National Hardwood Magazine - September 2020

NORTHEAST Continued

NORTHEAST Continued picked up now that some U.S. markets have reopened. “The sour spot is low grade, such as the pallet material, and a lot of the flooring–No. 2 Common and 3 Common Oak–is off quite a bit.” Customers are distribution yards, cabinet and flooring manufacturers. “The COVID shook up activity for quite a while, and still is. Hopefully, it’s rebounding some now that places are opening up and getting back going.” Another upbeat report came from a sawmill source in New York State. “We’re actually relatively busy,” he said. “I would give the market at least a ‘steady’ rating, a ‘B’ if I was rating it. We’re not crazy phone-ringing-off-the-hook, but we’re definitely busy.” Hickory (width-sorted Rustic, No. 2 Common) and White Oak (upper grades) and in 4/4 thickness are in the greatest demand among his customers, who are distribution yards and end users, such as flooring and cabinet manufacturers. “Everybody’s busy to a certain extent. I think they would term it about average,” the official remarked. His business also sells Red Oak, which is “doing fine.” He said Hard Maple was selling OK, while Soft Maple, Cherry, Birch and Basswood were “quiet.” He added: “I’m still trying to figure out the Ash. I’ve sold some, it’s not terrible. The problem is all of the trees are dying so you have a large volume to move.” Is any factor affecting his business negatively? “Labor’s always going to be an issue,” the contact replied. “Good trucking is not impossible, but it’s not great,” he said, adding certain truck lanes are difficult to cover, which results in shipping delays. n SOUTHEAST Continued from page 10 are cheap. Poplar, I would say it’s holding its own, but it’s heading south. The uppers in it are coming down and the Common has been iffy the whole time. It went up a little bit, but there was no demand and once there started to be some demand, the price started going down.” He said White Oak (FAS) in 4/4 thickness is his bestselling Hardwood species. Customers are distribution yards along with mom-and-pop retail, millwork shops and export firms. “Most of them are always behind, but they’re not buying anything extra to catch up. I’m thinking that maybe it’s their labor force that’s putting them behind,” he commented, noting the spread of the coronavirus. “You talk to the pallet people, they’re struggling. Two months ago, the pallet business was super. It seems like it’s fallen off now.” Transportation isn’t an issue, the lumber source said. He 25,000,000 BF of Quality Bandsawn Pennsylvania Hardwoods 1,500,000 BF Kiln Capacity Export Packaging & Container Loading SPECIALIZING IN ASH, RED OAK, HARD MAPLE and CHERRY “We welcome your inquiries and look forward to serving your needs.” Contact: Mike Tarbell, Sales Manager Rus Gustin (814) 697-7185 FAX (814) 697-7190 Mailing Address 1716 Honeoye Road Shinglehouse PA 16748 E-mail: mtarbell@ramforestproducts.com 56 Ram SEPTEMBER half Converted 2020 Oct n 2018.indd NATIONAL 1 HARDWOOD MAGAZINE 9/26/18 2:02 PM

noted good availability of trucks and added that freight rates are “mighty fair” so he is able to be more competitive. Another lumber supplier in North Carolina described the market as spotty. “The wormy Soft Maple in 4/4 through 8/4 is moving fair. The Poplar is extremely slow. Kiln-dried Red Oak in Commons is moving better than it was, and White Oak is good,” he commented. “Hard and Soft Maple are moving fairly good, primarily in 4/4 and 8/4. White Soft Maple (Common & Better) in 4/4 thickness is the strongest product moving right now.” The lumber contact also sells Cherry, Ash, Hickory, Walnut, Beech and Birch, all of which are moving slowly. Customers are mainly cabinet makers as well as distribution yards. “With all of the COVID-19 going around, places are closed and that’s a big problem,” he remarked. “The uncertainty of the virus–what you can do and what you can’t do–is the biggest thing affecting business. That’s going to be the number one problem, it looks like, for quite a while.” In eastern Middle Tennessee, the president of a lumber company said his business was “OK, not great, but OK” and that most area sawmills were continuing to run. “They’re not overrun with logs due to pricing. It’s very difficult to buy Poplar logs and get 0 for No. 1 Common and 0 for No. 2 Common and make it thrive,” he said. “It’s just difficult. Flooring Oak prices have dropped so much that industrial timbers are probably now the preferred method of marketing lowgrade Oak.” Poplar (FAS), Red and White Oak (FAS), and Ash in higher grades are in the greatest demand in any thickness among his customers, who are “anybody who’s got money”–mainly distribution yards and end users in Europe, Asia and domestically. “They are busy,” the source reported. “There are still plants in Mexico that are still shut down. China is kicking a lot of tires at cheap prices. I’m not interested. But that’s a good sign. The world needs wood. It sure does.” n WEST COAST Continued from page 10 greatest demand. His company also sells Hard and Soft Maple, Red Oak, Walnut and Hickory. Customers are distribution yards and end users, such as millwork and cabinet shops. “Last month, they were really optimistic, but now they seem more cautious,” the contact noted. “Their order file isn’t where it should be for this time of year.” The market remains slow in Oregon, apparently because of the coronavirus. “The market dropped off at the beginning Please turn the page SEPTEMBER 2020 n NATIONAL HARDWOOD MAGAZINE 57