Stumpage Prices In Southwestern Ontario: A Hedonic Function Approach

Timber used in the production of lumber in Southwestern Ontario varies in a number of characteristics and the lump-sum stumpage price is expected to reflect differences in those characteristics. When heterogeneous inputs are used in production, the hedonic price function approach may be used to estimate marginal implicit values of the various input characteristics. Hedonic price functions have been estimated for timber in the region using pooled time-series cross-section data from a large sample of timber sales. The results indicate that volume, species composition, tree size, timber quality and distance to the purchasing mill will affect lump-sum stumpage prices. Estimates of the contributions that each of these characteristics makes to stumpage prices are presented.