By Brian Caldwell
STAFF WRITER
The pine market appears to be in a state of flux. After a banner year in 2004 demand for all grades of Eastern white pine has decreased, yet prices have increased, according to wood dealers interviewed by Woodshop News.
“The pine market has been OK. We’ve got a couple guys that are fairly steady with it,” said Jerry Anton, a wholesaler with O’Shea Lumber Co. in Glen Rock,
Eastern white pine’s specific gravity: . 35
Specific gravity is the ratio of the density of a substance to the density of water.
Eastern white pine’s radial shrinkage: 2.1 percent
Radial or quartersawn boards have a grain running roughly perpendicular to the wide faces.
Eastern white pine’s tangential shrinkage: 6.1 percent
Tangential or flatsawn boards have a grain running roughly parallel to the wide faces.
Example: A 12" wide flatsawn Eastern white pine board will shrink .154" (about 5/32") from 12 percent moisture content to 6 percent, and a quartersawn board will shrink .053" (about 1/16").
Pa. “But it’s not like pine used to be. When I first started out, guys wouldn’t dare touch poplar for moldings; they always wanted pine. As the sugar pine and all that got harder to get, poplar came more into play and might have taken over a lot. Poplar is now more of the utility wood than I think pine once was.
“Back in ’76 with the Bicentennial, all the furniture was that knotty pine, Colonial-looking furniture. There was tons of it being shipped from New York State down south where the furniture plants were down there, when they were down there.”
Eastern white pine (Pinus strobus) is also known as Northern white pine, Canadian pine, soft pine, cork pine, pumpkin pine or white pine. It grows primarily in the Northeast and Great Lake States, and is the state tree of Maine and Michigan. The trees reach heights of more than 100' with diameters in excess of 4'. Unlike the yellow pines, Eastern white pine has a lighter color and its growth rings are not nearly as pronounced.
“If anything, I’ve probably sold less pine this year than last year,” said Gary Levy, co-owner of GK Woodworking LLC in Griswold, Conn. “I think price has a lot to do with it. Almost all [buyers] are painting things these days. No one is going to paint C & Better pine. The only market I have right now in pine is 1 and 2 common, which I sell to people who are making country furniture and
Eastern whiite pine
things of that sort. It’s the worst year yet for pine for me.”
Eastern white pine is soft and light and has a specific gravity of . 35. The wood is moderately strong with a straight grain and even texture. The wood is very easy to work with. It is used for architectural millwork, furniture, cabinetry, interior trim, knotty pine paneling, sashes, coffins, floors, doors and plywood veneer.
Large furniture manufacturers use much of the harvested Eastern white pine. Furniture makers purchase the furniture grade of white pine, which is also known as the knotty grade (not red). The Northeastern Lumber Manufacturers Association, the rules-writing agency for Eastern white pine, lists the furniture grades as No. 1A and No. 2A.
The top grades of white pine are
known as C Select and D Select. There are also four common grades of Eastern white pine — finish, premium, standard and industrial — which may be grouped together as Premium & Better, according to NeLMA.
“The trees aren’t like they were five to 10 years ago,” added Levy. “I don’t know whether they’re just not selling it or the trees aren’t there, but the level on which we deal with it, I don’t have much call for it.”
The following retail prices are based on quantities of 100 bf:
In the Northeast, retail prices for kiln-dried 4/4 furniture grade Eastern white pine ranged from $1.50 to $1.60/bf. Prices for 4/4 C & Better were priced from $3.30 to $4.35/bf, surfaced on both sides.
In the South, retail prices for 4/4 furniture grade were $1.40 to $1.80/bf. Prices for 4/4 C & Better were $3.65 to $4.40/bf.
The following wholesale prices are based on quantities of 1,000 bf:
In the Northeast, wholesale prices for kiln-dried 4/4 C & Better ranged from $2,200 to $2,550/mbf.
In the South, wholesale prices ranged from $2,800 to $3,150/mbf.
For more information on wood properties and species information, visit the U.S. Forest Service Forest Products Laboratory’s Web site:
www2. fpl.fs.fed.us
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