FEATURED NEWS 14 West Virginia Forestry Association Mountain State Forestry | Spring 24 www.wvfa.org part on selecting diameter and clear face combinations with higher percentages of logs sawn into tie sized material. The five log grade combinations are: • 13-inch 0 clear faces (Grade No. 3, see Figure 4) • 12-inch 1 clear face (Grade No. 3, see Figure 4) • 13-inch 2 clear faces (Grade No. 2, see Figure 4) • 14-inch 3 clear faces (Grade No. 1, see Figure 4) • 15-inch 4 clear faces (Grade No. Select+, see Figure 4) Database logs were divided into 2 categories for this analysis: • Logs that only sawed out pallet cants (cross-sectional area of the cant <48 square inches). • Logs that sawed out a railroad tie or timber material only (crosssectional area of the cant/tie/timber >=48 square inches). This allows for consideration of 6” x 8” railroad ties in the analysis. Lumber and cant/tie prices are from a variety of sources and the prices used in the analysis are included in Table 1. Sawing cost is assumed to be $250/mbf and there is no profit consideration, resulting in breakeven pricing of logs to compare the two sawing strategies. That is, the breakeven price indicates what the mill could pay for logs delivered to the mill and not make or lose money on the transaction. Note, Select lumber is priced as 1 Common lumber and both 2B Common and 3B common lumber are priced as random width pallet lumber. Below Grade (BG) lumber is priced at $100 per mbf. RESULTS The log combination of 13 inches scaling diameter and 2 clear faces is used to illustrate the analysis, specifically for sawing a pallet cant plus boards, in Table 2. As indicated in Table 2, the analysis is based on 1 mbf of logs, Doyle scale. The first column identifies the NHLA grade, the second column provides the grade yields (based on the data collected by AHC). The third column provides lumber and cant pricing for January 2024 (Table 1), while column four provides the yield with overrun. The fifth column entries are determined by multiplying the percentage yield (column 2 in decimal form) times the lumber/cant price (column 3) times the yield with overrun (column 4) divided by 1,000, to provide the revenue for each lumber grade. The breakeven log cost is determined to be $492.68 per mbf, with a Select & Better yield of 13.6 percent and an overrun of 44.03 percent. Table 3 provides a summary of the results for the 5 combinations of scaling diameter and clear faces for both red oak and white oak. For the case of 13-inch, 2 clear face logs, the breakeven price for sawing ties from red oak is $923 per mbf versus the $493 per mbf for sawing a pallet cant and boards. The reason for this is that the Table 2. Breakeven pricing for 13-inch, 2 clear face Red Oak logs sawn for pallet cants. Log Pricing with 13 inch, 2 clear face logs With Pallet Cant Yields and Pricing Red Oak Pricing—January 2024 Pricing based on 1 mbf of logs Grade % Yield Lumber Prices $/mbf Yield with Overrun Revenue Overrun FAS 4.92% $1,010 1440.27 $71.58 44.03% F1F 7.34% $1,000 1440.27 $105.67 Select 1.32% $700 1440.27 $13.27 Sawing Cost $/mbf 1 Com 24.17% $700 1440.27 $243.70 $250 2a Com 21.02% $555 1440.27 $168.03 2b Com 0.78% $250 1440.27 $2.8 Profit (%) 3a Com 8.98% $515 1440.27 $66.60 $ - 3b Com 3.65% $250 1440.27 $13.14 BG 1.71% $100 1440.27 $2.47 Log Cost $mbf Cant 26.11% $440 1440.27 $165.48 $492.68 100.0% $852.75 No. Logs= 102 Sel & btr= 13.57% NHLA Grade Red Oak Price/mbf White Oak Price/mbf FAS $1,010 $2,900 One Face $1,000 $2,890 Select $700 $1,290 1 Common $700 $1,290 2A Common $555 $585 2B Common $250 $250 3A Common $515 $545 3B Common $250 $250 Below Grade $100 $100 Pallet Cant $440 $440 Railroad Tie $854 $854 Table 1. Lumber and cant pricing for red oak and white oak analysis of tie versus pallet cant production using January 2024 pricing.
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