Since International Paper abruptly closed its mills in Liberty and Chatham counties last fall, business owners in Southeast Georgia who once made the state the largest timber exporter in the nation have been feeling acute pain.
As of January, demand for timber had dropped more than 60%, meaning truckers and contractors who would haul the raw materials to saw mills or processing plants have lost work. The cost of pulpwood, meanwhile, had plummeted from $15 to $16 a ton to $5 to $6 a ton, according to Shane Harrelson, the owner and manager of Ohoopee Land and Timber in Vidalia.
The upheaval meant that some land owners decided it wasn’t worth replanting their acreage for the next harvest. According to Harrelson, the average price for pulp wood before IP’s closures was $1,125 per acre. Last month, it was $375, a level that means farmers can barely break even…