Lumber prices

[Gregor1]

Was just wondering what the price of wood is in different areas of the country. This is NW IL, and Eastern Iowa.

   

[Bill Tindall]

There is no indication of grade.  "Steak, $3/pound",  Great price if it is choice or prime.  But maybe it is cutter and canner grade.  #2 common will sell for a small fraction of the price of FAS.

[Bill Tindall]

By way of background, we sold hardwood lumber for 30+ years.  I have never seen lumber put up in those lengths by a manufacturer of hardwood lumber.  The top grades, except for walnut, must be 8' or longer.  It is unusual to receive wholesale bundles of lumber less than 10' with 12' and longer lumber being most common.  Nobody manufactures lumber in those shorter lengths.  The only wholesale  8' packs we ever saw were occasionally walnut and hard maple when it was in short supply.  So the question is, where are these unusual lengths coming from.....tiny mill serving this supplier?

[FS7]

Yeah, unless it's very long (12'+) they don't normally charge more or less for lengths unless they're "shorts," which would be 5' or less. So I'm not sure what grade that would be.

That said, for quality lumber those prices are a good bit cheaper than my neck of the woods.

[Gregor1]

I went to this place for the first time today. It is about 35 miles from me. Of all the places I have bought lumber, this is by far the largest. Semis coming and going. Stacks and stacks of lumber and logs. For the record, I would not know one grade from another. No one has ever mentioned "grade" to me.

[jteneyck]

I went to this place for the first time today. It is about 35 miles from me. Of all the places I have bought lumber, this is by far the largest. Semis coming and going. Stacks and stacks of lumber and logs. For the record, I would not know one grade from another. No one has ever mentioned "grade" to me.

Read up:  Hardwood Lumber Grades

John

[briman87]

Your prices are pretty good. Here in NJ I am getting hard maple for $8

[Cabinet Monkey]

Prices in ATL are 2-3x your list.

[mr_skittle]

I don't have a list but I'd say those prices are at least 25% less than here in N. Minnesota. 70 miles south of me, in Minneapolis, you can get better deals but the price of gas these days wipes out most of the savings. The only cheap lumber up here is red or white pine, and birch.

[Bill Tindall]

I went to this place for the first time today. It is about 35 miles from me. Of all the places I have bought lumber, this is by far the largest. Semis coming and going. Stacks and stacks of lumber and logs. For the record, I would not know one grade from another. No one has ever mentioned "grade" to me.

Lumber is graded by national and international standards.  Grade, as a quick summery, is determined by how much clear lumber can be cut out of whatever the board is.  Clearly this lumber is not graded by these standards.  Hence, it is impossible to know how these prices compare to anything else, or without looking at the lumber what you are getting for the dollar.  

Anyone working hardwood lumber needs to become familiar with hardwood lumber grading so you know what is reasonable to expect when you go to buy lumber.  A retailer can invent their grading for their customers.  That works until there is a need to compare prices to somewhere else.