Black Locust Markets and Pricing

The U.S. Supply of Black Locust

Black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia) is a fast-growing rot-resistant hardwood native to large swaths of the eastern United States. It is known for its use as fence posts and extremely durable lumber. Black locust is a pioneer tree species, meaning that it is one of the first trees to move into unmanaged pasture and farm edges as the land naturally succeeds to forest. In the United States, most black locust sawlogs and post wood come from trees harvested from stands of natural regeneration, from New York, west to Wisconsin, south to Missouri, and east to North Carolina. 

Black locust is also extensively cultivated in Hungary and across Eastern Europe. Hungary boasts 1 million acres of locust plantations and Robinia-dominant forest, valued for firewood and honey production in addition to posts and lumber. For an understanding of black locust management in Hungary, please see our previously published content, linked here.

Who is buying black locust?

Fence Posts

Black locust fence posts are bought and sold through specialized mills and distributors, and via the informal rural economy. Outfits such as Locust Lumber Company buy and sell posts, with Facebook marketplace and Craigslist as viable alternatives. Prices range from $1-3.50 per linear foot of post wood, depending on diameter, straightness, and quantity.

In regions where locust posts are common, available, and frequently used for agricultural fencing, enterprising and opportunistic chainsaw operators and loggers will harvest, market, and sell posts as they are available. Larger stands may justify the use of a feller buncher and more substantial logging equipment.

Opportunities for adding value to black locust posts include de-barking and removing the sapwood for use in playgrounds, landscaping, and anywhere aesthetics are a high priority.

Lumber

Black locust lumber is often sold through mills and distributors such as Robi Decking. For those accustomed to sawing conifers and dimensionally stable hardwoods, wild-grown black locust “moves” a lot, and a higher frequency of aesthetic and dimensional variability is generally accepted. The quality of black locust lumber varies drastically, for several reasons.

First, black locust logs often exhibit more curvature than is standard with other species. Being an early-successional species, the trees compete by growing toward the light, wherever that may be. This is in contrast to a secondary-successional maple tree, which would have dappled sunlight on all sides and grow straight up toward the sun. Curvature creates what is called “tension wood,” which causes sawn lumber to bend and warp. Second, black locust has a native insect pest known as the locust borer (Megacyllene robiniae) that eats holes in the tree. Trees growing in poor soils are particularly susceptible to the borer. 

Discerning buyers of black locust lumber are more tolerant of defects than are furniture makers buying black walnut. This is because black locust’s utility comes not from its appearance, but from its durability when exposed to moisture and soil. 

With varying quality, so too varies price. Black locust logs are priced by the ton, and sawn lumber is priced by the board foot. As of November 2025, sawn lumber ranches from $3.50 to $20 per board foot.

The price floor for black locust lumber, usually for logs with a high quantity of aesthetic defects, is railroad ties, for which buyers will pay $.55 per BFT. For those looking to plant, manage, and underwrite black locust, growing high quality trees for use as railroad ties leaves a lot of value on the table.

Grading

A black locust deck/stage at Ramble On, made with #2 common lumber.

Given this aesthetic and functional variability, grading black locust is very important. Grading of black locust lumber is not as standardized as the clear separation of black walnut into FAS, Select, and #1 common. This is due to two reasons. 

First, black locust is a supply-constrained wood. Logs that would never be transported to a mill if they were of another species are harvested and trucked to specialty mills because perfect, straight, defect-free logs are not available. Mills saw lower-quality logs and sell lumber with a higher defect frequency, because consumers are willing to pay for imperfect lumber.

Second, the value of black locust lumber is driven first by its rot-resistance, and second by its appearance. When used in rustic applications such as garden beds, picnic tables, benches, stairs, and foundations, defects are generally acceptable. High-end decking usually requires #1 common black locust, and ideally “select.” These grades are in the process of standardization, and will vary by supplier. #2 common black locust will have more sapwood, holes, and heart rot, but it still works.

How big is the market?

Black locust sales are a subset of the market for rot-resistant lumber. The market for black locust lumber is not demand constrained, but rather supply constrained, meaning that if there were more black locust available, more people would buy it. If we look at total transactions of black locust, this gives us an incomplete picture of the market size. We need to consider black locust substitutes to get a clearer picture of the market opportunity. First, pressure treated pine is an imperfect substitute for black locust. The total U.S. market size for PT is 9.3 billion board feet per year. If black locust were to capture 1% of that, we would see a market size of 93 million board feet, or roughly $93 million. Second, tropical hardwoods are a perfect substitute for black locust. The United States imports 19.8 million board feet of teak lumber per year. If we set the price of black locust at the price of these tropical hardwoods, growing black locust is extremely competitive. 

A 2023 report highlighted that the U.S. army buys 1 million board feet of apitong per year for use as truck and trailer decking, at $9/bft for 2x8s. The report named black locust as the most viable domestic substitute, given its rot resistance and strength. In spite of this, in order to reduce dependence on foreign imports, the armed forces recently substituted in red oak in place of apitong. Red oak is readily available, but is 86% as strong as apitong, and 74% as strong as black locust (modulus of rupture). Red oak is also not rot resistant (Class 4 durable), whereas apitong and black locust are extremely rot resistant (Class 1 durable). 

The black locust market is not perfectly competitive, with clear grades, price floors, and a large quantity of informed buyers and sellers that indirectly set price given their propensity to buy or sell wood. For some market actors, imperfectly competitive markets amount to risk, and to others they signal opportunity.

In the meantime, locust distributors actively work to create brand equity for the wood. Marketing and branding is an acceptable way to create value, but transparency in product quality must underpin good communications. 

U.S. Army truck/trailer beds are outfitted with apitong, a tropical hardwood sourced from east asian rainforests.

Planting trees for high-quality lumber

The highest-quality black locust lumber comes from defect-free straight trees, grown in a forest, and harvested at roughly 12 inches in diameter. These trees are uncommon, but yield lumber that will retail for $20 per board foot (#1 common or select grade). Black locust is an early-successional species that has a shorter lifespan than trees such as white oak, black cherry, and black walnut, and we should have no reservations about cutting it down. Forest-grown teak presents a similar value in price per board foot, given tighter growth rings than plantation-grown teak. Any experienced carpenter will tell you that tighter growth rings usually imply greater wood stability and less “movement,” and there is an inherent tradeoff between rotation length and the width (tightness) of a tree’s growth rings. You cannot grow 60-year-old trees in 20 years. Plantation-grown teak yields consistently straight trees that will fetch extremely satisfactory prices, albeit lower than forest-grown teak. As the black locust market matures, we expect the same dynamic to play out.

Propagate is laser-focused on growing high-quality black locust fence posts and lumber with high-quality genetics that exhibit a straight, shipmast growth form. We offer the Turbo Obelisk variety group, 5 shipmast clones out of Hungary, along with Daybreak and Arnot, clones originating in the United States. For more information on black locust genetics, read more here.