Throughout the Inland West region sources that were contacted noted that while their markets have seen better days, they are able to move lumber.
A lumber spokesperson in Montana said that his company isn’t as busy as it should be this time of year. “Even though it doesn’t feel as busy as it should, we are doing better than we were six months ago,” he said. “We are right in the middle of the building season.”
He mentioned that his company offers Hemlock Fir in upper grades and in 2x4s-2x12s, as well as Engelman Spruce Lodgepole Pine in No. 2 Common and Better.
“We sell to dealer yards, and they seem to be a mixed bag when it comes to how their sales are doing,” he said. “Some of them are doing really well, while others it just depends on where they are located.”
He noted that labor continues to be an issue and that his company is struggling to keep enough employees on the payroll. “We have a hard time shipping and receiving products when we use the railroad. It seems that we are never able to get product in a timely manner,” he added.
In Idaho a sawmill representative noted that his sales have been better. “I think that the lack of sales is due to the fact that no one wants to buy anything right now. There doesn’t seem to be any sense of urgency and there is not any speculative buying going on.”
When asked if his sales were better or worse than they were six months ago, he said that they were worse. “I focus on Pine boards and over the past year they have been relatively immune to the ups and downs of the market. It seems now though that the dimension market has been bad enough for long enough that it has started to impact the sale of Pine boards,” he added.
His company offers Hemlock Fir and Douglas Fir dimension in 2x4s-2x12s, Cedar in 2x4s-2x12s and 1x4s-1x12s, decking in 5/4x6s and Pine boards, Ponderosa Pine and Idaho White Pine in 1x4s-1x12s. “We offer all species in grades Nos. 2, 3 and 4 Common and the commodity Pine boards in Select and Better, No. 2 Common and Better, No. 3 Common, utility and economy,” he offered.
He mentioned that he sells to distribution yards, home centers, remanufacturers and some wholesalers. “Sales have been challenging for everyone lately. The bright spot is that there is still wood moving through the system, but there is pressure to keep inventories down,” he said.
A lumberman in Wyoming said that despite his sales being depressed they seem to have started to pick up at the time of this writing.
“We have been on a downward trend over the past year, but with the uptick that we are currently seeing, I think that we may be gaining some traction,” he noted.
When asked what species his company offered, he noted that their mills produce Ponderosa Pine, Lodgepole Spruce and White Fir in all appearance grades and in 1x4s-1x12s.
“We sell to everybody, wholesale distributors, retail lumber yards and wholesalers. The retail lumber yard sales seem to be off, and so do the distribution yards,” he remarked.
