Registration Now Open for Forisk's 2025 Applied Forest Finance Class

Registration is Open for Forisk's Applied Forest Finance Class! Held Virtually via Live Zoom Webinar on April 3rd, 2025 Register Online! Taught once a year, Forisk's Applied Forest Finance Class class details the step-by-step financial analysis required to answer key investment and forest management questions. Attendees will learn how to identify, value, and rank timber and forestry investments. Attendees will receive a digital copy of the Forest Finance Simplified and the Aunt Fanny Learns Forestry book, as well as electronic course materials. Attendees will also receive Excel models for reinforcing and applying the concepts learned during the course.   Register by March 20th to save $80 with the early registration discount! Key Topics in this Course  Common mistakes and how to correct them Financial criteria: ranking investment options Discount rates: estimating risk Testing for how forest carbon affects management and returns Marginal analysis: when does forest management pay? Case study: when do we clearcut for pulpwood versus manage for sawtimber? Case study: maximizing financial returns from existing stands Click here to view the full agenda Continuing Ed Credit This class qualifies for 6.0 CE hours for Continuing Education credits for CFE (Forestry), GA CLE / MTH (Logger / Georgia Master Timber Harvester), and GA Real Estate/Appraisal. This event will be recorded for online viewing afterwards, however we can only offer Continuing Education Credits to the people who attend the live webinars. Discounts Register by March 20th to get the early registration discount and save $80! Firms that subscribe to Forisk's research receive a 10% discount on their employees' registration fees. This includes the FRQ, the Wood Fiber Review, and the Mill Capacity Database. College students are also eligible to receive a 10% discount. Email Pamela Smith at psmith@forisk.com for the promo code BEFORE registering online!

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Weighted Year-Over-Year Wood Fiber Prices Rise in North America

For Immediate Release

Weighted Year-Over-Year Wood Fiber Prices Rise in North America   ATHENS, GEORGIA – January 9, 2025 – The Forisk Wood Fiber Review (FWFR) reports that U.S. softwood fiber prices rose by 2% year-over-year through Q4 2024, while Canadian prices climbed by 5%. Quarterly price declines in the U.S. are attributed to market adjustments driven by an oversupply from natural disasters and reduced consumer demand. In Canada, prices generally saw moderate increases, with most producers purchasing the fiber required for their reduced operating rates, though at higher prices. Canadian roundwood prices increased by 18%, while chip prices increased by 1% year-over-year. In British Columbia, softwood pulplog prices fell by 4% for the quarter, whereas they increased by 7% in the Maritimes. Delivered softwood chip prices increased by 11% in Alberta and 4% in East Ontario/Quebec but fell 1% in British Columbia. According to Stephen Wright, Product Manager of the FWFR, “The Canadian Forest products industry continues to face significant contraction, with 862 million board feet of capacity reductions announced across three sawmills this quarter. However, the avoidance of a prolonged rail strike and a relatively calm fire season provided some temporary relief.” U.S. roundwood prices increased by 6% year-over-year, and chip prices rose by 1%, though this varied regionally. In the Lake States and Northwest U.S., prices for most products were flat or declined year-over-year, with the exception of hardwood roundwood in those regions, which saw 2% and 8% increases, respectively. In the U.S. Southeast and South Central regions, fiber prices fell for six out of the eight products tracked, with Southeast softwood residual chip prices falling the most (15%) and South Central hardwood roundwood increasing the most (7%) for the quarter. Year-over-year, prices for softwood and hardwood residual chips and roundwood are mixed. Northeast fiber prices saw price decreases across most projects, with hardwood residual chips having the largest decrease, down 11% year-over-year. Brooks Mendell, CEO of Forisk Consulting, commented, “Softwood lumber markets seem to be showing life, though many producers noted no changes to their previously planned extended outages during the holiday season.” Wood fiber costs account for over half of total pulp manufacturing costs worldwide. The Forisk Wood Fiber Review includes prices and market commentary for all major North American regions, providing essential data for anyone that needs to track pulpwood, wood chips, and biomass prices in the world’s largest and most dynamic wood fiber markets. The FWFR provides updates of softwood and hardwood prices for major markets in North America. Prices are reported for wood delivered to consuming plants as a range and average. Each report also updates U.S. and Canada trade statistics for lumber, logs, wood pellets, wood chips and pulp. For more information or to subscribe to the Forisk Wood Fiber Review, visit Forisk's website or contact Nick DiLuzio, ndiluzio@forisk.com, 770.725.8447. About Forisk Consulting: Forisk delivers forecasts and analysis of forest industry markets and timberland investments. Firms participate in Forisk’s research program by subscribing to the Forisk Research Quarterly (FRQ), the Forisk Wood Fiber Review, or the North American Forest Industry Capacity Database; supporting benchmarking studies related to forest operations and mill capacities; and attending educational workshops. About Us Products Services Education Resources   PO Box 5070 Athens, GA 30604 Phone: (770) 725-8447 Reach Out To Us

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Q4 Research Update: Pulp/paper and chip mills reduced wood-using capacity, while sawmills completed projects that offset losses from closures.

