Along the West Coast, and specifically in the Pacific Northwest, lumber sales were recently reported to be booming.
“We have had record sales,” said a Washington sawmill’s sales manager. “2021 was a record year. We look for ‘22 to be almost as good.”
Six months ago, business was also strong. “Pacific Northwest business has been good all year,” he said.
The firm keeps its customers’ appetites stoked for the Red Alder, Pacific Coast Maple and Cottonwood, which it sells nationally to cabinet manufacturers and distributors in thicknesses of 4/4 through 12/4. Red Alder remains the biggest selling species it markets.
“We have been allocating material to our customers all year,” he said. “It’s more of what we are willing to sell them than what they’re willing to buy. There has not been production to satisfy demand all year.”
Labor and logistics remain big concerns. “Labor has been short, like for everyone else,” he said. “Logistics are way up, both in container rates to Asia and domestically.”
In Southern California, business remained consistent for a distribution yard. “We are still good and steady,” said the owner. “If we have product, we will move it on a steady basis.”
Compared to six months ago, business was about the same at the time of this writing, he commented. “You have to have the product. Customers who receive four bids on a job will call and then one supplier doesn’t possess the lumber, so the customers must return to who they originally talked with. That’s where if you have an ongoing program bringing lumber in, you will sell extra orders,” he explained. “Some guys commit but don’t have the lumber. That’s when if you have inventory, you will move it.”
Overall, the company’s customers’ business remains favorable. “They have nice business booked, which is good,” he said. “We have had a good year. We are very happy.’’
The firm provides upper-grade Walnut, Hickory, White Oak and some Poplar in 4/4 thickness to distributors and flooring companies. Walnut and White Oak are best sellers.
Labor availability remains the key challenge. “Everyone has labor issues,” he said. “Transportation is not as bad in Southern California because we are fortunate to have a lot of trucking companies.”
Logistics are also pressing an Oregon lumber supplier. “Availability seems to be fairly decent on most product lines,” said the vice president and lumber purchaser. “We are able to buy the things we need. Getting them here, however, is the biggest issue.”
The market has slowed a little from mid-year due to the holiday season. “It has been a good market,” he said. “The activity level, though, is less than previous years. There’s probably a small sliver of the market still adjusting to current pricing levels. With the current price, the dollars generated at the end of the day are better. The revenue is better at the end of each period. The overall volume is slightly down, but the numbers still look good.”
The firm stocks 80 species of lumber, with Red and White Oak, Poplar, Maple, Cherry, Walnut, Beech, Ash and Hickory being the biggest overall sellers marketed to its residential end-use manufacturing customers. Thicknesses range from 4/4 through 16/4. “Paint grade is still the king and leading the way, so Poplar is No. 1,” he reported. “We do fairly well with paint grade Maple. Regular Maple does well. If you get out of the paint grades, Walnut and White Oak are leading the pack.”
Depending on sector, the residential cabinetry guys were especially busy, with a lot of business booked multiple months into the future. “Most of them expect to see double-digit percentage increases next year; that whole market looks really solid,” he said. “The commercial fixture guys are a little less optimistic about the future, but they think it will still be good.” He thinks the millwork side will be strong again, as well. “It has been a strong point over the last year and will continue to be that way and move more and more products toward that custom millwork side,” he predicted.
