The Softwood Forest Products Buyer - September/October 2022

West Coast Business Trends
By Zach Miller
At the time of this writing things have slowed for West
Coast producers seemingly across the board. Pricing volatility,
which is exacerbating hand to mouth orders, is being
driven by a number of factors including the price of oil
and gas, the recent BC stumpage increase, and the soon to
be duty reduction for most BC suppliers. As we head into
the fall this is what a few West Coast producers are seeing:
Dean Garofano of Delta Cedar Specialties, Delta, BC
said, “The Cedar market trend continues to show very little life, with distributors
mainly purchasing only what they need to fill holes. Prices have subsequently
come down on many Cedar lumber products and prices can vary greatly from
one supplier to another. The 5/4 x 6 decking has seen the steepest decline as the
August 2022 print price is now lower than before the pandemic and less than a
third of its peak price. The lack of demand and lower lumber prices have led to
manufacturers pushing back on Cedar log prices. Smaller log prices that produce
mainly tight knot material came down in July, but the larger sawlogs have
remained stubbornly high with only very modest declines.”
Garofano continued, “Loggers find themselves in a difficult position currently,
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Vol. 37 No. 5 The Softwood Industry’s Only Newspaper...Now Reaching 36,034 firms (20,000 per issue) September/October 2022
Vol. 36 No. 3 The Softwood Industry’s Only Newspaper...Now Reaching 36,034 firms (20,000 per issue) May/June 2022
Inland Lumber Producers Celebrate
NAWLA
38th Annual
Leadership
Golf Event
Summit Offers
Full Agenda Of Education And
Photos By Terry Miller
Networking
01. Jeff Bowers, Bowers Forest Products Inc., Beavercreek, OR; Kathy and Bernie
Nugent, Warren Trask Company, Lakeville, MA; and Paul Ericson, Shelton Structures
Todd Inc., Lindsey, Chehalis, Eastern WA Engineered Wood Products, Bethlehem, PA; Pike Severance,
Coastal Forest Products LLC, Bedford, NH; Joe Hanas, Nordic Structures, Montreal,
QC; David Coeur Destiche, d'Alene, Amerhart ID – The Limited, Inland Lumber Green Bay, Producers WI; and recently Rob Latham, held Tri-State their 38th Forest
Products Inc., Springfield, OH
Annual Golf Tournament here at the Coeur d'Alene Resort.
Fort The Lauderdale, two-day event FL– also The featured 2022 golfing Leadersip at Hayden Summit Lake was Country hosted recently Club. The by
the winners North American of the Horse Wholesale Shoe golf Lumber game held Association there were (NAWLA) Matt Beymer, at the of Fort Hampton
Lumber Marriott Co., Harbor located Beach in Portland, Resort OR & Spa. and Luke The theme Wenner, for Pallet this year's Service event
Lauderdale
was Corp., "Where of Maple Decision Grove, Makers MN. Grow." •
During the three-day event, attendees enjoyed multiple networking sessions
as well as educational presentations. Brian O'Malley, inspirational speaker and
former expedition leader, paramedic firefighter, SWAT team officer and paragliding
pilot was the keynote speaker at this event.
Other education session leaders were: Mark Lanterman, chief technology
officer, Computer Forensic Services; Kent Wheiler, associate professor, School
of Environmental Forest Sciences, University of Washington; and Ann Baker,
UFP Business School, UFP Industries Inc. Also, panel members from Weyerhaeuser,
Boise Cascasde and LP presented "What's the Holdup?: A Supply
Chain Disruption Panel Discussion."
08. Paul Owen, Vanport International Inc., Boring, OR; Dave Cochenour, Eric Oien
and Todd Shipp, Alta Forest Additional Products, Photos Chehalis, on page 12 WA
Continued on page 32
Additional Photos on page 12
PRSRT STD
U.S. POSTAGE
PRSRT STD
PAID
U.S.
