The sales indicator only reflects the sales opportunities of sawmill byproducts, pellets as well as sawn and laminated timber products in Europe and the US.
Not all of those products are on a record level in terms of their prices. For example, sawmill byproduct and pellet prices are far from such a level – not to mention the log price.
Sawn timber increases laminated timber price
The boom in prices mainly affects sawn timber which consequently has an effect on laminated timber products. The development of laminations for glulam is a good example of the market situation. With prices ranging from € 212 to 232/m³, they reached a level which has not been seen since 2006. In the past months, the price has seen such a marked increase for the following reasons:
- high demand
- reduced supply due to log wood qualities
- competition from within the segment, e.g. from the more lucrative cutting for the US market
Quantites of primary interest
Negotiations between suppliers and buyers focus mainly on delivery profiles, i.e. on quantities and delivery times. Prices are secondary. In the first quarter, there will be another marked increase. From January, visible quality laminations will cost between € 15 and 20/m³ more.
Despite this record level, however, there is no guarantee that glulam producers will receive sufficient additional quantities, for example from Scandinavia. At the moment, the region’s suppliers have more lucrative sales opportunities in the US, for example.
In light of the lamination prices, we could soon see a glulam price of € 500/m³.
KVH market development the most extreme
What has been said about laminations for glulam, is even more true for raw wood for solid structural timber (KVH), a product which however is not taken into account in Holzkurier’s sales indicator. The KVH price has seen an even more marked percentage increase. Also, it is already foreseeable that not all of the numerous KVH dimensions will always be in stock in the first half year due to a shortage in raw wood. This, coupled with the rapid increase in the solid structural timber price, could become a problem for the prefabricated house sector and timber construction companies.
After an upward trend of 17 mm sideboard prices in Italy, prices remained stable in the country in December. With the level being close to the all-time high, buyers already speak of a “price zenith”. As of yet, it is not clear whether this product will see a further price increase in the first quarter.
