Do you guys think there is a market for exporting firewood out of the south?

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kkottemann

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This might seem like a crazy thought to alot of people, but do you firewood guys think there is a market for bringing wood up north from the south? Is there already a market for it? I have a tree service in south louisiana and would like to utilize the wood from trees for a profit. Dumping fees are getting out of hand here. I am just thinking out of the box right now. Any thoughts on this?
 
Split & seasoned hardwoods go for $150 a cord around here. $225 to $250 closer to D.C. Does the math work to ship it here?
 
I would really have to look at some hard numbers on shipping. $225/cord might work, but there would be a heafty investment on my part in order to make it work. I would imagine I would need a productive firewood processer that would bundle the wood some sort of way. Then I would have to check out some trucking companies. However I would probable ship it myself during slow times. But my big grapple truck would not be a reasonable truck to ship in. I would need a large gooseneck flatbed modified to carry firewood pallets. there is a bunch to consider here.

what about other species besides oak. I am thinking about targeting the market for people who use wood to heat their houses. My sister has a place in upstate NY. and that whole comunity has these outdoor woodburning things that circulate warm air and warm water through the house. That could take anything, right? Pine, gum, birch, ash, willow, cottonwood ect...

How much and what types of firewood processers are there out there?
 
I have to agree with Dan on this one, fuel prices are killing the firewood bus. right now!
I get $170 a cord for Oak, and $100 for mix. All of the mix is supplied for free, we just cut and split, that is even deliverd to the yard! People are begging to dump on our yard right now, no idea on yardage, but it's $25 a ton 1 ton min. to dispose of brush here.
So figuring 3200 pds a cord for Oak (rough), you need a BIG truck to justify making a run.
Pinion is HUGE around here fo the chimenythingiyjiggers.
Got any Apple? Huge money for that here as well, smokers all want it, theres you're money!!
Just some things to think about,
Andy
 
a face cord in the rochester area by many sellers lists for around $85 to $95. that's for a FACE cord.

it might be a profitable venture now, but if the idea ever took off, i'm willing to bet that states would impose regulations. ie: insect control, types of wood, and, of course, taxes.

as fuel prices rise, so will the cost of wood. i know some people who have been willing to cut down treees for people for free....just to keep the wood. how could a homeowner beat that? how would a tree removal company beat that?

interesting times we are in.
 
I live outside of Rochester, NY and the guys near me are selling face cords for $55- $65 (maybe that has changed since last October).

The firewood guys up in NY are a dime a dozen, they are EVERYWHERE. It is very easy to find people who are building new houses and are giving away wood from their property. It is easy to get free wood. I hate to tell you that it wouldn't be financially worthwhile for you to sell wood up here, wood is very plentiful.
 
JPP said:
I live outside of Rochester, NY and the guys near me are selling face cords for $55- $65 (maybe that has changed since last October).

The firewood guys up in NY are a dime a dozen, they are EVERYWHERE. It is very easy to find people who are building new houses and are giving away wood from their property. It is easy to get free wood. I hate to tell you that it wouldn't be financially worthwhile for you to sell wood up here, wood is very plentiful.

i posted those prices that we saw (or rather laughed about) in the suburban news, jpp. i live in parma and we were looking at firewood prices in that newspaper and almost fell on the floor when we saw those prices. however, in all fairness, some people were selling it at a more reasonable price as well. i guess you can expect some to try to get the highest buck possible...right?

additionally, i would imagine that some suburban homeowner who builds a fire on weekends and holidays will spend the top buck....as long as they don't get their hands dirty. likewise, you can still find, as you stated, some good deals on firewood when buying numerous cords of it.
 
I do believe wood will be like coal. Used to be cheap now costs an arm and leg. I was looking into hard coal, but was around 180 a ton last winter. Of course in ohio we have soft coal and hard coal must be transported therefore higher costs. Sure also the quality is better than soft coal. So if you transport wood with the cost of fuel, wear and tear, and factor in the quality of wood I think it wouldnt pay off to do it, unless the wood is free. Even then it would be iffy. Thats just my 2 cents worth.
 
Well, I am not a firewood producer except for my own use but I can read the newspaper and no need to bring any the the semi rural areas of central Ohio. When the leaves started to turn last fall prices around here were around $150 for a full cord and by the first of the year that had dropped to $85. I am am about an hour from Columbus or Cleveland and with development gone crazy and plenty of storms the supply of logs to be cut up is large. Add in unemployment and hunger,, you get the picture. The county runs a yard waste facility down the road from me and Saturday Id guess there was 6-8 cords of good hardwood free for the taking and another 10 of pine, willow etc in nice big chunks. All needed cut and split but pretty easy work I'd say. I can hardly keep up with my fence rows, LOL
 
I think the price going up is not the answer. I think the trick would be ,to be able to sell wood so cheaply the guy with a pickup and chainsaw cant compete, but then you are talking huge volume to be profitable. There is a market ,but doing it right may be hard .
 
When you all say cord, are you talking about a 4x8 stack?
 
I understand what a cord is. I am just wondering if everybody else knows.
 
stihlatit said:
4X8 is a face cord.

4X8 is a big sheet of paper! :D Actually, not even that. You need to specify a 3rd dimension in order to describe a 3 dimensional object.
 
stihlatit said:
Read post #16

then you both talked about both types of chords. I merely tried to put you on the same page.


Thank you!


But the REAL cure for this confusion is to stop calling things "cords" that are not cords.
 
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