Wood Crosstie Procurement Trends
Railway Tie Association (RTA) Procurement Trends Dashboard below represents the monthly opinions of "in-the field" wood tie buyers who procure untreated crossties from sawmills in their specific regions. The data is submitted to RTA within the first two weeks of the month following the reporting period covered. The output is in two forms - monthly and a 12-month running view (which started in July 2016). You can choose individual regions or grouped regions from the dropdown menus above for both the monthly and trend data. All the charts on the page will change based on your dropdown selections.
Since the information provided represents a snapshot-in-time-opinion of individuals, each working for a variety of tie procurement companies, RTA does not warrant nor accept responsibility for the accuracy of the data generated. For questions or feedback please email us.
1. Compared to last month, the quantity of logs on hand at mill yards is:
2. Today's log availability is:
3. The 6-12 outlook for log availability is:
4. Compared to last month, the overall demand for competitive products in your territory is:
5. In your territory, what is the current demand for:
Pallet Lumber
Paper (Chips
Lumber (#2 & #3)
Export
Board/Mat Timbers
6. What is your current view of overall hardwood sawmill production?
7. What is your current view of overall crosstie sawmill products?
Current
Future
8. What is your view of crosstie competitive position relative to other hardwood products?
9. Regarding your above answer, please provide context for market, weather or other conditions.
Mississippi: Crossties demand is steady, and ties hold a strong position in the market. spring rains are limiting log availability.
E Texas, NW Louisiana: Wet , logs are not moving just hill tracts,the markets are moving but price is down and paper chips and fuel is low because of a major paper mill closing in my area .
Virginia: with tariffs uncertainty, mark conditions are unstable. Some are pushing orders to be moved across borders before they go into effect. with log bands to china most mills are looking to either keep log movement domestic or send to vietnam
Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan, N Indiana, N Illinois: ties are still favorable for all mills over common grades of lumber
Pennsylvania: lower mill production continues to hold prices for 2-3c. some minimal increases on price. mat markets are strong. china export is down so logs are a bit more available.
New England 1: ties are still heavily favorable for all mills.