The Lumber Word

Author: Ashley Boeckholt

Three Lumber Industry veterans talk about the weekly, monthly and yearly trends. What is going on with inventory in the field, production and distribution. We help educate everyone in the distribution chain with information most like to not talk about. Highlighted items that are overvalued and undervalued are also discussed. Guests in the industry will occasionally drop in to help us dial in some lumber details. Most important is we have fun talking lumber and our listeners love it.
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Language: en

Genres: Business, Investing

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EP 162: Is Lumber Having Its WTF Moment?
Episode 162
Saturday, 28 March, 2026

Mike Logelin (Gulf Coast Shelter) is back and breaking down what it really looks like to build a lumber business from the ground up—team building, growing pains, and why patience matters in today’s market. Then the crew dives headfirst into one of the most dynamic setups we’ve seen in a while: tightening supply, exploding low-grade pricing, and a freight market that’s turning everything upside down. From Southern Yellow Pine ripping higher to spruce and hem-fir tightening fast, this episode connects the dots between species spreads, trucking chaos, and why the next “panic buy” moment might be closer than you think. If you want to understand what’s actually driving this market—and where the opportunity (and risk) is—this one delivers. Timestamps 0:00 – Intro + Mike Logan returns 1:00 – Building a trading team from scratch (startup realities) 5:00 – Hiring, training, and the next generation in lumber 7:45 – Market kickoff: everything moving higher 9:00 – Texas demand, low inventories, and species substitution 12:00 – Low-grade explosion (why #3 is driving the bus) 16:00 – Hem-fir + western market tightness 17:45 – Southern Yellow Pine surge + short positions 19:30 – Freight chaos: trucks disappearing, costs spiking 23:00 – Why logistics = real pricing power right now 27:00 – Regional markets tightening due to freight 29:00 – When does the “panic buying” moment hit? 30:30 – Global flows (Euro, Middle East disruption) 33:30 – Macro curveballs: rates, crypto, housing demand 36:30 – Inventory positioning: who’s exposed right now Guest Mike Logelin President-Gulf Coast Shelter mlogelin@gulfcoastshelter.com Advertiser Fastmarkets RISI Dustin Jalbert Senior Economist Wood Products djalbert@fastmarkets.com www.fastmarkets.com Show Contacts: Gregg Riley: Gregg@sitkainc.com Charles DeLaTorre: cdelatorre@ifpwood.com Matt Beymer: mattbeymer@hamptonlumber.com Ashley Boeckholt: ashley@sitkainc.com