Associate Editor
The responses for the Northeastern, softwood lumber market were very diverse at the time of this writing.
A lumber source in New York said that the market was “average” because there’s “just not very strong demand at the moment” and that it is worse than six months ago.
They handle Eastern White Pine in 4/4 and as he said, “do a shop grade for premium and Select.”
They sell their products to distribution yards and manufacturers. He said, “the market is moving but it’s in spurts.”
He commented that his customers said they’re experiencing “the same” in their own marketplaces.
He listed the labor shortage as an issue his company is facing.
Meanwhile, a lumber representative in New Hampshire had a negative view about the market because “there’s really not much demand and prices are poor.” According to him, at the time of this writing, the market is worse than it was six months ago and “the market is just the poorest I’ve ever seen it and I’ve been in this business for over 40 years.” What he called “another sign of how business is,” was his comment on the closure of an Eastern White Pine mill, which was a “good-sized mill and they just shut the doors.”
His New Hampshire company offers Eastern White Pine in 4/4 and 5/4.
For the most part, he mentioned they sell to “stocking distributors and some wholesalers. Everything’s really tight and everybody’s trying to move lumber.”
Despite stating that there are “plenty of trucks around,” he explained that trucking is more expensive than it used to be because of “the cost of fuel and insurance.”
The opinion of a lumber source in Maine is more positive, as he said that the “Northeast is decent. The overall market for wood products demand is down and things have been quite tough but the Northeast is stronger than most of the other areas.” Then, he explained the reasoning behind his upbeat review. “A lot of people are coming to Maine and building is still going well but all in all,’” he said, “our total market is certainly off and it’s just been a tough year for sawmills.” As for comparing business six months ago to the time of this writing, he said it’s “about the same. It’s been in this kind of pocket for six months. I don’t think it’s getting better or worse; I think it’s just hanging out.”
Eastern White Pine is what they sell in all NELMA and proprietary grades. They primarily offer 4/4 and 5/4 but the “biggest part” of their business, he added, is pattern stock.
They sell to big box retail chains, manufacturers, brokers and wholesale distributors. He said the “general market consensus” that he’s heard from his consumers is that “the market’s oversupplied so prices have weakened and the volume being made is down because the demand is down.”
He detailed a handful of issues having a negative effect on the business, which included “supplies, logs, labor, insurance and raw materials. Everything that we need to run our business inflated cost wise.”
