How African Hardwood Lumber Is Actually Priced (Board Foot, Cubic Meter, Container)
Buyers open conversations with "price per board foot" and suppliers answer with a quotation per cubic meter per container. Both are talking about the same pile of wood. This post explains the four cost drivers and how to make quotes comparable.
Driver 1: species and form
Every species has its own cost base — logging concession economics, mill location, export levies. That is why sapelli and zebrano never trade at the same number. Form matters too: logs are cheapest per cubic meter (mill input), sawn timber adds sawing and drying, square timber adds precision blanks. See our sawn timber catalogue for what each form looks like.
African B2B pricing is quoted per cubic meter or per container at FOB/CFR; US retail lists board feet. Convert once, then compare suppliers on the same unit.
Driver 2: grade, Driver 3: dimensions
FAS vs. commercial grade changes usable yield, so a "cheaper" lower-grade load can cost more per usable board. Non-standard thicknesses and long lengths cost more to produce and to ship — running standard sizes keeps both mill and freight costs down.
Always compare quotes at identical size-and-grade terms. A quote that looks cheap usually differs in one of those two.
Driver 4: freight and terms — and how to get a comparable number
Ocean freight, port congestion and vessel schedules move landed cost more than most lumber price swings. FOB quotes leave freight to your account; CFR bundles it to your port (we do not quote CIF or door delivery).
To get comparable quotes: same species, same size/grade, same moisture regime (AD/KD), same port, stated in USD per cubic meter with container count. That is exactly how we quote — send your spec list and you will have it back in that format, plus cargo photos of what would actually load.