it got 250 hours on it , $1311 to pretty much come change the motor oil , 6 months ago that price was $804. Everything has gone way up in price , just look at the price of a new chainsaw as their jumping $100 at a time . So log prices are down compared to a year ago but all cost are way up so your bottom line has to of gone down . The only way it has not is if your not paying the same amount for the timber you were a year ago . It's pretty simple math 

[barbender]

NW, I can't think of anything that I'm not paying substantially more for, whether groceries and household supplies, or anything business related. 

[ehp]

and here we are again talking about the only guy making real coin and that would be our boat guy aka timber slasher equipment buyer himself . I was thinking he would of had a booth at the Paul Bunyan show just to buy more iron but then again maybe he does

[OldTimbercutter]

Hard to believe a knotty red oak tie log is bringing the same price as a butt cut red oak veneer log.  At least thats how it is here in the southern appalachians 

[stavebuyer]

Red Oak FAS lumber is at $.75 and 2A is .42 if you can sell it. Sawn Oak Ties are still $41 so with 43Bd/ft in a 7x9 cross tie by the time you consider the production and yield gain in selling a 7x9 "chunk" vs boards sawed plump (1 1/8") and kerf loss any log that will make a tie is more than Prime Red Oak, even beech and gum. Time to be cutting junk.

[ehp]

High grade logs are down here. Even white oak took a drop and walnut .  Your lower logs like hickory and aspen are still holding goid