National Hardwood Magazine - December 2023

U.S.A. TRENDS Supplier

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. 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