The Global Conifer Sawlog Price Index reached an all-time high of US$92.2/m³ in the second quarter.
The index, produced by Wood Resource Quarterly, was 5.6% higher than the previous quarter and almost 20% up from a year ago.
The index has gone up in every quarter since the start of 2009 when it was at US$66.10/m³. This increase of almost 40% is due to the weakening of the dollar against all other currencies and higher costs of logs in local currencies.
Lumber exports from the Nordic countries slowed during spring and prices fell slightly, with average export prices from Finland and Sweden some 3-6% lower in April than October last year.
Lumber production in the US fell by 13% from March to April because of slowing domestic demand and the average operate rate for US sawmills was down to 67%.
Lumber imports to China continue to set new records, with imports up 72% in the first five months of the year.
