Suppliers in the Lake States were very upbeat and positive about the markets they serve.
“We’ve been busy,” stated a source in Indiana. “People are looking for lumber.” Compared to six months earlier, the market for her lumber is better.
She handles Ash, Basswood, Cherry, Hard and Soft Maple, Red and White Oak and Walnut primarily. Thicknesses are 8/4, 10/4, 12/4 and 16/4.
Her customers include distribution yards, end users and exporters. “We’re doing more and more domestic,” she said. “That’s not saying it won’t get exported. But we’re not selling to someone overseas. We’re trying to have more domestic sales. Exporting can be problematic. For example, Chinese New Year leads us to storing 50, 60 or 80 loads, waiting for them to come back from holiday.”
Transportation is “a huge problem,” she observed. “Shipping overseas, having trouble getting containers and bookings can be problematic. Trucking is OK at least in this area. We have a lot of trucking companies contacting us to see if we have freight to haul. So far,” she added, “I don’t think the railroad has been a problem.” A Wisconsin lumber supplier stated that the market for his products has “turned the corner. It seems like everybody’s experiencing the same thing. Prices are moving up pretty strongly, but we’re paying more for green lumber.
We’re dealing with a big supply issue now. People are scrambling for material. We’re trying to stay on top of all that. It’s a lot better than it has been. There seems to be some positive movement in the market.”
Moving best for him are Red Oak, White Hard Maple, Walnut, White Ash and Soft and Hard Maple in all grades No. 2 and Better.
He sells to “a lot of end users, some export and distribution yards all over North America and internationally. We have a small distribution yard as well.” Of his customers, he observed, “Everyone seems to be very busy.
Everyone seems to be worried about supply.”
The establishment has a company-owned transport, so they run their own trucks. This eliminates trucking as a problem. Sending containers to the West Coast or further away “seems to be a little bit of a problem,” he noted.
Another Wisconsin lumberman asserted, “My market’s been very good. It’s definitely better than six months ago.”
He handles Red and White Oak, Hard and Soft Maple, Cherry, Hickory and Basswood. Asked which species are best-selling, he replied, “I’ll be honest with you; they’re all selling well.
“I sell to both distribution yards and end users, more end users than distributors,” he said. His customers’ businesses are “really good,” he stated. “The only transportation problem is they’re having a hard time getting containers,” he noted. “Outside of that, we have no transportation problems right now.”
Just to the east, in Michigan, a source extolled the market, saying, “It’s going crazy and it seems like there’s hot demand on about every item right now. It’s better than it was six months ago. It seems like there’s a lot of shortages on a lot of species.
Species he handles include Hard and Soft Maple, Red and White Oak, Hickory, Walnut and Cherry. Best-sellers are Hard Maple, Red and White Oak, Cherry and Walnut.
Customers are divided evenly between distribution yards and end users. “They’re busy,” he said. “There are shortages pretty much everywhere, and Poplar is hard to get.”
“Transportation has been fine,” he observed. “It was kind of crazy for a while. But we have had no major issue in transportation lately, except that prices went up. Availability of trucking seems decent.” Over in Illinois, a lumber provider stated, “The market in the area is pretty strong right now compared to six months earlier.” He commented, the market is “absolutely better.”
He handles Red and White Oak, Ash, Poplar, Walnut, Cherry, Cottonwood and others. “Right now, White Oak and Walnut are extremely hot,” he observed. “Red Oak is starting to trend up. Poplar is in high demand right now. So, lumber prices are on the rise because of picked up demand and lower inventories. It’s a combination of both, which is causing lumber prices to go up. Hopefully, they won’t skyrocket and just steadily increase. If they don’t, sawmillers can make a dollar and everybody else can, too.”
This lumberman sells to end users and distribution yards. “Their sales are strong right now as well,” he noted.
“Transportation is a big factor,” he observed. “Finding trucking is extremely difficult, trying to get product on time to your customers and at a reasonable freight rate.”
