Northeast Business Trends March 2026 – A Slow And Steady Northeast
Concerns about the future, weather, labor and an increase in log buying from customers in Asia are popular in the Northeast.
The market is “steady right now,” reported a lumber source in New York, who isn’t certain what the cause for this stability is. “I’m not 100 percent sure. I think once everybody came back from holiday, it affected the buying,” he said. It is the same as six months ago.
They handle “4/4 through 8/4 Red and White Oak. It’s kind of even right across the board as to which is the best seller,” he added.
“We’re selling our products to a little bit of everybody. There is no real dominant customer compared to the others. They haven’t shared any concerns about the marketplace and are just buying here and there. They don’t provide much information. Pricing seems like it is coming off a little bit because of demand right now and what their customers are wanting to pay. Exporting is steady for us despite the turmoil – it all comes down to price,” he stated.
For the future he is “just hoping that the market is steady through 2026. It would be nice if it picked up a little bit more.”
In Maine the market is slow overall, commented a lumber source. “There hasn’t been a huge need for lumber over the last 30 days. Now that the holidays are over, I think people are just getting back and trying to figure out what they need for lumber for the next several months.” It is the same as six months ago.
Hard and Soft Maple, Yellow Birch and Ash are what they offer. Hard Maple is their best seller, which they offer in 4/4.
Furniture and flooring companies, kitchen and door manufacturers, distribution yards, wholesalers and pallet and railroad tie businesses make up their customer base. “Most of the customers I talk to either think 2026 will be the same as 2025 in terms of volume. Some lower grade customers are actually not as optimistic – they’re expecting less production and less business. I think 2026 is going to be the same as 2025. There might be some ebbs and flows with supply if Mother Nature decides to let it rain for quite a while like last year. Afterwards, we had a drought in the second half of the year. That’s the only factor I think will have any influence,” he noted.
“Labor is steady and better than it used to be maybe a year or two ago, but we lose employees regularly to other businesses that can pay more. We can fill the gaps – we can fill the holes, but a hole will always appear and we’re always trying to fill it,” he stated.
When asked what could improve the market, he shared, “lower interest rates, mortgage rates and inflation would help get the consumers back to purchasing.”
The market, according to a lumber source in Pennsylvania, is “okay. We’re doing well for shipments and new orders. The market goes in spurts, and we never know when the next business is going to become available. We’re happy with where the market is at, but it feels like there is a lot more potential. It’s about the same as six months ago.”
Red and White Oak, Hard and Soft Maple, Cherry and Poplar in 4/4 through 8/4 are what they offer. When asked if there was a bestseller, he responded, “There’s nothing that stands out as stronger than the rest. It’s just based on need right now. Products are selling when people need them.”
Their primary customers are distribution yards and manufacturers. “Domestically we sell 50 percent and export 50 percent. We have problems with the tariffs and for anyone still in the hardwood business, every day is a new challenge. In this industry, we must continually adapt and develop contingency plans. It’s hard to run one of these companies with the absentee management.”
“We sell to China, Vietnam and Canada. My customers haven’t shared any concerns with me about the market, but I think we’ve got a little bit of a better opportunity in the U.S. market coming forward. There’s a lot of turmoil out there with nobody knowing what is happening. Watching the global market gets confusing. What I am concerned about is the rapid increase of need that Asia has for U.S. logs.”
“They’re building many sawmills and veneer mills in Vietnam right now. It’s an export market and is only so big – they’re a hub for manufacturing and everything they make goes somewhere else, not to their own country. I think when China put the ban on U.S. logs, all those logs got diverted to Vietnam and now they’re building all these new sawmills and veneer mills. So, they’re building the infrastructure for using up U.S. logs to bypass the distributors in the United States to avoid costs. They’re going to bring logs in and use every piece they can. They think they can do a better job, and it’ll be cheaper for them to buy logs from us. They’re not only getting these logs and putting them on the Asian market, they’re putting them on the global market too.”
“What I’m really worried about, is that these Asian businesses are increasing the amount they’re buying every month and they’re going to the sawmills to buy logs and to the landings and timber beds. They’re going to put a lot of these sawmills out of business. That’s going to increase the prices here of hardwood lumber in the future and there’s going to be a lack of supply because there will be a lack of available lumber,” he stated.
Despite smooth transportation and a steady labor force, bookings for exports seem to be “ever changing and equipment has been more difficult as of late.”
