Timber REITs: Land Sales Offset Weak Log Markets for PCL and PCH in 2Q 2011

| no comments in Timber REITs, Timberlands

Second quarter 2011 results reported by Plum Creek (PCL) and Potlatch (PCH) the past two days indicated continued weakness in those segments affected by housing markets (timber harvesting and wood products manufacturing).  Both firms somewhat offset lower timber harvesting cash more…

Who are the Top Owners and Managers of Timberland in the US?

| no comments in Timber Market Analysis, Timber REITs, Timberlands

According to Forisk tracking of timberland ownership, 58 firms currently own or manage in excess of 100,000 acres of timberlands in the United States.  These firms feature the following descriptive statistics: As a group, they own/manage 57.6 million acres of more…

Potential Impacts on Timberland Investors from FDIC Proposals on Risk Retention and Mortgage Markets

| no comments in Forest Finance & Economics, Stumpage Forecasting, Timberlands

Recent comments by Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) Chairman Sheila Blair regarding minimum down-payments of up to 20% for “qualified residential mortgages” (QRM) echoed discussions about residential housing markets at the UGA Timberland Investment Conference.  Our Equity Research Team (Neena more…

Timber Forecast: Sawtimber Prices Expected to Recover in 2012-2013; Pulpwood Driven by Bioenergy and OSB

| no comments in Forisk, Stumpage Forecasting, Timber Market Analysis, Timberlands, Wood Demand & Procurement

Our team at Forisk just released its 2011 timber (stumpage) forecast for pine sawtimber and pulpwood for the US South and by state.  Overall, we show increasing demand for wood raw materials and higher pine stumpage prices for forest owners more…

Timberland & Timber REITs: Credit Suisse Analysis Lacks Rigor and Logic

| no comments in Forest Finance & Economics, Timber REITs, Timberlands

An interesting report landed on our desk a few weeks ago, further reinforcing the sorry state of timberland market analysis available to timber REIT investors. The report, from Credit Suisse, makes assertions based on a careless and faulty application of more…

Timber REITs and Timberlands: Wall Street Excitement versus Institutional Indifference

| no comments in Forest Finance & Economics, Timber REITs, Timberlands

Last week, I spoke at the Global Real Assets Investment Forum in New York as part of the panel on “Timber in Institutional Portfolios.”  My takeaway from participating in this event:  institutional investors seem bored with timberlands.  They showed more more…

Timber REIT Comparative Analysis: Who Wins as Housing Markets Return?

| no comments in Timber REITs, Timberlands

Forisk Equity Research completed a comparative analysis of timber REIT forest harvesting activities to address the question, “who wins as housing markets return?”  The Executive Summary is below.  The complete Technical Note (January 2011) is available here. Executive Summary While more…