¦FIBER
FORISK WOOD FIBER REVIEW:
CAPITAL INVESTMENTS AND FIBER PRICES IN NORTH AMERICA BY BROOKS MENDELL
T
he systematic “snapshots” of fiber prices captured by the Forisk Wood Fiber Review help us identify and point to sources of pain and opportunity. For example, capital continues to flow to the U.S. South: GP and West Fraser confirmed or completed significant sawmill and OSB investments in the late 2021. Outside of the South, the announced acquisition of EACOM Timber Corp. in Eastern Canada by Interfor was especially noteworthy, as it demonstrates
the potential upside in the forest industry across North American regions. That said, risks remain. Wildfires, rainfall and warming demand from China have created stresses in the Pacific Northwest and British Columbia. Given investment activities and shifting markets, how did wood fiber pricing look across North American as we closed out 2021? In the U.S. South Central region (Figure 1), softwood roundwood and chips and hardwood roundwood were up 1 to 2%, while hardwood chips prices were up ap-
proximately 4%. In the frenzied Southeast, fiber prices—both chips and roundwood— increased for the fourth straight quarter in Q4 2021. In the U.S. Great Lakes region, softwood and hardwood fiber prices held relatively steady for a second quarter against a backdrop of soft demand. In the Northeast, hardwood and softwood chips rose 2 to 3%; roundwood held steady. In the Pacific Northwest, softwood chips and roundwood jumped approximately 11% against a backdrop of stronger Chinese demand and
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32 BIOMASS MAGAZINE | ISSUE 1, 2022
