National Hardwood Magazine - July 2019

U.S.A. TRENDS Supplier

U.S.A. TRENDS Supplier news about sales, labor, prices, trends, expansions and inventories LAKE STATES NORTHEAST In the Lake States, the assessment of the market was positive, except for a mill where recurring rain prevented them from operating at a good level. A lumber provider in Michigan termed the market “pretty good.” He said his company had a good number of logs left over from winter. “So, we’re dealing with a lot of Hard and Soft Maple now in pretty good abundance. That continues to move in all grades fairly quickly. Soft Maple volumes will decline as we get out of winter ground into summer ground. For the most part,” he stated, “everything’s moving pretty well. Hickory and Cherry uppers are really hot now for us as well. “We see strong activity in our cabinet business,” he added. “We’re about 60 percent heavy into the cabinet industry and, so far, business has gone pretty well this year.” This lumber supplier said the market was “probably a little better than it was six months ago because the uncertainty of the tariffs and everything like that kind of threw everybody for a loop. But that settled down to a point. Now, recently (when President Trump tweeted about tariffs) it has been a little bit challenging with the things that have come out. For the most part, with what we deal with, the Hard and Soft Maple, Birches, right now the demand in the marketplace is a little stronger than it was six months ago.” This company primarily deals with White Hard Maple (about 50 percent of their business), Red Leaf Soft Maple, Red and White Oak, Birch, Cherry, Hickory, Basswood and Aspen. The best sellers – and highest produced items – are Hard and Soft Maple, Red Oak and Birch in 4/4 to 8/4. This lumber source sells to end users (80 percent of their sales) and to distributors. Earlier in the year, his customers expressed skepticism, but in the last month or two, “a lot of them have gotten back to a steady, busy pace. It’s not like this time last year,” he said. “Business In the Northeast, market conditions have been anywhere from tough to in-between, yet sales have been taking place. One spokesman for a sawmill in New York State said the market was “medium.” He said things were “worse than six months ago.” Then he added: “You’re calling on the week of Trump’s tariffs and all that. Whoever you call is going to be a little grumpy.” “Grumpy” turned out not to be the word. “Uncertain-yet-selling” and “hanging-in-there” were closer to the sentiments expressed by other lumber providers contacted by National Hardwood Magazine recently. The sawmiller who saw the market as “medium” said his customers – manufacturers and distributors – felt the market for their products was “slow.” His company sells them Red and White Oak, Cherry and Hard Maple in all grades and thicknesses. When asked about the market, one lumber source in Pennsylvania stated, “I really don’t know right now, to be honest. The marketplace is just very unpredictable at this point in time. “We are getting in the raw material that we want right now,” he observed. “We’re a concentration yard. We’re getting in the raw material we want as long as we get it at the prices that we can afford to bring it in. Going forward, we don’t have a good pulse on the market right now. We just think the market is very unpredictable. It’s just hard to plan for the short-term and the long-term right now. “The export markets are a wait-and-see till we see what happens with the trade tariff with China that was recently announced. And domestic markets have been going better but they’re not great; they’re OK. I think it’s going to be some cautious steps ahead for the next few months.” Asked if the market is better or worse than six months previously, he said, “I can’t seem to quantify that right now.” However, he added, “Products are moving OK. We’re moving wood. It’s just hard to get a picture of where we’re Please turn to page 57 Please turn to page 58 6 JULY 2019 n NATIONAL HARDWOOD MAGAZINE

SOUTHEAST WEST COAST In the Southeast, lumber providers interviewed by National Hardwood Magazine reported either that the market is “not good” or uncertain. However, there were some optimistic rays of light. A lumber supplier in Virginia expressed a creative approach to market conditions: “I don’t know what to tell you,” she stated. “I just don’t know what’s going to happen next. It hasn’t been good, and I don’t even know when it’s going to start to turn around. All I can tell you is: I’m trying to keep all the Red Oak out of my kilns that I possibly can. The White Oak’s still moving good; prices are coming down on that, too. But I can go to Italy with that or to Vietnam. There are other outlets than China. You’ve got to find other outlets.” Her company handles Red and White Oak, Poplar, Walnut and some Ash in No. 3 Common and Better in 4/4 through 12/4. She said the market was worse than it had been six months earlier. Most of her company’s business is export, she stated. In Kentucky, a lumber supplier said the market was “not good. Of course, there’s so many ‘dadgum’ things going on right now, especially this latest tariff tweet that kind of threw things off. Prior to that, everything had really been going South, especially with Red Oak specifically. “We saw monsoon, record-breaking rainfalls across the Appalachians and really most of the Eastern Seaboard for the last 18 months. So, our log supply went into critical condition in November, and I dropped from a 5-1/2-day sawing schedule to a two- and three-day sawing schedule to try to keep the guys going through the holidays. It looked like I was going to run out of logs. But we were able to maintain that, but I lost a little over 4 million feet of production. Now my log inventory in the last month is built up very fast, and I’m at the level where I need to be for summer operations. “The industrial markets are actually the best they’ve Lumber providers on the West Coast reported that the marketplace for them is hopeful. A lumber spokesman in Washington stated, “Well, we’re moving a little bit of lumber out here. It seems like things are starting to pick up. That’s what I’ve heard from a couple of distributors. It was kind of quiet a couple of months ago, for sure. But, you know, a couple of the bigger cabinet shops say their order files are pretty ‘dang’ good. So, that’s encouraging, at least out here. There’s quite a bit of building going on. It seems like in the Northwest, between Seattle and the Portland area, it’s pretty positive. From the news I’ve gathered, pricing has softened on the housing. So that tells me it has slowed down a little bit. It’s still in the positive territory. They’re still pouring foundations out here, so that’s good.” His company handles most Hardwoods, from Ash to domestic species in 2A and Better, mostly in 4/4. “We’re servicing flooring, cabinet, and moulding manufacturers and distribution yards,” he said. “We kind of cover the whole gamut. Everybody says their business activity is just OK. Talking to one of my bigger moulding manufacturers today he said his orders are off quite a bit. But overall, he mentioned, yeah, we’re doing all right. That’s kind of what I’m getting.” To the south in California, a lumber source, when asked how the market was for his company, said, “I don’t know how to answer that. It’s OK. It has been better, but it’s doing all right.” He said business activity was slower than it had been six months earlier. His company provides Poplar, Hard Maple, Birch, Red and White Oak, Walnut, Cherry, Ash and Hickory in Select and Better or FAS one face, No. 1 Common in Maple, Red Oak and Poplar with some No. 2 Common in 4/4, 5/4, 6/4, 8/4, 10/4, 12/4 and 16/4. Best sellers, all in 4/4, are Poplar, Maple, Red and White Oak, Walnut, Cherry, Ash and Birch. His company sells to endusers, contractors, retail and homeowners. Transportation has Please turn to page 59 Please turn to page 59 JULY 2019 n NATIONAL HARDWOOD MAGAZINE 7