Southern Comments

GENERAL

Comments from April 17, 2026.

Despite reports of improving demand across the region, increasing freight rates caused by the American and Israeli conflict with Iran continue to provide headaches for Southern hardwood market participants.

“We are happy with business and demand is good,” one Southern sawmill contact told HMR/Fastmarkets. “Freight costs are increasingly a problem, however.”

Despite negotiations to end the war and open the Strait of Hormuz, higher diesel costs could linger for some time, putting a damper on the uptick in demand. Contacts say kiln dried Red Oak and Poplar are currently the best performers.

A longtime sawmill operator in Mississippi said Chinese interest in logs continues to grow in the South; a thorny issue that has dominated discussions in recent industry meetings.

ASH

Demand for green Ash has plateaued in the Southern region, with reported prices in line with previously published figures. On the kiln dried side, demand has cooled a bit. Lower reported prices drive reductions to the low ends of the ranges for 4/4 #1C&Btr and list prices for 4/4 #1C. The listings and lower ends of the ranges for 8/4 Fas also register sizeable declines. Warm and relatively dry weather has ensured production for lowland species like Ash has moved along at a dependable clip.

BEECH

COTTONWOOD

PECAN & HICKORY

Survey respondents reveal no substantive changes in the market for green Pecan & Hickory in the South. Unlike other regions, where Hickory has enjoyed an increase in interest, demand and production weigh out evenly.

MIXED HARDWOODS

SAP GUM

SOFT MAPLE

Supply and demand for green Soft Maple are balanced in the South. Mills have some orders from established customers, but open market interest is minimal, putting little pressure on limited production in the region.

#2A&3A OAK

After a series of decreases that saw the green #2A&3A Red and White Oak listings fall to their lowest levels in a year, reported prices held back further movement in this edition. Although board road and mat timber sales are allowing some mills to control #2A&3A production, crosstie quotas and limited demand for pallet material are having the opposite effect. With no shortage of Oak logs to cut, many mills are in a ‘take what they can get’ mode when it comes to #2A&3A Red Oak and White Oak lumber.

RED OAK

There is no noteworthy price movement in the green Red Oak market this week. Production remains high, but interest from domestic buyers is keeping supplies in check and prices mostly flat. A number of Southern contacts indicate the situation is different for the species once kiln dried. “There’s plenty of action in the Red Oak market,” a seller for one sawmill said. As a result, the listings and high ends of the ranges for 4/4 Fas rise, as do the high ends of the ranges for both 4/4 and 5/4 #1C.

WHITE OAK

The market for green White Oak, like Red Oak, is not very energized in the South. White Oak logs are more readily available to sawmills than in recent years. Lumber production is also up but is not overwhelming demand from yards and secondary manufacturers. Previous changes have all the green listings in order. On the kiln dried side, many contacts lament dampened demand though, interestingly, several who sell 4/4 Fas into China report good business. “White Oak is losing some of its shiny spark, but it’s still moving,” one contact said. Those sparks are not enough to prevent drops to the listings and low ends of the ranges for 4/4 Fas or to the listings for 4/4 #1C.

POPLAR

Sales contacts indicate there is plenty of business for this species, though supplies are keeping up. Specific kiln dried items are drawing a lot of interest, including 8-inch pulls of #1C&Btr, which are especially hot, according to some sellers. Despite this, the listings and low ends of the ranges for 4/4 Fas decline in this issue. The only other changes for Poplar are increases to both ends of the ranges for 4/4 #2A.

FRAMESTOCK, CANTS, TIES, & BOARD ROAD

The impacts of the slowdown in crosstie buying from railways showed up again in reported prices for Southern industrials this week.

Further reductions to quotas in the Carolinas drive a decrease in the lower end of the range for 7x9 crossties East of the Mississippi River, while survey respondents showed cooling interest in board road that necessitates a drop to its list price. There are no changes to published prices for Southern cants or furniture framestock.

Appalachian Comments

#2&3A OAK

Reported #2A&3A White Oak prices are steady, resulting in no changes to either listing for a fifth consecutive week. This is occurring as residential flooring plants want less White Oak than Red Oak, corresponding with lagging sales of White Oak flooring relative to Red Oak. Several residential flooring plants are widening the spread in purchase prices for #3A compared to #2A Red Oak. Accordingly, the 4/4 #3A listing is reduced, whereas the 4/4 #2A and #2A Alone listings hold steady, as do #2A&3A in thicker sizes.

