At the time of this writing the Random Lengths lumber composite prices have rallied to a 2020 high, in what can only be described as one of the strangest years on record for the wood products industry. Do-it-yourselfers have picked up and carried thus far the torch but manufacturers are still dealing with a host of COVID-19 issues and looking at a potentially devastating fire season. With the summer months upon us, this is what West Coast producers had to say:
Leslie Southwick of C&D Lumber, Riddle, OR said, “Over the last month there has been more demand than supply for a majority of our products. As job sites started to reopen that had previously shut down due to COVID-19 it seems that lumber was needed very quickly. After falling drastically in March and April, prices have trended upward in May and June at a very steady pace. I see prices continuing to trend upwards throughout the summer. Currently, our customers have been challenged with deadlines for getting wood to their jobsites. Some of our customers were told to delay shipments due to COVID-19 and now they are being told that they needed it yesterday. Overall, customers moods are one of cautious optimism as we pass another time of uncertainty and move into another new normal. I think customers are purchasing for just in time needs, and definitely keeping inventories low. They never know when the next dip in the market may come.” Southwick continued, “As demand has started to ramp up, transportation – specifically truck availability – has tightened back up with increasing prices. Rail car availability has been good. We are uncertain how the fire season will turn out, so currently this has not been affecting our business, but it is definitely something that we keep in the back of our minds.” Southwick finished by saying, “I am hopeful that the summer is going to be good for the lumber industry. I think overall demand is going to continue to trend up as more businesses open back up and more employees get back to work. Pricing should continue to rise the first part of the summer and then I anticipate it leveling off towards the end of summer.”
Dean Garofano of Delta Cedar Specialties, Delta, BC said, “As we move into summer with most markets having put the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic behind them, Coastal BC producers for the most part feel fortunate to have seen little impact on their businesses. Here at Delta Cedar Specialties, our sawmills and employees worked collaboratively to take the necessary safety precautions to allow our mills to keep running safely. Technology played a large role in allowing many offices to reduce down to an auxiliary team while sales and ops worked remotely without missing a beat.” Garofano continued, “While the overall economy has seen a significant hit in GDP one can only imagine how much worse it would have been 10-15 years ago without this level of technology. It can be expected that some of these business operation changes from COVID-19 may be here to stay. On the sales side for Cedar, the box store business has provided strong demand from the DIY market as home projects were front and center with the extra time home owners had. Logging overall is down on the Coast and fire season is expected to have an impact and so many mills are concerned about supply this summer and fall. Knowing Cedar supply will be tight for the balance of this year, many still wonder how demand may be impacted if COVID-19 rebounds in the slower fall and winter months.”
Phil Schumock of Stella-Jones, Tacoma, WA said, “Demand from all levels of retail are easily outstripping supply from mills and through the treating plants in the west. Prices have increased as buyers take deeper dives into B and C suppliers. The printed market seems drastically under reported. Customers seem a little stressed, supply challenges of this magnitude are unprecedented and demand continues despite all the pandemic economic obstacles. Labor and trucking have been fairly steady for us so far this year. At some point demand has, too, slacken. We’ve seen some evidence of it but still year over year retail demand is way up. My crystal ball is shattered in many pieces.”
