Throughout the Southeast region lumber suppliers agreed that while the market has slowed down, they are still able to move their products.
In Tennessee a lumber spokesperson said that his company’s sales were doing OK at the time of this writing, noting that, “A lot of what we are shipping is specie dependent. White Oak is continuing to be a strong item and the majority of what we are shipping, overall, however sales have slowed down.”
He added that his sales are doing worse than they were six months ago, but that is expected this time of year.
His company offers Red and White Oak, Poplar, Walnut, Ash, Hard and Soft Maple, Basswood, Hickory and Cherry in grades No. 2 and Better and in thicknesses 4/4 through 8/4. “We offer grades No. 2 and Better but we are heavier to FAS,” he remarked.
When asked if any of his customers have offered any comments as to how their sales are doing, he said that they all seem to be in the same boat with their sales having slowed down some.
A sawmill representative in Arkansas said that his market seems to have slowed down a bit but not much. “We haven’t seen too many of our products sales slowdown,” he said. “Our sales are down about 10 percent from where they were six months ago.”
His company offers Birch, Maple, Red and White Oak, Cherry, Ash, Hickory, Poplar and Mahogany in a variety of thicknesses and grades. “Poplar is our best seller,” he noted. “We sell more of it than anything else.”
His company sells to cabinet manufacturers. “Some of my customers have noted that their sales are starting to slow down as well,” he said. “People are just building less.”
In North Carolina a lumberman said that his Red and White Oak sales have been stable, while his Poplar sales have not. “Whether you are selling into Asia or any other country, it’s all about the price on Poplar. You can always sell it but in a lot of cases it is going to have to be cheap,” he stated.
When asked if he was doing better or worse than he was six months ago, he mentioned that he was doing a little worse. “Everybody is trying to survive until there is a swing in the market.”
He said that his company offers Red and White Oak and Poplar in all NHLA grades and in thicknesses of 4/4 through 10/4.
“We sell to moulding, millwork, furniture and flooring manufacturers,” he said, adding that any of his customers that are exporting into the Asian markets are working with tight margins where it seems as if they are buying their orders as opposed to selling their products.
He went on to say that the economy and the direction that it is heading is affecting business in a negative way, and the housing market continues to slow.
