Business Trends

Throughout the West Coast region, sources that were contacted at the time of this writing agreed that while their markets are steady, they are still slower than they would like to be. In California a lumberman said that his sales are order to order, with their market continuing at the same pace that it was […]

With the Thanksgiving holiday and hunting season coming up, production will see a slight slowdown, as is usual for this time of year. While the housing sector was doing better on the U.S. side compared to Canada who experienced a slowdown during August and September, business owners were optimistic that market conditions would improve over […]

Sawmill contacts commented that log supplies had improved recently. However, log decks were much lower than normal at this time for many of them. We are at a time when sawmills build their inventories ahead of wet fall weather and winter. Some are preparing while others are hesitant to build up log supplies due to […]

Sources that were contacted throughout the Lake States region were a mixed bag as one source said that his market was doing well, while the others said that they are having a harder time selling their products. In Wisconsin a lumber representative said that overall, his marketplace is doing well at the time of this […]

Opinions regarding the state of the forest products industry in the Northeast varied among industry professionals in the region. A representative from a distribution yard in Pennsylvania said that business in her area was spotty but that certain items were selling well. Conversely, sawmill representatives in both Maine and Maryland were less optimistic when asked […]

The reports on the hardwood lumber markets in the Southeast portray an element of negativity. A lumber spokesperson in Mississippi said that the market wasn’t doing well at the time of this writing and that it is worse than six months ago. They offer, “pretty much all species indigenous to the Southeastern and Eastern United […]

Forest products industry sources on the West Coast were consistent in how they viewed the state of the market in their region. Sources in California and Oregon said that business in their area was slow, but each commented that some weeks were better than others. In Washington, a lumber representative gave the market in his […]

As the industry moves into early fall, businesses are still facing many challenges to reach a profit. The housing shortage on both sides of the border, lower demand for hardwood lumber and finished goods at a low, the loss of market share due to other materials and imported goods and other species native to those […]

With summer behind us, and the Labor Day holiday over, businesses are slowly gearing up for the fall and winter seasons. Businesses are planning their purchasing schedules in advance for their anticipated production needs. With demand being down for hardwood finished goods, they must be vigilant and creative to stay in business and make a […]

Throughout the Lake States region, sources that were contacted said that their sales were doing well, at the time of this writing, and that they were able to steadily move their products. In Wisconsin, a lumberman said that overall, his business “is doing a little better than we were six months ago,” he noted, attributing […]