Import/Export Wood Purchasing News - December 2023/January 2024

GBM MEETING – Continued from page 8
Business Trends U.S.A.
Brett and Karen Slaughter, Elk Creek Forest Products
LLC, McMinnville, OR; and Kellye and Terry Miller, Import/Export
Wood Purchasing News, Memphis, TN
Brad Kirkbride, Western Red Cedar Lumber Association, Bend,
OR; Tom Jones, The Teal-Jones Group, Surrey, BC; Yasmine
Fouad, Export Development Canada, Vancouver, BC; and Steve
Winstone, BPWood Ltd., Penticton, BC
Will Barber, International Forest Products LLC, Vancouver,
BC; Al Fortune, Gurinder Grewal and Taj Grewal, Partap Forest
Products Ltd., Maple Ridge, BC; and Mario Dionne, Coast
Fraser Enterprises Ltd., Vancouver, BC
Adam Hazelwood, Andy Johal, Kamal Sanghera, Ryan Hagen
and Jim Brindle, San Group Inc., Langley, BC
Vye Kharbanda, Robin Hayward, Brian Hawrysh and
Randi Walker, BC Wood Specialties Group, Vancouver,
BC
Dean Garofano, Delta Cedar Specialties
Ltd., Pitt Meadows, BC; Zach Miller, Import/
Export Wood Purchasing News, Memphis,
TN; and Greg Smith, Gilbert Smith Forest
Products Ltd., Barriere, BC
Southeast
Lumber sources throughout the Southeast region are a mixed bag, with comments
ranging from the market has improved to sales have slowed down.
In Tennessee a sawmill representative said that his market has improved, at the
time of this writing. “We are doing better than we were six months ago. I think
this is due to supply being down and the demand starting to pick up.”
His company offers Ash, Cherry, Hard and Soft Maple, Hickory, Poplar and
Red and White Oak in grades FACE, Nos. 1, 2 and 3A Common. “We are able to
offer our Poplar in 4-6/4 thicknesses and White Oak in 4/4 and 6/4 thicknesses,
while we offer everything else in 4/4 thickness,” he added. He also mentioned
that White Oak has been a hot item for his company.
His company sells to flooring companies, moulding and trim manufacturers,
distribution centers and furniture manufacturers, as well as American exporters.
“It seems that the U.S. and domestic business is fairly firm, while exports into
Asia have been slow. Exports to Europe have been stronger than they have been
to Asia lately,” he noted.
He mentioned that the labor shortage continues to affect his company to an
extent.
In Alabama a lumber spokesperson said his White Oak sales have been doing
well and Ash seems to be holding its own, while his Red Oak and Poplar sales are
not doing as well.
When asked if his sales were better than they were six months ago he mentioned
that they might be doing a touch better than they were.
The four main species that his company offers are Red and White Oak, Poplar
and Ash in grades FAS Common and No. 2A Common and in thicknesses of 4/4
and 5/4.
“We are worldwide, we sell into the international and the domestic markets,”
he said. “Vietnam and China have both really slowed down and we aren’t hearing
good things about either country.” He also mentioned that the domestic market
West Coast
Hardwood lumber suppliers on the West Coast reported stable to busy activity.
Niche markets accounted for increased business while other markets stayed the
same as the previous report. Throughout the region, several contacts mentioned
challenging transportation concerns and are expecting availability shortages in
the near term.
One source in California said hardwood activity is steady. “We’re seeing stable
activity. I don’t know about our competitors but we haven’t seen much of a
change. It’s been steady the last three months for us.”
Carrying high-end and wider width lumber, he said, “We set ourselves apart
from the commodities. The hospitality markets are looking for specialty products
and that’s what we carry.”
Carrying every species from Alder to Zebrawood, the source said the best moving
item for his operation currently is Walnut and White Oak. “It doesn’t matter
what cut, the Oak is moving,” he explained. “Rift cut, plain sliced and quarter cut
are all moving well in White Oak and Walnut. Probably our slowest species is
Cherry right now.”
As for transportation, he said availability of trucks has improved but pricing
continues to rise. “We have seen tremendous increases in fuel prices along with
surcharges that just seem to continue to rise,” he said.
Looking ahead, the contact expects his market to remain the same but doesn’t
think the same is true for commodity markets. “It’s a hard market if you’re not a
specialty supplier right now. Due to prices of fuel rising and availability tightening,
not everyone is willing to pay those increases.”
“Most of our customers are booked for the next few months,” a contact in
Washington noted. One issue that challenges them, he added, is “freight costs are
starting to go back up because of fuel cost.”
The hardwood supplier, who handles mostly White Oak, said he expects
lumber shortages in the coming months. “We’ll probably see some shortages in
Continued on page 29 Continued on page 29
Making Lives Easier
Dennis Wight and Tyson Palmer, Pacific Western Wood Works Ltd., Delta, BC;
Peter Raja, Norelco Cabinets, Kelowna, BC; Dave Farley, BC Wood Specialties
Group, Langley, BC; and Chris Mager, Channel-Ex Corporation, Vancouver,
BC
Peter Lovett, King City Northway Forwarding Ltd., Montreal,
QC; Aidan Coyles, Gilbert Smith Forest Products Ltd., Barriere,
BC; Addison Ross, San Group Inc., Langley, BC; and
Lloyd Lovett, King City Containers Ltd., Alliston, ON
Brett Slaughter, Elk Creek Forest Products
LLC, McMinnville, OR; Terree Rodakowski
and Brad Rodakowski, Prime Forest Products
LLC, Beaverton, OR
Len van Ryswyk, Andy Wood, Jody Boates, Jeff Honeysett and Scott
Boates, The Teal-Jones Group, Surrey, BC
Brent Callaghan and Aaron Bayntun, Dakeryn Interpro Export
Group, North Vancouver, BC; Tim Stovall, Bright Wood Corporation,
Madras, OR; and Chris Sainas and Adam Fallis, Dakeryn
Interpro Export Group
Anastasia Brown, Maryna Sydorenko and
Richard Kaufmann, Silva Timber Products
Ltd., Langley, BC
We ship all kinds of trees.
Ryusuke Mishima, Murakami Lumber Co. Ltd., Tokyo, Japan; Koki Sato, Sankyo Corporation, Zach Miller, Import/Export Wood
Brent Friesen, Sam Satosono, Andersen Pacific
Forest Products Ltd., Maple Ridge, BC; and Dave
Vancouver, BC; Yuji Kato, Murakami Lumber Co. Ltd.; Tetsuya Nishishita, Kyoei Lumber Inc.,
Ehime, Japan; Kenji Sahara, Murakami Lumber Co. Ltd.; and Don McGregor, Western Forest
Products Inc., Vancouver, BC
Purchasing News, Memphis, TN;
and Jeremy Howard, Nyle Dry Kilns,
Brewer, ME
Pollock, Bakerview Forest Products Inc., Maple
Ridge, BC
Continued on page 18
781.544.3970
sales@theAGLgroup.com
www.theAGLgroup.com
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