So what's going to happen to the firewood market?

[Woodworks]

With the cost of wood going through the roof due to increasing demand and likely rules on the moisture content of logs coming in what is likely to happen to the market?

 

Wondering if it best to make this our last year and get out quick before we simply cant buy wood due to being a small player. 

Edited September 1, 2018 by Woodworks

[Big J]

I could only suggest that an effort is made to educate customers about the market pressures of supplying very small quantities of pristine hardwood, and how difficult that is. 50:50 loads the norm, with pure hardwood loads a real rarity. 2 cube plus deliveries to bypass the moisture content rules, and ideally get them to buy ahead and throughout the year, to spread demand. 

 

Pipe dream stuff maybe, but I think that there is still plenty of wood around, but customers need to be much more flexible and savvy.

[Woodworks]

If demand is crazy as it sounds I cant see softwood supplies lasting long either. with the likes of the Kent power station and endless smaller but not small biomass installation still going in this is all going to go tits up swiftly. I see loads of cleared felled sites but stuff all in the way of new planting going on. Something has to give IMO

[Big J]

It's amusing when you look at the Estover website for Sandwich as the bits in red are clearly bollocks.

 

The Sandwich, Kent biomass CHP will supply heat and electricity to Discovery Park, one of Europe's leading science and technology parks. The plant will source its fuel predominantly from traditionally managed coppiced woodlands, stimulating the local forestry industry and improving traditionally managed forests.

The project was financed in August 2016 by Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) and BWSC with over £150m of finance. The project is due to commission in Q1 2018.

• Low cost carbon electricity and steam for Discovery Park tenants 
• Up to 27MWe power and 11MWth steam offtake.
• Enough to power 40,000 homes
• Abundant local fuel - 430,000 acres of unmanaged woodland in South East England

 

Edited September 1, 2018 by Big J

[ash_smith123]

If demand is crazy as it sounds I cant see softwood supplies lasting long either. with the likes of the Kent power station and endless smaller but not small biomass installation still going in this is all going to go tits up swiftly. I see loads of cleared felled sites but stuff all in the way of new planting going on. Something has to give IMO

Very true! youve just got to wonder when the price rise is going to stop.
We are also a timber merchant and decking/fencing timber and sheet material has also gone up around 50/60% at wholesale over the last year with no sign of it stopping. It will always be passed onto the end user but when does the end user just stop buying it.
When we started firewood 6 years ago I was buying in hardwood for £40 a ton delivered, now its £80, in another 5/6 years is it going to be £160? Will people pay £200+ for a cubic metre?
Who knows but I'm not keeping all my eggs in a firewood basket, try and diversify to keep the business sustainable

[richardwale]

Firewood as main income is going to be very very tough...

[Peasgood]

45 minutes ago, Woodworks said:

Wondering if it best to make this our last year and get out quick before we simply cant buy wood due to being a small player

The time to get out is when you can't make a profit from it.

It doesn't matter what price you buy it in at as long as you can sell it for a profit after costs. Same with anything.

[Woodworks]

2 minutes ago, Peasgood said:

The time to get out is when you can't make a profit from it.

It doesn't matter what price you buy it in at as long as you can sell it for a profit after costs. Same with anything.

Yes agreed but if the moisture in logs rules comes in as early as 2020 which was suggested I need a kiln. Spending all that time and money on a kiln and then within a year or two not be able to get wood would not be a good plan. 

[spuddog0507]

46 minutes ago, Big J said:

I could only suggest that an effort is made to educate customers about the market pressures of supplying very small quantities of pristine hardwood, and how difficult that is. 50:50 loads the norm, with pure hardwood loads a real rarity. 2 cube plus deliveries to bypass the moisture content rules, and ideally get them to buy ahead and throughout the year, to spread demand. 

 

Pipe dream stuff maybe, but I think that there is still plenty of wood around, but customers need to be much more flexible and savvy.

i have 4 out of about 60 log customers who buy good quantities of logs (4 - 7 cube) in june july some buy after the first couple nights frost and then its about 2 wk before christmas for the rest of them with the odd prick ringing at 8pm on dec 23rd asking if i can get a load of logs delivered tomorrow for christmas , IF only we could educate customers to buy early ? but i think we would have more chance of walking on the sun than the above happening,

[Gary Prentice]

9 hours ago, spuddog0507 said:

i have 4 out of about 60 log customers who buy good quantities of logs (4 - 7 cube) in june july some buy after the first couple nights frost and then its about 2 wk before christmas for the rest of them with the odd prick ringing at 8pm on dec 23rd asking if i can get a load of logs delivered tomorrow for christmas , IF only we could educate customers to buy early ? but i think we would have more chance of walking on the sun than the above happening,

Do you, or anyone else, actually positively promote a change in your customers buying habits?