MARKETING OF LUMBER 



BY RETAIL LUMBER YARDS 



IN THE NORTHEAST - PHASE III 



INTRODUCTION 



Most limihor to be used in construction is purchased from retail 

 lumber yards. A New Hampsbire stutly^ sbowed tliat 56 percent of con- 

 struction consumer purchases were directly from retail lumber yards. A 

 Maine study- showed that in northeastern metropolitan areas 90 percent 

 of the buibling contractors purchased the lumber they used from retail 

 lumber yards. Another study of lumber marketing by sawmills in the 

 Northeast'^ showed that sawmill owners sell a large proportion of their 

 lumber to retail and wholesale lumber yards. The New Hampshire study 

 showed that 83 percent of wholesale yards' eastern lumber is sold to 

 retail yards. Thus retail lumber yards are a key link in the himber 

 markets between the producer and the consumers. 



The selection of species and grades of lumber to be carried in stock 

 by retail yards dictates to a large extent the market for lumber from 

 marketing intermediaries and ]und)er manufacturers. This demand for 

 wood and wood j)roducts can ])enefit those producers with the ability 

 and foresight to detect trends and then to set their productive facilities 

 to work meeting the requirements that retailers find through their sales 

 to consumers. The firm producing the grade and quantit) desired at the 

 opportune time will benefit economically. 



A major element affecting the marketability of eastern species is the 

 knowledge of marketing opportunities by eastern lumber manufacturers. 

 Phase 11, "Marketing Lumber in the Northeast." stated: ''Many lumber 

 suppliers have only fragmentary knowledge of the alternatives open to 

 them in marketing their sawmill products." One indication of th«> alt<>r- 

 natives open to any producer can be found in the detailed study of the 

 operations of retail lumber yards. 



The Northeastern Regional Lund)er Afarketing Project. NEM-24. is 

 a major cooperative effort to provide a better understanding of th<" lum- 

 ber marketing chain. Phase I of this project described luml)er marketing 

 in the northeast by lumber producers. Phase II described hunber mar- 

 keting in this region as indicated by the purchases of lumber by second- 

 ary manufacturers or other industrial users. Information presented in 

 this rei»()rt was collected as Phase 111 of the Northeastern Regional Mar- 

 keting Project. NEM-24. Planning and data collection were carried out 

 by the Agricultural Experiment Stations of Maine. Massachusetts. New 

 Hampshire. Pennsylvania, Vermont, and West Virginia, with the cooper- 



1 Wallace and Ainiddii. 1958. Marketing of Eastern White Pine lumber from Maine 

 and New Hampshire. N. H. Apric Exp. Sta. Bull. No. 452. 



- Brock. S. M. l')6:}. Marketinp Maine Iiiinlicr to the Northeastern Buildin}: Con- 

 struction hxiustry. Maine Apric. Exp. Sta. Bull. 615. 



•' (".hristensen et. al. 1962. Marketing of lumber produced bv sawmills in the North- 

 east Phase I. West Va. Univ. Agric. Exp. Sta. Bull. No. 478. 



