Kiln drying prices

[Mike_M]

I know I have seen a spot before on what guys charge for Kiln drying other peoples lumber, but I can't remember where it is. I was wondering what guy's are charging to dry? I have a person that wants about 1,000 bdft of Big Leaf Maple dried, it would be green off the saw. I have a Nyle L200, what would be a fair price to charge? Thanks Mike M.

[David Freed]

I charge $.25/bf here in southern Indiana, but I do it more as a customer service because I would go broke if I was trying to do it for a living.   David

[oakiemac]

I charge by how much they bring (discount if large amount) also by MC of wood that they drop off. Price usually works out to around 30cents/bf.

I don't understand how you would go broke doing it. If some one brings full kiln at lets say 2500bf that =$750 gross then subtract out $150 for electricity and another $100 loading cost and misc then you have netted $500 for 2-3 weeks of kiln time. If the lumber is green and oak then the charge is higher because of longer kiln time. Just got to make sure that their load is not holding up a more valuable load that you are selling.

[raycon]

Challenging. I looked at the published prices in the HMR report to get a ball park just now. KD 4/4 FAS  is selling for $450/mbf more than green. Thats in truck load quantities. Going to $450/1000 would be my # tonight can always go down. If its 6/4 or 8/4 go up. I've felt that if I could go $.33/$.33/$.33 mill/dry/molder then I'm doing ok.

[bseago]

I have a 10,000 bf klin and charge .15 for soft wood and .20 for hard wood.

[brdmkr]

No kiln.... YET, but there is a local fellow that will dry for the public.  Wood must be AD FIRST, then he charges 200/thousand.

[Mike_M]

Thanks for all the good information.

[scsmith42]

I charge significantly more than what's been listed thus far.  I factor in depreciation, ROI, and maintenance costs, plus profit into my calculations. 

I have approximately 25K invested in my kiln.  Figuring a 7 year straight line depreciation, that's 300.00 per month, in addition to the loading and electricity cost.  Maintenance costs average around $50.00 per month (based upon replacing one PLC in the kiln controller per year).

If I want a 20% return on my capital investment, that's another 416.00 per month.

On top of that, I'd like to make a business operating profit - not just cover my labor costs to load and baffle the kiln.

And then there's taxes to take into account - payroll, business property taxes, and a pro-rated portion of professional services such as accounting and legal fees, plus a reserve for bad debt expense.  What about my time spent talking with customers, educating them on the kiln drying process and answering their questions?  This needs to be paid for in addition to the costs associated with loading and baffling the kiln.

I can understand why a large concern drying a couple of hundred thousand bd ft at a time can keep their costs and prices low; however I can't, and will not try to compete with their prices.

[David Freed]

scsmith42 gave all the reasons why I am not making any money at $.25/bf. I built my kiln to dry the lumber I use. I do advertise that I custom dry, but they have to wait until I have a batch of lumber that doesn't fill the kiln. If they wait I make a few extra dollars on that load. If they don't wait, I'm not worried about a few dollars.    David

[Mike_M]

I think I'm going to start out at 35 cents a bdft and go from that point. Thanks for all the input it has been very helpful.

[Ironwood]

I am with Scsmith on this one. .50 minimum. Too much labor and not enough return. I have alot less $ in my kiln but there are alot of other more profitable things to be doing with my time. My kiln is mostly for my own use anyway.

                 Ironwood

[Mike_M]

I'll start with 35 cents and increase it if the market will allow.