I was cutting some trees for a guy and there were some real good oak logs 16' long laying there. I asked him if he wanted them and he told me to make them into firewood or take the logs, he didnt care. I called my uncle who is a buyer for a local logging company and he said they are worth more for firewood than lumber. Is the logging industry really that bad right now?
Firewood worth more than Logs
- Thread starter miller1
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Dalmatian90
Addicted to ArboristSite
People still need to heat their homes even if they're not building new homes or renovating existing ones.
mtfallsmikey
Addicted to ArboristSite
I reckon it is, at least in our neck of the woods. A new power line is coming thru, lotsa land getting stripped, wood isn't worth doodly-squat.
tomtrees58
Addicted to ArboristSite
lumber =o cord wood $$$ at $250 a cord tom trees
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avalancher
Arboristsite Raconteur
Yep, things are really that bad.Our local mill isnt taking anything right now.They got acres of wood sitting there.
MJR
ArboristSite Guru
Sat. I blocked up a black cherry log pile that sat tooo long. The owner got sick of looking at it through his window. I almost milled some. It is a shame to see some wood end up in the firewood pile.
FIRESMOKE
ArboristSite Member
YEP, I also heard that it is hardley worth cutting saw logs right. The only bright spot it seems is that at least in my neck of the woods, pulp logs are going up in price because there is not much logging, so not many cull logs being cut for pulp. I went past a mill that runs softwood through a big planer for animal bedding and a guy was unloading some really nice tulip poplar. It's sad to see nice logs just being shredded but a least the logger was making a few bucks, I hope.
mercer_me
ArboristSite Operative
Around here logs are worth more than fire wood, but fire wood is worth more than hard wood pulp.
Where I am in Central Minnesota, there are three large wood chipping operations. One chips solely for mulch. Another does mulch and from what I hear sell bio-mass to power companies to burn. Allof them are advertising heavily for material. Has to be a demand for it somewhere, and still a shame to see good wood chipped. On a related note, this past weekends Menard's flyer listed 1/2" OSB for $5 and change, and 2x4'sfor $1.50. Perhaps it's time to build something.
MJR
ArboristSite Guru
Build, I can not mill for that with my hobby mill.
mtfallsmikey
Addicted to ArboristSite
Butch(OH)
Addicted to ArboristSite
As the others have said yes, it is that bad. Just a scant few years ago we could sell junk like Sycamore for blocking or pulp for more money than lumber grade hardwood is worth now. Firewood aint much better around here. When one knows the size of tree it takes to yeild one cord of firewood and the work it takes to reduce it down and also sees it advertised for less than a C note DELIVERED anywhere inthe county,,,,These are guys working with saws and their backs, no commercial firewood processor operations in the county that I am aware of,,,,well it makes a man think about the current situation.
Motodeficient
ArboristSite Guru
I don't know, we had a couple nice logs but after checking around at pricing we just put them in the woodpile.
avalancher
Arboristsite Raconteur
On a bright note, in some ways it has helped the "firewood" scenario.Mills arent taking any logs, so the loggers are not working.Folks who want small lots cleared cant get loggers to do the job,no market for the wood, so they are looking for other ways to get lots cleared.I picked up three jobs in the last month for clearing lots.They pay for the cat lease and my time,both hauling away the wood and running the cat, I haul home wood and a little bit of cash, and the landowner gets the clearing a good bit cheaper than if he had hired a logging crew.
Not big dollars mind you, but I price my labor running a machine at 22 bucks an hour and they pay for the machine and fuel.make a few bucks and get a good bit of wood too.Winner all the way around.
Not big dollars mind you, but I price my labor running a machine at 22 bucks an hour and they pay for the machine and fuel.make a few bucks and get a good bit of wood too.Winner all the way around.
Farmall Guy
ArboristSite Operative
Its that bad here, I had 10 oak logs ranging from 20-44" all straight and most of them knot free. I was going to haul them to the mill myself and when I called the local mills about them I was told they didnt want any of them. I almost cut them into fire wood but a buddy of mine from high school milled them up into flooring for me. Out of the 8 smaller logs he got me about 2000' I still need to get over to his place and rip the 2 big logs in two so he can get them on the mill. Cost me a little to have it milled but I'll be building a house this year and I couldnt see letting all that nice oak get burned up when I could have a nice hard wood floor 
The price at the mills here in TN and Southern KY have also taken a dive. I sold various logs (oak, walnut, cherry) in April that were ice storm victims from January. When I called the mill about 2 weeks before I delivered them, I was told that oak was bringing $35-$40 per hundred while cherry and walnut were bringing anywhere from $50 to $75 per hundred board feet. When I took the logs 2 weeks later I ended up getting $30 per hundred for oak, $30-$45 per hundred for cherry (depending on the quality), and $40-$60 per hundred for the walnut (again, quality dictated the range).
I wouldn't be surprised if the price has dropped by another 10-20% since I sold my handful.
I don't even want to think about how few $$$ one would get if you had the professionals come in and cut timber today. After they got their share, there wouldn't be much left.
I wouldn't be surprised if the price has dropped by another 10-20% since I sold my handful.
I don't even want to think about how few $$$ one would get if you had the professionals come in and cut timber today. After they got their share, there wouldn't be much left.
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