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Comments from July 10, 2026

Most sawmills have resumed production following the Fourth of July holiday weekend, but others have extended their closures, citing slow demand and elevated inventories of certain items. Still others are in the process of sawing off their remaining log decks and selling their final lumber production runs, expecting to permanently close in late summer or early fall.

Domestic and international sales often slow around mid-year and pick back up after the summer vacation season. One longtime sawmiller reports more sticking and stacking lumber than selling; “Hopefully, someone wants to buy some kiln dried lumber down the road.” To be clear, this scenario is not widespread across the region. Some producers have more orders than lumber for certain items, and a large millwork manufacturer reports stable business and steady orders from core customers. While production capacity is coming off the market over the long-term, reduced production during and immediately after the holiday period might limit or prevent inventory growth for the Maples and Red Oak.

ASH: Kiln dried sales and shipments of this species—primarily to export markets—are keeping pace with developing supplies. However, markets want more 4/4 #1C than is available, and the listings are raised, marking the first increases since late February. The high-end ranges for 6/4 #1C Ash also rise. Reported green prices are stable, allowing all figures to stand.

CHERRY: Cherry has appeared less frequently on contacts’ lists of best-moving species in summer than spring. However, no Appalachian region contacts have listed Cherry among their worst-moving species over the last three weeks, despite news of declining demand from China’s furniture manufacturing sector. While yards report no issues procuring green lumber, purchasing is sufficient to keep most green listings intact. The only exceptions reduce the listing for 4/4 #2A in each subregion. Conversely, the only dry-side changes raise the 8/4 #1C listings and ranges in the Appalachian subregion and the low-end 8/4 Fas ranges in the North Central subregion.

HICKORY: Hickory remains a bright spot for sawmills. Green lumber moves in all grades and thicknesses as it is produced, mainly to domestic flooring plants. Transactions show continued upward price momentum for #2A, driving increases to 4/4 through 8/4 stock. Meanwhile, markets are accepting the pace of kiln dried production at prices that keep all listings and ranges unchanged.

HARD MAPLE: For most items, green availability is aligned with the market’s reduced needs. However, green 6/4 and 8/4 Fas&1f are oversupplied in the #1&2 White color designation, prompting reductions to the listings. Conversely, kiln dried 6/4 and 8/4 Fas inventories have thinned, resulting in supply-driven price gains that lift the listings for each color sort.

SOFT MAPLE: Sluggish demand for Sap&Btr and Unselected Soft Maple either rivals or surpasses that for Hard Maple, while demand for brown material remains quite strong. No green price changes are required this week despite reports of excess supplies and certain mills accepting low offers for #2A. Producers are, at times, struggling to find buyers for kiln dried 4/4 and 5/4 Fas; reported prices are slipping, and the Sap&Btr and Unselected listings and ranges are reduced accordingly.

#2A&3A OAK: Sales slowed over the holiday period to residential flooring plants whose lumber yards were well stocked. Plants would like to increase White Oak lumber receipts because margins are stronger for White Oak than Red Oak finished goods. However, finished goods sales remain stronger for Red Oak than for White Oak. Demand has increased from truck trailer flooring plants. Purchasing from both sectors is absorbing green output, keeping all #2A&3A listings and the #2A Alone Red Oak listing steady.

RED OAK: Sawmills have attempted to lower Red Oak log costs so they are closer in line with market prices for lumber and industrial products. Some have achieved incremental reductions, but not enough to measurably impact profitability. Sawmill and yard contacts report “okay” demand from domestic markets. Some sellers indicate China wants more Red Oak lumber, but buyers don’t want to get caught holding 10% more expensive lumber if the tariff is rescinded during the latest round of negotiations. Green Red Oak lumber production and purchasing are well aligned, holding all prices steady. Reported and observed transactions also keep most kiln dried figures intact. The lone exceptions raise the high-end ranges for 4/4 Fas.

WHITE OAK: Contacts report mixed market conditions for this species by grade. Operations have enough business to keep kiln dried #1C&Btr inventories manageable and prices steady. However, information warrants reductions to the listings and noted ranges for 4/4 and 5/4 #2A. The low-end ranges for 5/4 Fas are also reduced, despite some contacts reporting healthy business for this item. Conversely, information warrants increases to high-end ranges for 6/4 #1C. Looking at green White Oak, demand for 4/4 Fas&1f and 5/4 through 8/4 #1C is not keeping up with production, and the listings retreat. The $40 reduction to the 4/4 Fas listing brings the price below the $2,300 threshold for the first time since September 2023. Broadly speaking, the trend of lower White Oak prices in 2026 is supply driven, with mills facing less competition for logs from stave markets. Several producers continue to list White Oak among their best-moving species. However, sales of 8-foot and shorter Fas require a lot of effort for most producers, usually at discounted prices.

