Northwest chip markets rattled as export pressure impacts domestic buyers

摘要

A slew of supply and demand forces clashed in woodfiber markets in the US Pacific Northwest recently, challenging chip buyers as export demand rose up. The greatest volatility was centered on the region's southern tier in Oregon, according to RISl's Woodfiber Report. The leading impact, buyers said, is the recent jump in export chip markets based out of Coos Bay. With prices up suddenly by $16/bone dry unit (bdu) or 11% and volumes potentially 25% higher for export chips, domestic markets have been impacted, even jarringly, some said. Those changes came when exporters were already short on fiber inventory, leading them to "hunt up volumes with a vengeance" in July and August, starting first in the southern half of Oregon but edging northward weekly, according to contacts.