National Hardwood Magazine - March 2011

For 85 years, Beard Hardwoods
has relied on the “4Pʼs” for success:
Product - People - Progress - Pride. If youʼre already a customer
of ours, youʼre probably already aware of this. If youʼre not, weʼd like
to show you what a positive difference this combination can mean to
your business.
WE BUY AND SELL
Hardwoods
IMPORTS: Mahogany, etc. EXPORTS: Oak, Poplar, Ash, etc.
Dry Kilns (400,000 ft. capacity) Greensboro, N.C.
P.O. Box 16767 Greensboro, NC 27416-6767
(336) 378-1265 FAX: (336) 379-0863
web site: www.enbeard.com e-mail: jbeard@enbeard.com
SALES:
John Beard, Aaron Fouts,
Pete Green, Derick Shular & David Leonard
LAKE STATES TRENDS -
Continued from page 43
duction moved, finding what to do with the Select and Better is going
to be a huge challenge for this industry.
“Distribution yards used to take the Select and Better lumber and sell
it in smaller quantities to more custom people. I really think that a few
years ago when we had shortages in those grades, the yards and their
customers found that Common material works, therefore they’re not
purchasing as much Select and Better because the customers aren’t
calling for it. I also think the distribution yards are looking at any type
of business to increase their sales. They’re going into cabinet manufacturers
and other end users that typically the mills would go to
directly. Everybody is just trying to capture more market share. Of
course that’s part of the reason they’re grabbing up more of the
Commons.”
Labor markets in the Lake States continued to strengthen modestly.
According to a recent poll of 104 contacts, 39 percent expect to
increase hiring and 11 percent expect to decrease hiring over the next
six to 12 months. In Minnesota, a job service office reported a relatively
sizable number of job openings, but demand for non-skilled workers
declined somewhat.
Overall price increases for the region were modest, with some
exceptions. Banking officials noted generally stable retail prices, but
mentioned some input price increases. Gasoline prices in the Lake
States on average are about 20 cents per gallon higher than a month
earlier.
•
“THE BEST IS THE GOLDEN RULE”
MAKE IT A RULE TO CALL!
(800) 844-1280 or (901) 372-8166
THE HOUSE OF RULES
Send or fax your order in.
P. O. Box 34908 Memphis, TN 38184-0908
Cell Phone: 901-679-3700 or Fax 901-685-6692
We keep in stock No. 101, 104, 103, 200N, 300N, 400N,
300NL, 400NL, 300NS, 400NS.
The Prices on these rules are from
$45.95 up to $50.95
We can order Log Rules; we do not keep these
in stock because there are so many of them.
Prices on request.
We also keep in stock tally sheets from different
companies: Conway-Cleveland and Southland
Supplies.
Tally Books (2, 4, 6, 8, 10 & 12 pages and up),
marking sticks, pencils, thickness gauges,
folding log rules, lumber crayons and holders.
All prices given on request.
We ship all over the U.S. and Canada,
UPS or FedEx, whichever you would like.
WEST COAST TRENDS -
Continued from page 6
modest increases in sales activity.
A contact in California said current Hardwood lumber activity has
mirrored the past 90-days. “We haven’t really seen any significant
changes one way or the other,” he explained. “From a log procurement
point of view we’re not having any issues finding the species
that we need, but the upper grades of lumber are becoming increasingly
harder to sell.”
As for log prices, the source said, “When it comes to log prices we
normally review every 60 days and then go out and give our loggers
new numbers to go out and do their bidding with. I’d say over the past
60 days our log prices have come down. I do expect that to change.
As we see a slight uptick from what we’re experiencing on the export
side, I would say log prices will inch up.”
Also in California, a source said his market conditions are fair.
“We’re not raising hell one way or the other right now, we’re just getting
by,” he said. “After what we’ve all experienced over the last two
years—we’ll take that.”
The contact said log prices haven’t changed much in recent weeks,
though he does expect them to change by the middle of the second
quarter. “I think we’ll start to see some movement by then, which will
drive prices up.”
When it comes to transportation issues, he said, “We just experienced
some rate increases and truck availability is becoming more
difficult.”
As for the months ahead, the source is optimistic and expects mod-
54 Hardwoods Have Versatility