Softwood Forest Products Buyer - November/December 2023

NELMA GUEST ARTICLE – Continued from page 49
Annual Meeting in Rockland, Maine.
Learn more at www.nelma.org. n
WRCLA GUEST ARTICLE – Continued from page 10
wood and the effort they’ve made to get that close.
An example from TimberTech recently caught my attention: “Unrivaled
real wood looks.” I’m as guilty of using advertising hyperbole as the next
person, so making superiority claims is nothing I can hold against them.
But does TimberTech really think nothing looks as real as their product?
Really? I’d suggest real wood rivals it. I’ll even go so far as to say real
wood actually looks more real than their product, but I get what they’re
trying to do.
While another claim from TruLog, an aluminum log siding producer,
isn’t as bold as TimberTech’s, it does stand out for its sheer bravado: “A
wood alternative siding that looks like Cedar.” I say bravado because in no
remote way does this product even come close to looking like Cedar. I’m
sure it’s a fine product in its own right, but seriously, go online and see for
yourself. Saying it looks like Cedar is like stating that a Toyota Corolla is
a driving alternative to a classic Porsche 911 Targa. Corollas are perfectly
sensible cars; but they’re not Porsches.
TimberTech also made a telling comparison recently. In describing their
competitors’ wood-substitute products, they stated that “...[their] boards
already look fake and plastic-y - far from the beauty of traditional wood.”
This is an interesting observation in that TimberTech is using traditional
wood -and not their own product- as the high standard their competitors
aren’t reaching. This is like a cola company saying their competitor’s soda
is bland and uninteresting- far from the refreshing taste of pure water. So
why wouldn’t I just have a glass of water?
Plant-based food companies make meat-substitute products for people
who choose not to eat meat. To my knowledge, however, not one of these
companies ever compares their product to real meat. I suppose it would be
comically unappetizing to claim that your plant-based burger is a “meatalternative
burger that tastes like beef”, or that it has “unrivaled real-meat
taste”. And it would verge on the absurd if one made the competitive
claim that a rival’s burger “already tastes fake and plastic-y - far from the
flavor of traditional meat.” I suppose there are enough reasons to compel
someone to not eat meat -health, ethics or the environment, for examplethat
no comparison is needed. They still make them look like burgers and
sausages, though. It would be a hard sell if they didn’t.
Obviously wood substitutes and vegan burgers are completely unrelated.
Choosing a decking or siding material is a much greater investment and
will be far more thoroughly deliberated: cost; maintenance; longevity, and
sustainability and effect on the environment are all commonly cited as being
factors. Composite companies have had the biggest impact on Softwoods
by promoting their maintenance and environmental messages; both
of which have negatively and erroneously affected consumers’ perceptions
of real wood. I’ll assume anyone reading this is familiar with the accuracy
of those messages, and the many benefits of using real wood that are in addition
to its looks. And this is why it’s so important for organizations like
ours to keep educating consumers on why species like Western Red Cedar
are a smart, attractive, and environmentally responsible choice. If all the
benefits for using real wood are there, including the fact that it looks more
like real wood than what composite companies are trying to emulate, then
why wouldn’t you use it?
I’ll close by quoting one last claim from a cement composite siding
company: “Better than the real thing.” Is it really, though? Try that line
out when you give your fiancé a fake diamond, or your kid knock-off Air
Jordans.
Usually the best way to look like the real thing is to simply buy the real
thing.
Established in 1954, the WRCLA is the voice of the Cedar industry and
has members in 132 locations throughout North America. n
MIDWEST TRENDS— Continued from page 37
3 Knotty, 2x4 and decking and No. 3 and 1-by’s, they also offer Engleman Spruce/
Lodgepole Pine (ESLP) in Nos. 1, 2 and 3. “ESLP is selling better right now for us
compared to Cedar,” he said.
He sells to lumber yards and noted that based on his sales it seems that while
some of them are busy, others are not. n
WEST COAST TRENDS— Continued from page 37
droughts has led to the recent firming and increases of log prices. With logging
projects starting again and an expected slow fall and winter lumber market,
further log price increases would be prohibitive. Most Cedar lumber items have
been moving but at a slower pace than usual, and there are still some oversupplied
items. Cedar boards and rough dimension continue to be difficult to sell in
any significant volumes, regardless of pricing. Projecting ahead, most distributors
are expecting 2024 to be the same or only slightly better than 2023. Therefore,
marginal increases in demand are expected. Distributors are concerned about
how the current economy and possible future interest rate increases will impact
demand for next year. Meanwhile, coastal manufacturers’ biggest concern is the
log supply, as they look ahead into 2024. It will be interesting to watch the supply
and demand balance play out next year and how it will impact pricing. There are
still some rough waters ahead.”
Mark Gray of Patrick Lumber Company, Portland, OR said, “Overall, there
is a solid flow of supply to complement demand in the western United States.
Some species and core sizes have extended order files but that’s been the new
norm. As long as customers can plan ahead, I don’t see any issue covering orders
throughout the balance of 2023. Prices have stabilized, and customers seem to be
gaining confidence in building their inventories.”
Gray continued, “The business climate seems positive, overall. While each
region ebbs and flows with each month actively, most have said 2023 is shaping
up to be better than expected. One challenge is activity is not as predictable as
prior years – one distributor told me, ‘some days are busy, other days are dead,'
but even though it’s not consistent when we look at our month-end numbers they
always seem to be better than expected.” Gray finished with this, “Labor continues
to be a challenge. Weather has been pleasant Q2 & Q3. Parts of August were
quiet as I think more people were taking vacations than prior years. This year has
been better than expected for Patrick.”
Aidan Coyles of Gilbert Smith Forest Products, Barriere, BC said, “Demand
and supply of STK is leveling out with the exception of 4” material. Price is all
over the place but levels seem to have stabilized (may change if Interior mills
ramp up Cedar production again). No urgency to buy from the customer front,
high interest making many retailer/distributors reluctant to take on inventory that
will sit until spring. Log supply is up in the air, still very competitive on Cedar,
price has reached the lowest it will go on the log front. Labor is always a challenge
and will continue to be, especially with seasonal sickness added into the mix. I
think I have to rate the year at a 4/10.” n
ONTARIO/QUEBEC TRENDS— Continued from page 38
impacted. We are being told that it will impact the production at some point and
that impact will last till the spring, but we haven’t seen anything so far."
Noted a Quebec producer, “It is hard to forecast right now. There are lots of
contracts up for renewal at the beginning of the year and there are discussions with
the big box stores in the U.S. to see what their expected takeaway is going to be
for 2024 at that time. This is on top of mills’ internal issues in regard to cash costs
at the mill and fiber supply. There is a new agreement in Quebec for the next five
years for the mills to get a certain volume of fiber and we don’t know what that
number is at this point in time."
An Ontario producer mused that “interest rates coming down would be great,
but frankly I don’t think anyone believes that that is going to happen real soon but
that would have a huge impact on potential business for lumber mills for 2024."
Another Ontario wholesaler said, “On some of the non-SPF and specialty items,
we're seeing the same thing as White Pine. Prices are holding. It's not because it's
a real demand driven market. Nobody's buying any volume. It's more of a lack of
supply, I would say. But the demand is good enough to keep the supply that tight
still. I think everybody's kind of sitting on the fence to see what's going to happen
with interest rates. Is this going to push us into some sort of recessionary period or
are we just going to kind of fly right through this? Nobody really knows.”
In White Pine, “mid- August to late September was pretty much a write off,"
according to a Quebec lumber producer. "Not that pricing was bad, it was just
Continued on page 53
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