2022 brought welcomed business to Northeast lumber operations.
In Vermont, demand varies, according to a sawmill operations manager.
“The market for some species is very strong, while for others species, it’s been just okay,” he observed. The company offers Red Oak, Hard and Soft Maple, Birch, Ash and smaller quantities of White Oak in thicknesses of 4/4-8/4. Customers include wholesalers and distribution yards.
“We are all kind of watching the Oaks, which have been steady,” he stated. “Hard and Soft Maple are strong. Ash is doing fine, along with Yellow Birch.”
Compared to the past summer, sales remained similar. “There’s just a lot of Red Oak that’s been generated,” he said.
The region’s Hard Maple market was up considerably until late December. “Hard Maple logs had been very competitive to get,” he noted. “There was just not as many out there as we would like to think there could be.” The lumber supplier sells FAS and Better, as well as pallet grades.
Transportation has been a wild card, he added. “It’s worse for us,” he related. “Because we are in the Northeast, there are factors beyond the containers and not as many trucks available.”
As weather remains a key factor, the region’s transportation availability typically does not improve during the winter. Because of the weather-caused delays, some truck lines avoid the Northeast during winter if possible, he explained.
In New York, a yard representative commented, “The market and demand are good. We are selling all of our lumber.”
The lumberman characterized business as about the same as six months ago. “Our customers’ businesses are going well,” he relayed.
The operation offers Red and White Oak and Hard Maple in 4/4, 5/4, 6/4 and 8/4 thicknesses to end users and distributors, as well as export markets, in No. 1 Common, FAS and Better. All three grades were selling well at the time of this writing.
In transporting the firm’s products, prices have risen and containers travel slow, about the same situation as during last summer. “We have been fighting these port issues for well over a year,” the representative stated. “They are saying there’s a continued backup at the ports.”
Future sales should “just be steady,” he predicted. “It won’t be hot and it won’t be cold, but will be steady business.”
A Pennsylvania lumber supplier reported favorable business.
“Business is going well,” said the company’s sales manager. “We had a good start to the year, both domestically and in exports. We are having a good month so far.”
Compared to the summer, which saw strong sales, the source believes consistent activity will continue. “We are expecting the market to be good for the next three quarters,” he stated. Though he admitted he wasn’t sure where the market would be after that, he believes the industry, at least for the short term, should experience better horizons.
This distribution yard markets Hard and Soft Maple, Red and White Oak, Cherry, Poplar, Hickory and Ash in 3/4-8/4 in FAS/1F and Nos. 1 and 2 Common to distributors and end use manufacturers.
The Maples have been selling very well with Red Oak, Hickory and Poplar also seeing strong demand. “We still see the marketplace continuing to be paced rather well,” the source reported. “We are not expecting any down cycles. There’s an upward potential for prices to increase.”
The higher prices for other species prompted some buyers to take a second look at Cherry, which traditionally hasn’t seen as high a use as the other species, he noted.
