Natchez, MS–The overall mood at the recent Southwestern Hardwood Manufacturers Club (SWHMC) was very optimistic. The concerns are the rising interest rates and inflation coupled with labor and logistics. The meeting was held here at The Grand Hotel and was attended by 125 people.
The general consensus was that prices are good and demand is strong, domestically as well as internationally.
A sawmill representative from Arkansas, whose firm produces over 70 percent Red Oak, described the market as in good shape and he has a log supply.
Another sawmill in South Arkansas said, along with everybody else, his business is very good. Labor is an ongoing issue, but lumber prices are good.
An Arkansas flooring manufacturer said his operation is running two shifts and that pricing has softened just a little bit on the flooring.
A Hardwood green mill attendee from Mississippi commented that his biggest problems are labor and diesel, but business is good and pricing is good.
Another representative from a Mississippi sawmill said he is thankful that he has a son following in his footsteps in the industry. Otherwise, finding workers is an issue for his company too. At another mill in that state, log availability was a challenge at the time of this writing. He also cited issues with labor, trucking and parts to keep his mill operating. However, his mat business is solid.
A different sawmill in Mississippi is running 85 hours a week with good log inventory. They have about a million and a half feet on his yard and lumber sales are good. He said he has had a hard time getting saws for his head rig, band saws and parts and, again, labor is a constant issue with all sawmills.
Another Mississippi lumber producer that operates more than one sawmill said his business is strong. He cuts bridge timbers and that is going well. His cross tie business is healthy also. His log supply is solid for a month at one of his facilities and maybe a little more than a month at the other. He has seen a shortage of loggers and labor is an issue from the logging standpoint, as well as the sawmills.
A Louisiana representative, whose sawmill cuts primarily Hardwoods and a little bit of pine, said that the loggers are struggling to keep up where his mill is located.
Other attendees echoed labor shortage sentiments and also the majority representing the cross tie industry reported good markets. One noted, “You just can’t get enough cross ties, and the labor shortage is a compounding problem.”
Sawmill equipment manufacturers in attendance stated that they are about 16 months out in regard to filling orders for carriages and other equipment that they offer. One noted it is historic at the moment as far as demand for sawmill equipment.
Lastly, a concentration yard representative from Indiana said they are sold out regarding White Oak and they are seeing the price that they are paying coming down. They are even buying kiln-dried White Oak now, even though they are a drying operation. This company brokers a lot of lumber for the export market. He said demand is high in Europe and that Ukraine was a large supplier of White Oak for the European market. He added that the demand is coming to North America for White Oak in the European market since it is now not coming from Ukraine. They have also seen orders from China pick up in the 30 days prior to the SWHMC meeting.
The Southwestern Hardwood Manufacturers Club raised $1,100 for the Hardwood Federation, which was presented at this meeting.
Learn more at www.swhmc.com.
