Northeast Business Trends
The Northeast Softwood Market Dubbed A “Leaky Faucet”
By Cadance Johnson
Associate Editor
The Northeast received mixed reviews on the state of the market and internal labor stability while all agree that fuel is an issue despite how little or heavily they have been impacted. The blue-collar housing market received a poor report while the large shut-down of paper mills is a rising cause for concern.
“We live in a second – third home market and it’s still going pretty good, but the blue-collar market, which is the majority of our country, and the new home market, are struggling,” in New York according to one local source. “Second and third homes with the stock market rocking everyday are a challenge. I’m glad the stock market isn’t tanking or in the toilet because we’d all have more challenges. There are no new homes – people aren’t building and they can’t afford to buy what’s on the market.” It is worse than six months prior, he said.
Eastern White Pine in all NELMA grades are what they offer. “We don’t really have a best seller,” he noted.
Most of his customer base is made up of wholesalers and manufacturers. “We export to Canada and it is nice that they have been buying some Pine, but their economies in the provinces that we deal with are not good at all. Retail yards have really pulled back – people are not spending money,” he shared.
Labor is unstable because they “can’t find people. Manpower and fuel are major problems. We have our own trucks, and we don’t do as much trucking as we used to. Most of my customers handle their own freight. The faucet isn’t off – it’s just dripping in a lot of places.”
In Maine the market is “busy” and “better” than six months ago because demand appears to be “up,” as noted by a local representative.
They offer Cedar in all grades and thicknesses with ¾-inch, STK siding as the best seller.
“We sell country-wide — up and down the East Coast. I have two or three lumberyards I sell to and contractors. I recently sent a one-time load to Canada but that’s about it for exports,” he commented.
As for transportation, he shared the “system” they have in place. “I truck it myself or hire out. I guess I’m stable labor-wise.”
He shared his biggest concern within the industry. “I’m only speaking for Maine, but my biggest concern would be the paper mills that closed over the last 15 years. That made it tougher on the loggers. If the loggers can’t find markets, then I’m going to have a hard time finding what I need. The pulp industry is difficult here in Maine and there is no place to ship it. If we do, we’re on quota. The logging industry is hurting and it all trickles down to the sawmills.”
Some sources have created systems to help soften the blow of the various industry challenges.
A Massachusetts spokesman shared the market in his area “can be tough sometimes. It’s just unfortunate over the years that people have transitioned more towards plastics and away from wood-based materials. I think the market is a little bit better than six months ago, and the weather is a bit better, too.”
They handle Eastern White Pine and Eastern Red Cedar. “It’s hard to get Eastern Red Cedar so we’re always looking for Cedar. There’s not a whole lot that grows over here. I think some grows in the southern part of Connecticut. We haven’t been able to find a supplier for it. Eastern White Pine is the best-seller, but Cedar probably would be if we could get more of it. Generally, just one-inch-thick material and mill run are what we do. We sell some upper grades, but we mix them together in lots.”
He described how his company sources their material. “All our wood comes from salvaged log sources like tree service companies. 50 percent of every pound of wood is carbon mass that is basically being sequestered. So, we are basically doing climate change work through sawmilling.”
Local farmers, homeowners, contractors and DIY people are their clientele. “We don’t really do wholesale and our machines are too small for us to be able to supply retailers.”
Their customers usually pick up the products themselves, so they haven’t been hit as hard by the fuel crisis like many others.
“Unfortunately, we don’t have a steady labor force at the mill and I’m trying to find an assistant now. We need quality labor and we do a bunch of different types of work, so it’s hard to hire for that. The amount of training is enormous as well,” he shared.
