Chip & Pulpwood Price Trends in the US South & PNW

Over the past six years, chip and pulpwood prices in the Pacific Northwest (PNW) have demonstrated significant levels of volatility when compared to the relatively flat performance in the US South. Most notably, prices for these products have surged in the last year amid increased demand for virtually all timber products in the resource-constrained PNW.

Primary & Residual Chips

Softwood primary and sawmill residual chip costs remain markedly higher in the PNW than in the US South. As we recently noted, timber supplies are stressed in the region due to lack of management and harvesting on federal lands, increased domestic and export demand, and damaged/dying stands of timber caused by fire and pest destruction.