Prices of some timber

[FenceFurniture]

Has anyone noticed that the prices of timber from some suppliers have gone through the roof? Some I saw tonight is $25,000 per m³! Other regular stuff I have seen recently has all been at the price of Ebony ~$12k pm³ - but Ebony it is not.

Yes, figured timber will attract a premium, of course, but $25k pm³ is ....ummm....out there.

If the market is prepared to pay it then those sort of prices will continue to prevail, so I guess those only one way to get things a bit more sensible.

[shedbound]

yes I had, but I guess people aren't obliged to buy it.

[woodPixel]

My local supplier, which does just housing materials (pine, battons, oak, mdf, ply, etc) advised last week that all prices were going up 3% ASAP.

Its interesting, for he also said the overall market demand has dropped.

[Greg Ward]

Red cedar price is like cattle pricing for the past 20 years (apart from this year).
Red cedar Hasn't moved at all, camphor pricing hasn't changed either, yes perhaps some rare and exotic timbers like Tas blackheart and foreign timbers with lots of fiddleback have increased, but I think it has to do with the supplier. I wonder at some ebay prices for rubbish boards and slabs, but timber like all commodities follow supply and demand, so it there is an increased demand as everyone seems to want to make guitars these days, I guess the price for thin rare timbers will go up.

Sydney show in 3 weeks time will be a good guide

See you there

Greg

[FenceFurniture]

....camphor pricing hasn't changed eitherThat's exactly one of the species that I am talking about Greg (not your supplies). The price is $12k per cube which as I understand it is the price of Ebony. It may be very figured, but even so.

Pricing on some of the timber coming out of Tassie is $25k per cube.

I'm not talking about one-off pieces of extraordinary figure that can be priced as one-off, but a very regular supply of pieces for sale, particularly in the case of the camphor (several lots per week). As shedbound says, nobody is obliged to buy at that price - but that is only a temporary situation - if the market continues to by at those prices then it will soon become the standard which will force the prices out of reach for many if not most people. It is particularly grating when it is advertised as fault free but missing corners etc can be seen in the pics (and that can make a very significant difference to the board sizes yielded).

[Luke Maddux]

I've seen quilted QLD Maple on the marketplace going at 20-25k when sold as a "this" blank or a "that" blank. It's all about marketing and quantity. I've got .7 cube of quilted Maple at the house that would stand toe to toe with anything I've seen on here, but is someone going to pay me 18k for it in one lot? H--- no. But if I chopped it all up into pen blanks, knife scales, bowl blanks, etc and put it out there piecemeal over the course of a year I could pay off my entire woodworking hobby with it. People are willing to drop sixty bucks here and there for a project build, but when it comes time to get serious and stack some wood, they wanna pay furniture timber prices.

And FWIW I'm one of those people...

Supply and demand, unfortunately. And it goes both ways.

[John Saxton]

People are willing to drop sixty bucks here and there for a project build, but when it comes time to get serious and stack some wood, they wanna pay furniture timber prices.

And FWIW I'm one of those people...

Supply and demand, unfortunately. And it goes both ways.
Started storing 20yrs ago with deals done at WA forest commission auctions ,you're right in that people are either loathe to lay out $$$ in the longer term for buying/storing timber or do not have the required space to do so.
These auctions are a good means to getting good timber.Often at fair comparison to regular timber suppliers.I may never use all that I have ,however I'll have fun doing whatever I need to do without worrying where to access good timber.

[elanjacobs]

As mentioned above, a pack of timber is worth less than the sum of its parts.

I could cut up all our offcuts into 200*25*25 pieces and sell them as pen blanks for a hell of a lot more than the 40-60 cents they're worth at the cube rate. At $5 each that's $40k per cube and I'm sure most people would have no problem paying $10 for a nice one. If you look at it that way, this afternoon I cut up about $600 worth of timber for firewood :oo:

[CAG]

Hi FF,

Where have you seen Ebony at that price? Genuine Ebony was selling for $180 a superfoot (around $75000 a cube.)

It's a shame I haven't caught up with you and Lola since Jerilderie.

Craig

[Mobyturns]

As mentioned above, a pack of timber is worth less than the sum of its parts.

I could cut up all our offcuts into 200*25*25 pieces and sell them as pen blanks for a hell of a lot more than the 40-60 cents they're worth at the cube rate. At $5 each that's $40k per cube and I'm sure most people would have no problem paying $10 for a nice one. If you look at it that way, this afternoon I cut up about $600 worth of timber for firewood :oo:

A pack of timber also has a fair chance of containing boards with defects, stain etc. Pricing is commensurate with convenience, risk and waste. So prices for select blanks have to account for all the "non saleable" material. I certainly have no problem paying a reasonable premium for high quality ready to use timber, over packs that I have to store, dry, process, allow for degrade, dispose of waste etc.