A growing number of American sawmills are closing their doors permanently. Hardwood industry executives blame lost business on years of tense trade negotiations with China.
MANCHESTER, Tenn. – Several U.S. sawmills are struggling to stay open after industry leaders said years of trade uncertainty have drained export markets and squeezed margins.
The Hardwood Federation estimates that at least one sawmill closes every week. Additionally, the National Hardwood Lumber Association (NHLA) reported that more than 4% of U.S. sawmills have been lost due to closures and consolidations.
Equipment from these sawmills is found in a growing pile of auction flyers on Johnny Evans’ desk at the Evans Lumber Co. in Manchester, Tennessee.
However, Evans is desperate to prevent his sawmill from being sold at auction due to ongoing trade negotiations. Evans closed his sawmill the week of Thanksgiving because he wasn’t getting enough lumber orders to keep it open. He used the week to repair his equipment, which he said was great, but it didn’t pay the bills.
“It’s dead silent in here,” Evans said. “Usually we run at least three days a week. It’s not just here. It’s also many of our other customers. They have chosen not to receive wood from us this week.”
Evans Lumber Company in Manchester, Tennessee, closed its doors for a week as foreign customers stopped purchasing American hardwood in retaliation for President Trump’s tariff policies. (FOX Business/Fox News)
Evans said much of this goes back to trade tensions that began in 2018, during the first Trump administration. That’s when some countries, like China, stopped buying American hardwood in retaliation for President Donald Trump’s tariff policies.
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At the time, the Hardwood Federation reported that American lumber was the second most exported American product to China. When China fought back, U.S. lumber exporters lost about half their market share to competitors like Russia, Thailand and Malaysia.
Evans said current trade negotiations between the United States and China are intensifying pressure that began years ago.
“The Vietnamese told us that if America didn’t buy their products, they wouldn’t buy ours,” Evans said. “Our sales are down, our lumber prices are down, but our expenses are twice as high as before.”
The NHLA said retaliatory tariffs imposed by other countries remain “volatile,” creating a ripple effect that influences global hardwood flows by “squeezing margins, shifting production centers and changing supply chain dynamics in Asia, Europe and the Americas.”
“During the 2017 trade conflict, the hardwood lumber industry experienced significant challenges, including a 20 to 25 percent drop in exports,” said NHLA Executive Director Dallin Brooks. “Several businesses were forced to close their doors and many others struggled to recover. This year is worse.”
In September, President Trump imposed tariffs of 10% on lumber and 25% on furniture and cabinets. Two weeks later, more than 450 U.S. sawmills signed a letter written by the Hardwood Federation, pleading for help from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the White House. The letter underscores the hardwood industry’s desire to see the Trump administration prioritize it in upcoming trade negotiations with China.
“We were victims of retaliation,” said Dana Lee Cole, executive director of the Hardwood Federation. “If enough of their products are subject to tariffs here and their markets are in decline here, they will fight back.”
Hardwood Federations said U.S. hardwood exporters lost half their market share in China when countries retaliated against President Trump’s first round of tariff policies in 2018. U.S. sawmills are struggling to regain markets they lost. (FOX Business/Fox News)
Many sawmills face another challenge as consumers turn to cheaper products similar to composite or synthetic lumber, often marketed as “luxury” alternatives.
“The two things came together in sort of a perfect storm that really put a lot of stressors on the industry,” Cole said.
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Claire Getty said her family’s sawmill in Huntland, Tenn., has struggled to compete with big-box stores that promote vinyl or plastic flooring as premium products.
“If you’re looking for flooring in, say, a big box store, you’ll find more than 200 wood-look options in a luxury vinyl plank, four to five in a solid hardwood product, Getty said. “I truly believe that people today, consumers today want wood, but it’s not available.”
Some U.S. sawmills are struggling to compete with big-box stores that tout cheaper, lower-quality wood-like products as “luxury vinyl” products. (FOX Business/Fox News)
Getty said the shift to “luxury” wood alternatives has caused significant losses that trickle down from sawmills to orchardists.
“We are an industry worth saving,” Getty said.
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Several sawmill owners are planning an annual trip to Washington, D.C. early next year to ask their representatives and the Trump administration directly for help.
