The marketplace for Softwood lumber is strong in the Northeast, but two sources see the massive sales slowing down. In Maine, a lumber provider said the market is “very good, historically. We’ve got historic numbers right now. The lumber market is in a place we’ve never seen, so, it’s very good.” It’s also better than six months earlier, he stated.
His operation sells Spruce, Fir dimension lumber, and Eastern White Pine. No one species is selling better than the other, he observed. “It’s kind of an historic run in both Eastern White Pine and Spruce,” he said. “I’ve been doing this for 20 years, and I’ve never seen numbers as high as they are right now.
“It’s starting to get a little soft right now,” he observed. “The market seems to be correcting itself a little bit. This is a true supply-and-demand market. In the past, forest fires, transportation issues and other things drove the market. This one is a true supply-and-demand market.” His company sells to distribution, wholesale, some large box stores directly and to buying groups. “Everybody seems to be doing great right now,” he noted. “It’s a market that nobody’s ever seen. All the items – from Softwood to roofing to panel – everything to do with building is very robust right now.” He stated that transportation is not a problem. “Rail has been a little tougher because there’s such a demand for them. So, that’s pretty natural when a market’s running. Trucks are no problem. Overall, we’ve been moving everything.”
Another source, this one in Massachusetts, also sees strength in the market – and the beginning of a slowdown. “I’d say it’s still busy,” she said, “but it’s slowing down some from the crazy pace of the summer. Business is still good, but it’s definitely slowed down some.” However, she stated, the market is better than it was six months before.
Her business sells “everything” in Softwood, she noted. Included are Southern Yellow Pine and SPF. These products go mainly to retail lumber dealers. How is her customers’ business? “From what I hear,” she observed, “it’s the same thing: business is still good; they’re still busy. But it’s slowing down some, and there’s been some resistance to the high prices. Some of the builders are postponing jobs, trying to see if these prices are going to come down.
“Transportation right now is getting very difficult,” she stated. “It was much easier to book trucks in the spring and summer when more companies were closed because of COVID. Now that everything is opened up, trucking is getting tight.”
A New Hampshire lumber provider gave only a slight indication that the market is slowing down. He said the market there is “extremely strong, kind of crazy-strong, I’d say.” It’s better than it was six months prior. He sells “just Eastern White Pine, all NELMA grades and patterns in 4/4.” He sells mostly to wholesale distributors and brokers. “From what I hear, dimension is starting to peak off a little bit,” he stated. “Our demand is still strong; it’s more than I can meet. I find I’m saying ‘no’ to more orders than I’m taking in these days. Availability is low and demand is high. Everybody’s selling more and can’t get enough of what they need. Inventory seems to remain low. Stock, if it comes in, is presold and out the door. People ask, ‘Can I get two more trucks right behind it?’ It’s just very busy.” He said transportation is not a problem. “I’m waiting for that shoe to drop there,” he said. “Trucking has been pretty good actually. Trucking has remained strong and reliable.”
Another Massachusetts source called this “a sellers’ market.” He said, “The market is strong. We primarily trade Eastern White Pine and Western Red Cedar. And customer demand is strong, though availability is low. The two of those, meeting in the middle, aren’t always a good thing.
“So, we’re seeing longer lead times at the mills,” he observed. “We’re seeing mills taking themselves off the market. We’re seeing, out in the West, Western Red Cedar in British Columbia, mills not even knowing what the next moves are between government regulations and increased demand and no end in sight. I think it’s certainly a sellers’ market and even the sellers don’t have everything they need to sell.”
Looking back six months, he stated, “I would say that our business did not stop during COVID. It’s been up since the start of it. We’ve had a strong demand since COVID started and are not sure when this is going to end, when the market will weaken.”
Eastern White Pine and Western Red Cedar are the primary products this business offers. It sells more volume of Eastern White Pine but both products are selling well. This company sells mostly to end users but also to some independent lumber yards. “Their products are selling well,” this source said of his customers. “They’re also facing the same uptick in sales.
“Transportation is not necessarily a crippling issue,” the source stated. “The price for transportation has gone up permanently. There’s no problem getting trucks. But we’ve turned a corner, permanently paying more for them.”
