Across the Northeast region, lumber suppliers had varied responses as to how their sales were, at the time of this writing. In Pennsylvania, a lumberman said that his marketplace was tough. “For most species FAS is still doing well, but Nos. 1 and 2 Common have fallen off the map.” He noted that his company is doing worse than it was six months ago and mentioned that this is likely due to it being wet season, causing there to be an issue with the log inventory.
His company offers Red and White Oak, Hard and Soft Maple, Cherry and Poplar in 4/4 and 5/4 thicknesses. “In Red and White Oak, we offer Select and Better and Nos. 1, 2 and 3 Common. Hard Maple and Cherry we offer in No. 2 Common and Better, and we offer Soft Maple and Walnut in No. 1 Common and Better,” he said. He did state that White Oak is by far his best-selling specie, and that currently he is noticing that there is some demand for Hard and Soft Maple.
When asked what kinds of customers he sells to, he said he sells to a few regular clients around Central Pennsylvania, with some of them exporting into China, while others sell domestically and are more diversified with niches for certain species and grades of lumber. “I’ve had people as far up as Canada call about Red Oak in the upper grades, but between the cost of the lumber and the shipping we weren’t able to come to terms.”
A lumber salesman from Maine said that his sales have been spotty. “Right now, most of the phone calls that I have received are from people that are concerned about finding what they need.” He noted that he doesn’t believe the reasons his customers aren’t able to find what they need is due to the demand of lumber increasing, but the lack of supply.
The source did note that his sales are better than they were six months ago, adding that at the time of this writing he is able to dictate the price on Hard Maple. His company offers Hard and Soft Maple, Yellow Birch and Ash in thicknesses of 4/4 through 8/4 and grades ranging from pallet to Prime FAS. He mentioned that he sells to furniture, cabinet and flooring companies, as well as wholesalers and distribution yards. “Some of the distribution yards that I sell to are telling me that they are starting to get busy, of course we are heading into construction season.” He said that he believes that the past few months have been a nice reprieve for sawmills after how the past year went for many.
A New York lumber representative said that his market isn’t doing poorly, adding that he thinks that there is a little bit less supply than there used to be. He also said that his sales are about what they were six months ago. His company offers Red and White Oak and Cherry in grades FAS1F and Better and No. 1 Common and in thicknesses of 4/4 through 8/4. He sells to Hardwood distributors and while they haven’t offered any comments as to how their sales are doing, he did note that they all seem to be buying lumber.