COLUMBIA
POSTAGE
MO
PAID
PERMIT
COLUMBIA
NO. 353
MO
PERMIT NO. 353
Photos By Terry Miller
Change Service Requested
Change Service Requested
The Softwood Forest Products Buyer
The
P.O.
Softwood
Box 34908
Forest Products Buyer
P.O.
Memphis,
Box 34908
TN 38184-0908
Memphis, TN 38184-0908
UVLA Returns To Seven Feathers For
Annual
SLMA and
Event
SFPA Spring Meeting
Strongly Attended
Photos By Zach Miller
Photos By Terry Miller
01. Aaron Fleming, Elk Creek Forest Products LLC, Eugene, OR; Mark Swinth and
Mark Kelly, Elk Creek Forest Products LLC, McMinnville, OR; Steve Snyder, Elk Creek
Forest
Terry
Products
Miller, The
LLC,
Softwood
Oregon
Forest
City, OR;
Products
Terry
Buyer,
Rasmussen,
Memphis,
Elk Creek
TN; Mark
Forest
Richardson,
Products
The
LLC,
Westervelt
Oklahoma
Company
City, OK;
Inc.,
Brett
Tuscaloosa,
Slaughter
AL;
and
John
Jennifer
Lindsey,
Moran,
Langdale
Elk Creek
Forest
Forest
Products
Co.,
Products LLC,
Valdosta,
McMinnville,
GA; and
OR;
Rich
and
Mills,
Dianna
Hood
Snyder,
Industries
Elk Creek
Inc.,
Forest
Hattiesburg,
Products
MS
LLC,
Oregon City, OR
New Orleans, LA–The Southeastern Lumber Manufacturers Association
(SLMA) Canyonville, and Southern OR–The Forest Seven Products Feathers Association Casino and Resort, (SFPA) located hosted here, a joint, was twoday
site meeting for the here multi-day recently. Umpqua Valley Lumber Association (UVLA) annual
the
banquet The associations and golf tournament. held their Attendance respective was board the meetings, largest the in addition history of to this providing
attendees with industry updates from various experts and hosting a trade
event.
expo UVLA featuring members more form than a coalition 40 vendors of long-time that supply timber equipment and lumber and services operators to
located the lumber in the industry. southwestern Before timber the official country meeting of Oregon. began, a fundraising dinner to
provide The UVLA's funds stated to update mission the industry is "to work catalog together of high to support resolution our industry Southern and Yellow
share Pine best product practices photos and, was of held course, at the renown fun that Napoleon comes from House. long-time partnerships."
Eric Gee, SFPA Executive Director, provided an overview of SFPA’s recent
programs The event and included activities. such SFPA networking currently opportunities promotes as Southern Hellgate Pine lumber jet boat in nine
excursion, global markets a vineyard with dinner in-market buffet, representatives as well a golf based tournament. in five countries. UVLA members
and After guests two were years also of invited hosting to virtual tour designated events and sawmills meetings, the SFPA area. is npleased to
be offering in-person activities once again, with increased funding for International
To learn
Program
more
promotions,
about this organization,
additional technical
visit www.uvla.net.
resources, the newly rebranded
John Edgar Rhodes Sawmill Safety Excellence Award, Additional and the Photos annual on page Forest 16
Products EXPO, which will be held in Nashville, Tennessee on August 23-25,
2023.
Portland
For more information,
Hosts
please visit www.sfpa.org.
SLMA’s board meeting highlighted on-going efforts of the association regarding
government affairs activities in Washington, DC to promote lumber as
NAWLA's
Regional
a “green” building
Meeting
material that supports rural economies while also combating
potentially troublesome regulations and tax changes. The membership was
also informed Photos By about Zach the Miller association’s growing Young Lumber Professionals
and Fundamentals of Leadership programs, which help develop future industry
leaders, Portland, and OR–The SLMA’s Multnomah Lumber.Works website to provide materials and virtual
Athletic Club, situated here, recently
reality videos to members
that are recruiting
welcomed members of the North
American Wholesale Lumber Association
(NAWLA) for a regional
potential employees
at high schools, trade
meeting.
schools, and job fairs.
