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Just over two months into 2012, the public timber REIT sector pulled ahead of the S&P 500. According to the Forisk Timber REIT (FTR) Index, timberland owning REITs returned 9.84% YTD relative to 9.01% for the S&P 500. Weyerhaeuser (WY) more…
Since January 2012, multiple wood bioenergy projects in the United States have opened, closed or advanced their move towards operational viability. However, the implications on potential wood use were insignificant. Total potential wood use from announced and operating projects decreased more…
Amanda Lang recently presented an overview of timber markets and wood bioenergy demand at the Southeastern Society of American Foresters Meeting at Jekyll Island, Georgia. Here is an excerpt specific to the topic of Southern Yellow Pine “Design Values”: The more…
One reality of market and investment research is that if a data set “should” exist, it doesn’t. And if it does exist, it’s probably out of date (especially in forestry). Therefore, my team views the systematic aggregation, tracking and analysis more…
The wood bioenergy sector in the United States continues its extended round of musical chairs. As of January 30, 2012, Wood Bioenergy US reports that projected wood demand for all announced projects in the U.S. dropped 7.4 million tons year-to-date, more…
Nobel Prize-winning physicist Albert Einstein once said, “the hardest thing in the world to understand is the income tax.” On the other hand, actor Wesley Snipes reportedly said, “taxes are only complicated if you pay them.” (Actually, that might have more…
The Buddha tells the private equity fund he can fulfill one of its wishes. A managing director asks, “could you simplify the tax code?” Seeing the Buddha frown in silence, the person suggests another wish, “could you make our cellulosic more…
People who cite a rising stock market as evidence of economic health (1) make me nervous and (2) remind me what Timber REIT said to Timberland as they walked out of the gym: “You’re such a hard asset.” Roiled and more…
In 2011, timberland-owning REITs, as a sector, outperformed the S&P 500. As measured by the Forisk Timber REIT (FTR) Index, publicly-traded timber REITs returned 5.69% versus 0.00% for the S&P (see tables). The FTR Total Returns Index, which accounts for more…
Executive Summary: all timberland investment vehicles exceed US Treasury benchmarks over long time frames; timber REIT dividend distributions enhance yields to help offset short term share price volatility. U.S. Treasuries remain a common benchmark for private timberland investments. Why? Relative more…