POPLAR: Green Poplar supplies are aligned with demand following several weeks of imbalances that resulted in reductions to the listings, primarily for Fas&1f, in May and early June. Concentration yards and secondary wood products manufacturers have enough Poplar to meet their short-term inventory goals. Kiln dried sales are decent to domestic moulding and millwork producers and to distribution yards. However, demand for Poplar from Asia’s furniture manufacturing sector is lackluster despite hopes that it would increase in summer. According to export contacts, Chinese demand for Poplar remains slow. Typical monthly volumes have been moving to Vietnam, but buyers are offering more price resistance. Information received shows price erosion has been limited, so far. No changes are warranted to the kiln dried figures in this edition.

WALNUT: Comments about Walnut are more positive for the common grades than for the uppers. Green #1C and #2A are moving well to concentration yards from sellers that are sticking firmly with their asking prices. Meanwhile, yards are less eager to bring in Fas&1f. This divergence in demand and pricing is evident in transaction information that lowers the listings for green 4/4 and 5/4 Fas&1f but raises the listings for 4/4 and 5/4 #1C and all #2A items. Kiln dried prices have neither upward nor downward energy: All the listings and ranges hold steady.

FRAMESTOCK, CANTS, TIES, & BOARD ROAD: Demand for solid hardwood framestock has improved slightly in 2026 due to elevated duties on imported plywood. Still, markets for Appalachian framestock are not strong. Information gathered for Oak and Mixed Species framestock shows few changes in pricing.

More contacts reported good demand for hardwood pallet cants than reported fair or slow demand in recent weeks, making this the strongest industrial item. Meanwhile, pallet sales reports are mixed, while finished goods inventories are deemed adequate for the market’s current needs. Information holds the cant listing and range in check.

Contacts report fair-to-lower demand for 7×9 crossties. Reported prices are steady following recent declines.

Demand for Appalachian mat timbers and board road is sluggish in early July, matching levels reported during the first half of the year. The board road listing and range stand pat.

Comments from July 10, 2026.

Lumber prices have been mostly steady the past few weeks amid the Fourth of July slowdown and typical summer doldrums. Market participants continue to deal with high shipping costs, as the recent drawdown in fuel prices has not yet translated to much relief in freight rates. The US on-highway diesel price averaged $4.67/gal on June 29, down from $5.64/gal on May 11 but up from $3.73/gal a year ago.

Contacts report a slowdown in demand from China, though a producer said that is typical for this time of year. Ash and Oak prices could feel downward pressure amid decreased Chinese purchasing; one producer reported that Chinese buyers have been attempting to drive the price of Red Oak down through lower bids. This is more the case for Fas than the common grades.

ASH: Steady demand and tight supply are keeping Ash prices at relatively firm levels in the Northern region. Comments about demand from those still producing the species have been nearly all positive. Ash prices have risen significantly over the past two-and-a-half years as the Emerald Ash Borer has decimated supplies of the species across the US. Prices reached an initial peak in August 2025 before slumping for much of the latter part of that year. Prices then bounced back in the first quarter of 2026, partly because of strong demand from China. Listings and range numbers have largely held steady since March and are nearly all unchanged this week, outside of slight bumps to the kiln dried #1C listings.

ASPEN: Limited supply and decent demand have provided upward pressure to Aspen prices throughout this year. Listings have been stepping higher every four to six weeks, then holding firm, as purchasing activity outpaces production. Recent comments from Aspen producers indicate that this steady-to-firmer trend is still ongoing and that supplies are tight. No changes are required for the listings and ranges this week, following several gains last week.

BASSWOOD: Comments about Basswood have been mixed in the North. Some producers are struggling to move the species, while others are selling it easily and listing it among their bestsellers. Basswood listings and range numbers have risen gradually throughout this year, as limited production has provided upward pressure to prices. Newly reported prices are maintaining this steady-to-firmer stance; the kiln dried 8/4 and 9/4 #1C listings and ranges are raised this week.

BIRCH: Demand is limited for most Birch items. No single grade, thickness, or color selection is drawing a lot of attention at the present time. One major sawmill operator in the Upper Midwest told HMR/Fastmarkets that they have shied away from cutting the species over the past quarter. Both green and kiln dried Birch prices fell sharply during the spring and have since stabilized at the lowest levels in close to six years. The market for Unselected Birch is very narrow at the moment, according to market participants, as buyers are mainly interested in Sap&Btr or red color sorts.

HARD MAPLE: Hard Maple continues to move well for Northern producers, but that is not the case for many Appalachian producers. This species was a bright spot for producers in the region throughout the spring and has been the most frequently listed bestseller in recent weeks. Comments about kiln dried #1C lumber have been especially positive. One major producer in the Upper Midwest said his company is oversold on kiln dried #1C and #2A inventory, though the same producer noted a slowdown in demand for Fas lumber. Green and kiln dried prices have been mostly steady the past six to eight weeks, following gains earlier this year. The kiln dried #1&2 White 4/4 Fas range numbers are lowered this week. The green listings are unchanged following further gains for #1&2 White #1C across thicknesses last week.

