American hardwood sawmills are facing more than a prolonged downturn. Export demand is moving towards logs, overseas processors are competing with lumber sawn from American timber, and domestic customers are buying less as housing activity and consumer confidence remain weak.
At the 2026 National Hardwood Lumber Association Annual Convention & Exhibit Showcase in Cleveland, market presentations showed how these pressures are changing the business for producers, exporters and manufacturers. Growth in selected destinations is helping, but it has not restored the lumber volumes lost since the first US–China trade dispute in 2018.
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