The Industry Updates
sessions Export Coun-
in-
The evening's schedule included
01. Rose Braden, Softwood
an education session that focused cil, Portland, OR; and Bill Price, All Star
cluded presentations by
on "Preparing for the Future." Forest Products Inc., Jackson, MS
experts ranging from
NAWLA members and guests
environmental, tax, and
heard insights to the future from two perspectives. Joe Riner, Sales Director –
human resource attorneys
to representatives
Forest Products at Union Pacific discussed updates to the UP network and capital
investments in the PNW. To follow, Kevin Otzenberger and Steve Mignardi
from the treated wood,
from Ricky Daimler Stanley, Truck T.R. Miller North Mill America Co. Inc., outlined Brewton, the AL; company’s and
trucking,
broad effort
and
to
pallet
roll
out Casey and support Miller and zero-emissions Dean Griffey, commercial A.W. Stiles Contractors trucks in the field,
Inc., McMinnville, TN
industries.
and provide
Attendees
an
outlook on autonomous driving for commercial applications.
Additional Photos on page 16
Continued on page 32
Additional Photos on page 20
Continued on page 40
having just received a large stumpage increase on July 1st. In addition to this
increase, the labor and fuel costs have skyrocketed, while at the same time the log
values in all species are decreasing. The overall Q2 log harvest on the Coast was
down about 8 percent from the same period of last year and looking ahead with
the 2-year-old growth deferral underway, many cutting permits will continue to
be elusive. Some loggers, sensing that future supply may be low, are choosing to
hold onto the few logs they do have and waiting for the market to firm or stumpage
fees to decrease rather than selling at the lower levels.
"Sawmills currently are more reluctant to purchase Cedar logs until they see
where the lumber market settles. Often a purchased boom of logs is not cut for
60 to 90 days after securing pricing; therefore, in a declining lumber market it is
a long game of catch up before the economics make sense again." Garofano finished
by saying, “The recent reduction for the all-in duty rate from 17.91 percent
to 8.59 percent should be some refreshingly good news for Cedar which has lost
market share, as well as priced out many consumers. However, there are many
more factors at play that may stand in the way of things turning brighter. The next
several months will be challenging for all as the market works its way toward a
new normal.”
Leslie Southwick of C&D Lumber, Riddle, OR said, “Supply has seemed to
outpace demand in a majority of products and especially Cedar products. While
Cedar timber orders remain strong, we have ample supply of decking products
this season. It has been very difficult to find a trading level that buyers will even
entertain buying at. Pricing continues to be volatile in this market. From week
to week you are never sure what pricing is going to do. The market is soft currently
as we head into September
and could continue to be that way
into late fall if we don’t see some
economic indicators stabilize soon.”
Southwick continued, “Customers
seem to be less than enthusiastic
about the current market. It is
challenging when pricing seems to
constantly be moving. I think buyers
continue to remain cautious and
are not sticking their necks out too
far with having large amounts of
inventory on hand.”
In-regard-to challenges C&D
Scan this QR code
with your camera phone
to sign-up.
Lumber continues to face, Southwick
said, “Labor continues to be
a challenge. We constantly seem
to be hiring at least a few people.
It is fire season now and Oregon/
Northern California have already
been experiencing multiple fires,
which can lead to restrictions in the
woods and log supply issues. Fortunately,
we are not experiencing a
log supply issue at C&D, but we are
always monitoring what is happening
in the woods so we can react if
necessary.”
Aiden Coyles of Gilbert Smith
Forest Products, Barriere, BC
said, “We currently have a healthy
inventory but are building across
all dimensions due to decreased
customer interest. 2x6 continues to
be the problem with large amounts
of low-price knotty Cedar readily
available on the market. Every
customer is maxed on their inventory
and needs to see some movement
before they can commit to
new business. We are seeing little
to no pull through right now across
almost all product lines."
