Associate Editor
Forest products industry contacts in the Northeast say that the market for their products remained steady through the end of the summer. Heavy rains and early thawing caused supply issues in the region over the first half of the year, but industry professionals are expecting to rebound as demand increases and supply becomes more consistent.
In Pennsylvania, a sawmill representative said, “The market has softened a little, but we’re steady right now.”
Selling mostly to distribution yards, he said that his customers are cautious and are only buying materials once they have secured a job. He continued to say that while business has been slow to return, peripheral issues with staffing and shipping have eased.
A representative from a New York distribution yard said that lumber orders are taking longer to fill because many suppliers adopted more conservative stocking practices over the first part of the year in reaction to a slower market. Because of these supply concerns, he said his business is, “off.” “We noticed a trend in the first quarter of the year where we started seeing some of those panic buys going down,” he said.
He continued, “Suppliers were more inclined to let their shelves run a little lower and fill job lot orders on a special-order basis rather than keep inventory on the ground.” Despite these concerns, he said, “Business has been ok — very, very average. It’s basically like pre-COVID times.”
A spokesperson from a New Hampshire distribution yard said that his market is fair and has been since the beginning of the year. He was hopeful about the rest of the year and said, “I think it will be more robust this fall. I think the fourth quarter will be good.” He explained that his optimism is based on an increase in opportunities to bid on jobs set for the fall.
Mentioned as a top seller by all three industry contacts, Eastern White Pine is doing especially well in the Northeast.
The New York contact said, “Eastern White Pine is a big chunk of our business.” He said that there is a lot of demand for 6/4 and 8/4 Premium, but the higher-than-average cost for certain grades remains a concern. He went on to say, “Selects are non-existent. If I had a truck of Select grade Eastern White Pine, I could sell it today.”
In Pennsylvania, Cedar is moving well. In addition to Eastern White Pine and Cedar, other species offered by the company include Douglas Fir and Ponderosa Pine. While Eastern White Pine is among his top sellers, the Pennsylvania contact said, “Cedar is the biggest mover of the bunch.”
Selling to distributors and end users, the spokesperson from New Hampshire said that his company sells mostly Southern Yellow Pine, Douglas Fir and Eastern Spruce and that Eastern Spruce has sold especially well recently.
Outside of general weariness about supply, forest products companies in the Northeast did not report any outside factors otherwise affecting their businesses.
The representative from New York said, “It’s just the same types of struggles we deal with in any particular year.”
