Industry for forest products sapped

Southern tree farmers also face hardships of housing downturn
[Georgia] Southern tree farmers, a major source of the nation’s lumber and wood products, are feeling the pinch of the national housing slump, but not as much as the forest products industry, says a leading forest consulting firm. Albany-based F&W Forestry Services Inc., which provides sales and management services to timberland owners in 13 Southern states, said third-quarter prices for pine and hardwood trees slumped 7 to 14 percent from a year ago, while lumber prices dropped 25 percent and oriented strand board – composite panels made from wood chips – fell 55 percent. F&W President Marshall Thomas said although prices for standing trees, known as stumpage, retreated across the board in the quarter ending Sept. 30, the decline was not nearly as sharp as for lumber and OSB, which he described as being in a “virtual free fall.” Thomas said his firm has seen a marked decline in sales by landowners, an indication some are awaiting better market conditions.

News notes are courtesy of Southern Forests Network News Notes
www.southernsustainableforests.org