Throughout the Inland West region, sources that were contacted at the time of this writing were in agreement that their market overall was doing well. One source noted that his sales are doing well due to tight supply and high demand. Another source agreed that there is an overall lack of supply on Western species.
In Idaho a lumber representative said that his sales have been doing well. “Our market is really good right now,” he said. “I think that this is due to the fact that we are seeing a much higher demand while the supply chain remains constricted.”
When asked if his sales are doing better or worse than they were six months ago he noted that he is doing better than he was, adding that this is likely due to the uptick in demand that he has started to see.
His company offers Ponderosa Pine in thicknesses of 1×4 through 1×12 and 2×4 through 2×12 and in a variety of grades. They also offer Cedar in thicknesses of 1×4 through 1×12 and grades No. 2, 3 and 4 Common. He mentioned that he isn’t really seeing one specie sell better than the others right now.
He sells to wholesale distributors. When asked if he’d heard any comments from any of his customers, he said, “They are all busy buying and they just simply want me to sell them more wood.”
A lumber spokesperson from Arizona said that while this month has started off slower, the past few months he’s done well, and expects that as the month goes on to see his sales stay steady.
“We are doing better than we were six months ago,” he said. “This is due in part to the fact that we have continued to expand our markets and we have actually started to see more supply become available to us.”
His company offers Hemlock Fir, Ponderosa Pine, White Fir, Southern Yellow Pine and Engelman-Spruce-Pine-Fir in grades ranging from economy to premium and in thicknesses of 1-inch through 12-inch. When asked which of the species they offer is currently the best seller, he said, “Our strongest species are Southern Yellow Pine, Douglas Fir and Ponderosa Pine.”
He sells to retail lumber yards, furniture and industrial manufacturers, as well domestic and international pallet manufacturers. “None of my customers have out right told me that their sales are bad, but I know that they aren’t gangbusters,” he said. “They are all hoping that they are getting a clearer picture of the market and that it is starting to move in the right direction.”
Another source in Idaho said that his marketplace is doing well. “We are doing better than we were six months ago,” he stated. “We have started to see that there is a lack of supply overall for Western Species, and I think that this has helped drive up demand.”
His company offers White Fir and Fir Larch in 2-inch thickness and Cedar in 1-inch thickness, and all species in all grades. When asked which species was selling best for him, at the time of this writing, he noted that Fir Larch and Cedar have remained in rather tight supply and seem to have been doing better than White Fir.
He sells to wholesale distributors and retail lumber yards. When asked if he has heard any comments from his customers as to how they are doing, he said, “The retailers don’t usually give much feedback, but I can tell that they are doing well since they are still placing orders. Their business seems to be very solid. The wholesale distributors that we sell to, they are also doing very well and are continuing to stay busy.”
When asked how he thinks his market will continue to fare over the next several months, he said, “I am hopeful that the market continues to do as well as it is right now, and who knows, it might even get better.”