WOOD FIBRE COSTS DOWN
After 18 months of price increases, wood fibre costs declined in most areas of the world in the second quarter of 2010 according to Seattle, Wash.-based Wood Resources Quarterly, which is published by Wood Resources International (WRI) LLC.
Information released by WRI today said the Hardwood Wood Fibre Price Index (HFPI) was down 2.3% from the previous quarter to US$103.37/odmt, but it was still nine percent higher than 12 months ago. They also said the Softwood Wood Fibre Price Index (SFPI) fell in Q2 for the first time since early 2009 to US$98.29/odmt, which was down 1.2 % from the previous quarter, but 9.1% higher than the Q2/09. Softwood fiber prices fell the most in the U.S., Eastern Canada, Germany, Spain and the Nordic countries, while prices were higher Quarter-over-Quarter in Western Canada, Russia and New Zealand.
WRI said “the declining wood fibre indices were mostly the result of a strengthening U.S. dollar against most other currencies in the 2Q,” while adding that “in the local currencies, prices of both wood chips and pulpwood actually increased in a majority of the 17 regions tracked by the Wood Resource Quarterly.”
For Western Canada, WRI says higher pulp production has pushed demand up for wood fibre. “This has not had a direct impact on fibre costs because wood chip prices are often set based on a formula linked to the market pulp price. In the 2Q/10, chip prices jumped 20 per cent from the previous quarter to their highest levels in two years. Despite the increase, British Columbia and Alberta wood chip prices are still the lowest in Canada, although the price discrepancy relative to the Eastern provinces is lower than it has been in a very long time.
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