RISI VIEWPOINT: Increases in PNW chip prices not seen since the “chip shock” of the mid-1990s
By Peter Barynin, Principal Economist, Timber
Softwood and hardwood chip prices are moving up at a pace we have not seen since the "chip shock" in the mid-1990s. First-quarter prices for Douglas-fir export chips have been set at US$175/BDU (FOB, export dock), an eye-popping $36.50/BDU increase from the second half of 2017.
West Coast chip prices experienced a similar quarterly price jump in 1995, which was the only other time these prices have moved this much in a single quarter (Figure 1). That rally was driven by a substantial contraction in residual supplies from lumber mills, an epic rally in pulp prices ...