The 3rd Annual Conference organized by Wood Resources International and the Western Forestry and Conservation Association on January 28, 2016, will be titled “Mapping the Course – Timberlands, Forest Products Processing and Energy Issues for 2016.”

Sawmills in Brazil have become much more competitive in the export market the past few years because of substantially lower sawlog costs. In the 2Q/15, average log prices were down to their lowest levels in ten years, reports the Wood Resource Quarterly. This downward trend may rebound later in 2015 as the export market for lumber is likely to improve.

The price discrepancy between overseas traded hardwood and softwood chips was at its greatest in February 2015 when compared to the prior twelve months, according to the FOEX Chip Price Indexes.

Pulp mills in the US South continued to have stable wood fiber prices in the 1Q/15 at levels lower than any other region in the country. The dramatic increase in chip prices in the Northwest during 2014 started to level off early in 2015, while tight fiber supply in both the Lake State region and in the Northeast resulted in upward price pressure, reports the North American Wood Fiber Review.

Prices for hardwood chips traded overseas increased 1.3% in January, 2015, but were still 5.8% lower than in early 2014, according to the FOEX PIX-HCG Index.

Sawlog prices were generally lower throughout the world in the 4Q as compared to earlier in the year.

Russian exporters of logs and lumber had a good opportunity to increase shipments given the much-depreciated Russian Ruble. But log exports declined last quarter, and softwood sawlog exports rose just 2 to 3% in the 4th quarter of 2014. But 2015 should see increases.

Sawlog prices were generally lower in the 3Q/14 than in the same quarter in 2013 in most of the major log-consuming regions of the US and Canada, according to the North American Wood Fiber Review (NAWFR).

Ships carrying overseas shipments of wood chips, which account for about 70 account of global wood chip trade, are being updated, with Japan and China being the major builders of the specialty vessels, as well as the wood chip's destinations.

Wood Resources International and the Western Forestry and Conservation Association are organizing a conference on January 28, 2015 titled “Mapping the Course – Timberlands, Forest Products Processing and Energy Issues for 2015.”