Across the Lake States region sources that were contacted noted that while their sales were down overall from where they were six months that they continue to do OK.
In Michigan a lumberman said that while his market is OK, it is not doing well. “We are doing worse than we were six months ago,” he said, adding that their sales into the lower grade markets have started to slow.
His company offers Red and White Oak, Hard and Soft Maple, Walnut, Hickory and Cherry in thicknesses 4/4-8/4 and in grades No. 3 Common and Better. “White Oak is our best seller right now. Maple is probably our second best in the upper grades, but it has been a struggle to move our lower grade Maple products,” he said.
He mentioned that he sells to distribution yards and moulding, millwork and flooring manufacturers. When asked if any of his costumers have mentioned how their sales are doing, he said that the millwork manufacturers are continuing to do OK, while the flooring manufacturers have slowed considerably.
“I think that we are going to be slow for the rest of the year,” he stated when asked how he thinks the market will continue to go for him and his company over the next couple of months.
A sawyer in Indiana remarked that due to the lack of demand that his company is seeing that they are doing worse than they were six months ago and that their sales are not what he would like for them to be.
His company offers Poplar, Walnut, Red and White Oak, Sassafras and Sycamore in 4/4-16/4 and grades Select and Better and Nos. 1 and 2 Rustic. “Poplar might be our best seller,” he added when asked which of the species that he offers was selling the best for his company.
“We sell to distribution yards and end use manufacturers,” he said. “Some of the flooring companies that I sell to are struggling to move Hickory, but they are still able to move White Oak pretty well.”
In Minnesota a lumber spokeswoman said that her sales have slowed down quite a bit. “We are doing worse than we were six months ago, and I think that it is due to the number of imports that we are seeing.”
Her company offers White Oak Rift and Quartered, White Oak Rift, Red Oak, Hickory, Cherry and Walnut in thicknesses of ¾ and 5/8 and in grades Select and Better and No. 1 Common Character. “White Oak Rift is our best-selling product right now,” she said when asked which of the species is currently selling the well for her company.
She noted that her company sells to high-end end use manufacturers, whose products go into luxury homes. When asked how her consumers sales were, she mentioned that they said their sales have really slowed down.
Her company isn’t currently having any issues with transportation, but they do continue to struggle with keeping employees.
