The Softwood Forest Products Buyer - November/December 2022

INLAND WEST TRENDS Continued from page 36
He primarily sells to distribution yards and, based on his conversations
with these customers they have continued to have a steady market.
Transportation hasn’t affected his company in a negative way as they
have a dispatch desk that will ship out all the material out of their sawmills.
A lumber salesman in Utah said that his market has been solid, but that
there have been signs of the market slowing down as the orders have
started to come in slower.
He said that demand is down, and the market is worse than it was six
months ago. Despite the market being worse, he said, “Prices being down
has helped as far as functioning as a business.”
He deals almost completely in economy, mostly ESLP and some Douglas
Fir and Hem Fir. He has all of these in No. 2 Common and 2x4.
When asked about how transportation was for his company he said, “It’s
pretty tough. It’s gotten and continues to be expensive, and it is not reliable.”
n
MIDWEST TRENDS Continued from page 38
their customers are still doing custom work,” he said.
He noted that transportation hasn’t been an issue for them since they
have their own fleet of trucks.
In Missouri a sawmill representative said that his sales have been good,
but they have slowed down since this summer. “I think that there is fear in
the marketplace; people are taking a conservative approach. People have
had a pretty good two-three years and they don’t want to take a huge hit,
especially with winter right around the corner,” he said.
He remarked that things are worse than they were six months ago. “The
market is headed to a pre-covid kind of pace. Mills and suppliers are starting
to come off allocation. Big homebuilders are starting to hold off on
production as interest rates rise,” he said.
He handles Spruce-Pine-Fir and Douglas Fir in No. 2 Common 2x4-
2x12, and Western Red Cedar in 1x2 all the way up to the biggest timbers
in all appearance grades. He noted Green Douglas Fir seems to have held
on to its value, while Spruce-Pine-Fir seems to have been slower, with it
having taken bigger price hits.
He predominantly deals with pro dealers and contractor yards, while he
does sell to some box stores. He said that most of the information that he
has heard comes from his customers with it being consistent across the
Midwest. “It’s pretty apparent that there is a slowdown coming and it’s
already started,” he said.
He said that at the time of this writing he wasn’t having many problems
with transportation, especially after having such a horrible summer. “The
rail lines seem to have gotten better. Trucks are still not easy to find, but
it’s OK,” he continued.
In South Dakota, a lumber spokesperson said that the market was busy.
“We are moving a lot of lumber; the trucks are full,” he said.
He said that for his company the market “hasn’t really slowed down
over the past year.”
He markets Cedar, Spruce-Pine-Fir, White Douglas Fir and Hemlock Fir
in 1x and 2x in No. 2 Common Select Struct, as well as knotty Cedar. He
said that Spruce-Pine-Fir in the narrows and Hemlock No. 2 Select Struct
in the wide are his best sellers.
He sells to lumber yards and manufacturers. “They are buying what they
need; they continue to stay busy,” he noted about his customers.
He said that the issues with transportation haven’t really affected his
company. “We own about 15 trucks between our three branches. We also
hire independent haulers,” he said. He said that getting rail cars has taken a
little bit longer. n
WEST COAST TRENDS Continued from page 38
has been the case most of this year. The season for Cedar is over for this
year and we are now focusing on securing programs for the first quarter
of 2023. Douglas Fir prices have been pretty flat in September and may
continue to be that way for much of the fourth quarter. Cedar prices have
struggled to find a level that even pulls buyers off the sidelines for purchases.
This type of market lends customers to more just in time buying.
They are purchasing when they have orders in hand. I am not sure if any-
one knows what we will be experiencing at the beginning of 2023, so there
is a lot of speculation currently.”
Southwick continued, "The extended warm weather on the West Coast
has led to extended logging activity and continues at pretty strong prices.
There has been an abundant amount of Cedar logs available with the cool
down in the Cedar lumber market.” When asked to rate the year, Southwick
finished with, "2022 has been a seven for me. It has been a pretty
straightforward year in terms of Fir markets, and Cedar markets have been
lackluster."
John McDowell of Oregon Industrial Lumber Products, Springfield,
OR, said, “Currently we’re seeing some softening in Douglas Fir VG
clears, maybe 5 percent or less except 2x2, 2x3, and 2x5 mixed grade that
are servicing the door frame manufacturers. There doesn’t seem to be a
lot of those sizes available. Yellow Cedar knotty has followed Western
Red Cedar, which is to say demand is not high. Clears on the other hand
are still the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. If we had more, we could
sell more. Customers are purchasing as much clears as we can offer, but
decking seems to be way down. Lam stock is also way down; no one is
building inventory this time of year, so they are ordering project by project.
No one wants to carry inventory into the new year. We’re anticipating
the inevitable winter slowdown. The question for us is are we going to see
a bounce back in spring 2023.”
McDowell continued, “The most challenging factors of this year for us
have been supply from the sawmills we work with, followed by continued
supply chain issues for machinery parts, and labor. We’re constantly hoping
things don’t break down and when they do we find ourselves pilfering
old machinery for parts until we can get shipments. As far as the labor
part goes, it’s always a challenge but ever more so with skilled hires right
now.” When asked to rate the year McDowell said, “I would give 2022 a
five out of 10. It was kind of a dud for us." n
SOUTHEAST TRENDS Continued from page 40
ket seeming to be doing well.
He said, “We handle Southern Yellow Pine in grades No. 1, 2 and 3
Common with 5/4 thickness and 2x timbers.”
He sells to mostly lumber treaters, distribution yards, and industrial
customers. “In general, their market is slower, than it was six months ago,”
he added.
Transportation has not been an issue for this lumberman. “Transportation
is pretty good right now. Trucking has gotten a lot better as things
have slowed,” he remarked.
In Mississippi, a lumber representative said that the market seems to be
average for him and his company as well. “Things are pretty good, but
we’re real cautious with where we are seeing the market going into the
fourth quarter,” he said. He also noted that while things are going well
now, the market is not as good as it was six months ago.
He sells Southern Yellow Pine in grades No. 1 Common through No. 4
Common in 5/4 thickness. He also sells radius decking timbers from 4x4
through 12x12 for their standard runs.
“Industrial treaters are our primary customers. They are seeing the same
things that we are. Inflation and interest rates are concerns, and it feels like
going forward we are going to see some correction,” he said when asked
about his customers and how their markets were doing.
When it comes to transportation his company hasn’t had any issues
either. “We have our own trucks. We are also seeing more availability in
transportation in the last month or so,” he noted.
Overall, he said that their product needs are still holding up pretty well
and that “for the time being we are still active.” n
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