Small enterprises as important hardwood lumber consumers: Evidence from the current housing downturn

Housing fi xtures (such as cabinets, fl ooring, moldings, and stairways) have become a major market for secondary wood products manufacturers in the United States and a major user of U.S. hardwood lumber. Th us, downturns in housing markets, with associated declines in the demand and price for fi xtures, can pose signifi cant challenges to the profi tability of these manufacturers and have implications through the supply chain down to raw material suppliers (e.g., hardwood lumber suppliers). Th e current downturn in the U.S. housing construction industry segment, which began in 2006, provided an opportunity to investigate the attributes associated with successful secondary wood products companies. In particular, it was thought that smaller fi rms and those producing customized (semi- customized and fully made-to-order) products would be the most likely to have realized increased sales volume during the period in question. It was found that small fi rms do indeed seem to do better during turbulent times, due in part to the production of fully made-to- order products. Implications for hardwood lumber distribution are discussed.