By Terry Miller
President
Inland West Region Maintains A Steady Market Despite Difficulties
Throughout the Inland West region, sources that were contacted at press time were unable to come to a unanimous decision as to how their market was faring.
One source noted that his market is quiet right now but attributed this mainly to the winter weather that he is still experiencing in his area. Another source stated that his sales are okay and that they seem to be doing better than they were six months ago.
In Idaho a lumberman said that his dimension market was solid. “Overall, our market is steady,” he said. He added that his sales are doing better than they were six months ago. “I noticed that the market started to take a turn for the better about six months ago. Once we started to head into late summer early fall, the market really started to improve.”
His company offers White Fir and Douglas Fir in dimensions, as well as Ponderosa Pine, Engleman-Spruce-Lodgepole-Pine, Idaho White Pine and Inland Red Cedar. They offer their dimension products in 2×4 through 2×10, boards in 1×4 through 1×12. “We offer Ponderosa Pine in 4/4, 5/4 and 6/4 shop,” he mentioned. “We are doing a lot of Ponderosa Pine boards and the Nos. 3 and 4 Common Pine boards are continuing to move steady. I have noticed that the wider Pine boards are moving slower for us right now.”
He sells to wholesalers and wholesale distribution yards predominately. “Everyone is doing a little bit better than they were a year ago,” he noted when asked if he had heard any comments as to how his customers sales were doing.
“We noticed that there are a lot of people that don’t have the inventory that they need when they started to talk about implementing the tariffs,” he said. “It seemed that there were a lot of people that had jobs to fill, and they thought that the market was going to fall out and they would be able to bring in more profit.”
A lumber salesman in Montana said that his sales have been quiet. “We are socked in due to some winter weather right now, so the lack of sales that we are currently seeing is expected.”
He noted that while his sales are worse than they were six months ago this is only due to the time of year. “I think that there is a lot of optimism in the industry right now,” he said, adding that he believes that the rest of 2025 will be a good year for his company.
His company offers Hemlock Fir in upper grades, Select Struct and No. 1 Common and Better.
He sells direct to lumber yards. “Everyone is quiet right now,” he said when asked how his customers’ sales were doing. He did note that they do seem to have projects on the horizon, they are just waiting for more favorable weather.
He mentioned that his company continues to struggle with their labor force, mentioning that the low unemployment rate in his town has added to the difficulty in finding new employees.
He noted that while he is unsure how future tariffs will affect his company or the market, he thinks that they will potentially have an impact on both.
In Arizonia a lumber spokesperson said that his market is doing okay. “We are doing better than we were six months ago. I think that this has to do with the fact that we are starting to tap into different customer bases.”
His company handles Spruce-Pine-Fir, Hemlock Fir, Southern Yellow Pine, Ponderosa Pine and Cedar. They offer these species in home center premium grades down to economy grades, and in thicknesses of 1-inch boards and 2-inch dimensions and timbers. “Our biggest species are Douglas Fir, Southern Yellow Pine and Hemlock Fir,” he noted.
He sells to lumber yards, end-use manufacturers and pallet manufacturers. “We are hearing a mix of comments from our customers. I wouldn’t say that any of them are doing extraordinarily well, but they are doing well.”
His company also exports into Mexico and imports from Canada. When asked if he is worried about any tariffs, he said, “We are a little concerned about our imports from Canada, but we are probably more worried about our exports into Mexico as that is the bulk of our business.” He noted that his company is looking to further expand their customer base in the U.S.
