Editor
By Sue Putnam
Editor
Across the Southeastern region while all lumber sources agreed that their sales were slow, they each believe it is for a different reason.
In Alabama, a lumberman said that while his sales have been steady, they have been impacted by the weather. “I expect to bounce back as soon as the weather issues are out of the way.”
He noted that his sales are better than they were six months ago. “The economy is continuing to roll along, and the interest rates didn’t put the brakes on sales like we thought they would, as people’s inventories are low, and they are being forced back into the market.”
His company offers Southern Yellow Pine in thicknesses of 11/32 to 3/4 inch and in grades A, B and C, as well as rated sheathing. He mentioned that he will sell to anyone that wants to buy from him.
When asked how he thinks the market will continue to fare over the next several months, he said, “Hopefully it will continue to rock along, and we will be pleasantly surprised.”
A lumber representative in Mississippi said that his sales and market have been a little soft. “It doesn’t seem like the overall demand in the market is keeping up with production.” He believes that he is slower than he was six months ago, which he said is due to a number of factors including the wetter winter and the economy at large.
His company offers Southern Yellow Pine mainly in 2×4-2×6’s and in grades No. 2 and Better and the lower grades.
He said that he sells into the building markets. “Some of the builders seem to be fairly steady and I think that we are seeing a slow-down in the treating market, which mainly goes into the retail lumber market.”
He mentioned that he hopes that the interest rates go down over the next several months so that people will have more money in their pockets to build single-family homes and to spend more at the retail lumber stores.
In Louisiana a lumber spokesperson said that their Softwood products are sold offshore and they have noticed that these markets have continued to remain slow. “We have seen a significant contraction in the last 90 days, about 35 percent.” He noted that this contraction is an indication that they are doing worse than they were six months ago.
His company handles Southern Yellow Pine in all grades and all thicknesses. “I always tell people, ‘We do everything from the saps to the craps.’”
He said that he sells direct to some end-users, factories and distribution yards. “We have gotten a lot of comments lately about how our customers’ businesses have slowed down, and it is evident with them paying their bills late.”
He mentioned that he believes that the market is over saturated with Southern Yellow Pine and this will not be corrected until mills begin to curtail production and take some of the older less efficient mills offline.
