On the West Coast, lumber providers described the Hardwood lumber market as no less than “order-to-order” and, on the upper end, “very good.”
A California lumber provider observed “it’s order-to-order. The business is there, but they’re not going to commit until the last minute. That seems to be the way it is. It’s steady but it’s order-to-order. If you have inventory, you have a good chance of selling the species you have. If you don’t, you’re not going to sell much.” It was the same way six months earlier, he said. He sells Walnut, Hickory and White Oak in uppers No. 1 Common, No. 2 Common, all in 4/4. White Oak is hot, he noted. He sells to end users and distributors, and their business is picking up. Trucking is not an issue, he stated.
An Oregon lumberman stated that the market is “very good. Commercial work is dead but residential work is very hot. My customers have all the work they need.” He sells 80 different species, some in a number of grades. Best selling are Poplar, Ripped White Oak, Walnut and Maple. He sells to distributors and end users.
A provider of lumber to Washington summed up his market as “better than expected.” He recalled that COVID hit in April, and the governor shut everything down except for essential companies. “Business really tanked in Washington,” he recalled. “Our business was off in Washington about 55 percent from March to April, but it has been kind of a square-root recovery. It dropped dramatically, then went back up dramatically, then leveled off (approximating the shape of a square-root sign). We had a terrible April; then we were above last year’s numbers in June, then it kind of leveled out. The market is still improving. Everyone thought it was going to be a long haul coming back, but it just wasn’t. Many companies let people go because they felt it would be a long haul, and you had to get your expenses down to where you have a chance to make a profit. Getting employees back was difficult.
“The softwood industry is in chaos out here. They reacted to COVID, and many don’t have people to run production. It is affecting associated industries including us. Hardwood companies are later in the process. There’s just way more demand now. With COVID happening, we can’t meet the demand.
“I’d say most companies are doing about the same in the Hardwood industry as six months ago,” he noted. “Our customers have plenty of business, but their ability to get the work done is holding the market back. If we can get COVID behind us, I believe the future is bright for our industry, that there will be more lumber consumed than we’ve seen in a while. Housing starts are so good, and people are moving to suburbs. These people had homes in the city that were pretty nice. When they move to the suburbs, they want nice homes, too. The remodeling industry is phenomenal right now in Washington and Oregon. When people stay home for COVID, they do projects.
He stated that he sells “a lot of species.” White Oak is the hottest species and Poplar is very strong. More Walnut and Hickory are being moved than in prior times. “This seems to be a bit of a change in what people are preferring,” he observed. He added that he sells a lot of Alder. He sells in thicknesses from 4/4 to 12/4 but sales are about 85 percent 4/4.
In Washington, this lumber provider sells to businesses that make cabinets, furniture, moulding and millwork as well as to a lot of contractors. “Most of them have a backlog of work,” he said. “You put COVID behind us, and the market’s ready to really be brisk on the West Coast, including Washington and Oregon. It’s going to be brisk.”
Transportation is definitely an issue, according to this lumber provider. “Transportation is probably a few days longer in almost every situation to get it lined up. Transportation is a factor in getting product.”
Overall, he stated, “I think we’ve got some good times in front of us. We’ve just got to get through COVID and get the vaccine. I’m very optimistic.”