Coyles continued, “High log cost
persists, we are actively trying to
average our inventory down with
lower cost fiber. Transport actually
seems to have regulated although
prices still remain high. We’ve
had some small fires in our area
but nothing of note and the cooler
weather is helping out.” n
Southeast Business Trends
By Matthew Fite
Staff Writer
Ask a lumberman in the South how his market is, and
the answer will vary depending on what type of company
you’re talking to.
A wholesaler in Mississippi stated, “Our business
conditions are still good. Sales are good. I would say it’s
tempered down just a little bit from the best months we’ve
had. Last month, we had fewer sales than the previous month but nothing to be
alarmed about. The Southern Yellow Pine market, the only Softwood we deal
with, is off pricewise from the highs substantially. The overall market is down, not
just pricing but volume. Customers are not buying as much because they’re trying
to take advantage of lower prices. People buy for their immediate needs and then
they wait for the market to fall further.”
Compared to six months ago, he said, the market is “slightly down.”
Southern Yellow Pine is the only Softwood he sells, from 2x4 to large timbers.
He sells his lumber to industrial customers. “Based on our sales to that segment,
they seem to be doing well in their own sales,” he stated.
Transportation isn’t a problem
for his company. “Transportation
is always a struggle,” he said, “but
we’ve got a really good employee
who handles all of our logistics for
flatbeds and vans. We’ve got a wide
network of truckers that we deal
with. The only thing that negatively
affects our business is when freight
rates escalate as they have done for
everybody. We anticipate that and
we incorporate a higher freight rate
into our delivery price to customers
when that’s necessary.”
A representative for a New
Orleans-based lumber company
remarked, “Overall on a global
scale, I’m seeing a contraction
in the Softwood lumber market.
A lot of that is due to economic
challenges that are global. Some
countries have inflation but not to
the degree that the United States
does now, although our economy is
much better. But there is not a lot
of buyer confidence. Our customers
are seeing a reduction in their
orders. Today, the market is weak
and there is very little optimism in
the market. I think we’re several
weeks away from the optimism that
we have hoped for.”
Asked to compare the market at
the time of this interview with several
months ago, he replied, “Our
sales are off more than 50 percent
from several months ago.”
He sells Southern Yellow Pine
and a little Doug Fir and Eastern
White Pine (98 percent Southern
Yellow Pine) in all grades in 4/4,
8/4, some 16/4 and 20/4. He sells to
distribution yards and end users. “A
lot of our customers are struggling
mightily,” he noted. “For example,
sales are softening in Europe. In
India and Pakistan, their orders to
us are very poor. We’re also seeing
a slowdown in payments.
“Domestic transportation is still
quite expensive, but the availability
is better,” he stated. “Rates have
also been increasing for offshore
shipments.”
In Alabama, a provider of lumber
to makers of multifamily dwellings
said, “Over the last four or five
weeks we haven’t seen as many
sales come in as far as new jobs starting. As the market rose, it froze everybody
up. Not as many people were willing to jump in and make purchases as the market
was rising, because I don’t think there was a whole lot of confidence that the market
would continue to move upwards.
“Now, things are better,” he commented, “as a lot of jobs are starting. We don’t
exchange any money till materials hit the job site. This month was the busiest
month of the year so far as far as shipping material.”
He offers No. 2 and No. 3 Common Spruce and No. 2 and No. 3 Common
Southern Yellow Pine. “Southern Yellow Pine is the one I sell the most of,” he
remarked. He sells lumber in 2x4 and 2x6.
He sells his lumber to end users: installers, framers, general contractors and
owner developers. “We’re seeing more opportunities on the horizon,” he stated.
“I’ve been in this line of work for 10 years, and the market has only gotten
stronger for the multifamily dwellings. Starts and permits are up on multifamily.
They’re getting more work so we’re seeing more inquiries.”
Getting railcars, getting them unloaded and shipped on time, has been tough, he
observed. “Trucks have been tough as well,” he noted. “However, getting trucks
seems to be getting better over the last couple of weeks here.” •
Page 48 Softwood Forest Products Buyer • September/October 2022 Softwood Forest Products Buyer • September/October 2022 Page 49