October - December 2012
Guest Editorial
By East Perry Lumber Company- Frohna, MO
National and local news reports of improvements in the housing markets have renewed optimism for hardwood lumber industry.
Red oak- Flooring markets showed increasing interest in placing large orders, with limited activity in 1 common. FAS markets remained stable.
White oak - Flooring markets also showed interest, while upper grades remained unchanged with reduced activity due to anticipated holiday shutdowns in Europe and Asia.
Walnut - FAS is stable, while lower grades remained weak.
Hickory - All grades are strong with increased demand from export markets.
In general, this quarter was a great time for loggers and landowners to harvest timber. Concerns about winter log supplies and availability affected most segments of the hardwood log market. A variety of markets were available, such as pulpwood, pallet and tie mills, grade mills, stave mills, or log merchandisers, for loggers and landowners to get a good value for their logs and timber.