November 13, 2017 Expected and unexpected events affect the wood products markets. Housing starts dropped in September to 1.127 million starts, the lowest level of the year. The drop in starts can largely be attributed to Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, which are also believed to have shaved...
October 30, 2017 The past month Freres Lumber has been watching pricing changes in the plywood market, as the transition to fall has customers gearing up for a slower holiday/winter pace. This is not untypical of October/November markets. Buying sentiment goes south, while demand/shipments in the...
October 16, 2017 What is the value of a floor? What is the value of a completed structure? If Freres Lumber could provide every primary structural wood element within a building, what would those elements be worth? A New Way Forward for Wood Products Freres Lumber’s products and...
October 9, 2017 At the end of August, Jason Pilgrim, our new CNC Specialist and I traveled to Germany to inspect equipment Freres Lumber purchased from Minda and Weinnman. We were lucky enough to travel with our wives, Trisha Freres and Sheri Pilgrim. All of the equipment...
October 2, 2017 The plywood market continues to surprise and exceed the expectations of almost everyone these days, including us here at Freres Lumber Company. Even with a more measured sales pace of the past couple weeks, mills continue to sell wood each day. Most customers...
September 25, 2017 The fire at the Freres Lumber Company dryer facility sparked wood products price increases the beginning of July, but a series of catastrophes has led to continued price improvements. Forest fires began in Canada, which shut down producers and limited access to timber...
September 18, 2017 It only took one tree to ignite the Whitewater Fire near Mt. Jefferson. On July 23rd lightning-struck a tree that fell to the ground and a month later over 13,000 acres have burned inside and out of the Federally designated Wilderness area. It’s...
August 28, 2017 Freres Lumber Company sees changes in sales and inventory levels in the plywood market for August. The plywood commodity market has been a mixed bag for most of August, but certainly a slower sales pace than in June and July. This reflects the high...
August 14, 2017 July was a tumultuous month for wood products even without our own struggles with the fire at the Freres Lumber Company's Plant 4. Stressed Log Supply Forest fires are raging up in Canada that caused immediate supply shortages due to interrupted transportation flow as well...
July 31, 2017 Strong Plywood Market It has been a remarkable plywood run so far this summer, with strong sales and stronger prices. The plywood market was strong through June and then our own custom dryer facility burned at the end of the month and that tipped...