SOUTHWEST CLUB continued
SOUTHWEST CLUB continued from page 36 leave them in our log yard any longer than we have to. The flooring business is okay but it’s not nearly as good as the lumber business, which is as good as I’ve ever seen it in my life.” He continued, “In regard to housing starts, last year we had 980,000 total starts, single family and multi, and we thought it was a great year in 2013. Presently, we aren’t even back to a true static housing demand yet. A static demand for housing is supposed to be a million and onehalf starts a year, unless there’s been some change that I’m unaware of. Regardless of all this, business is as good as I’ve ever seen it right now.” One attendee from Texas noted that his facility has upgraded in order to meet growing customer demand. “We put in a Lewis Control 3D Scanner last year and we immediately saw a 2 percent increase in recovery, which helped us greatly. We’re running 36-hour workweeks and now have adequate logs. Depending on how logs come in the remainder of the year, we don’t anticipate increasing any hours until perhaps next year.” A Tennessee-based lumber supplier in attendance at the meeting reported positive news as well. “Pretty much anything that our sawmill makes, from cants and ties to kilndried lumber is moving well. Prices have gone up and we anticipate they will continue to do so for awhile. A few customers in the Middle East have turned us down on price increases for our lumber, but not all of them have. We’ve even had the price of our railroad ties go up several times in the last several months.” A professor from Mississippi State University, located in Starkville, MS, said the railroads will be short of their quota by four to five million ties this year because there are not enough ties being produced presently by the tie mills in existence. He also said he had a lot of calls from pallet makers and from furniture manufacturers wanting to buy additional supplies of lumber. They say, “I need to know some more names of lumber suppliers so I can buy enough supplies of lumber for my plant.” Toward the end of the meeting, a lumberman said a prayer for everyone affected by all the tornadoes that touched down in the Southeast at the end of April. Like last year at the meeting, Tommy Maxwell, of Maxwell Hardwood Flooring, located in Monticello, AR, mentioned to everyone in attendance that whoever donated at least 0 to the Hardwood Federation would be eligible to be in a drawing for a two-day duck hunt for two people at his duck hunting club. ,200 was raised at this meeting and the winner of the drawing was Lee Jones Jr., of J.M. Jones Lumber Co. Inc., located in Natchez, MS. ■ Tim Reid, Buckman Inc., Moundville, AL; Chris McQueen, Anthony Oak Flooring, Magnolia, AR; and Lance Ramsay, Mechanicsburg Lumber Co. LLC, Yazoo City, MS John Jones, Ward Timber Co., Linden, TX; Arnie Hogue, Anderson-Tully Lumber Co., Vicksburg, MS; David Engelkes, Maxwell Hardwood Flooring, Monticello, AR; and Richard Wilkerson, Anderson-Tully Lumber Co. John Kelly, Russell Kelly and Bryan Hardy, PJ Lumber Co., Prichard, AL Pat Ramsay and Lance Ramsay, Mechanicsburg Lumber Co. LLC, Yazoo City, MS; and Britt Barnes and Bob Barnes, P.E. Barnes Lumber Co., Hamburg, AR Bubba Lammons, All Star Forest Products, Fairhope, AL; David Lewis, Lewis Brothers Lumber Co., Aliceville, AL; and John Hubbard, Buchanan Lumber, Aliceville, AL 38 JUNE 2014 ■ NATIONAL HARDWOOD MAGAZINE
Eddie Carson, Fly Tie & Lumber Co., Grenada, MS; David Lewis, Lewis Brothers Lumber Co., Aliceville, AL; and Donnie Woodruff, Taylor Machine Works, Louisville, MS Steven White and Jay Hanna, Woodus K. Humphrey & Co., Shreveport, LA; and John Hester, NHLA, Memphis, TN Jeff Taylor, Ralph Taylor Lumber Co. Inc., Memphis, TN; and J.R. Johns, Armstrong Wood Flooring, Jackson, TN John Hamaker, Armstrong Wood Products, Warren, AR; Steven Galloway, Armstrong Wood Flooring, Vicksburg, MS; and George Prince, Rives & Reynolds Lumber Co. Inc., Natchez, MS Ronny Cornelius, JRC Lumber, Middleton, TN; and Rick Hanna, Hanna Manufacturing Co., Winnfield, LA Howard Jones, William Browning (retired), and Lee Jones, J.M. Jones Lumber Co., Natchez, MS boldesignsinc.com BOLDESIGNS – DRY KILNS DRY KILNS – ALL SIZES & TYPES FRONT LOAD PACKAGE KILNS HIGH TEMP TRACK KILNS DIRECT GAS FIRED KILNS SMALL PACKAGE KILNS CENTER FAN WALL KILNS FIREWOOD KILNS POLE KILNS LUMBER STEAMERS PO BOX 1586 – LENOIR NC 28645 800–645–7001 JUNE 2014 ■ NATIONAL HARDWOOD MAGAZINE 39
