Seeing Douglas-fir stumpage slip $15–$25/MBF on sealed bids this month in western Oregon, even with mills still posting $725–$750 gate on 2S. How are you adjusting bid packages — raising minimums, tightening specs, or trading delivery windows for better trucking — to hold value on Q4 offerings?
Seeing the same in western OR — — $15–$25/MBF off while 2S gates still $725–$750. > bid packages — raising minimums, tightening specs, or trading delivery windows for I’m trading delivery windows: offering a 10–14 day flex window for locked trucking and Saturday haul, which has clawed back about $10–$15/MBF on DF. Caveat is if weather stalls, that window slips on you — anyone tightening sweep/rot caps without scaring off bidders?
We’ve been tightening bucking to push more 12–20" SED 2S and cutting 36s/40s for mills that bump long logs $2–$3/MBF, plus peeling a small sort where fiber is clean; that’s covered most of the $15–$25/MBF slide on sealed bids. Caveat: it only pencils with hauls under about 70 miles and steady loader time, otherwise handling chews it up. With “2S at $725–$750,” are you seeing any premium on 40s at Banks or is it flat?
We’re trading delivery windows for “night-haul with seasonal overweight permits” and pre-booked backhauls; one extra turn beats sharpening the pencil twice. Anyone getting ODOT to fast-track specific routes, or just sticking to the posted corridors? https://www.oregon.gov/odot/mct/pages/over-dim_overweight_trucking_permits.aspx.
I’m tightening DF specs instead of jacking minimums: bumped top to 7" and tied the package to a 62%+ 2S/3S yield with a small stumpage kicker if we beat it — , it trims volume but keeps averages in line with that $725–$750 gate. Also writing 30–45 day delivery blocks with guaranteed turns from one carrier so we’re not chasing a gate index. @martaK you getting mills in W. OR to accept a simple “grade-yield threshold + bonus,” or do they balk?
, we’re carving Q4 offerings into smaller tracts and adding a mill-switch clause: if 2S gate posts under $730 we can divert to our backup with a pre-cleared sort matrix, keeps sealed-bid exposure in check without bumping minimums. We’re also front-loading road work and decking earlier so we can pounce on dry-day hauls and trade midweek delivery slots for guaranteed turns. @brentwood95, anyone getting a 48-hour switch window on DF accepted without blowing up the scaler schedule?