RED OAK

Inquiries and orders from China are still occurring at a decent pace, while domestic interest is increasing seasonally but lacks the punch producers hoped would materialize by mid-April. This is because uncertainty over demand from the housing market remains, with mortgage interest rate increases coinciding with the start of the US war against Iran. Price reports indicate supplies of green 4/4 #3A and 8/4 Fas&1f exceed demand—and the listings are lowered. Conversely, myriad transactions point to steady kiln dried prices, keeping all published figures unchanged.

WHITE OAK

White Oak is one of the region’s best-selling species. Green plainsawn supplies are in relative balance with demand, at least this week, with prior downward movements keeping all the listings in order in this edition. The broader downward price trend for several kiln dried White Oak items remains supply driven, but that trend pauses this week. The only changes in the kiln dried pricing matrix lift the low-end ranges for 6/4 #1C.

Northern Comments

GENERAL

Comments from April 17, 2026.

Overland shipping disruptions are persisting for participants in the Northern hardwood lumber market. Freight costs are up significantly since the start of the war in Iran at the end of February, as fuel prices have skyrocketed.

Numerous sellers have told HMR/Fastmarkets that costs for short hauls, such as intra-Midwest shipments, are up around $100 to $250 per load, whereas costs for long-haul shipments are up even more steeply. One Midwest sawmill said it had to pay close to $2,000 above normal costs for one particularly expensive shipment to California.

Initially, higher freight costs were simply eating into sellers’ margins. Now, they are starting to correspond with a squeeze in truck availability, according to contacts. “Loads are sitting here, ready to go, and we can’t get them out,” one Michigan sawmill operator said.

Eastern US hardwood sawmill production was at an annualized rate of 4.38 billion board feet in March, up 11.8% from February. Output increased 6.8% in the North and also advanced in the Appalachian region, more than offsetting a small decline in Southern production.

ASH

“If I had more, I could sell more,” one Wisconsin sawmill owner said this week in reference to all grades of kiln dried 4/4 Ash. The current demand pull from China is relatively strong, particularly for #1C and #2A. Fas is moving to a variety of markets in Europe, the Middle East, and the Far East. Domestic interest in kiln dried Ash is holding steady at a controlled level. Higher reported prices drive increases to the 4/4 #2A&Btr listings and most range numbers. Sawmills are easily moving green Ash output at prices mostly grouped around the respective listings.

ASPEN

Contacts at logging operations, sawmills, and concentration yards continue to use terms like “limited” and “short” to describe supplies of this species. Not a single mill surveyed by HMR/Fastmarkets so far in 2026 has large volumes of Aspen logs on hand. Many have not cut an Aspen log in several years. Despite low production, green prices reported by mills and yards are generally flat, leaving all the listings intact this week. In contrast, upward price movement on the kiln dried side advances the 4/4 Fas and 4/4 #2A listings and the noted ranges for all grades of 4/4.

BASSWOOD

Remarks about this species are mixed. On the one hand, a mill operator said Fas Basswood is his worst-moving item, a second contact noted slow sales of 6/4 and 8/4, and a third is turning away green offerings to reduce inventory levels. On the other hand, many sellers are enjoying brisk kiln dried 4/4 and 5/4 business, several report decent demand for 9/4, and some remain low on key items like 4/4 #1C. Previous adjustments have all the green listings in order. Meanwhile, the kiln dried 4/4 #2A listings notch gains, as do the noted range numbers for 4/4 and 5/4 Fas, 8/4 and 9/4 #1C&Btr, and 4/4 #2A.

BEECH

BIRCH

This week brought little change in market conditions for Birch. Most items are moving slowly, with brown Fas and Sap&Btr #1C being the main exceptions. While production of some Northern species is beginning to lag demand, that is not the case for Birch. Supplies are meeting and, in cases, surpassing demand. Prices observed for Unselected material are consistent with the published green and kiln dried figures. Sap&Btr stocks are typically commanding substantial price premiums, ranging from $100 to several hundred dollars, depending on the item.

NORTHERN SOFT GREY ELM

HARD MAPLE

Notable increases are observed this week in kiln dried Hard Maple prices; most #1&2 White and all Unselected listings and ranges posted gains. This comes amid firm seasonal demand for winter-cut stock. Meanwhile, on the supply side, inventories of this species are tightening. Persistent rainfall and standing water in the Midwest have been disrupting logging operations, according to contacts. The sales contact for one Michigan sawmill, which recently sold out of Hard Maple, does not expect log supply to improve in the next few weeks. Higher green pricing is also observed, leading to slight increases to all the #1&2 White and Unselected 4/4 listings across grades, and the #1&2 White #1C listings across all thicknesses.

