Import/Export Wood Purchasing News - October/November 2023

WASHINGTON SCENE
Business Trends U.S.A.
Biden Administration Spending $150 Million To Help Small Forest Owners
The Biden administration said recently it will spend $150 million to help owners
of small parcels of forestland partner with companies willing to pay them for
carbon offsets and other environmental credits.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the grant program at a conference
of Black landowners in coastal Georgia, saying programs that allow private companies
to offset their own emissions by paying to protect trees have disproportionately
benefited owners of large acreage.
“In order for those small, privately held forest owners to be able to do what they
need and want to do requires a bit of technical help," Vilsack told conference
attendees. "And sometimes that technical help is not easy to find. It's certainly not
easy to afford.”
The grant money comes from the sweeping climate law passed by Congress just
over a year ago and targets underserved landowners, including military veterans
and new farmers, as well as families owning 2,500 acres (1,011 hectares) or less.
The goal is to protect more tracts of U.S. forest to help fight climate change. The
past decade has reportedly seen a
rapidly expanding market in which
companies pay landowners to grow
or conserve trees, which absorb
carbon from the atmosphere, to
counterbalance their own carbon
emissions. n
Lake States
In the Lake States region, sources from different states are sharing a generally
positive outlook on their market conditions. Notably, two sources have mentioned
that the Red Oak market is showing stronger performance in their region.
In Indiana, a lumber saleswoman mentioned that her inventory is growing, but
she's seeing certain wood species gain popularity, notably in her higher-grade
products.
“Our inventory is a little heavy right now, but some things are changing. I am
seeing a lot of export orders come in for Red Oak. I am optimistic that is going to
take a dent out of our inventory and help get some of those prices back up. Hard
Maple has changed some and I am sold out of it in 4/4 Select and Better and
have been able to get its price back up here recently. White Oak is superior, but
we don’t have a lot of it, and we just compete for some of those logs. What little
White Oak I do have I have seen the prices go up on that significantly. The upper
grades are still moving well with some strong pricing. The 1 and 2 Common is
still soft with the demand for that really dropping off,” she remarked.
The two primary species at her company are Red Oak and Poplar and she
also handles Ash, Basswood,
Cherry, Hickory, Hard and Soft
Maple, White Oak and Walnut in
thicknesses of 4/4 – 10/4.
She sells to both manufacturers
and distributors and noted an overall
improvement in their situation.
She did mention that one of her
manufacturing clients expressed
worries about hardwood alternatives
such as MDF.
Labor is a concern for her company,
and she emphasized the need
to adopt automated technology to
offset the impact of high turnover.
“Last year we did some upgrades
and put in some new machinery
that was more automated to help
with the high turnover we were
getting in certain positions.”
In Wisconsin, a hardwood manufacturer
shared that his market is
performing better and has noticed
an uptick in demand for his Maple
and Red Oak in recent weeks.
“We are doing well and have
been sawing right along 40 hours
a week. We have been selling a
little more green lumber than we
normally would but that’s just to
keep our KD inventories in check.
Business the past few weeks has
been good, and I have started to
see Maple strengthen in my area.
Red Oak is doing strong in some
spots as well,” he commented.
His company handles Red and
White Oak, White Ash, Hard and
Soft Maple, and Basswood in
thicknesses of 4/4 - 8/4 and in a
range of grades including No.1 and
2 Common, Select and Better, 3A
and 3B. Regarding his customers,
he noted that they are fulfilling orders
and catching up, with certain
weeks being busier than others.
When asked if labor was an issue
at his company, he commented
that he is lucky to have a reliable
group of people at his company
Continued on page 19
Northeast
In the Northeast region, various sources from different states provided insights
into the market conditions. While one source described the situation as slightly
improving and steady, another source commented that their markets were starting
to cool down. Additionally, consistent with other sources, White Oak sales have
been performing good at the time of this writing.
In Pennsylvania a hardwood saleswoman said that her markets slowed down
overall but she is having some success with the demand for her White Oak.
“It seems to have gotten a little slower. I think it is the typical end of the
summer slowdown especially with the heat we have all had. The White Oak has
been a bright spot for us and is helping us get through these tough times. White
Oak prices seem to be staying stable and there is a fair demand for it but, overall
business is just slow.”
She sells all the Pennsylvania species, but her main two are Red and White
Oak. “White Oak is our best seller right now. Normally it is Red Oak, but we
have just been in tracts of timber that is heavy to White. We do some Poplar, Soft
Continued on page 19
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