Lake States July 2025 – Lumber Companies Throughout Lake States Region Continue To Have Steady Sales
Throughout the Lake States region sources varied on how their sales were at the time of this writing. One source noted that his sales were better than they were six months ago due to an uptick in orders that come around every spring. Another source noted that he has seen a recent slowdown in sales but has attributed this to the tariffs and believes that once they are settled that his business and marketplace will be back to normal.
In Michigan a lumber representative said that his company was doing well at press time. “We are better than we were six months ago. We usually get a spring jump,” he said. He also noted that he has noticed that he has gotten more orders in from his industrial customers and attributed this to tariffs.
His company primarily sells Red Oak, Hard and Soft Maple, Aspen and Basswood in 4/4, 5/4 and 6/4 thicknesses and in grades No. 1 Common and Better. “The Red Oak and Maple Commons are a bit off for us right now. The higher-grade Maples are selling best for though,” he added.
“We may end up feeling the impacts of them in the future,
spokesman for an Indiana sawmill ON TARIFF IMPACTS
but it will depend on how the companies that rely heavily on exports react to the direct impact on their business.”
He sells to concentration yards and industrial manufacturers. “All of my customers seem to be doing better right now, which is a good thing to hear,” he stated.
He noted that since he is right next to the Canadian border that he has a lot of customers who are switching from buying Canadian pine to lumber that is more local to his area in an effort to avoid tariffs. “We do sell to a lot of concentration yards that are heavily invested in China and those customers have slowed down their orders considerably with some almost taking a whole month off from placing any orders,” he added.
A lumberman in Illinois stated that his company is doing well. “We did see a bit of slow down a few weeks ago, but since the temporary tariff agreement with China was announced, sales have picked back up,” he noted.
When asked if he was doing better or worse than he was six months ago, he said, “We have picked up from where were six months ago, but we are slower than we were three months ago.” He mentioned that he believes that the market will see an uptick in sales as soon as there is an agreement on the tariffs.
His company offers Red and White Oak, Ash, Poplar, Walnut, Cherry and Maple in thicknesses of 4/4, 5/4, 6/4 and 8/4 and in grades FAS1F and FAS2F. “Red and White Oak have come off some and I think that is directly related to the exports into China slowing down,” he added.
He sells to domestic end users and distribution yards, and exports 10 percent of his sales. He noted that all of his customers seem to be doing well.
An Indiana sawmill spokesperson noted that his sales are slower than he would like right now and that he believes this is due to the market being bottled necked, at the time of this writing. They are having issues shipping and moving the product that they need to distribute every month.
When asked if his sales were better or worse than they were six months ago, he noted that they are doing about the same as they were.
His company offers Red and White Oak, Hard Maple, Poplar and Hickory in 4/4 thickness and in grades No. 2 Common and Better. “Poplar is our best seller right now, followed by Red Oak,” he said.
He sells to distribution yards and direct manufacturers. “They all seem to be doing well right now,” he said when asked if his customers recently offered any comments as to how their sales were doing.
He said that he has yet to feel the impacts of the tariffs. “We may end up feeling the impacts of them in the future,
but it will depend on how the companies that rely heavily on exports react to the direct impact on their business.”
