Timber prices

Roadside Sales Prices supplied by private forest owners
Timber Sale Methods
Timber Assortments
Standing Sales Prices supplied by Coillte

Roadside Sales Prices supplied by private forest owners

Last update: December 2011

The above timber prices are based on roadside sales prices achieved by forest owners. These prices have been provided to Teagasc by forest owners nationwide.

It is important to keep in mind that timber prices may increase or decrease in value and that forest owners should be fully aware of tax implications before selling timber.

Please note that prices are in euro per cubic metre (m³). One cubic metre (m³) of freshly cut timber weighs one tonne (t). While one tonne of dried timber with a moisture content (MC) of 30% has a volume of 1.75 cubic metres.

Disclaimer: Teagasc does not accept any responsibility as the information provided is of a general nature only and does not address the specific circumstances of any particular individual. Please note that prices change over time and are dependent on many different factors.

Timber Sale Methods

Timber is sold in Ireland using one of the following methods:

Standing Sales. The forest owner sells timber as it stands in the forest at an agreed price in advance of harvesting. The buyer is responsible for thinning and harvesting. Timber is sold by volume (cubic metres, m³).
Roadside Sales. Timber is sold to the buyer on the forest road. The harvesting contractor is paid by the forest owner. The haulage is covered by the buyer. Timber is sold by volume (cubic metres, m³).
Mill Gate Sales. The buyer pays for the timber delivered to their yard/mill. The forest owner pays for the harvesting and haulage cost. Timber is sold by weight (tonnes).

Timber Assortments

Timber is divided into categories based on the diameter of the logs produced during harvesting. The quantity (and price) of each category produced depends on the species, size and age of the timber being harvested.

Small diameter timber. This is generally the top section of the tree and has a diameter between 7 and 14 cm and is generally divided into three further categories: pulpwood, stakewood and energy wood
Palletwood. This is cut from the mid section of the log, which has a large end diameter of 20 cm and a small end diameter down to 14cm. It is used as the name suggests in the packaging industry, manufacture of garden furniture and fencing.
Sawlog /Light sawlog. This is cut from the lower section of the stem and is cut to a small end diameter of 20 cm. It is used to produce timber for the construction industry. In general, first and second thinnings would not contain timber large enough to fall into this category.

Contracted Standing Sales (€/m³) by average tree size and per quarter

Category (m³)	Q1 2010	Q2 2010*	Q3 2010*	Q4 2010*	Q1 2011*	Q2 2011*	Q3 2011*	Q4 2011*
0.001 - 0.074	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
0.075 - 0.124	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
0.125 - 0.174	-	-	-	-	-	8.50	-	-
0.175 - 0.224	-	44.38	30.80	-	-	-	32.75	-
0.225 - 0.274	26.08	72.15	56.35	54.11	-	41.85	36.88	40.02
0.275 - 0.324	34.71	43.86	53.73	48.48	43.36	41.48	43.34	40.83
0.325 - 0.374	35.90	46.11	55.96	50.40	45.64	42.58	42.96	44.80
0.375 - 0.424	40.78	64.21	68.45	54.57	45.99	42.26	46.60	43.00
0.425 - 0.474	29.98	60.77	68.14	52.78	48.27	46.07	50.05	48.59
0.475 - 0.499	36.51	60.76	59.35	-	44.00	50.18	45.35	45.28
0.500 - 0.599	41.31	70.55	66.95	55.16	49.48	45.58	48.72	49.72
0.600 - 0.699	41.11	78.03	66.87	54.45	49.68	49.52	46.35	50.50
0.700 - 0.799	43.28	68.95	69.99	54.59	51.00	48.55	48.51	51.39
0.800 - 0.899	48.11	63.98	81.27	52.00	50.91	51.48	47.25	-
0.900 - 0.999	42.66	67.13	73.39	54.25	51.60	48.20	52.16	51.92
1.000 and over	48.52	76.76	76.31	55.33	52.98	51.03	49.68	52.20
*Average (€/m3)*	41.26	67.59	65.90	53.90	49.69	46.99	46.26	48.85

Contracted Standing Sales (€/m3) by average tree size and per year

Category (m3)	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011
0.001 - 0.074	-	8.91	4.11	10.04	-	-	-	-
0.075 - 0.124	5.50	7.80	6.67	9.37	-	3.96	-	-
0.125 - 0.174	11.91	9.45	12.22	8.64	19.38	4.00	-	8.50
0.175 - 0.224	14.58	12.40	17.15	19.43	24.14	15.04	38.64	32.75
0.225 - 0.274	20.78	17.28	18.07	34.41	21.43	19.01	47.59	39.53
0.275 - 0.324	24.89	22.27	26.44	37.98	28.86	19.90	43.80	42.26
0.325 - 0.374	23.98	22.64	22.11	43.43	30.37	23.20	44.06	43.73
0.375 - 0.424	25.12	24.56	24.58	41.24	33.78	24.48	58.17	44.37
0.425 - 0.474	28.69	26.17	34.42	43.72	31.45	24.03	55.54	47.16
0.475 - 0.499	36.05	25.89	34.31	47.91	35.69	25.12	55.07	45.95
0.500 - 0.599	32.52	31.71	32.52	50.46	37.76	26.82	59.91	48.25
0.600 - 0.699	36.92	35.10	36.30	52.00	38.41	27.07	63.67	48.99
0.700 - 0.799	38.59	37.89	39.42	52.09	39.04	26.97	58.75	49.92
0.800 - 0.899	41.23	38.71	41.19	50.64	42.06	27.34	57.11	50.65
0.900 - 0.999	40.45	40.48	37.88	53.59	41.44	28.86	56.00	51.25
1.000 and over	43.70	38.53	45.11	55.62	39.59	29.35	59.55	51.31
*Average (€/m3)*	32.25	30.00	30.94	47.21	35.29	25.74	56.67	47.84

Source: Coillte Sales & Marketing

"The figures quoted above are for sales to the sawmill sector only and include all species and harvest types. Since the mix of species and harvest types can vary from quarter to quarter, this impacts on contracted prices in addition to the impact of other market factors. *The majority of prices quoted are for standing sales with retained pulpwood, i.e. there is no value for pulp included in these prices. Coillte does not accept any responsibility for the uses to which its price data are put or any inconsistencies that may arise as a result."