In loving memory of Kenis D. Keathley 6/4/81 - 3/27/22 Loving father, husband, brother, friend and firewood hoarder Rest in peace, Dexterday

Slight Movement in the Maine Log Market

Discussion in 'The Wood Market' started by LodgedTree, Oct 3, 2017.

  1. LodgedTree

    LodgedTree

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    I guess they are building a new pellet mill in the Bailyville area of Maine to try to help that region since all they have is forestry there. The pellet industry has not really helped in the past, in part because it does not consume a lot of wood, it is seasonal, but mostly because they tend to bring in wood from sawmills and NOT straight from the conversion of trees, but it is a start.

    I also was informed on Saturday that after a year of shut down, the Mat Log Market is opening up again. I am not sure for how long, but I have been driving by some big hardwoods cutting pulpwood. With that market open, down they came today, with my wife hearing them crash from over half a mile away!

    I like the Mat Log market because I think I make the most from it. There is no deductions for crook, sweep, double yank, or knots. If it is not Popil, Basswood or Ash they will take it. And of course no rot and has to have a 10 inch top at 16'-6". Since Yellow Birch, does not pay squat, Beech does not pay squat, Maple does not pay squat...well you get the idea, you can make a little money on these species. I like it because you can cut a l or two logs out of tree, call the truck when 60 logs are in the yard, and make a load. And of course gather up the tops for pulpwood later in the week.

    So it was a good day today. Kind of maxed out the new 562 Husqvarna, but it got the job done.
     
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  2. My IS heats my home

    My IS heats my home

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    I'm not familiar with the forestry industry. Can you explain what Mat log market means?
     
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  3. LodgedTree

    LodgedTree

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    Mat logs are logs sawn into 8x8 beams that are bolted together to form a mat that is 4 feet wide and 16 feet long. They are used in the construction, logging,and pipeline industries to keep equipment from sinking into the mud. They are also called Enviro-mats, CraneMats, or Swamp mats.

    Most are made from hardwood (excluding Ash, Popil and Basswood), but some are also made of Hemlock, a softwood, but is relatively hard and rot resistant.
     
  4. jake wells

    jake wells

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    red oak is in high demand here poplar demand is down but the market has been a roller coaster here for a while.
     
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  5. Woodslave

    Woodslave

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    LodgedTree, how are the log prices for Balsam, Spruce, Pine and Hemlock.
     
  6. LodgedTree

    LodgedTree

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    Hemlock is shut down. Not sure if by logs you mean logs to make lumber, or pulpwood, but with hemlock nothing is moving; sawmill stuff or for paper.

    Spruce and Fir logs are moving and paying pretty well around $230/1000 bf roadside. But if you mean pulpwood, that is not moving at all. Spruce and Fir are considered the same product.

    The same goes for pine pulp. It is not moving...

    Pine logs are always moving, and pays well at $425/1000 bf roadside; straight scale.
     
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  7. Woodslave

    Woodslave

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    I meant all logs, no pulp wood. The last scale sheet I had from September, Balsam was $260- 1000 bdf
     
  8. LodgedTree

    LodgedTree

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    That is about right after figuring in trucking.

    Fir here can only be 10% of the truck load though. They want Spruce.

    It kind of angers me, like straight-scale white pine; they used to scale it by grade, but then stopped that giving a straight scale, but...and this is a huge but...they are very selective on what they take. So rather then pay higher prices for select logs, they get them and then just do not accept the less quality logs. That really is not the way it should be, it should be averaged out.
     
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  9. Woodslave

    Woodslave

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    These log scale sheets are from a log yard right at the Canadian border. The good part is they will take small loads, guy with a truck and trailer. This yard is only about 12-15 miles away. KIMG0090.jpg KIMG0089.jpg
     
  10. LodgedTree

    LodgedTree

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    You have no idea how interesting this is to me.

    I have a log yard close by (9 miles) and I have a truck and log trailer, but it is small in size. I know the truck drivers around here; as soon as I start hauling logs there, they will complain. I have seen them do this to the small guys at a paper mill that let small guys take wood there. Logging can be brutal here.

    It should not matter, logs are logs, but there is no bigger whiners in the world than truck drivers: they even beat me out. (lol) A lot of it is, they do not like the idea of little guys getting a start.

    But here is the thing, I don't log some types of wood because the price after trucking, the price of wood on the landing is so low; or how many logs I have is not enough to fill a big truck...so I don't log them. At 9 miles away, I could economically, because the cost of trucking is what makes it worthwhile or not. As part of being part of the American Tree Farm System, I really should be logging some of these trees off.

    I thought about going out to the log yards corporate office and just talking with the owner. I don't know him, but I knew his father and suspect if he is at all like his father, he would let a small guy in. I would not be asking much, just that if truckers started to complain, he would just step in and say, "Let Lodgedtree haul in his logs." Is there people out there that still like a guy asking face to face instead of via phone call or email? What about a guy who raises sheep and cuts his own woodlot still, kind of a dying breed today? No contracts, no lawyers, just a handshake deal? I don't know, but it would save me a ton of money on trucking if the guy went for it.

    I have been thinking about this a lot.
     
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  11. Woodslave

    Woodslave

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    I can sell logs to Amish neighbours less than a half mile away. $200 -1000 bdf spruce, fir or hemlock. They will saw my lumber for $140 - 1000 bdf, not even worth me having a sawmill anymore. I have a friend who brings them and there friend down the road 3-5 dump trailer loads a week, each load roughly 1000 bdf. The guy further down the road buys all hardwood for pallet stock. I think he cuts the top boards and sells by the load, someone picks them up. This load on my running gear is some smaller logs I had sawn for myself. They will buy all my Tamarack that I would bring them.
     

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  12. Flamestead

    Flamestead

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  13. Woodslave

    Woodslave

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  14. Flamestead

    Flamestead

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    We’ve never done any business with them, so I can’t say for sure. It is just a yard, not a mill (they are re-selling). Here’s the home page to their web site.
    Northeast Timber Exchange, LLC

    Another avenue is working with a bigger outfit that will do brokering for you. She says they charge $10/mbf or $2 per ton. You’d need a truckload to make it worthwhile.
     
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