By Sue Putnam
Editorial Director
The Softwood market in the Northeast is in a frenzy, according to a sawmill contact in New Hampshire. “I never would have expected that I would be this busy in a pandemic,” he exclaimed. “It’s hard to explain. We went from not knowing if we were going to have orders next month to being as busy as we’ve ever been, in over the course of a week. It’s just bizarre.”
This supplier sells Eastern White Pine, which is in demand in all grades and sizes among his customers, who are wholesale distributors and lumber brokers. “Everything is in demand. Even things I couldn’t sell, I can sell,” he said. “It’s everything and I need more of it now. Can I get my orders sooner? And can I put two more on behind it?”
He acknowledged this was a good “problem” to have, yet also frustrating. “I want to talk to my customers and hear their needs and I feel like all I do is say ‘No’ right now,” the source remarked. “Even the wholesale distributors say everything is in demand. It’s plywood. It’s dimension. It’s decking. It’s pressure treated. You name it–if it’s wood fiber, it’s getting harder and harder to come by. And that seems to be the general sentiment in the marketplace.”
The lumber representative added that transportation “is chugging right along,” despite the public health crisis. “It seems like the nation is always short on truck drivers to some extent,” he pointed out. “I was nervous about transportation, not knowing what to expect with the virus going around. I worried if we were going to lose 10 or 15 percent of our trucking forces at any one time. But it’s been fine, surprisingly. As the business increases, the trucks are picking the lumber up. I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop, but it just hasn’t.”
In Massachusetts, a lumber distributor reported a “very firm” market. “The market has been crazy,” he said. “It’s had a $200 increase in price over the last month. Supply is still very tight.”
“Everything” is his top-selling species, though he singled out 2×4 random framing in 16-foot, 2×6 random framing and 2×4 studs in 8-foot. “All of the narrow framing items are very strong,” he remarked.
Customers are big box stores, pro lumberyards, mom-and-pop retail lumberyards, distribution yards and industrials. “They can’t get their hands on wood. That’s their problem,” he commented. “Everyone’s got that issue right now.”
The lumber contact noted some rail car shortages out of the Western U.S. “It is beginning to spill over into the Eastern and Canadian mills,” he pointed out.
In Vermont, a sawmill source described the market as mixed. “Products that are able to go straight to the consumer retail ready are just red hot,” he reported. “Items that rely on manufacturers, such as low-grade lumber, are still a little bit on the slow side.”
His business sells Eastern White Pine in 1-inch to 4-inch in all grades; Standard and Premium grades are selling the best. Customers are wholesale distributors, who sell to manufacturers of such products as windows and cabinets. “Some of them slowed, certainly when the virus hit, and some have rebounded and seen a large uptick. Others are still seeming slow, such as customers in Canada, who were slower to start back up than manufacturers in the United States,” the supplier commented.
A sawmill source in Maine gave a similar report, saying the market is very strong with supply lagging demand. He sells Eastern White Pine, and said premium grades are most sought after, along with standard patterns. “We actually sell some 7/8-inch thick sheeting boards, which get used for house sheathing, and because of sheathing and panel prices, that market is strong as well,” he reported.
Customers are retail yards in Maine and wholesale distributors outside of the state. “They’re all just struggling to keep up with demand with a supply chain that is severely constrained,” the lumber representative said. “Demand is overwhelming supply in just about everything.” n
