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Global pulp wood prices rising: WRQ

Oct. 12, 2016 – Global pulpwood prices were up in the second quarter of 2016 after having declined for seven consecutive quarters, according to the Wood Resource Quarterly.

The wood fiber costs for the world’s pulp industry had trended downward for almost five years until this year when both the softwood and hardwood fiber price indices jumped in the second quarter. The two indices rose because price increases were seen for wood chips and pulplogs in practically every major market around the world.

In Q2/16 the softwood price index rose 2.3 per cent and the hardwood price index increased 3.7 per cent from the first quarter, reports WRQ.

A combination of a weaker US dollar and higher wood fiber prices in the local currencies in Western Canada, France, Brazil and Germany, were the main reasons for the higher Softwood Wood Fiber Price Index this quarter.

Wood fiber costs currently account for approximately 58 per cent of the cash costs when manufacturing pulp on a global basis, according to Fisher International. Of the 16 major pulp-producing regions around the world tracked by the WRQ, pulpmills in Japan have the highest wood fiber cost percentage of close to 70 per cent, while Russian mills have the lowest wood cost share of just below 40 per cent.