Southeast Business Trends
Recovering From Southeastern Snowstorms And Mixed Market Reviews
The Southeast finally dug themselves out of the ice but the impact on the market already occurred. From an inability to move products to shutting down operations all together, a variety of issues were voiced. Some sawmills have been reported as shut down permanently but not because of the winter storm, but due to the poor market and tariffs as voiced by many.
The market in Kentucky, according to a source in that area, is down. “Lumber sales aren’t good. Sawmills are shutting down. I’d attribute this to tariffs. It is worse than six months ago. It’s not been this bad in decades.”
They handle “all species of hardwood. Poplar is selling the best. We do all grades and thicknesses,” she said.
Flooring, furniture, cross tie and pallet companies are their customer base. “My customers have expressed concern about the market. We’re just praying the market turns around,” she noted.
Although the snowstorm occurred months ago, the lumber source still had details to share. “We’re stable in labor, but we just aren’t getting to work our guys as much as we’d like to because of the lack of demand. We struggled during that ice storm a while back because it affected the loggers and we couldn’t move any product. It was bad here.”
In Tennessee, a lumber representative shared that while it is average for them, they did “shut down completely one day and the rest of the week, we tried to run but it was very difficult with everything frozen and people not showing up.”
“It is better than it was at the end of 2025 but six months ago, things were still moving well for us. We’ve seen a little uptick since then. We have seen more demand but it’s also close to the same. The uptick in sales is driven by availability,” he shared.
One lumber representative attributed their upward trajectory in part to company improvements.
The main species offered include Red and White Oak, Poplar, Ash, Walnut, a “little Hickory and a small amount of Basswood, Maple and Cherry. The market for Ash is good, but we are struggling with availability. The main driving force behind that is the Emerald Ash Borer. We’ve heard about it for years and it has probably picked up. There are several areas that are quarantined where we can’t get logs,” he explained. Their lumber thicknesses include 4/4 through 8/4 and “some No. 1 and 2 Common but everything we do is very heavy FAS. Traditionally, the bestseller has been White Oak but recently, it’s been a mix between Red and White Oak and Poplar.”
Customers are “anyone that will buy from us – distribution yards, flooring and millwork companies. Exporting is very challenging right now. There’s always a change for regulations and what tariffs are in place,” he added.
“The market is really strong for everything we produce,” commented a source in North Carolina. “I think this turn around is due to the needed transition we underwent that significantly improved our quality and customer diversity. We’re not lacking supplies, and our competitors have significantly less volume.”
He explained that the company hadn’t experienced any negative change in the last six months and once more attributed this to internal improvements. “We’re on the upward trajectory now. I’m just not sure how much of that is market related or us getting out of our own way.”
Red and White Oak, Yellow Poplar, Ash and Cypress are what they handle. “Poplar is the best seller but by margins, it’s White Oak. White Oak in 4/4 and 5/4 and Red Oak, Cypress and Ash are offered in 4/4. Poplar is handled in 4/4 through 8/4. We do everything from frame grade to FAS,” he shared.
They sell to “every sector,” he said, listing flooring and millwork businesses and distribution yards and furniture factories as a few of their clientele. “We export anywhere from 80 to 100 containers a month. We’re not experiencing any struggle with exporting right now. Our business has shifted because years ago, it was 60 percent to China and is 30 percent now. 40 percent goes to Vietnam, and the rest goes to Europe. Everyone is concerned about the market but for our primary consumers, business is going well.”
