The Midwestern Marketplace Trends Upwards
Chris Fehr
Marketing Consultant / Editor
Throughout the Midwest region sources that were contacted at press time all agreed that their businesses were doing well in the marketplace. One source noted that while his sales have slowed down some over the past two months that he is still doing well, and his sales are on track to be the same as they were last year.
Another source stated his sales are doing well, and while he attributes the uptick to the summer months, he believes that he is also doing better than he was a year ago.
In Iowa a lumberman said that the market in his area is very strong. “I don’t know exactly why our business is doing so well right now,” he said, “but we are getting a lot of project orders in every day, and I am very pleased with this.”
He noted that while he is doing better than he was six months ago, it isn’t by much.
His company offers Fir Larch, Spruce-Pine-Fir and Southern Yellow Pine in 1x and 2x and in Select Struct. When asked if one of the species that he offers was selling better than the others, he said that they were all selling about the same.
He sells to a large contractor base, as well as DIYers. He noted that he has not heard any comments as to how his customers’ sales are doing.
“We aren’t currently struggling to have a full staff, but there are some positions that we have open where we are just waiting for the right candidate to come along,” he remarked when asked if he was having issues with his labor force.
He said that currently none of the products that he offers have been impacted by tariffs. “I believe that the tariffs have had a positive impact on our business so far, as we have seen some customers placing more orders than they usually do in order to try to get ahead of any potential tariffs that may go into effect.”
In Missouri a lumber sales representative noted that while their sales have slowed over the past two months and that they are slightly down from the beginning of the year, their sales are on par with what they did last year.
A source noted that while his sales started off fantastic at the beginning of the year, the recent slowdown that he has seen is likely due to the uncertainty that surrounds the tariffs.
“Our year started off fantastic, but even with the slowdown that we are seeing we are still on track to do the same as we did last year,” he added.
His company offers Southern Yellow Pine. “The grades and thicknesses that we offer varies between customers,” he noted. “We are selling Nos. 1 and 2 Common to contractors, while the pallet manufacturers that we sell to will buy our lower grades.”
His company sells to contractors, wholesalers and pallet manufacturers. He mentioned that their sales seem to be very similar to his. “They aren’t as busy as they were at the beginning of the year and there is a sudden slowdown that they are feeling,” he stated. “We are at the beginning of summer and usually this is a very busy time of year for the forest products industry, and it just isn’t right now.”
He believes that the uncertainty surrounding tariffs is likely the cause of the slowdown that he and his customers are seeing. “No one is sure when the tariffs will be settled, and I don’t think that the marketplace will go back to normal once they are. I am hearing many people say that this will be short term, but everyone’s definition is different, so everyone is planning differently.”
A lumber spokesperson in South Dakota said that his company is doing quite well. “Summer is here, and people are out and starting projects, which is good for business.” He noted that his company is doing better than they were six months ago and that this is likely due to the change in seasons.
His company offers Ponderosa Pine in a variety of grades and in thicknesses of 1-inch through 6-inch.
He sells to contractors and into the agricultural sector. “My contractor customers are doing very well right now, their sales have definitely started to pick up,” he added when asked how his customers were doing.
“Tariffs haven’t impacted us much yet,” he remarked. “I think that if they do it will be in the form of higher lumber prices.”
