Throughout the Lake States region, sources that were contacted said that their sales were doing well, at the time of this writing, and that they were able to steadily move their products.
In Wisconsin, a lumberman said that overall, his business “is doing a little better than we were six months ago,” he noted, attributing this to the rise in lumber prices. “The shortages have been helpful in making our business better.”
His company offers Red and White Oak, Hard and Soft Maple, Cherry, Hickory, Basswood and Aspen in grades No. 3 Common and Better and in thicknesses of 4/4 and 5/4. “White Oak is our best seller, but Red Oak is right up there with it,” he remarked when asked which specie he offered was selling the best.
His company sells to end users and distribution yards. “I recently started selling to a new customer and they seem to have a lot of demand right now. I was surprised to get a new customer with the markets the way that they are,” he added.
A lumber spokesperson in Michigan said that the second half of the summer has been exceptionally busy. “I can point it to the July 4th holiday. Before then sales seemed sleepy, but after the holiday we became exceptionally busy, with a lot of manufacturers and distributors reloading their inventories,” he said.
He noted that he is doing better than he was six months ago and said that this is due in part to the fact that they have the right product on the ground. “Buyers are more focused on keeping their inventory levels down. So, we are trying to make sure that we have the right products available by having mixed truck loads, while having high levels of services. This has allowed us to be successful,” he added.
His company offers Hard and Soft Maple, Red Oak, Walnut, and White Oak rift and quartered and plain sawn in all grades and thicknesses. “White Oak, Walnut and Soft Maple are still selling very well for us, and Hard Maple seems to continue to hold its own,” he said when asked which specie was currently selling the best.
He mentioned that his company sells to manufacturers and distributors. “The manufacturing business still seems to be off and has continued to be a week-to-week situation. The distributers and niche markets that we sell to for custom high-end products continue to be extremely busy and they have not seen a slow down since the pandemic.”
He noted that one of the biggest issues that his company is currently facing with the supply chain issues is that they are not able to rely on the pulp markets in their region.
In Illinois, a sawyer said that his market has remained steady. “In regard to the amount of product that we are moving, we are probably doing about the same as we were six months ago. However, when we look at the prices, we are doing worse,” he said.
His company handles Red and White Oak, Hard and Soft Maple, Cherry, Walnut, Hickory and Ash in grades No. 2 Common and Better and in thicknesses of 4/4 through 10/4. “Our best-selling species right now are Ash, White Oak and Walnut, we are able to sell them in all grades and thicknesses,” he noted.
He mentioned that his company sells to end use manufacturers and concentration yards. “Our customers are all over the place right now, some of them are doing really well and some can’t move any of their product.”
