The Softwood Forest Products Buyer - March/April 2024

Northeast Business Trends
We source our wood
primarly from New
Hampshire and Vermont,
and the majority come
within a 50-mile radius,
By Cadance Hanson
Staff Writer
While two out of three lumber sources in the Northeastern
states agreed that business was “soft” in the first quarter
of 2024 thanks to wintry weather, all three lumbermen
were optimistic when looking toward the future.
As of press time, a Massachusetts source, who sells
Douglas Fir, Eastern White and Idaho White Pine and
Hem-Fir, among other Softwood species, compared the
“sideways” lumber market to car sales.
“If you had a car that you wanted to sell,” he analogized, “is it going to sell on
a real snowy day? Or is putting it out there on the front lawn when it is nice and
shiny out probably better? Right now, we are not on shiny days yet. We must get
through winter.”
He added that the market could improve before the season.
“People might anticipate something,” he said. “And they don’t want to miss
getting a good deal. I’ve got a feeling, the way things have been the last few years
with production being sort of limited, people are going to try to come through the
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Inland West Business Trends
By Terry Miller
President
The mindsets of lumbermen in the Inland West region
were conflicting as they looked to the future when interviewed
for this publication.
While one Utah source noted that he’s seen enough
orders coming down the pike to give him confidence in
2024, a Colorado source remained unsure about the U.S.
economy.
“Interest rates, student loans, credit card debt…” said
the Colorado distributor, “I’m just a little conflicted.”
Noting that many of his peers shared a sense of “unbridled optimism” about the
market, he said that affordability remains to be an issue for many Americans.
“The prices are on an escalator here,” he said. “We’ve turned into mini-California.”
Noting that multi-and-single-family houses are being built in an ample manner,
the distributor noted that “inventory is overpriced.”
He specializes in Hemlock, Hem-Fir and Spruce-Pine-Fir (SPF) in 2” thickness
for framing lumber.
He added that the mountain
homes usually require “front
range” lumber and then the quality
of wood goes down from production
builders to multi-family
housing.
When asked if the winter
storms in mid-January resulted in
discouraging sales projections, he
said that the “short stint” of bad
weather did not affect his region.
“I was pleasantly surprised by
January,” he said. “The weather
was really no excuse. Folks don’t
run for the exits around here during
winter. They just get it done.”
A Utah source said he expects
the industry to return to familiar
ways this year.
“The outlook is an average year
in 2024,” he said. “Depending on
some scenarios. The momentum
through the end of December
didn’t carry through to January,
which leveled off. But weather
was an issue in mid-January.
“The latter half of this year
could be pretty good once the
balance of supply and demand
aligns,” he continued. “Inventory
levels seem to be fairly ample. A
lot of things are coming when the
weather improves.”
Specializing in Douglas Fir No.
2 and up, the source also works
with some structural grades in
Western, Eastern and European
Spruce, Pine and Fir.
For dimensional products, his
company offers thicknesses of 2x4
to 2x12. His primary clients are
national stocking distributors and
small independent yards.
“There is a lot of activity brewing,”
he said. “We are doing a lot
of job quotes.”
He added that there is “promise
at the end of the first quarter
and the beginning of the second
quarter.”
“Interest rates are dropping and
Continued on page 55
Page 22 Softwood Forest Products Buyer • March/April 2024