Pulp/paper and chip mills reduced wood-using capacity in Q4 2024, while sawmills completed projects that offset losses from closures in North America. ATHENS, GEORGIA – December 17, 2024 – Over the past quarter, Forisk updated 259 mills out of over 2,300 mills in the North American Forest Industry Capacity Database (“Mill Capacity Database”). The updates included 24 closures, 4 new mill startups or restarts, and 5 mills completing expansions. “Mills reduced wood-using capacity by 3.3 million tons across North America from Q3 to Q4 2024, but that is only a 0.4% decline in overall operating mill consumption,” remarked Amanda Lang, COO & VP of Client Services for Forisk Consulting. The biggest losses were in the pulp/paper sector and chip sectors. Canfor shut down a pulping line at the Northwood Pulp mill in British Columbia, and McKinley Paper in Port Angeles, WA closed. In eastern Canada, RYAM Temiscaming closed and White Birch Paper converted from using wood to buying recycled feedstock; this reduced wood use by almost a million tons in the region. In addition, 3 chip mills closed across North America since last quarter. Other sectors increased wood use and capacity, including lumber. Several lumber mills closed since September: Weyerhaeuser in New Bern, NC; West Fraser in Lake Butler, FL; Interfor in Meldrim, GA and Summerville, SC; Canfor in Mobile, AL; and Teal-Jones in Antlers, OK. Openings and expansions offset closures. Re-openings included Sigurdson Forest Products in British Columbia and DR Johnson in Prairie City, OR. Carthage Timber Products in Carthage, AR; and RFOR in Bellemont, AZ are commissioning new sawmills. Regionally, most of the wood use decline came from mills in the U.S. South. “This quarter, wood-using capacity declined by 1.9 million tons in the region; of this, 1.7 million tons was from sawmill and chip mill reductions. Overall, this is a small decline, as it reduces wood use in the region by only half a percent,” explained Pat Jolley, Product Manager of Forisk’s Mill Capacity Database. He added, “The net decline for the chip sector is a ripple effect from recent pulp mill closures that occurred over 2024.” Forisk’s North American Forest Industry Capacity Database (“Mill Capacity Database”) compiles mill capacity for softwood and hardwood lumber, structural panels (OSB and plywood), engineered wood products, pulp, veneer, wood pellets, chip mills, and nonstructural panel mills by region across five North American geographies: U.S. North, U.S. South, U.S. West, Eastern Canada, and Western Canada. Updated quarterly, the database includes detailed information for over 2,300 facilities, including location, mill type, wood use estimates, and species. It also provides ownership and capacity data by year for 2013-2023, with estimates for 2024-2026. Forisk’s Mill Capacity Database is available as an annual subscription or as a one-time purchase. For more information or to subscribe to Forisk’s Mill Capacity Database, please contact: Nick DiLuzio, ndiluzio@forisk.com, 770-725-8447.  About Forisk Consulting: Forisk delivers forecasts and analysis of forest industry markets and timberland investments. Firms participate in Forisk’s research program by subscribing to the Forisk Research Quarterly (FRQ), Forisk Wood Fiber Review, or the North American Forest Industry Capacity Database; supporting benchmarking studies related to forest operations and mail capacities; and attending educational workshops.   Forisk Consulting | www.forisk.com

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Why is tracking wood markets at the firm level helpful?

Concentration of Demand is a Key Metric for Timberland Investors and Wood-Using Mills ATHENS, GEORGIA – December 5, 2024 – According to research by Forisk, tracking the concentration of wood demand at the firm level in local timber markets supports risk management and capital allocation for timberland investors and wood-using firms. The relevance of this research increased the past few years as multiple pulp and paper firms closed mills, including International Paper (which closed its Orange, Texas containerboard mill and announced the closure of the Georgetown, South Carolina pulp mill); Georgia-Pacific (which closed the Foley, Florida mill); and Smurfit Westrock (which closed mills in Panama City, Florida and North Charleston, South Carolina). Why is tracking wood markets at the firm level helpful? For timberland investors, owning or acquiring private timberland profitably relies on critical assumptions, including the desire for deep and increasing demand for logs in local markets populated by multiple firms, which offers competitive conditions for higher timber prices and, ultimately, better investment returns. Alternately, from the view of grade-using mills, wood baskets with stable competition, possibly concentrated in fewer firms, implies less potential upward pressure on log prices over time. According to Brooks Mendell, Forisk’s President and CEO, “We find that timberland investors prefer and benefit from situations where no two firms combined account for 50% or more of the wood demand for grade, while grade consumers prefer situations with fewer competing mills and higher levels of firm concentration.” Market concentration at the firm level speaks to different risks for timberland owners and wood consumers. Therefore, it helps to track the aggregate demand at the firm, versus the mill, level over time. Forisk’s recently launched Custom Market Forecast (CMF) includes timber forecasts for client-specific timber markets and wood baskets, as well as other strategic metrics including the top five grade and pulp consumers in the custom market area. The math of capital investments in timberland and wood-using mills requires a constant benchmarking to other opportunities and potential risks, and the concentration of demand corresponds to different levels timber pricing and stability. For more information or to access Forisk’s Custom Market Forecast (CMF), please visit our website or contact: Nick DiLuzio, ndiluzio@forisk.com, 770-725-8447.  About Forisk Consulting: Forisk delivers forecasts and analysis of forest industry markets and timberland investments. Firms participate in Forisk’s research program by subscribing to the Forisk Research Quarterly (FRQ), the Forisk Wood Fiber Review, or the North American Forest Industry Capacity Database; supporting benchmarking studies related to forest operations and mill capacities; and attending educational workshops.   Forisk Consulting | www.forisk.com

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