2020 marks the end of a decade that has provided us with some extreme financial and geopolitical peaks and valleys. In 2010, the global economy was just beginning to claw its way out of the depths of the Great Recession before mounting a comeback that has culminated in record-breaking financial performance (by almost any metric), as well as unprecedented levels of interest and investment into the forest products industry. While the political landscape is always shifting, the financial landscape appears to be on solid footing.
2020 is also a milestone year for Forest2Market, as it officially marks the 20th anniversary since our President and CEO Pete Stewart founded the company in January 2000. In the 1990s, Stewart often found himself making high-stakes decisions without the support of solid data. Frustrated with the lack of transparent, neutral and accurate market price information, Stewart started Forest2Market based on a business model of collecting transaction data (timber sales contracts, scale tickets, orders and invoices) and providing the most trustworthy, data-based products available to the forest products industry.
Since the introduction of our very first product in 2001—stumpage price reports for the US South—Forest2Market has continued to evolve and has established a legacy of innovation built upon a singular vision: To empower participants in the global forest supply chain to make exponentially better decisions through the strategic application of industry expertise and unique datasets.
Since that time, we have pursued our vision by expanding into new regions and markets and providing the same, high level of service and unique market insights that have driven our success in the US. Throughout the years, we have also introduced a number of high-value, technology-based solutions that have become standard analytics and optimization tools for participants in the forest products industry.
We now enter a new decade as a new company. After merging with Fisher International in August 2019, Forest2Market is now poised to accelerate its growth and offer even more data-based solutions and analytics that our customers around the globe rely on to make complex business decisions. Our first expansion in 2020 will occur with the launch of a pricing product in Australia and New Zealand.
We are fortunate not only to have weathered the storm of 2008, but to have experienced the economic expansion over the last decade—now the longest in US history—alongside our partners in the global forest supply chain. We look forward to continued innovation and product developments that will help you achieve your business goals in the coming decade.
