A California lumberman recently noted that business was “adequate” and that he would “take that any day” over the “chaos” that the pandemic created in the lumber market.
“It was no fun during the pandemic,” he noted. “We all want to be profitable, but that was insane. Now we are moving along and still profitable.”
The source said that a banker recently commented on an “uptick” of loan applications, meaning that interest rates are “coming down.”
Selling nearly every Hardwood species from Alder to Zebrawood, he noted that most of his wood comes from the Appalachia region.
He added that he hoped White Oak has “run its course.”
“We want to make Red Oak great again because it is the more dominant species,” he said. “A friend of mine is a forester and he said that the log diameters are getting smaller because people are cutting so much (White Oak).”
Specializing in thicknesses of 4/4 through 8/4 and some 10/4, 12/4 and 16/4 of particular woods, the distributor said he sells to “any kind of manufacturers” and lumber yards.
“Here in California we really only deal with upper grades,” he said. “So, hardly any No. 1 and no No. 2 grades. We really do FAS and Better.”
On the other side of the coin, an Oregon source noted that a global approach to lumber distribution can also work.
“We sell across the world,” he said. “You name it, we ship it.”
He also noted that he had a “diverse” customer base.
“We sell to distribution and manufacturing,” he added. “We make sure that we have a very broad customer base.”
Specializing almost exclusively in Alder cut in 4/4-to-12/4 thicknesses, the lumberman said that business is “moving along just fine.”
“As interest rates fall,” he said, “people are starting to be more confident and buy. But customers are still buying cautiously.”
He added that businesses were closely monitoring inventory levels during the end of the year.
“(Companies) weren’t trying to bring in too much during the end of the year,” he said. “Then, at the beginning of the year, there is a mad scramble to play catchup again.”
Despite finding success domestically and overseas, the source said that the export market is “tough right now.”
“It is really China,” he noted. “China is still trying to get out of a hole, and they are interested in buying, but they are very bulimic. They will buy a bunch of volume and then will pull off the market for three months. Then they will come back and say, ‘We want to buy another block of wood, but we want it to be half price.’ We just chose not to take that business and wait for prices to come back up. Throughout the industry, that’s what everyone is seeing.”
With the exception of the “COVID years,” the Oregon lumberman said that the second quarter usually sees a significant increase in profits.
“During COVID,” he added, “the fourth quarter was the best. That was because of the way that the market shaped up.”
Another California lumber distributor, who predicted a strong January after a slow fourth quarter in 2023, noted that things have been “very steady” this year.
“Last December was the typical holiday thing,” he said. “No one was getting orders unless they absolutely needed it.”
The lumberman said he doesn’t downplay the uptick in sales so far this year.
“Much to the surprise of some other guys, who say that they are just doing ‘OK,’” he added. “I’m happy with how steady we are.”
Specializing in White Oak and Walnut for flooring, the lumberman said his team of workers “really got the orders going” in January.
