Southeast Business Trends June 2026 – Labor Receives A Mixed Review On Stability While Fuel Prices Trouble All
Despite all lumber representatives contacted for this article explaining the difficulties the market currently faces, they are still able to move product. Poplar is moving the best while concerns about export market competition rise.
In Mississippi, while “everything seems to be moving, the price is not where it should be,” stated the local lumber source. He noted that prices have changed a lot compared to 20 years prior and that artificial wood is a problem. “Flooring is a big problem because of all the LVT that is going around – not much real wood is being used anymore. Furniture manufacturers using the synthetic parts is a problem. Frame stock doesn’t move like it used to.”
It is worse than six months ago, and he mentioned the only positivity is that log prices “tend to be soft right now.”
Red and White Oak, Poplar, Gum, Ash and mixed hardwoods are what they offer. He described the grades and thicknesses and products they manufacture. “We cut more Red Oak than anything else (about 75 percent of the time) but White Oak brings the most money. We cut all grades including Nos. 2A and 3A Common in frame. We’re basically 4/4 but we do cut a lot of mat lumber as well as cants, ties and timbers. About 40 to 45 percent of what we cut, we use in-house.”
They don’t export directly but have dealings with those who do.
He explained how they operate as a turnkey company. “As far as our mat products go, we do sell a few but we’re in the rental business – we’re a turnkey project company, so we bid on jobs. We go lay powerlines, for example. We’ve got the trucking and equipment to pick up items and bring them back. My customers and I know that it’s slow even though nobody has really said anything. We’ve been trying to find new customers and new markets just so we don’t get caught with one customer who later decides that they aren’t going to make a product anymore.”
They have their own fleet of trucks and have, like many, been impacted by fuel costs even though he shared that they have their own filling station. “We can buy fuel a little cheaper in bulk here and we have a filling station on the yard. When the trucks are on the road, we encourage them to just get home if they have enough without filling up out there.”
Labor is not as challenging as it used to be, according to the source. “We’re stable on labor right now, but we’ve had a real problem with labor over the last few years. We’ve really had to step up and pay a tremendous amount more than what we used to pay – that’s what it has taken to get some quality people.”
The market in Tennessee is “decent” as noted by a lumber representative.
He shared why the market is “a little worse” than six months ago. “Trucking has been a major issue, and it has driven costs up for everybody. There also doesn’t seem to be as much demand.”
He said they offer “All the major Appalachian species – Ash, Hard and Soft Maple, Cherry, Hickory, Poplar and Oaks. Probably the bestseller right now and best moving item, even though we sell more Poplar than anything, is Hickory. In Poplar, we do 4/4 through 6/4; White Oak we do 4/4 and 6/4; everything else is strictly 4/4.”
His customers include distribution centers, flooring manufacturers, furniture, moulding and trim companies and American exporters.
Their labor force hasn’t been stable in many years and he noted, “It was hard finding quality people but now, it’s just hard finding people.”
He brought up a conversation he had with the National Hardwood Lumber Association (NHLA) about competition with the export market. “We don’t have our own sawmill, but we buy from others. I talk to them a lot about log pricing and what they’re able to buy logs for. I’ve talked to the NHLA about how exporting logs has really put a damper on our business and it is really difficult for sawmills trying to bring in logs to compete with people who are exporting to take those same logs and saw them into lumber.”
“Poor because of demand and economic issues,” shared a Kentucky source when asked about the market.
It is the same as six months ago and to improve issues they are facing, he listed changes to monetary policy and cheaper interest rates.
“All the typical hardwoods – Oaks, Maples, Poplar, Basswood and Hickory,” he stated when asked about his product line-up. “We move quite a bit of Poplar. In the Hickory, Oaks and Maples, we handle FAS, No. 2 Common, 4/4, a little 5/4, some 6/4 and occasionally 8/4.” Poplar is sold in “4/4, FAS all the way to No. 2 Common flooring lumber,” he added.
He shared that much of their Hard Maple “goes straight to a cabinet manufacturer. Otherwise, it’s mostly drying facilities that separate it, dry it and have domestic sales.”
They own a fleet of trucks and have been impacted by the fuel crisis.
On labor, they are “stable but we’d like to have more help, even though conditions are less favorable marketwise. Quality employees are hard to come by regardless,” he added.
