Germany: Results of state forest softwood auction in Litzendorf
30/01/2008 - 08:18
During the 11th softwood auction in Litzendorf (January 16th, 2008), pine prices slightly declined, but larch was on an upward trend. Bavarian state forests offered for sale about 1,600 m3 of mainly high-quality wood. Approximately 524 m3 (previous auction: 687 m3) of pine were from second rotation trees, while approximately 247 m3 (previous auction: 343 m3) was sold as logs, predominantly with a 5,0 m length. Spruce was almost entirely sold, while larch attracted bids only for about 217 m3 (previous auction: 220 m3), since buyers preferred 5 meter long logs. The Douglas fir and the white pine were second rotation trees.
Pine represented 22% (previous auction: 19%) of the Class A logs’ volume, larch 54% (51%) and spruce 48% (44%). The lot sizes varied for pine between 2 and 19 m3, for spruce between 3 and 24 m3 and for Douglas fir between 3 and 15 m3. For larch, lots were between 1 and 20 m3. The larch logs offered in smaller lots, under 10 m3, received very good bids.
Approximately 120 participants took part in the auction. Since the sale began, it was obvious that companies had very different views over the future market trends. Compared to last year, pine lots were both fewer and smaller, and buyers had clear price limits for this specie. In contrast, larch was once again actively bid. All the high-quality lots were generally sought after. Isolated discussions were held concerning the larch’s change of trend.
