Sales Pick-Up, Remain Steady, Throughout Spring Months In Midwest Region
Across the Midwest region, sources agreed that their sales have been steady. One source noted that while his sales are currently doing well, his company did have a rough first quarter. Another source agreed that while the beginning of the year was off to a slow start that they have been able to meet their daily quotas.
In South Dakota a lumber salesman said, “Our sales aren’t too bad, they continue to be steady.” He mentioned that they are also doing better than they were six months ago. “I think that the current change of seasons has allowed us to continue at such a steady pace.”
His company offers mostly Cedar and some Engleman-Spruce-Pine-Fir in 1x, 2x, 4x, 6x and 8x thicknesses and in grades Select, Tight Knot and A and Better.
He sells to retail lumber yards and end use manufacturers. When asked if his customers have shared as to how their sales are doing at press time, he said, “They haven’t told me how they are doing outright, but some have started to look busier than others because of the seasonal changes.”
In Oklahoma a lumberman said that overall, his sales have been steady. “We have sales quotas that we try to hit every day, and we usually do,” he noted. “We started slower at the beginning of the year but now that spring is really starting to hit, our orders are picking up.”
He said that they have been doing better over the last few weeks than they were six months ago. “There was some pent-up demand coming out of the winter months that we are now able to fill with the weather change.”
His company offers Yellow Pine in thicknesses of 2×4 through 2×12 and in grades Nos. 2 and 3 Common. They offer Spruce and Douglas Fir in thicknesses of 2×4 and 2×6 and in No. 2 Common. “Yellow Pine seems to be what I am selling most of,” he said when asked if there was one species that was selling better for him at the time of this writing.
As the weather warms up throughout the Midwest region, sources say that they are able to fill pent-up demand that has spilt over from the winter months.
He sells to retail lumber yards. “Their sales seem to be mirroring ours, as they are continuing to be steady,” he remarked.
A lumber representative in Missouri said that his sales are doing fine. “I think that the first quarter of this year was slow, but now sales have started to pick up,” he stated.
“We are slower than we were six months ago. We had a bad, late winter and that has been a factor. There is also a lot of uncertainty and confusion about tariffs,” he said. “We are seeing varying opinions on what is going to happen, and no one really knows what exactly is going to happen. This has lead people to sit on their hands and not take positions in the marketplace.”
He mentioned that his company does a lot of imports, with their panel lumber coming from Canada. “I think that the prices have already been impacted by the tariffs, but the potential of what could happen in the future will likely be greater.”
His company offers green Douglas Fir, Spruce and Cedar in thicknesses of 2×4 through 2×12 and in grades No. 2 Common and Better. He noted that there isn’t really one specie that is selling better than the others but that they are doing well in the green Douglas Fir market.
He sells to big box stores and wholesale distributors. “The big box stores are down compared to this time last year. Pretty much all of my customers are down some, some down more than others depending on their mix of customers.”
He said that his company isn’t having any issues with labor right now, and that they have noticed more applicants and availability within their job market.
