Opinions within the Northeast region are mixed regarding the state of the market. While one source expressed better conditions with his business activity, another source reported a recent slowdown in their operations.
A lumber supplier in New York expressed that the market has been challenging. “It’s a very tough market. We are trying to not make any extra material and just limping along until things get better. We do a fair amount of log exports and that’s been busy for the first half of the year, but some of that is starting to cool off now. I see the volume of production especially in Maple dropping off rapidly,” he added.
Hard and Soft Maple are his two biggest production species and he’ll also do some Red and White Oak. They cut mostly 4/4 – 5/4 in the warmer months and in the winter, will do thicker stock from 6/4 to 16/4 depending on the species. “Common grades of Maple are moving the best. Upper Select and Better is still moving but the price and specs are making it hard. A bigger killer than the price is the specs to sell it,” he said.
His customers include distribution yards, and furniture and millwork plants. “They are not doing as good as they would like to, but they are not saying it’s horrible. It’s just basically too much lumber for what’s being used. That’s the main problem. Lumber is moving, cabinets are selling, moulding is selling, flooring is selling, just not at a pace faster than what we’re producing it.”
He noted that transportation has gotten easier, but labor is an issue. “You have truckers calling looking for loads which is a big change from the past few years. Labor is a big problem that nobody is going to get over. We can hire enough people to be at 100 percent employment, but our productivity still won’t go up. The quality of available workers is worse than what it was just a few years ago.”
One Massachusetts supplier at the time of this writing expressed that his business was doing good. He mentioned that the level of activity remains unchanged compared to six months ago.
He offers all Northern Hardwood species in a variety of thicknesses and grades.
When asked about his transportation he said it is fine and they mostly will use their own trucks with the occasional hire for a longer delivery. “ As far as labor goes, it is bad,” he added.
In Pennsylvania, a sawmill representative reported that he is experiencing a slowdown in business activity. “Things weren’t as bad 6 months ago, but it’s gotten very slow here recently,” he said.
His company provides Hard and Soft Maple, Red and White Oak, Poplar and Hickory in No. 3 Common or Better, with 4/4 being the main thickness. “Hickory is our best seller right now. Poplar is probably our second best. We don’t do a whole lot of White Oak, but we do get a lot of calls for it. Usually any of the White Oak we get around here is 3 Common.”
He sells to moulding and flooring manufacturers, carpenters, and some brokers. “The small cabinet guys seem to be totally booked. They are telling their customers that they are out a year before they can get their kitchen cabinets done. The small guys seem to be busy,” he commented.
Transportation was not an issue for him at the time of this writing. Prices of fuel going down has helped with his total overall transportation costs. Labor is another story and he mentioned that it’s been difficult to keep good workers with his remote location.