SOFT MAPLE: Soft Maple prices in the Northern region have faced downward supply-side pressure over the past two months, reversing much of the gains that occurred during the first five months of this year. Contacts tell HMR that markets for the species are amply supplied. However, recently reported prices are steady, and all listings and range numbers are unchanged this week, as they were last week. Comments about demand for Soft Maple are mixed. Some producers in the Upper Midwest list Soft Maple among their bestsellers, while others report difficulty moving #1C&Btr items. Meanwhile, brown Fas continues to move at a good clip. Some sales contacts worry that the market is postured for further price decreases because of excess supply.

RED OAK: Northern green Red Oak prices have come under a bit of downward pressure in the past two weeks. The 4/4 and 5/4 Fas&Sel listings edged down last week, and the 4/4 and 5/4 #1C listings fall in this issue. While prices have softened, mills are readily moving developing production. Red Oak prices often retreat in the summertime amid increased seasonal production, and this trend seems to be emerging in recently reported prices. However, it is still too early to tell if a persistent slide is imminent or if prices are simply adjusting downward following a continual rally in the first half of this year. Kiln dried Red Oak remains a commonly listed bestseller for producers in the Northern region, and prices and range numbers are holding firm; the only changes this week lift the range numbers for 5/4 #1C.

WHITE OAK: The Northern kiln dried Fas White Oak listings and ranges registered their first gains in nearly two years last week. Buying activity has picked up for the species since the second half of March, compared with most of 2025 and the early stages of 2026. Over the past three months, certain contacts reported a rebound in kiln dried Fas prices, and more recent reports showed that this bounce became widespread enough to necessitate last week’s increases. No further adjustments are in order to the published kiln dried listings and ranges in this issue. Green prices are also unchanged, though the #1C&Btr listings fell across all thicknesses last week amid continued oversupply. The green Fas&Sel listings have not risen since October 2024, as markets for the species have faced excess supply from reduced consumption by the barrel stave sector.

PALLET LUMBER, CANTS, TIES, & BOARD ROAD: Three quarters of recently surveyed contacts described demand from the pallet sector as “good,” while the remaining quarter described it as “fair,” and none described it as “slow.” This sector has been easily the most positive for producers in recent months. Reported prices necessitate further increases to the cant listing and range; pallet lumber prices hold steady.

Railroad tie purchases by treating operations are flat to slower. Purchasing quotas remain in place, with prices largely unchanged from previous reports. The 7×9 crosstie range remains intact.

The number of Northern companies manufacturing board road is low relative to regions further southward. However, area producers report decent business at prices well represented by the listing and range.

Comments from July 10, 2026.

Manufacturers carrying surplus 2¼” and 3¼” Sel&Btr White Oak flooring are sometimes giving price concessions to distributors to keep inventories from building beyond manageable levels. This is reflected in decreases for certain Sel&Btr White Oak flooring items in this week’s matrix.

However, the tide seems to be turning in this sense: The pace of declines has slowed considerably since mid-May, suggesting supply and demand for Sel&Btr White Oak are inching closer to equilibrium. Ahead of the July 4th holiday weekend, one plant manager reported being oversold on all No. 1Com and Sel&Btr items, while another said inventories of all other widths and grades besides Sel&Btr White Oak are well controlled, with some heavily backordered. Overall demand for No. 2Com White Oak is quite slow, however.

While producer comments are trending positive, the market remains more okay than strong because the primary demand drivers are split. Remodeling is by far the larger market opportunity. The Fastmarkets Repair and Remodeling Index, which gauges demand for wood products from the volume of activity, is favorable, forecasting 4.2% growth this year and 1.3% expansion in 2027. Meanwhile, demand from the new home sector remains sluggish. New single-family building permits and starts are down 6.4% and 6.3%, respectively, for the year through May (US Census Bureau). Mortgage rates are forecast to edge slightly lower in the near-term (Bankrate) and in the second half of 2026 (Fannie Mae). However, fractional rate declines likely won’t be sufficient to lift new home construction out of the doldrums. Considerably larger cost savings will be needed before there’s a notable shift toward higher-end interior upfits, including hardwood flooring, in homes in the mid- and higher-end price tiers.

As reported in the most recent HMR Executive®, hardwood lumber consumption by the residential wood flooring sector is down 4.2% in 2026, with manufacturers battling competition from alternative products. Competition for #2A&3A Red Oak lumber from the truck trailer flooring sector has risen slightly over the last month, prompting a “supply is a bit tight” comment from one residential flooring plant manager. Contacts state supplies of #2A&3A White Oak lumber are plentiful by comparison.