Timber Market Analysis (TMA) is a process of systematically evaluating and tracking local wood raw material markets for investing in and managing timberlands and wood-using facilities.

The TMA process prioritizes questions, aggregates data, conducts analysis and communicates results and recommendations.  The process has evolved through hundreds of engagements and dozens of research studies focused on breaking down local wood baskets and timber markets for a range of questions and Forisk clients.  TMA mitigates risk and increases the opportunities for returns through reducing errors, prioritizing resource allocation and highlighting unanswered questions.  In addition, TMA lowers costs through enabling firms to save time and conduct internally the analyses required for timber and wood-related capital allocation decisions.

Timber Market Analysis relies on available inputs and consistently applied analytical frameworks.  Which inputs and frameworks are selected depends on the specific questions that require answering.  And the questions you need to answer depend on the task or application (e.g. investing versus procurement versus capital investing).

As analysts and investors and managers, we – you and me – apply TMA in a range of long and short-term assessments of business and market conditions.  Long-term forecasts and analyses support major capital allocation and strategic planning efforts.  They help leaders and executives dictate the direction of an operation or organization.  Short-term assessments support tactical, operational efforts.  They support the management decisions associated with timing, direction, and magnitude.

At the end of the day, we analyze timber markets and wood baskets to mitigate unwelcome risk and identify slivers of advantage associated with operating and investment decisions.  Our role in this exercise is to conduct the best analysis we can, and support it with lucid, practiced coaching on the strengths, weaknesses, and insights available from its application.

Forisk will teach “Timber Market Analysis” on June 19^th in Atlanta, a one-day workshop that details how to track, analyze and rank timber markets and wood baskets. For more information, click here.