National Hardwood Magazine - May 2021

ALC Learns
Low Interest Rates
Continue To
Drive Consumer Demand
By Tom Inman
Bruce Horner and Eric Porter, Abenaki Timber Corp., Kingston,
NH; and Jay Reese, Penn-Sylvan International, Spartansburg, PA
Eddie Carson, Beasley Flooring, Franklin, NC; Ross Frazier,
Turman Lumber Co., Hillsville, VA; and Lance Johnson, ISK
Biocides, Memphis, TN
Pinehurst, NC–The Appalachian Lumbermen’s Club
learned that low mortgage interest rates will likely
continue to boost home sales for the remainder of
2021.
The good news came at the recent meeting of the Club
at the Pinehurst Resort in North Carolina. Mark Haddix of
Farm Credit of the Virginias gave an upbeat presentation
on how stable mortgage interest rates have kept home
building and sales high, which have boosted markets for
Hardwoods.
The current rates for 30-year fixed mortgages are 3.0
percent and 15-year rates are 2.7 percent, with some
slightly lower depending on the lender, he said. The 90-
day forecast is for rates to remain stable.
Haddix, who is a Wood Industry Relationship manager
in the Elkins, WV office, said the news is great for softwood
manufacturers who produce building materials and
good for the Hardwood industry who make the products
for the interior of the home. The domestic sales of Hardwoods
for flooring, cabinets, millwork and furniture are all
rising if raw materials and lumber are available.
Haddix said those two things are preventing the Hardwood
industry from meeting the demand for lumber. Log
inventories are increasing and sawmills are operating
longer hours because of it.
The financing veteran said many forecasters predict a
good year for manufacturing in 2021 as the U.S. recovers
from the COVID-19 shutdowns of 2020. He cited one
economist who said the Federal Reserve has reported it
plans to keep interest rates low to help both consumers
and employers.
There was a golf event before the meeting and the
winner was Mark Williams of Jerry G. Williams Lumber.
Longest drive was Peter McCarty of TS Manufacturing
and Closest to the Pin was Jay Reese of Penn-Sylvan
International.
More information about upcoming meetings is available
at www.lumberclub.org. n
Andy Nuffer, DMSi Software/TallyExpress/eLIMBS, Winston-Salem,
NC; Wayne Law, New River Hardwoods Inc., Mountain City,
TN; and Anthony Hammond, Roy Anderson Lumber Co., Tompkinsville,
KY
Stuart Tucker, Taylor Machine Works Inc., Hope Mills, NC; Shep
Haggerty, Williams Lumber Co., Rocky Mount, NC; and Steve
Leonard, Lawrence Lumber Co. Inc., Maiden, NC
Peter McCarty, TS Manufacturing, Dover-Foxcroft, ME; and Gage
Hickman and Aaron Murray, LiTS, Piketon, OH
Jeremy Pitts, Nyle Dry Kilns, Hickory, NC; Eric Boyd, Parton
Lumber Co., Rutherfordton, NC; and Wayne Law, New River
Hardwoods Inc., Mountain City, TN
Will Pleasant and Tom Pleasant, Cobble Creek Lumber, West
Jefferson, NC; Lindsey DiGangi, Pennsylvania Lumbermens
Mutual Insurance Co., Philadelphia, PA; and Mark Vollinger, W.M.
Cramer Lumber Co., Hickory, NC
Sandy Yarbrough, Kepley-Frank Hardwood Co. Inc., Lexington,
NC; Greg Pappas, Collins/Kane Hardwood, Kane, PA; and Seth
Deacon, Deacon & Sons Timber, Lexington, VA
Mark Pierce, New River Hardwoods Inc., Mountain City, TN; Curtis
Struyk, TMX Shipping, Morehead City, NC; and Ken Stephens, Associated
Hardwoods, Granite Falls, NC
John Evans, Ontario Hardwoods, Keysville, VA; Mark Williams,
Jerry G. Williams & Sons Lumber Inc., Smithfield, NC; and Shannon
Garland, ATI International, Roanoke, VA
Ross Frazier, Turman Lumber Co., Hillsville, VA; Mark Haddix,
Farm Credit of the Virginias, Elkins, WV; Lance Johnson, ISK Biocides,
Memphis, TN; and Shep Haggerty, Williams Lumber Co.,
Rocky Mount, NC
28 MAY 2021 n NATIONAL HARDWOOD MAGAZINE MAY 2021 n NATIONAL HARDWOOD MAGAZINE 29