Dean Alanko of Allegheny Wood Products gave an overview of the Eastern hardwood industry. The timber resource is in good shape, but a paradigm shift in hardwood lumber consumption has occurred since the Great Recession. Because of shrinking grade lumber use — attributed to the collapse of the housing industry, which is slowly recovering — markets for industrial lumber now comprise the dominant sector. When grade prices fell after the housing industry collapse, hardwood sawmills had to realign to produce more industrial lumber, a trend that has continued. Based on 2018 data, industrial markets will use 53.1 percent of hardwood lumber and grade markets, 46.9 percent.
Among the industrial markets, the pallet industry dominates, consuming 69 percent of industrial hardwood lumber. The railroad tie industry takes 23 percent, and the remaining 8 percent goes for board road and crane mats, reports from PALLET ENTERPRISE.
