Southeast Business Trends
A Steady Southeastern Market Despite Setbacks
By Lara Stearsman
Associate Editor
Southeastern sources reported that while the market may be experiencing slow improvements, labor and transportation during the fuel crisis are still spots of worry. Some hold out hope that the remodeling sector will increase in activity, driving up their profits, while another hopes to rebuild their planer mill.
In South Carolina, the market is “steady” and a “little bit better” than six months ago according to one local source.
Southern Yellow Pine is the only species they sell, and they offer it in Nos. 2, 3 and 4 Common appearance grades, in addition to 1 x 4 and 1 x 6 boards and D & Better. “The 1 x 4 and 1 x 6 are selling the best. There has been a steady demand for those. It has picked up since the beginning of the year. I think that’s a lot to do with the industrials that are really big,” he shared.
Industrial and distribution companies are their biggest customers, who have been “pretty quiet and are just waiting to see what’s going to happen,” he noted. They don’t export but sell to those who do and he explained why. “We’re not large enough to handle the lines of credit and all the documentation, so we sell it to exporters. The majority of our export goes into the Caribbean.”
They haven’t been hit as hard by the fuel crisis as they “don’t provide trucking. Probably 50 percent of our trucking is customer pick-up, and the other 50 percent is brokers.”
He also shared that their labor force is “steady” but “I think everybody has labor problems.”
A representative from Arkansas stated that his company “primarily does timbers” and the “market is remaining pretty firm coming out of spring and heading into summer. Pricewise, it’s probably better but transportation is such a headwind. It’s such a hamstring on getting bills done.”
Southern Yellow Pine in Nos. 1 through 2 Common, 4 x 4, 4 x 6 and 6 x 6 are what they offer. “The 6 x 6 is selling the best. We don’t do a whole lot of 4 x 6.”
Most softwood lumber representatives are selling Southern Yellow Pine to a slightly improved market.
Their primary customers include treaters, reman and pallet manufacturers. “Transportation is one of my customers’ concerns, but I don’t know if there is anything new they are concerned about. We exported in the past but don’t do a lot anymore. Sometimes we send products to Mexico. We used to do a lot in the Caribbean and Europe,” he added.
Regarding labor, he shared they have the “the same constraints as everybody. I don’t know that we have it any worse than anyone else. We get good quality labor, it’s more that we are in a sparsely populated area — few more folks would be nice.”
When asked about the future, he shared, “If the market would stay similar or improve slightly, that would be something to look forward to. I think if more people choose to stay in their home and repair and remodel because they have a good interest rate locked in, that will help. A lot of our material, especially treated material, goes for remodeling.”
One lumber spokeswoman whose Alabama planer mill experienced a fire, shared her hopes that their company will, at the time of this writing, “get started up again by the end of the month.”
Despite this unfortunate event and their inability to sell product, the source explained that she does have eyes on the market because the “people I talk to everyday,” provide her with details.
The people she speaks to stated that “customers are struggling to get trucks, and the market seems to be sort of flat in this area. Our main issue is trucking – we can’t get trucks to come to Alabama. I don’t know if they are hauling produce, steel or what, but if we do get a truck, the freight rates have gone up 30 to 40 percent compared to this time last year.”
Their market was “better until the fire,” she shared when asked about the state of the market six months before the fire.
Southern Yellow Pine is the species they offer, for which she listed their product line. “60 percent of our production was PET material – specially trimmed items. We did 2 x 4 and 2 x 6, seven, eight and 10-foot timbers, in addition to No. 3 Common, a three-four mix and No. 4 Common & Better. The PET material was the best seller, and we could cut any length.”
Their customers consist of treaters, truss manufacturers, wholesalers and reman companies.
