National Hardwood Magazine - May 2023

LAKE STATES Continued from page 10
EXPERIENCE QUALITY DEPENDABILITY
975 Conrad Hill Mine Rd. ~ Lexington, NC 27292
Phone 336-746-5419 ~ Fax 336-746-6177
www.kepleyfrank.us
Facilities:
3 Sawmills Processing 50 Million' • 750,000' Dry Kiln
Capacity • 600,000' Fan Shed Capacity
2 382 Newman Planer Mills • 50 Bay Bin Sorter
Products Available:
4/4-8/4 Appalachian Lumber • 6/4-8/4 Ship Dry Capacity
Crossties (100,000 BF per week) • Timbers up to 18'
1,000,000+ Average KD Inventory • 12,000,000+
Average AD Inventory
Species:
White Oak • Red Oak • Poplar • Ash • Hickory
Elm • Beech • Gum • Hackberry • Pecan
Jimmy Kepley, owner, and Bart
Jenkins, lumber sales
The firm manufactures 4/4 through 8/4 thicknesses.
Sales:
Bart Jenkins
bjenkins@kepleyfrank.us
Jimmy Kepley
jkepley@kepleyfrank.us
4/4 through 8/4. His best sellers, he noted, are Red and
White Oak, Walnut and Hickory.
His customers are evenly divided between end users
and distribution yards. His customers’ sales have increased
in the last month or so, he stated. “So, things
are better.”
He said transportation is “fine.” The weather is getting
better for logging, he added.
A Wisconsin lumberman, speaking for his sawmill, stated
that his sales are “decent. Overall, all of our lumber is
moving, just not as much as we want. Some of the prices
are pretty depressed, but it could be a lot worse.”
Compared to a few months earlier, market conditions
are “better,” he said. “I’m getting a lot more calls, a lot
more demand than four to five months ago.”
He offers Red and White Oak, Basswood, Hard and
Soft Maple, Aspen, Cherry and Hickory mostly in 4/4,
some 5/4 and No. 3 Common and Better. His best-sellers
are Red and White Oak.
He sells his lumber to both distribution yards and end
users. “The manufacturers are taking orders as they get
them. For them, nothing is for sure in terms of sales. Distribution
yards have been going strong for a long time.”
Transportation, he noted, is “very good. Even export
containers are coming in well.”
An Illinois lumber provider said, “The market has been
much better. It’s going pretty well. Kiln-dried sales have
picked up. Pricing has stabilized, and with some species,
prices have increased. It’s very encouraging to have shipments
go out. Also, our exporting has picked up some.
Procuring green lumber has been a little more difficult but
it’s still out there. Outbound shipments have increased.”
Looking back, he said, “Business activity was going
well until September 2022. From the fourth quarter of last
year until now, there has been a definite improvement in
the lumber market.”
He provides Red and White Oak, Ash, Poplar and Cottonwood.
His lumber comes in No. 1 Common and Better,
primarily, 4/4 through 8/4.
His customers include both end users and distribution
yards. “Distribution yards still really haven’t had a slowdown
that much,” he remarked. “Their business is pretty
strong. They’re still busy. End users, from the flooring
industry to the furniture industry to the RV industry have
been hot and cold, and are softening. I see the residential
flooring business picking back up a little bit. Also, the furniture
industry is steady.
“Transportation has definitely improved,” he observed.
68 MAY 2023 n NATIONAL HARDWOOD MAGAZINE www.RealAmericanHardwood.org