Editor’s note: Due to our production and print schedules, we gather Hardwood Purchasing Plans from the end of September till mid-October. This year while we were contacting potential contributors for these Purchasing Plans, multiple states were dealt devastating loss of life and property when Hurricane Helene made landfall in Florida and traveled hundreds of miles inland wreaking havoc as she traveled through at least six states. As of this writing, she had taken the lives of over 200 people and was followed by Hurricane Milton.
Stories our staff heard on Oct. 1 were heartwrenching when, on the rare occasion, we were able to reach a few business owners on their cell phones in hard hit states. Cell service was spotty and infrequent. Electricity (utility) service even spottier as some we’ve spoken with for years regarding Purchasing Plans described the mud and debris they, and their businesses, were digging out from under. Recovery, if at all possible, would take weeks to months.
We are grateful for those who answered their cell phones in the midst of such tragic loss, though they understandably declined to participate in Purchasing Plans this year. We hope their ability to overcome Helene’s far-reaching aftermath is as swift as possible and perhaps they will be able to contribute next year to our annual Hardwood Purchasing Plans.
To follow are those in other areas out of harm’s way from the hurricane, or who were able to send us their Purchasing Plans on the eve of Helene’s destruction before their lives and businesses were so disrupted. We know our readers will appreciate their statements and insights.
Clayton Miller
Aurora Timberland
Bradford, ON
With the historically low sawmill production in 2024, I was quite surprised there was not more upward pressure on pricing throughout the year. It seemed whatever momentum there was for prices to move was stymied by low demand for finished goods. I don’t see how prices in 2025 don’t go up. Most importantly, they must.
These boom-and-bust cycles are not good for the sawmills and they are also not good for secondary manufacturers who are using the products. There is going to be a prolonged period of extremely low sawmill production. Too many producers have gone away or have changed their production mix. I fully anticipate prices rising throughout 2025 to a level that is sustainable for every stake holder in the supply chain.
Walnut and White Oak saw the biggest year-over-year gains in terms of volume. Red Oak, especially 5/4 and 8/4, remained strong for our customers in the United States and Canada. The largest demand we saw from our customers overseas was for Walnut. Poplar did not move as well this year the way it has in the past. Even at lower price points, demand from secondary manufacturers was not as strong as it had been in 2023. Basswood by far was the biggest struggle of the year.
I noticed a species preference for darker woods and darker finishes in the past year. Feedback from customers has been about a resurgence of darker tones in their homes and less of the bright white finishes that have been prevalent for the past many years. Walnut is very big right now, especially in our export markets. The public seems to be having a bit more of an appetite for a rustic type of appearance. I guess it is true: sometimes what is old becomes new again.
It always seems our best ideas come from our customers. We have aligned ourselves with supply partners who are forward-thinking and trying just as hard as we are to come up with new solutions to the challenges our customers face as we are. An area which I think we can really grow and add value to existing and new customers is through our full truck load offerings. In addition to our lift lot distribution business, we have always offered full load, volume shipments to Timberland customers in our footprint in the Northeastern parts of Canada and the United States. I see a very good opportunity for us to grow our business in Western Canada and the Pacific Northwest of the U.S. I am bullish on the next few years and betting supply will be chronically tight and customers will be forced to reorder their priorities when selecting suppliers. At Aurora Timberland, we love the value proposition we can offer the market and I am excited to cultivate relationships in new markets.
Lastly, I am excited to see the ways that AI can start to impact the way we interface with customers and our supply partners. Early adapters to AI in our industry, I think, are going to be very successful. I have so much more to learn about it, but I am absolutely fascinated by the possibilities.
Thankfully, transportation and logistics issues are not creating delays in deliveries for the company.
Throughout 2024, it seemed that supply and demand were always on a razors edge. Supply was historically low throughout North America, but demand was lackluster. I believe that low demand this year has done a very good job of hiding the impact of the mill closures and curtailment of production across the industry. Demand is going to come back much quicker than production will come back at the mill level. In the second half of 2025 I see a fair amount of upward pressure on prices due to lack of supply. The biggest story of 2024 was not the lack of production. Rather the fact that record low production had a very minimal impact on pricing.
