Throughout the Northeast region opinions vary on how the market is doing. One source noted that while his grade lumber is selling better, his industrial lumber has become harder to move. Another source noted that his sales are slow and believes that they have been curtailed due to the lack of demand in the housing market.
In Maryland a sawmill representative said that parts of his market are strong while other parts have started weakening. “I haven’t been able to sell 4/4 random width pallet lumber at all this year. While prices are dropping, certain sizes on my grade lumber are bringing in more money, but consumers are still being restrictive on what they are buying,” he said.
“Overall, the market is harder to navigate than it was six months ago,” he remarked. “We are still able to move everything, but my pallet lumber sales have come down. Mat materials were red hot up until just recently, but they have also slowed, so have my crosstie sales.”
His sawmill mainly handles Poplar in thicknesses of 5/4, 10/4, 12/4 and 16/4 and grades Clear One Face. They handle Red and White Oak in thickness of 5/4 in grades Face and Better and No. 1, 2 and 3 Common. “White Oak is our best seller. It’s too bad we aren’t getting a lot of White Oak. We get a lot of Poplar and it’s moving OK. We are having some trouble getting orders but that always happens in the summer,” he noted.
He said that his company sells to the railroad, pallet and mat industries, wholesale concentration yards, distribution yards and exporters. “They are still buying from us, so they have to still be moving their materials. They are afraid of this market and economy, so they have cut off some of their suppliers. They aren’t taking in much product so they won’t have larger inventories and shouldn’t get stuck with expensive lumber,” he commented when asked how his customers’ sales were doing.
He mentioned that he isn’t having trouble with transportation and the rates have gotten cheaper.
In Pennsylvania a lumber spokesperson said that in general his sales have been very slow. “There are a multitude of issues hitting our sector right now. We’re struggling to retain reliable employees. The housing demand isn’t there and buyers are being cautious. I’d have to say that without a doubt we are worse than we were six months ago,” he noted.
His company mainly handles Ash, Birch, Cherry, Hard and Soft Maple, Red and White Oak and Poplar. They produce all grades, with a focus on No. 2 and Better in thicknesses 4/4 through 12/4. “We do develop railroad ties and cants, but those are really more an afterthought than anything,” he mentioned. He said that White Oak is very steady and seems to be their best seller.
His company primarily sells to end users and distribution yards and some wholesalers. “A lot of our customers sell to manufacturers in the RV industry. We have seen some curtailment there,” he noted.
He mentioned that his company has continued to struggle with staffing, but transportation has gotten better.
“I think that it is going to be a very somber six months going into the end of the year,” he added.
Another lumber spokesperson from Pennsylvania said that her sales have been slow. “It’s worse than it was six months ago. I think that interest rates are the biggest thing that has slowed us down.”
Her company handles Hard and Soft Maple, Red Oak, Poplar, Hickory and Cherry in grades No. 3 Common and Better and in 4/4 thickness mainly, with some 5/4, 6/4 and 8/4. “I wouldn’t say that any specie is selling well right now, but Soft Maple probably does have the most demand,” she noted.
Her company sells to moulding and flooring manufacturers, carpenters, DIYers and some brokers. “We are in a unique situation right now, a lot of our customers are looking for planed lumber and we just lost the planing facility that would plane our lumber,” she remarked.
She said that transportation seems to have gotten easier, “We are getting calls from trucking companies asking if we have anything that they can move for us.”
A sawmill representative in New York said that the Hardwood market is a challenge right now. “We have decent markets, but the price is way off,” he commented. “We are doing better than we were six months ago. There was a lot of uncertainty at the start of this downslide.”
His company handles Hard and Soft Maple, Cherry, Birch and Basswood. He also mentioned that about 25 percent of the timber that they saw every year is pine. They handle these species in No. 2 Common and Better and in 4/4 thickness. “None of my Hardwoods are selling well right now. If I had to rank them, it would be Cherry, Hard Maple and then Soft,” he added.
He noted that his company sells to brokers and end users, none of which have offered any comments at the time of this writing.
“Transportation has eased up a lot over the past six months. It’s been a lot easier to retain trucks than it has been to retain employees,” he said.
