NELA PHOTOS Continued
NELA PHOTOS Continued Jeff Hardy, Cersosimo Lumber Co. Inc., Brattleboro, VT; Natalie Crane, HHP Inc., Henniker, NH; and Ryan Satterfield, Cersosimo Lumber Co. Inc. Bob Chase Jr. and Jeff Smith, Quabbin Timber Inc., Rutland, MA; and Philip Bibeau, Wood Products Manufacturers Association, Gardner, MA Mark Rivers and Jason Aplin, Allard Lumber Co., Brattleboro, VT Alain Thibeault, Preverco Inc., Saint-Augustin-de-Desmaures, QC; Marco Carrier and Joe Carrier, HHP Inc., Henniker, NH; Jocelyn Champagne, Vexco Inc., Saint-Ferdinand, QC; and Bruce Dahn, HHP Inc. HARDWOOD PURCHASING PLANS Continued from page 20 or bad news, we wanted to reduce as much variability on the supply side as we could. On the sales side in 2021, it seemed there for a while supply was getting exponentially worse and demand was increasing at a previously unseen level every week. We had some very frank conversations with our customers about what the data was showing us in terms of supply and pricing. We committed to them that they would not run out of lumber under any circumstances. I am happy to say we have reached that goal. Our company is unique in that I am not only buying all the lumber but selling all the lumber, so I share many of the same concerns our customers have. This past year, our entire teams’ focus was to be empathetic to our customers. Every one of our customers had unique challenges and a unique hierarchy of concern for their own business. Formulating solutions to the myriad of unique challenges was where we spent most of our time. There were a few months where prices didn’t matter, honestly. All our customers cared about were solutions! We have several areas of growth that we are excited about for 2022. We are a customer-centric company, so whatever products our customers need to drive their businesses are the products we will lean into. Our goal for 2022 is to be as agile as our customer base needs us to be. Logistics continue to be a game of “whack-a-mole.” We are concerned about not only the cost, but variability of shipping containers overseas in the upcoming year. It seems these issues will be with us for at least another 12 months. There are a lot of macroeconomic issues that are impacting the logistics of all industries in the United States. I see this country’s continued challenge of getting goods to market efficiently as the greatest threat to continued economic growth. Labor shortages have impacted us more on the supply side. As an industry it seems we are at a point where we have to look towards seriously incentivizing workers to work through higher wages or by pivoting to a massive investment in automation. This of course is easier said than done and has significant impacts to companies’ profitability and the price of lumber, but demographics point to labor being a protracted issue. Labor levels were already low heading into the pandemic for our industry, COVID-19 just exasperated them. While visiting mills this past year, it was clear to see there is massive investment in technology to replace many aspects in operations which once were done by human hands. D Please turn the page WORMY CHESTNUT • TROPICALS • QTR & RIFT • CYPRESS • ALDER Headquarters, Concentration Yard & Kilns in Hickory, N.C. Phone (828) 397-7481 FAX: (828) 397-3763 www.cramerlumber.com 3 million BF KD Inventory Atlanta, GA Warehouse 770-479-9663 “LIMBO” The Lumber Rule Hardwoods • White Pine • Cypress RGH • S2S • SLR1E 4/4 thru 16/4 thicknesses Export Sales 706-736-2622 WHITE PINE • BASSWOOD • BEECH • BIRCH • CEDAR • CHERRY LET OUR HARDWOOD EXPERTS EARN YOUR BUSINESS The Right Resource to help you SUCCEED inquiry@alumber.com (814) 438-7888 HICKORY • HARD & SOFT MAPLE • POPLAR • RED & WHITE OAK • WALNUT • ASH www.ALUMBER.com 46 CHRISTMAS 2021 n NATIONAL HARDWOOD MAGAZINE CHRISTMAS 2021 n NATIONAL HARDWOOD MAGAZINE 47
