National Hardwood Magazine - December 2023

U.S.A. TRENDS
Supplier news about
sales, labor, prices, trends,
expansions and inventories
LAKE STATES
NORTHEAST
SOUTHEAST
WEST COAST
Four lumber suppliers from the Lake States region recently
agreed that market conditions have been “sluggish”
overall in the last six months.
According to one Wisconsin based lumber provider at
the time of this writing, “Everyone is just buying what they
need and not buying anything ahead.
“It has been that way for the last 4-to-5 months,” he noted.
“The buying part is the same as six months ago but
the supply is not. No one is really caring about it as much
because they don’t need much.
“No one knows what to do,” he continued. “So, everyone
is sitting on their hands because they don’t want to
get stuck with the wrong materials.”
His company, which deals with Poplar (typically 4/4,
5/4 and 6/4), Red Oak and Aspen (4/4 and Select Commons),
and Soft and Hard Maples (4/4 and Upper Commons),
primarily provides materials to moulding, cabinet
and RV companies.
He added that recent mill closures have already begun
to affect the industry.
“There are going to be some problems coming down
the road up here in Wisconsin,” he said. “People have
nowhere to take their pulp. They are not going to cut up
lumber not knowing what they’re going to do with the majority
of their pulp.”
A lumber representative in Indiana agreed that the
“market is not as good as we wish.”
“It has been pretty quiet,” she said. “Transportation
doesn’t seem to be a problem like it was in the past. I
assume that all of the matters overseas have affected
sales.”
Noting that her company handles Red and White Oak,
Walnut, Hard and Soft Maple, Cherry and Poplar, she
said that it specializes in 4/4 – 16/4.
A supplier in Ohio said that the market has been “upand-down”
recently.
Noting that domestic lumber sales have been stronger
than the European market, he said that the industry is “a
little on the downside.”
Throughout the Northeast lumber sources have mixed
sentiments as to how the market is currently faring, with
some stating that they are doing worse than they were
six months ago and another stating that they are doing
about the same.
In Pennsylvania, a mill owner said that his business
is not doing well, at the time of this writing. “We aren’t
doing as well as we were six months ago,” he continued.
“With everything that is going on globally, I think that
people are worried and they are going to start spending
less than they already were.”
His sawmill offers Red, White and Black Oak, Cherry,
Hard and Soft Maple, Beech, Hickory and Ash. “We harvest
all Hardwoods that are native to Pennsylvania and
saw mainly 4/4, with the occasional 5/4, 6/4 and 8/4,” he
noted. “White Oak has been our best seller. It’s hot right
now, between the stave mills and it being the specie of
choice in the high-end homes, it has sold very well.”
He said that his company sells to end users with kilns,
pallet manufacturers and stave mills. When asked if his
customers have recently offered any comments as to
how their business is doing, he said that they seem to
be in the same boat that he is.
He mentioned that he owns a trucking company as
well that hauls all of his sawmill’s lumber, from the time
that the timber is cut to when it is shipped out. “The cost
of fuel has affected our sales with how high the price of
fuel has gotten.”
A lumberman in New York said that his market seems
to be fair. “We are able to move everything that we saw,”
he said. “Pallet cants have been a challenge, but as far
as the grade lumber we are able to move it, even if the
prices aren’t what we want them to be.”
He noted that his sales are about the same as they
were six months ago, with it being a challenge then and
a challenge now.
His company offers Hard and Soft Maple and Cherry
in 4/4 thickness and in grades No. 2 Common and Better.
“Cherry seems to be easy to sell even though the
Lumber sources throughout the Southeast region are
a mixed bag, with comments ranging from the market
has improved to sales have slowed down.
In Tennessee a sawmill representative said that his
market has improved, at the time of this writing. “We are
doing better than we were six months ago. I think this is
due to supply being down and the demand starting to
pick up.”
His company offers Ash, Cherry, Hard and Soft Maple,
Hickory, Poplar and Red and White Oak in grades FAS,
Nos. 1, 2 and 3A Common. “We are able to offer our
Poplar in 4/4-6/4 thicknesses and White Oak in 4/4 and
6/4 thicknesses, while we offer everything else in 4/4
thickness,” he added. He also mentioned that White Oak
has been a hot item for his company.
His company sells to flooring companies, moulding
and trim manufacturers, distribution centers and furniture
manufacturers, as well as American exporters. “It seems
that the U.S. and domestic business is fairly firm, while
exports into Asia have been slow. Exports to Europe
have been stronger than they have been to Asia lately,”
he noted.
He mentioned that the labor shortage continues to
affect his company to an extent.
In Alabama a lumber spokesperson said his White
Oak sales have been doing well and Ash seems to be
holding its own, while his Red Oak and Poplar sales are
not doing as well.
When asked if his sales were better than they were
six months ago he mentioned that they might be doing a
touch better than they were.
The four main species that his company offers are Red
and White Oak, Poplar and Ash in grades FAS Common
and No. 2A Common and in thicknesses of 4/4 and 5/4.
“We are worldwide, we sell into the international and
the domestic markets,” he said. “Vietnam and China
have both really slowed down and we aren’t hearing
good things about either country.” He also mentioned
that the domestic market wasn’t doing well, at the time
Hardwood lumber suppliers on the West Coast reported
stable to busy activity. Niche markets accounted for
increased business while other markets stayed the same
as the previous report. Throughout the region, several
contacts mentioned challenging transportation concerns
and are expecting availability shortages in the near term.
One source in California said Hardwood activity is
steady. “We’re seeing stable activity. I don’t know about
our competitors but we haven’t seen much of a change.
It’s been steady the last three months for us.”
Carrying high-end and wider width lumber, he said,
“We set ourselves apart from the commodities. The hospitality
markets are looking for specialty products and
that’s what we carry.”
Carrying every species from Alder to Zebrawood, the
source said the best moving item for his operation currently
is Walnut and White Oak. “It doesn’t matter what
cut, the Oak is moving,” he explained. “Rift cut, plain
sliced, and quarter cut are all moving well in White Oak
and Walnut. Probably our slowest species is Cherry right
now.”
As for transportation, he said availability of trucks has
improved but pricing continues to rise. “We have seen
tremendous increases in fuel prices along with surcharges
that just seem to continue to rise,” he said.
Looking ahead, the contact expects his market to remain
the same but doesn’t think the same is true for
commodity markets. “It’s a hard market if you’re not a
specialty supplier right now. Due to prices of fuel rising
and availability tightening, not everyone is willing to pay
those increases.”
“Most of our customers are booked for the next few
months,” a contact in Washington noted. One issue that
challenges them, he added, is “freight costs are starting
to go back up because of fuel cost.”
The Hardwood supplier, who handles mostly White
Oak, said he expects lumber shortages in the coming
months. “We’ll probably see some shortages in the
whitewoods, such as the Maples and Walnut. Walnut
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12 DECEMBER 2023 n NATIONAL HARDWOOD MAGAZINE RealAmericanHardwood.com/industry
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DECEMBER 2023 n NATIONAL HARDWOOD MAGAZINE 13