National Hardwood Magazine - January 2024

LAKE STATES Continued from page 6
“So, there probably won’t be too much more business
until the first of 2024,” he noted.
The source said that many members of his trade “saw
the trend coming.”
“But it was really accelerating here two or three weeks
ago,” he noted.
The Minnesota lumberman said that the market was
“crazy” for the last few years but has “stabilized” in the
past few months.
“The housing market slowed down,” he said, noting
that his main clients are builders specializing in moulding,
cabinets, Hardwood floors and trims.
“It is good now,” he noted, “because certain woods got
crazy expensive and then when it slowed down it went
ridiculously too low. So, now they’ve come back to where
they should be.”
Specializing in all grades of lumber species native to
southeast Minnesota, the source said he could go up to
8/4 in thickness.
The Michigan lumberman said that Red Oak and Maple
are still selling, primarily in 4/4 and 5/4. However, he
added that Aspen and Basswood have “been in the tank
for several months now” and that Maple “is hard to get.”
“Red Oak is still good,” he continued, “and is in good
demand but the price still isn’t great. At least they’ve got
demand again.”
While the three sources from the Lake States had different
experiences regarding the current market, they all
agreed that the competition for White Oak has gotten “unreal.”
“White Oak is a challenge,” said the Minnesota source.
“Nobody has good White Oak and it is in such high demand.”
He believes that architects and designers have
“specked it out.”
“Then it must be rift cut because you can only get so
much when you quarter (the wood). That is by far the
toughest one on the market for anybody.”
The Wisconsin source agreed.
“White Oak is the hardest to get because it is in such
high demand,” she added. “The stave mills use it for bourbon
barrels. No matter what the economy is doing, bourbon
is still being produced and consumed.” n
nationalhardwoodmag.com
NORTHEAST Continued from page 6
also offers crane mats and railroad ties and has a flooring
plant.
He noted that his company sells to distributors and
cabinet, flooring and moulding manufacturers.
In Pennsylvania, a lumber spokesperson said that
his sales are doing OK. “We aren’t doing any better or
worse than we were six months ago,” he said. “Until the
global economy can improve sales will stay flat.”
His company offers Ash, Cherry, Red and White Oak,
Poplar, Hickory and Soft and Hard Maple. “We mainly
offer FAS and Common grades in thicknesses of 4/4-
8/4,” he added, noting that he doesn’t have one species
that is selling better than the others.
He sells to distributors and manufacturers. “Their
sales are OK, they aren’t great. A lot of our customers,
especially the cabinet manufacturers have been up
against competition where a lot of their customers are
using competing products compared to Hardwood. They
are bound to make what the customers are asking for,
so they are making cheaper products.”
He went on to say that one of the largest issues that
the Hardwood industry is continuing to face is substitute
wood products. “We are losing out in the flooring and
cabinetry industries. There aren’t enough quality craftsmen
that are able to make products from the materials
that we produce.” n
SOUTHEAST Continued from page 7
When asked if he was doing better or worse than he
was six months ago, he mentioned that he was doing a
little worse. “Everybody is trying to survive until there is a
swing in the market.”
He said that his company offers Red and White Oak
and Poplar in all NHLA grades and in thicknesses of 4/4
through 10/4.
“We sell to moulding, millwork, furniture and flooring
manufacturers,” he said, adding that any of his customers
that are exporting into the Asian markets are working
with tight margins where it seems as if they are buying
their orders as opposed to selling their products.
He went on to say that the economy and the direction
that it is heading is affecting business in a negative way,
and the housing market continues to slow. n
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