Latest data demonstrates that after continuous increases since June 2020, sawn softwood prices moderated during the September quarter. Though several grades experienced prices growth, the rate of growth cooled, while some grades too a step down from previous highs.
Prices for key Structural Untreated MGP <120mm products were up 0.2% during the September quarter but are still 18.7% higher on average than for a year earlier. At AUDFis756.43/m3, the Eastcoast average price was a record, with each of the state weighted average prices also at record levels, except for the main outlier – Queensland – where the quarterly price declined 4.4%, but still led the market at AUDFis896.39/m3.
The situation was marginally different for the largest grade, Structural Treated MGP products. This is the companion to the untreated grade described above. The Structural Treated MGP <120mm products were up 0.9% for the September quarter and 20.5% compared to a year earlier, hitting a record AUDFis 853.71/m3.
Contrasts at the State level saw Queensland’s weighted average price rise 1.0% to a new high of AUDFis926.83/m3, while the Victorian weighted average price fell 0.6% to AUDFis802.08/m3, recording the lowest weighted average price for the quarter. South Australia experienced a 0.1% fall and NSW a 1.1% increase, having led the grade higher over the year, increasing by a very solid 22.7% compared with the prior year.
Beyond the main structural grades, there are other grades of interest. Not least of these is External Treated H3 grades, where the weighted average price moderated from its June quarter record by 0.8% to AUDFis1,053.49/m3. As the chart below shows, the upside outlier for this grade is not Queensland, but South Australia. Its price declined 0.2% over the quarter, but at AUDFos1,176.51/m3 is more than AUD100/m3 higher than any other state and has increased a very strong 24.6% over the year-ended September.
Finally, it is worth considering the one weighted average price grade for which the quarter held no downturns: Green Packaging (which includes tile battens). At AUDFis 378.92/m3, the quarterly price was up 3.2% on the prior quarter and a massive 28.1% on the prior year. All of the state weighted averages were higher over the quarter and at record levels. The high price was supplied by NSW, up 4.4% on the prior quarter to AUDFis405.02/m3.
