Marketing Consultant / Editor
Throughout the Midwest region sources that were contacted at the time of this writing varied as to how their markets were faring. One source that was contacted stated that simply due to the time of year his sales aren’t as busy as they usually are. Another source noted that his sales have been doing well despite the time of year.
In South Dakota a lumberman said that his sales have softened. “It’s just due to the time of the year,” he said. “I’ve also noticed that people just aren’t buying a whole lot right now, and I think that they are waiting for the bottom to drop out of the market.”
When asked how his sales compared to six months ago, he said, “It’s hard to compare my sales this season to six months ago. We always see a bit of a drop off when the season changes to winter, but we are doing alright.”
His company offers Cedar, Engelman-Spruce-Lodgepole-Pine and Spruce-Pine-Fir in grades No. 2 and 3 Common and Art Knotty and in a variety of thicknesses. When asked if there was one species selling better than the others right now, he noted that all of the species that he offers are selling at about the same rate.
He sells to retail lumber yards. “Some of my customers say that they are busy, some are saying that they are busy estimating orders and others say that they don’t have any orders at all,” he said when asked if any of his customers have offered any comments as to how their sales are doing.
In Missouri a lumber spokesperson said that considering the time of the year he felt as though his sales and market were doing well. “We haven’t had a whole lot of winter weather and that has helped.” He also noted that he has seen sales jump up in the lumber market over the past few weeks and that he feels there is optimism that has come with the beginning of the year.
He mentioned that his sales are better than they were six months ago.
His company offers Douglas Fir and Spruce in grades No. 2 and Better and in thicknesses of 2×2 through 2×12, and Cedar in appearance grade in thicknesses of 1×2 though 8×8.
He sells to concentration yards, box stores and wholesalers. “They seem to be doing about the same as we are when it comes to their sales. I think that a lot of the people that have been sitting on the fence trying to get a better idea of the direction the market is going to move are starting to get a clearer picture,” he said.
He noted that while his issues concerning his labor haven’t cleared up they aren’t getting any worse, which he sees as a small positive.
A lumber representative in Texas said that his market is doing okay. “For the time of year, we are doing alright,” he added. He also noted that his sales are on par with what they were six months ago.
His company handles Douglas Fir, green and kiln-dried, in grades No. 1 and Better and Western Red Cedar in grades Standard and Better. They offer Douglas Fir in thicknesses ranging from 4×4 through 20×20 and Western Red Cedar in any thickness that their customer wants.
His company sells to retail lumber yards. When asked if he has heard any comments from his customers as to how their sales are doing, he said that they all seem to be very optimistic, at the time of this writing.
Another source in South Dakota said that his market is slow. “Our sales have slowed down over the past few weeks, but it is all just due to the time of the year,” he stated. He attributed the seasonal slowdown as the main reason that his sales are not what they were six months ago.
His company offers Ponderosa Pine in thicknesses of 1, 2 and 3-inch in various grades of rough green lumber.
He sells to residential, industrial and agricultural contractors. When asked how his customers sales were, he noted that they were also in slow down mode as winter continues to set in.
