Southern timber industry hurt by strong U.S. dollar

ALBANY - Slightly higher Southern timber prices seen in the summer and early fall may not continue because of a strong U.S. dollar, which hampers exports, and a continuing problem with imported lumber, industry experts say. <br> <br> Marshall Thomas, president of Albany-based F&W Forestry Services Inc., said scattered price increases for standing timber may have been caused by short-term factors, such as ``euphoria&#39;&#39; over the U.S. tariff imposed on Canadian lumber imports. <br> <br> Another factor could be the approaching winter, which is traditionally the region&#39;s wet season, he said. Loggers typically cut fewer trees during the winter because some areas are too boggy for their heavy equipment. <br> <br> But with much of the South in its third year of drought, the weather has failed to trim the supply, Thomas said. <br> <br> ``We will have short-term fluctuations in prices, but there will be no serious, sustained changes until the dollar weakens, wet weather returns or there is some other economic disturbance in the forest products sector,&#39;&#39; Thomas said. <br> <br> Until last year&#39;s third quarter, sawtimber prices had been dropping since early 1999. The price of large pine sawtimber, used mostly for lumber, fell from $55 per ton to about $44 during the period. Small sawtimber declined from about $42 per ton to about $27 per ton. <br> <br> Then in the third quarter, large pine sawtimber prices climbed to about $46 per ton and smaller sawtimber rose to about $31 per ton. <br> <br> Now there are indications prices could drop to the lowest level since 1995, Thomas said.