Hey Matt - tangentially related to the piece above, a good article in the WSJ today about falling lumber prices. I thought this quote at the bottom of the article hit home on how sawmills have consolidated and now have pricing power and can coordinate contracting supply quickly as prices drop. That's collusion if I've ever seen it:
"The consolidation of North America’s sawmills by a few big firms, such as Canfor and West Fraser Timber Co., has hastened the speed at which production is choked back in response to falling prices and should buoy prices, said Håkan Ekström of Wood Resources International LLC.
“Markets are a little more controlled with fewer mill owners,” he said. “When there were more owners, everyone waited for someone else to slow down.”"
What i like about this article is the insight that even a "political creature" like Vilsack can be motivated to fight concentration in industry..... IT shows there is hope.
Hey Matt - tangentially related to the piece above, a good article in the WSJ today about falling lumber prices. I thought this quote at the bottom of the article hit home on how sawmills have consolidated and now have pricing power and can coordinate contracting supply quickly as prices drop. That's collusion if I've ever seen it:
"The consolidation of North America’s sawmills by a few big firms, such as Canfor and West Fraser Timber Co., has hastened the speed at which production is choked back in response to falling prices and should buoy prices, said Håkan Ekström of Wood Resources International LLC.
“Markets are a little more controlled with fewer mill owners,” he said. “When there were more owners, everyone waited for someone else to slow down.”"
What i like about this article is the insight that even a "political creature" like Vilsack can be motivated to fight concentration in industry..... IT shows there is hope.