Demand has been just average for the year. Many of our customers are looking forward to 2025 and expect a strong rebound in their order files. Many of the large quotes we are seeing, especially in stair construction, are for projects which were delayed in 2024 and now set to begin in 2025. There is starting to be more anecdotal evidence stronger demand is on the near horizon.
We continue to expand our distribution footprint in nontraditional markets. Our growth in eastern Canada, New York, and Pennsylvania has been strong this year and we anticipate this to continue to grow. The best way to create internal demand is through growing our customer base.
This year the average cost of a home in the United States is somewhere just north of $440,000. The absolute best way to raise demand for products is to offer a combination of excellent product value and an exceptional customer service experience that is commensurate with something that costs $440,000.
Eric Boer
Mason’s Mill & Lumber Co. Inc.
Houston, TX
2024 started off strongly for us but slowed down starting in the second quarter. Overall, it has not been a bad year, but we did have to work a little harder during the second half. Our primary output is millwork and with continued high interest rates, our builder clientele experienced a reduction in contracts over the course of the year. Lumber availability, with a few exceptions, seemed stable for most of the year. We had to get out in front of a few items and plan accordingly, but most items have been available for prompt or near-term shipment.
White Oak has been the stain grade specie of choice and continues to be strong with the high-end residential and commercial building industry. We buy a fair amount of width sorted White Oak and had to purchase forward on those items. Additionally, rift sawn White Oak remains very tight in the marketplace and lead times have been extensive. Conversely, Poplar, which volume-wise is our biggest specie, has been stable all year on both pricing and prompt availability. Red Oak has been steady and we noted a slight increase in cost over the course of the year. Our northern specie demand has been down for most of the year. Walnut has been a steady mover and we’ve seen prices surge a bit and, in some cases, lead times become extended.
Our imported hardwood decking business has been much slower than previous years. We attribute that to both a diminished demand for decking after a post-Covid surge in deck building, coupled with thermally modified woods taking a portion of that traditional tropical hardwood decking market. That being said, we have increased our stocking position significantly on thermally modified woods over the course of the year. We stock both hardwood and softwood thermally modified options in rough lumber, decking and cladding profiles. We have seen a surge of interest from architects in these products and expect that trend to continue.
We added a pre-finishing line to our services and we are able to exploit much higher margins on our proprietary products and services. We’ve always been open to new products and ideas, and the growth into pre-finishing was a natural fit for us. We’ve additionally replaced our entire dust collection system with an expanded capacity to allow for future growth.
We’re fortunate to have the labor force that we have in our part of the country, so we haven’t had to deal with the labor issues that our counterparts in other areas have had to endure. The growth trajectory of our market continues to surge with many people moving to our area. Construction, while having tempered a bit, continues to be relatively strong in relation to other parts of the country. That draws a significant amount of skilled laborers who are willing to work and seeking opportunities.
As far as 2025 goes, we expect to see continued demand for our products in our market despite some economic headwinds. Our purchasing plan is to run a stealthy inventory wherever possible and keep forward orders in place on the items where demand exceeds supply. We’ll continue to embrace new ideas and products that seem to be a good fit for us. That strategy has served us well over the years.
Mervin Miller
Marsh Valley Forest Products Ltd.
Geauga County, OH
Moulding sold well for us in 2024 but glued panels have been down. I noticed a preference for plainsawn and riftsawn White Oak in the past year. I don’t expect to introduce any new product lines or services that will help the company expand its customer base. Transportation and logistics are not creating issues for the business. To attract more workers, we have been placing ads in local papers. Most of the time, we can directly address supply and demand problems.
Gat Caperton
Gat Creek
Berkeley Springs, WV
Compared to 2024, I expect our lumber costs to go up three – five percent in 2025, in line with inflation. In 2024, warm colors have remained poor sellers. Cool tones are changing slightly but they still dominate. Walnut continues to be in high demand. Lots of people are looking for an alternative to White Oak, which is too expensive and Ash, for which there is an anticipation of supply shortages for.
As for new products, we are converting from a catalyzed lacquer topcoat to a 2K urethane topcoat in Q4. 2K urethane is clearer and more durable than catalyzed lacquer and should lead to better sales for 2025 in existing residential categories and new sales in commercial applications.
There are no transportation and logistics issues creating delays in deliveries for our company because we are 100 percent domestic. Attracting labor still takes more work than it did pre-pandemic but more people seem available. The bigger issue is turnover. Our turnover rate is still two times what it was pre-covid.