SOFT MAPLE

Sentiment in the Soft Maple market is pretty much unchanged from the past three to four weeks. Demand for this species in the Northern region remains highly grade specific. Brown Fas is selling well, according to several contacts, amid firm demand from the cabinet sector. Supplies of uppers are getting tight, especially with rainy weather throughout the Midwest slowing logging activity. Conversely, demand for common grade Soft Maple has been relatively slow in recent weeks. Most published prices are unchanged, outside of dips in the green 4/4 Fas&Sel listings in both color classifications and increases to the listings and noted ranges for kiln dried 4/4 #1C and #2A in Sap&Btr and Unselected.

RED OAK

Red Oak prices largely held firm for a second straight week. Pricing for the species has steadied following continual gains throughout March that lifted some #1C&Btr listings to four-year highs. Strong demand for Red Oak exports, particularly to China, has persisted. One Wisconsin mill owner told HMR/Fastmarkets that he has never shipped as much lumber overseas in such a short period as recently. Conversely, domestic demand for common grade Red Oak has been limited, with most contacts describing the residential flooring sector as “fair” or “slow.” Information received this week necessitates slight bumps to the green 4/4 #2A&3A listings and increases to the high ends of the kiln dried 4/4 Fas ranges.

WHITE OAK

All published White Oak prices in the Northern region are unchanged this week, as fundamentals for the species have seemingly balanced for the time being. White Oak has been mostly oversupplied since the start of 2025, leading to continuous downward pressure on prices. The kiln dried 4/4 Fas listings are currently at their lowest levels in more than two years, down by more than 20% since January 2025. But recently, supplies are beginning to contract. This, combined with decent export demand for the species, has helped prices find their footing. A further supply squeeze will likely be needed for White Oak prices to bounce off of current lows.

PALLET LUMBER, CANTS, TIES, & BOARD ROAD

Northern sawmill operators describe market conditions in the wooden pallet industry in mostly favorable terms. Area pallet producers have decent business, but the market’s firm feel is largely the result of limited pallet cant and lumber availability. To ensure they have adequate supplies going forward, pallet plants are consistently buying cants and lumber at prices well represented by the listings and ranges.

Railway Tie Association data show total crosstie inventories reached 21,112,000 in January—the highest level since April 2017. Railroads and, in turn, treating operations have scaled back 7x9 crosstie purchases since that time. Not only are treaters’ yards flush with ties, but the entire supply chain is awaiting the pending decision on the proposed Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern merger. Reported 7x9 crosstie prices in the North have a slight downward bias but do not require any changes to the printed range.

Markets for board road produced in this region are not very active. Prices are little changed from past weeks, allowing the listing and range to stand.

Oak Strip Flooring Comments

General

Comments from April 10, 2026.

Sales of new US single-family homes dipped sharply (-17.6%) in January 2026 from December 2025 to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 587,000 homes, with each region posting declines. New home sales were also 11.3% below the January 2025 rate of 662,000 units. The seasonally adjusted estimate of for-sale inventory at the end of January 2026 was 476,000 units—a 9.7 months’ supply at the January rate of sales.

The average sales price of new homes sold in January was $499,500, down $31,400 (5.9%) from December. The fractional increase in mortgage rates in the second half of January may have influenced slower sales. However, it is more likely that winter storms played a bigger role, considering January’s average new home price was the lowest since June 2025. Winter storms tend to disrupt sales in the Northeast and Midwest but are less likely to do so in the South. Still, sales in the South fell 8.1% in January from December as winter storm warnings, watches, and advisories reached the US-Mexico border.

The distribution of new home sales based on price has been fairly consistent, with homes costing $300,000 to $499,999 accounting for 47% of total homes sold in January and maintaining the same share from a year ago. If the slight increase in mortgage rates in January was the main reason for the decline in January new home sales, a shift toward lower-priced homes would have been plausible. Instead, the 19% share of total new homes sold under the $300,000 price threshold in January was unchanged from December and was four percentage points below the 23% share in September, when mortgage rates were higher.

While the monthly new residential sales report for January showed various month-over-month declines—and some media headlines amplified the declines—it could be more of a one-off based on the severity of winter storms than indicative of a big downturn. Forthcoming data over the next few months will clarify this.

Oak strip flooring sales activity increased in March, and nearly all changes to the price listings and ranges were increases. The only change this week lifts the listing for Southern 2¼” No. 2Com Red Oak. Several industry sales contacts now identify Sel&Btr White Oak as their slowest seller.

International Comments

GENERAL

Please see our graphs.