Page 17 - Tree Line - North Carolina Forestry Association - Fourth Quarter 2020
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1-800-797-7276 • www.powerscreenmidatl.com • Kernersville, NC • Leland, NC
HORIZONTAL GRINDER
• Produces more than 200 tons an hour
• CAT C27; 1050hp or optional CAT C32 1200hp engines
• Hog box raises for fast and easy screen and tip changes
• 40” diameter by 60” wide forged, high-strength rotor core
• Large capacity feed hopper easily handles full-length trees
• Metal Detection System protects machine from tramp metal
ECOTEC PHOENIX 2100 TROMMEL SCREEN
• Unrivaled high volume compost production
• Mulch coloring package across applications • 180° radial fines conveyor controlled by remote
North Carolina • South Carolina Virginia • West Virginia
Solid Wood & Lumber
The U.S. sawmill supply chain is under
a lot of pressure; industry capacity is maxed as wholesalers and distributors snatch up every board they can find. In mid-August, for instance, Forest2Market’s southern yellow pine (SYP) lumber-price composite showed prices jumped $106 in just one week. To put the new number in perspective, the composite price for the week ending August 14 was $798/MBF, which represents a 39% increase over the previous all-time high of $576/MBF that was achieved in June 2018.
Lumber prices have recently risen
to new record highs, but prices for most finished lumber products started the year well within the range of their five-year averages. However, as Forest2Market’s SYP composite illustrates, prices have shot up by 140% since early January and there are three primary factors driving the trend:
• Stronger-than-expected housing starts and unforeseen demand from the remodel sector
• Capacity and supply-chain adjustments • Market speculation driving uncertainty
Strong Demand
As expected, the homebuilding sector
has experienced significant turmoil since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Housing starts were down 30% in April
to a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of 891,000 units — well below the first-quarter 2020 average of nearly 1.5 million units. But the steep plunge was largely driven by the “lockdown” that kept homebuilding to a minimum during most of the spring season, especially in states where building was deemed non-essential. Construction rebounded in both May and June, and starts are currently hovering around a rate of 1.2 million units.
Despite this volatility in the housing starts data, demand from the remodel sector never really waned throughout the spring, which caught the market off guard. Over the last several months, Forest2Market
data demonstrates steady, strong demand for decking and “prime” lumber products typically sold through mass retailers rather than construction-grade products that make their way to homebuilders.
The National Association of Home- builders (NAHB) Remodeling Market Index (RMI) confirms the trend: “In the second quarter, all components and
G. Clay Creed, R.F.
P.O. Box 159 Laurel Hill, NC 28351
N.C. Registered Forester No. 1655 NC Certified Prescribe Burner #313 S.C. Registered Forester No. 1794 SC Prescribed Fire Manager #899 Society of American Foresters
Contributing member of NCSU Cooperative Tree Improvement Program
(910)610-5841
ncforestry.org / FOURTH QUARTER 2020 15
