Throughout the Lake States region lumber sources that were contacted all agreed that their markets had its strong points and its weak ones, too.
In Michigan a lumberman said, at the time of this writing, that while his sales are about where they were six months ago, they have been hit or miss.
His company offers Red Oak, Maple, Aspen and Basswood in grades No. 1 Common and Better and some No. 2 Common and in 4/4 thickness primarily. “Maple and Red Oak are our best sellers and Aspen and Basswood have been slow,” he said. “We just got back into doing Hard Maple in No. 2 Common, but the Soft Maple price for green No. 2 Common isn’t very good, so we aren’t sorting it right now.”
He noted that he sells mostly to concentration yards and to industrial manufacturers. “I had a customer tell me the other day that summer is never as good as the spring,” he said, adding that he doesn’t expect his sales to continue to go unabated. “Hopefully we continue to stay steady, but who knows what kind of drop off we are going to see.”
In Indiana a representative said that his sales have been fair, and that they are doing about as well as they were six months ago. “We are making enough sales to keep our production where it needs to be.”
He said that his company offers Poplar, Red Oak, Hickory and Hard and Soft Maple. “Poplar is our best seller and Red Oak is right behind it. Hickory isn’t moving at all,” he noted. His company offers these species in grades No. 2A and Better and in 4/4 thickness.
“We sell to distribution yards and end-use manufacturers,” he stated. “Their sales seem to being doing well based on the fact that they are buying their regular amounts.”
He added that his business continues to be impacted by the struggle that he has had to keep good employees on the payroll.
A sawmill representative in Illinois said that he thinks his sales are doing better than they were six months ago, noting that this is mainly due to the appraisal of White Oak.
His company offers Red and White Oak, Walnut, Hard and Soft Maple, Cherry, Ash and Poplar in grades Standard Face and Better and No. 2 Common and in thick nesses of 4/4 through 8/4.
“White Oak and Walnut are selling well for us and will be for the foreseeable future. We aren’t seeing a lot of interest in Hard and Soft Maple or Red Oak, but they have improved over the past several months.”
His company sells to distribution yards. When asked if he had heard any comments as to how his customers’ sales were doing, he said, “We don’t pry into our customers’ business, so unless they are telling us to slow down on shipments we know that their sales are doing well.”
