Southeast Business Trends March 2026 – An Uncertain Southeastern Spring
No source was able to provide a prediction for the remainder of 2026, just hope that demand would increase despite consumer concerns and export issues. Many found the market’s bottom and have done all they can to stay afloat.
A lumber representative in North Carolina who is “looking forward to some improvements as the year goes on,” reported, when asked about the market in his area, “Demand isn’t that great right now. We’re seeing this
export-wise and domestically.” The market is the same as six months ago.
Poplar is the only specie they offer. They handle hardwood in No. 2 Common & Better. “FAS is our bestseller right now,” he said.
Moulding and millwork companies and furniture manufacturers make up their customer base. “I think with the way the economy has been the past year, everyone is a bit worried and uncertain about the way issues are developing domestically and abroad,” he stated.
“We’ve been hunkered down, trying to get through just like everybody else,” noted a lumber source in Tennessee. The market is “pretty stale. The normal interest level after the holidays doesn’t seem be there but that doesn’t mean it won’t happen.
We’re hoping that things will pick up some and that lumber will start moving with better prices. We’re kind of status quo.”
“Maybe a little worse, but it’s about equal,” was his reply when asked to compare his current market status to that of six months prior.
“Interest rates are trending the right way I think. Increased export demand would help. We need hardwood to be trending again. Even in flooring, we run into a lot of houses where the flooring is luxury vinyl tile. It’s drywall from ceiling to floor and carpet or laminate. Houses are not built like they were. I don’t think people view quality as important anymore — price is all they look at. They cut costs wherever they can and hardwood seems to be a good place to cut because they cut it the most,” he said.
They work with “all the major Appalachian species” such as Ash, Cherry, Basswood, Hard and Soft Maple, Hickory, Poplar and Red and White Oak in “all grades and thicknesses,” he noted. Even though Poplar usually sells well for them, Red Oak is the “best item on the market right now. White Oak has hit a bit of a lull mainly due to pricing. Hopefully it’ll pickup.”
They sell to hardwood flooring, cabinet, moulding and trim companies and distribution centers but do no direct exporting. “We sell to American exporters,” he explained. “My customers have said it’s kind of flat and quiet. Their sales and orders have been off somewhat.”
While they have a “good core group” for labor, the rest are “like a revolving door – they come and go. Especially the younger generation.”
In Alabama, the market is “kind of stable. The market has shrunk but it is not getting worse. We found the floor a year or so ago and just ride above it. It is very similar to six months ago,” stated lumber source.
Red and White Oak, Poplar and mixed hardwoods in 4/4 and they “sort all the grades,” are what they offer.
White Oak is their bestseller.
Flooring mills and concentration yards are their primary customer base. “I think they are as confused as everyone else. If they have inventory, it won’t ship out as fast as they want, or the foundations are filled but they don’t know much to fill it with inbound product. They’re managing the tightrope like most folks are. There’s nothing exceptionally showing up yet for 2026,” he noted.
Labor is “midline — a day-to-day thing. There’s nothing out there that shines a light but nothing bad. We are just chugging along. I dream of having the volume of receiving companies we had 20 years ago. About 260 million receiving capacity has dried up since 2017. Those businesses are gone,” he added.
