Visitor traffic on the Forisk Blog increased 11% in 2018 over 2017, for a sixth consecutive year of double-digit growth. Thank you! Here are the top five posts from 2018, along with a few popular posts by topic:

1. Forest Finance: What Does a Negative or Zero NPV Say About My Potential Timberland Investment?
   2013. Again, number one, this brief post continues to top our rankings since it hit the web in January 2013.The core finance question drives traffic to this post, while the timberland angle comes along for the ride.
   2014. Note: I cover this and related (forest) finance applications and topic in the upcoming “Applied Forest Finance” workshop on February 19^thin Atlanta.
2. Who’s Who in Lumber: Top 10 U.S. Lumber Producers
   1. Posted in March 2017 by Amanda Lang and Justin Tyson, this snapshot of U.S. softwood lumber capacity comes from Forisk’s database of North American forest industry capacity. The ongoing tracking of over 4,000 wood-using facilities helps isolate the effects of technology shifts and capital investment trends.
   2. Note: Justin posted an updated analysis of the sector for the South in July 2018.
3. Tracking the Top Timberland Owners and Managers, 2018
   1996. A post from April 2018 summarizing the current year update of our North American Timberland Owner & Manager tracking. Forisk has been accumulating private timberland transaction and ownership data for the past twelve years for the U.S. and Canada. The ownership data goes back 50 years and the transaction data goes back 20 years to 1996.
4. Forisk Forecast: Six Reasons Why Timber Prices in the South Do Not Track U.S. Housing Starts Today
   1. Another popular post from 2017, this addresses the apparent disconnect between housing and timber prices. One of our longer posts, the analysis indicates the story has clear antecedents, which lay the groundwork for assessing future U.S. timber prices, especially in the South.
5. Peaking Log Prices in the Pacific Northwest?
   1. This post from June 2018 provided context for the strong softwood log prices in the Northwest while making the case for the relative competitive disadvantage of the PNW relative to the South. From a timberland investment perspective, we view the PNW as a cash flow story and the South as a growth story.

 

Top 2018 Blog on Forest Supplies

Southern Timber Supplies: Investment Implications by Amanda Lang (May 2018) includes county-level analysis of pine grade harvesting activity and demand for the U.S. South.

Top 2018 Blog on Business Strategy

Thinking Beyond Deviations: Changes that Could Disrupt the Forest Industry, Part I by Brooks Mendell (August 2018) initiated a series of posts tied to quarterly Forisk Strategy Notes on strategic issues facing executives and investors in the timberland investing and forest product industries.

Top 2018 Wood Bioenergy Blog

Asian Wood Pellet Demand by Andrew Copley and Amanda Lang (May 2018) summarized wood pellet demand and trends in South Korea and Japan.

Top 2018 Forest Operations Blog Post

Is a short-term decline in logging employment a long term concern? by Shawn Baker (January 2018) provides historical context for the importance and reality of improved productivity in the U.S. logging sector relative to declining employment levels.