Southeastern Business Trends May 2026 – Southeastern Springtime Struggles
The positive review for the hardwood marketplace in the Southeast was outnumbered by gloomy reports of weakness. Fuel prices have already impacted the market and labor remains a struggle. Quotas and growing overseas markets that might tighten margins are causes for concerns for many.
The market in Alabama, as described by one lumber source, is weak.
“Several of the places we sell to are on a quota and the quota is not as large as we need. Specifically, crossties and flooring Oak are on quota,” he said. It is worse than six months ago, he added.
They saw Ash, Hickory, Poplar and Red and White Oak and some mixed wood, which could be Gum, Elm or Hackberry or “whatever we’ll saw into crossties,” he added. White Oak is their best seller. They sell No. 2 Common & Better, in thicknesses of 4/4 and 5/4. He shared “almost exclusively 80 percent” of what they offer is in 4/4.
They sell to flooring manufacturers and sell their crossties to “treaters who then sell the ties to the railroad,” he explained. “We do not dry lumber, so we sell to a wholesaler who dries it and sells it. I think everyone we talk to has said they are concerned about the market. I don’t know that the tariffs have done anything to us.”
At the time of this writing, fuel prices increased, causing issues for transportation. “The fuel costs increasing is going to be a problem for us because it adds about a $1,000 a month, but I haven’t really put a pencil to that. It’s gone up over 30 percent.”
While he has a “pretty good labor force,” he shared that many of his Hispanic and Latin workers are “terrified about deportations. They’re looking over their shoulders. We’ve had some days where some of them didn’t show up for work if a police car was sitting at the end of the street of wherever they are living. It’s unfortunate.”
The market in North Carolina according to one spokesman seems to “be picking up just a little bit. Our shipments have increased a little in the last couple of weeks. Maybe it’s people trying to build spring inventory and anticipating demand. It seems like Asia and the Middle East have picked up some. It is better than six months ago.”
Red and White Oak and Poplar are their primary species. They offer 4/4 through 8/4, Nos. 1 & 2 Common, FAS and more. “Volume-wise, the best remains Poplar, but the Oak is more available. Red Oak and thick stock White Oak are the most in demand,” he noted.
End users such as millwork, flooring and furniture companies are their focus for customers. “Everything that goes overseas pretty much goes into furniture unless it’s going to Europe for windows and doors. One big concern is that we do come back around with robust demand, that there was so much attrition in the sawmill industry, that there definitely won’t be enough supply. On top of that, for the log exports, we have greatly contributed to creating a growing sawmill industry in Asia – be it China or Vietnam. Now, so many of our logs are being exported. They started figuring out that the more sawmills they get, they start shrinking the margins for American sawmills,” he explained.
Labor is a challenge and he explained what is behind the deficit of skilled workers in the industry. “We used to have all the furniture manufacturers and so many sawmills and lumberyards that there was always a certain pool of skilled laborers revolving around the industry. The industry has shrunk so much that the pool is no longer there. We get a lot of applications, and they say they can drive a forklift, truck or T-motor and then they get here and are driving a little T-motor.”
Another worry he shared was about the growing inability to spot trends in the marketplace. “With all the domestic furniture and flooring manufacturers you could see cycles and trends. Typically, if one furniture company started using more Cherry or Maple, it wasn’t long until the others did. Now, with everything being overseas, so many different factors are in play, and we can’t do that anymore.”
The market is challenging and is worse than six months ago in Georgia, as stated by a lumber representative. “There is very little demand domestically for grade lumber. We’re reselling lumber for the same price we were 15 years ago, so I don’t think it is pricing – just low demand.”
Red and White Oak, Poplar, Hickory, Gum and a little mixed Maple “anywhere from No. 2A and 3A Common to No. 1 Common FAS,” he shared. For thicknesses, they handle 4/4 and 8/4. White Oak is selling the best.
“Everybody is concerned about the market. The crosstie market is getting worse, which has affected our industry a tremendous amount – it’s a problem,” he shared.
At the time of this report, he shared that a truck was recently totaled and their fleet is now short.
“The driver was okay, but he is out of a job and we’ll be negatively affected by the rise in fuel prices. It’s ridiculous.”
When asked if there was anything to look forward to, he joked, “Dying and ending the misery. The afterlife is going to be wonderful. I don’t feel like anything good is brewing.”
