Birch and maple top plywood sales
Hardwood plywood demand is high, especially for Baltic birch and pre-finished maple, with prices stabilizing post-pandemic. White oak popularity grows.
All types of hardwood plywood are in high demand this season, particularly Baltic birch and pre-finished maple. Overall, prices have stabilized and decreased since the pandemic, according to suppliers interviewed by Woodshop News.
“It seemed like during the pandemic the pre-finished maple market kind of went crazy because a lot of people weren’t using Baltic birch because of the price,” says Carl Mahlstedt of Goosebay Sawmill & Lumber in Chichester, N.H.
“Baltic birch was also extremely popular even before the pandemic. We sold more of that than anything else, and then the price skyrocketed between the pandemic and the war, then the price came back down to earth a little bit. It just has so many uses and is such a good, stable plywood.”
Pre-finished maple panel pricing is holding steady, according to Mahlstedt. He says costs are a little lower, but not going down the way Baltic birch did.
“The pre-finished maple is kind of high, but for what you get it's a good value. It’s only around $15 more per sheet than unfinished, and it would take you a lot more than that to get a nice finish on it.”
“Shop birch is a big one that we sell a ton of right now,” says Dave Norman of Parkerville Wood Products in Manchester, Conn. “Baltic birch has definitely made a comeback. The prices have come back down and it’s a pretty good deal. We also see a lot of movement with MDFs and paint-grade cabinets.
“With interiors for cabinets, a lot of people use pre-finished maple, so we sell a lot of that. Pre-finished maple is highly versatile, it comes in 1/4", 1/2" and 3/4", and it’s highly functional. It’s got a great polyurethane that they put on it, so it’s very durable. It’s a very pretty finish. The other panels are still expensive, so it’s a nice hybrid because it’s finished.”
Josh Nozick of FreeState Timbers in Timonium, Md., has seen higher demand for white oak plywood.
“Over the last six months, I’ve seen more demand for high quality paint-grade plywood, and also for white oak, both plain-sawn and quarter-sawn face veneers, just higher quality paint grades than you’re going to get at the box stores,” says Nozick.
This article was originally published in the August 2024 issue.
