Business Trends North America

Lake States Business Trends Wintertime Woes Coupled With Springtime Expectations Hardwood markets across the Lake States remain steady but restrained, with suppliers describing seasonal softness, cautious customer behavior and repeat business. While activity has not fallen off sharply, most buyers are limiting exposure and ordering only what is needed for current production. A Michigan hardwood […]

Northeast Business Trends A New Year With Old Challenges Northeastern hardwood lumber representatives reported that tariffs, high inventory, low demand and labor struggles are causing challenges. Despite difficulties, they hope for improvement. The market, according to one Maryland lumber source, is average. “We’re trying to get some business out here on our export side before […]

Southeast Business Trends Will Hopes Or Fears For 2026 Be Fulfilled? Lumber sources share concerns about the younger generation’s lack of interest in the lumber industry and state their lack of knowledge can’t supplant the generation aging out of the workforce. Overall, they said the market is down but somewhat stable for the majority. A […]

West Coast Business Trends West Coast Commitment Issues Hardwood market activity in the West Coast remains cautious, with suppliers in Washington and California reporting tepid buying behavior, steady transportation conditions and limited forward commitments. Across the region, activity is being shaped less by supply constraints and more by uncertainty among customers who continue to order […]

Ontario Business Trends New Markets May Provide Canadian Solutions As we move into 2026, and with continued tariffs, hardwood businesses pursue their plans to seek new markets for their products. The Government of Canada has provided some assistance to businesses to ease the imposed U.S. tariff burdens. At the time of this writing, Canada was […]

Quebec Business Trends Cautious Steps Into 2026 The hardwood sector continues to face challenging business conditions and uncertainty. As the country focuses on eliminating barriers between provinces and trying to negotiate a trade deal with the U.S. to ease imposed tariffs, businesses continue dealing with the shortage of qualified workers, supply chain issues, finding new […]

Business Trends Abroad China Sees Decline In Sawn Wood Imports China – According to the latest data available from China Customs, from January to September 2025 China’s sawn wood imports declined 12 percent to 18.34 million cubic meters valued at US$4.776 billion, down 11 percent over the same period of 2024. The recent tariff friction […]

Who’s Who in Import/Exports Alan McIlvain Company Purchases 10 Million Board Feet Lan McIlvain Lan McIlvain is the president of Alan McIlvain Company, located in Marcus Hook, PA. Alan McIlvain is a hardwood distributor and moulding manufacturer that buys 10 million board feet of lumber annually in most domestic and imported species. The company offers […]

Northeast Business Trends Trailer Trials, Lacking Labor And Tariff Tensions Uncertainty, labor and pricing are the main concerns for lumber representatives across the Northeast in the hardwood industry. In Pennsylvania, the market is “steady but the pricing is low. I can move material,” said the lumber source. Compared to six months ago, the market has […]

Lake States Business Trends From Lacking And Abnormal To Fairly Decent, It’s A Mixed Region Two out of three hardwood lumber sources in the Lake States region agree on abundant transportation and a poor market, while one reported trucking troubles and another reported a decent market and stability. The market is “fairly decent,” according to […]