We are working to improve our HR efforts every day to address supply and demand issues directly. Our goal is to be the employer of choice in our area. Demand is growing. It’s well above what it was in 2019 but lower than 2021 and 2022.
Joe Englert
Classic Mouldings Inc.
White, GA
I do not plan on any large increases in our lumber buying prices in 2025 other than White Oak prices, which seem to spike about every three months. We have continued to sell large quantities of Poplar products and White Oak this past year. There was a large increase in White Oak demand over the past year. Poplar was flat.
We are not planning anything new for the coming year. We have not had any issues with shipping LTL or any common carrier this year. We have been able to retain our core base employees for many years. With fair wages and a good workplace, we are able to keep and attract labor.
The only issue supply and demand-wise is getting enough White Oak material for our orders. Other than that, it’s all good. We are not looking to increase demand at this time and are about at maximum capacity for our plant.
Gerry Lashway
Ponders Hollow Custom Wood Flooring and Millwork
Westfield, MA
We expect the higher priced lumber to continue to be on the high side and we do not anticipate seeing drops in 2025, especially for White Oak, Walnut and rift and quartered species.
Custom wood flooring and custom run mouldings sold well but we struggled with stock mouldings due to limited options available.
White Oak continues to be the most sought-after species for flooring. Red Oak and Maple flooring were also in demand this year. Poplar is still our most common moulding species, especially for interior painted trim.
We continue to expand our capabilities for new products and services in conjunction with our sister company, Mill River Slabworks. This includes custom-finished live edge furniture, mantels, mitered products and floating shelves. We also hope to expand stock items to capitalize on short lead time and weekend warrior projects.
We have experienced intermittent driver shortage but other than that, we have not experienced delivery delays due to logistics or freight transport.
A high percentage of our employees are new to the industry. Turnover is down. We use social media and other marketing measures to help attract applicants, along with thoughtful employee engagement.
Regarding supply and demand issues, we have experienced a shortage of applicants with moulder operation experience.
Chris Gahm
Kitchen Kompact
Jeffersonville, IN
I think we will take a conservative approach coming out of a slow 2024 and bump it off if things pick up.
Our white cabinet has sold well, and our stained Beech continues to do well. We launched a gray cabinet last year that has received positive feedback but hasn’t really taken off yet. I think if there is a seasonal pickup in 2025, that will be one of the main lines that sees the increase.
Our percentage breakdown of lines has remained the same for the most part when considering a species preference in the past year.
We are always looking at options to provide value added to our product lines. We are looking at another color cabinet and or adding soft close hinges to some of our lines for the next year to help grow our client base.
We primarily stick with a few trucking companies that we have long relationships with and they take care of us very well.
The percentage of employees that can leave any time for any reason has increased. We do have many employees that have been here for over 10 years. Those are the people that won’t just pick up and leave.
Joe Hanson
Ellipticon Wood Products Inc.
Kimberly, WI
We assume everything will go up in price in 2025. We’ve anticipated shifting our purchasing from Northern mills to Appalachian or Southern mills in an effort to reduce the price impacts to our clients.
4/4 upper Hard Maple, Poplar and Red Oak continue to move well. Slow movers are 4/4 Birch, Cherry and Hickory.
4/4 Hard Maple has been preferred for a few years now.
We have no new products but we have new services. We have to change the way we serve the market if we want to stay relevant and grow.
Logistics and transportation are not creating issues or delays in deliveries for the company.
Demand is good right now, but we’re trying to create new ways of manufacturing so we do not have to keep dinging our customers for the inconsistent lumber prices.
Dan Cox
Peach State Lumber
Kennesaw, GA
2025 pricing should remain the same as 2024 for most species with White Oak being the exception. Prices should decrease for White Oak as demand has cooled due to historic price increases in 2024.
We have seen a slight increase in demand for Cherry, Red Oak and Alder. Ash, Hard Maple and Hickory have slowed. Poplar, White Oak and Walnut have been steady.
Select Soft Maple has been requested the most. Many request wider and longer Red and White Oak although there is limited availability.
We will be offering more S4S lumber and blanks for the ready-to-use market in species such as White Oak, Cherry, and Maple. We will be stocking thermally modified Poplar and Red Oak. We will see if there are other new opportunities in exterior wood offerings.
