Walnut gone up?

[4x4American]

I was talking with some folks from downstate NY and they're saying that Walnut went up considerably in the past few weeks.  One guy is a logger I used to work for, salt of the earth type guy, and he said he's getting $10/ft for his nice big straight black walnut logs.  (he also hasn't been able to work for the past 3 months due to illness and the iron isn't moving either)  Another guy (who runs a small sawmill biz) told me that Walnut lumber was going for $6/ft, but in the past week or two it's gone to $15/ft...how do you follow the prices of a fluctuating market and is this hogwash or true?

[Brad_bb]

Do you mean board foot? If not, please explain.

[4x4American]

Yes by ft I mean bdft.  Just figured that's mainly how logs and lumber are measured so didn't have to spell it out.

[Brad_bb]

$15/BF for Walnut lumber?   Who could pay that??!! 

$10/BF for logs must mean you're selling to a veneer buyer, correct?  That still seems really high.

This past summer I was paying $6.39/BF for Planed 3"x7" x5' brace stock.

[4x4American]

If I heard it from one person I'd prolly not believe it, but I heard it from two different people, at two different times.

[YellowHammer]

Walnut is always going up, I've seen $8/Bdft on the log for a year now, maybe more, but for 4CF logs, 16 inch diameter and better.  I'm also seeing junk sawlogs for $1/Bdft, and I buy somewhere in the middle, generally in the $2.50 to $3.50 range for good, decent 3CF or better,  "near veneer" logs. The walnut quarantine is driving prices up, as well as very strong overseas markets.

I sell furniture grade, clear 4/4 walnut lumber for $7/Bdft retail and sold 5 slabs of 8/4 walnut this weekend for $14/Bdft.  They were still warm from when I took them out of the kiln that morning.

I dislike buying walnut logs, its a sellers market, it's very easy to get snookered and everybody wants to sell them at gold prices. 

[beenthere]

YH

but for 4CF logs, 16 inch diameter and better

For others, assume 4CF means four clear faces on the logs....

[square1]

I'll be watching this thread.  About the time I was going to start harvesting China went TU and prices took a dive, been sitting and waiting for news like this,

[4x4American]

I got the deal of a lifetime the other day on some less than pallet quality, bark fallin off old walnut logs.  All I have to do is go through 10 acres of woods with a chainsaw and settle all the trees that Irene knocked over.  The chainsaw work isn't hard but not worth it for the crooked, split, ugly logs, and hardly 500bdft in em at that.

[4x4American]

I'm getting $3.30/bdft for thick slabs right off the sawmill, he buys all of em, that ain't awful considerin he buys every last piece, no?

[WDH]

That is a real bargain for him.  Like Yellowhammer, I am at $14/BF for 8/4 slabs.  However, that is for kiln dried.  If I was close to you, I would buy all you had at that price and take you to dinner every time that I came to pick up some  ;D.

From a weekly Market Report a few weeks ago, FAS/Select 4/4 kiln dried walnut was selling wholesale FOB Mill (loaded on a truck at the mill) for $4/BF.  That is tractor trailer load quantities and does not include the trucking cost to haul the load to its destination.  8/4 was $4.82/BF without freight. 

[Ron Wenrich]

Veneer markets are quite a bit different than the sawlog markets.  Those upper end quotes are probably for veneer.  I remember cherry veneer at $8/bf and FAS lumber at $1.50.  Big difference and it was reflected in the stumpage prices.  I would imagine the high priced walnut also has some pretty high specs on it.  Not every veneer log would make it.  Sort of a prime price. 

With the dollar being high compared to other currencies, you have to wonder where those prices would be if it hadn't gone up. 

[paul case]

I think most of you know but here it is anyway. Hardwood Market Report is where you can get the current lumber prices that most buyers go from.

The flooring maker that I sell to has started buying some 4/4 walnut from a few folks and their fas price is $2.42 for green black walnut. Not too bad if you get good logs purchased just about a buck.

pc

[4x4American]

I think most of you know but here it is anyway. Hardwood Market Report is where you can get the current lumber prices that most buyers go from.

The flooring maker that I sell to has started buying some 4/4 walnut from a few folks and their fas price is $2.42 for green black walnut. Not too bad if you get good logs purchased just about a buck.

pc

thanks for that.  I am trying to price some more walnut right now but not sure what I oughta be getting since we harvested the logs ourselves.  I'll have to prescribe to it.

[grweldon]

I bought some rough 8/4 walnut at a large hardwood place here in Montgomery (Alabama) for $10 bd/ft.  The are selling 4/4 planed boards at the Woodcraft store in the Birmingham area for the same...

[4x4American]

The guy who's buying mine is buying them green off the saw.  I'm thinking on this next load I'm gonna tell him I need at least $4.5/bf

[WDH]

Yes. That would be better.

[4x4American]

I put some on CL, and I wrote my cell and checked the box that says they can text me...well shoot I've been getting a lot of text messages!  Even got a portable saw job through some texting.  Some people just prefer texting over calling.  Which is nice, because I don't have to stop what I'm doing to answer the phone.  I can answer at my leisure. 

[Larry]

I think the Hardwood Market Report is the only accurate index.  Its expensive to subscribe to for us little guys, make friends at a hardwood mill and they will likely let you take a peek or even give last weeks report to you.

Just finished my first 16 saw job this evening.  The customer had me sawing 32" walnut logs....one was only 36" long cause he cut off two foot with the lantern hanger in it.  Sawing black gold and all I got was penny's. :D

[4x4American]

You ain't just a kiddin Larry...280 bones for the subscription...but I'll tell you what, if I had prescribed to it earlier, it would have paid for itself in no time flat.