Logistics will remain challenging in 2025 for imported items. Local transportation in the Southern region has been easier to navigate.
Labor has been tight in the South. Higher wages were needed due to inflation where warranted. Employees are looking for better health benefits and PTO. Wages will stay about the same as 2024 for 2025.
Demand was up in 2024 and supply was mostly available except for White Oak. Demand will remain strong due to strong development in the South.
We are seeing new customers forming in our region to meet the demand for skilled woodworkers. Social media and advertising have helped reach new audiences and customers.
Kelly Hostetter
Kamps Hardwoods
Dutton, MI
With two positive news events breaking in early October at the NHLA Convention of EUDR and East Coast Strike delays, we believe 2025 lumber supply will have stable to upward price momentum. These two events will provide optimism that the European markets and East Coast will remain open while we, as a company, continue to grow during a time when our industry’s production is shrinking. We will anticipate and plan for a work around if the East Coast strike comes back again in January.
With log exports driving log and timber pricing up at the sawmill level, we are being forced to find solutions to remain competitive on the raw material side. At Kamps Hardwoods and at our sawmill Buskirk, we realize that we cannot continue to keep the status quo with our product offerings of only standard NHLA grades. For years we have been experimenting with ways to enhance both our and our customers’ bottom lines through higher yielding solutions (cut to size, sorted widths, proprietary sorts / grades, etc). We specialize in high grade proprietary Walnut cuts. We continue to capitalize on the demand for beautiful, slow growth Pure Michigan Hardwoods. Our Walnut, Oaks, Maples, and other species continue to be highly sought after in the global marketplace due to our high-quality and specialty offerings.
Part of our success will continue to depend on travel throughout the U.S. and International marketplace to seek out customers / partners that we can work together and come up with products that best fits their needs. From custom cut to spec at the mill, sorted / ripped at the yard, high-end grades etc. we will continue to push the envelope and develop markets through new products in collaboration with our customers worldwide.
The low-grade Maple market demand is about the only item we are producing that demand has not come back to date but the rest of our species mix has enjoyed stable demand in 2024.
Other than the one-week strike on the East Coast we feel the transportation / logistics have been very reliable this past year. With the upcoming January deadline for the strike, we will see what will come of that and work with customers to overcome any obstacles.
With our recent sawmill expansion at Buskirk, we are fortunate to have found continued demand through our efforts of being in front of customers while delivering products that exceed their expectations. We look forward to 2025 as we continue to help our customers grow while developing valuable, long-term relationships.
Troy Danner
Danner’s Cabinet Shop, Inc.
Ramsey, MN
I am anticipating that lumber buying prices in 2025 will stay close to the same compared to 2024.
Alder and paintable products sold well. Oak and Hickory are hard to sell right now.
I’m mitre folding all tops, finished ends and floating shelves now. I am also doweling my drawer boxes so there are no more exposed NA fasteners.
Beth Murphy
Missouri Hardwood Products
Brighton, MO
We anticipate that the prices will not change much on lumber in 2025. Although we are seeing a decrease now, it will likely pick back up at the beginning of the year or near spring.
Upper grade Red Oak flooring was a good seller for us this past year. No. 2 grade in both Red and White Oak struggled as well as 2 and Better in Hickory. Red Oak was still a strong competitor although there were several requests for 5″ White Oak Select from several companies.
We do not anticipate changing anything next year. We will continue offering solid hardwood flooring only.
The rising costs of logistics, lack of available trucks to go East and their failure to arrive when they say they will, has played a huge part in moving loads for our customers.
It has been difficult retaining employees. The changing minimum wages makes it difficult to obtain and retain employees. We try to keep a competitive wage set a few dollars over minimum wage but the constant changes make it difficult to keep doing this. We are considering offering retention bonuses next year to help encourage good employees that start with us to stay with us. We also are going to offer referral bonuses so that our employees continue to add good, hardworking employees like themselves onto our team.
It was an awkward year so supply and demand varied. Although Red Oak was the greatest demand for us, the supply was low due to the low cost of that lumber.
The increasing current demand for 5″ White Oak is leading us to try and keep more of this stocked for customers. The Red Oak upper grade is also a large demand. We are trying to concentrate on running more of this to keep stock for our customers as well.
