Ken Timmins, commodity trader at American International Forest Products and host of the Component Connection podcast, stops by to explain what actually happens on a 55-person lumber trading floor -and how he got hired by eating donuts in a sweater vest on zero hours of sleep. Ken breaks down the three pillars of trading (market analyst, sales, hard work), why lumber is more emotional than a third-grade cafeteria, and why freight costs are staying elevated even if oil comes off. He also shares that 2026 has been a surprisingly strong market - running longer than almost anyone predicted - and drops enough food analogies to make you genuinely hungry by the end. Logs to lumber is potatoes to french fries.

Find Ken and the Component Connection podcast on Spotify, Apple, and SoundCloud, or visit https://www.sbcacomponents.com/media/component-connection You can also reach him directly on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/kennethtimmins/

If you enjoyed this one, subscribe so you never miss an episode - and leave us a review, it genuinely helps more people in the industry find the show. Questions, tips, or just want to talk lumber? Reach us at [email protected].

Lumber prices are holding at $5.23 but don't get too comfortable — 2x4 #2 is getting scarce and construction input costs are up nearly 5% year over year, with crude petroleum doing the most damage (Natalie's paying $148 to fill her diesel tank, which is its own kind of tragedy). The Montreal Wood Convention drew a big crowd with Canada-US tariffs as the unofficial theme, Mirax is firing up the former Errington Cedar sawmill in a rare piece of good news for the Pacific Northwest, and Goodfellow posted a Q1 net loss blaming a cold winter and high household debt. It was also a banner week for COOs — three promotions, one truly excellent headshot. Chelsea closes with a genuine ask for the North American Forest Foundation, which has 1,300 schools on a waitlist for lumber education kits and needs the industry to show up. Mortgage rates dipped to 6.3%, dopamine detoxes are being planned, and a Tesla met a tree on a country road. Standard Friday.

If you got something out of this episode, subscribe so you never miss a week of lumber news, light chaos, and the occasional unsolicited life update. Leave us a review — it genuinely helps more people in the industry find the show. And if you want to reach us directly, we're at [email protected].

AR7 preliminary results are in — and we've got thoughts. Or at least, we have the numbers and a strong commitment to neutrality.

From there, consolidation nation delivers: UFP Industries' Decorators brand scoops up MoistureShield assets, Bed Bath & Beyond apparently didn't get the memo that they went bankrupt and is now acquiring Lumber Liquidators' parent company and the Container Store, and Trent has feelings about all of it.

Mortgage apps dipped slightly, lumber's up 6% over the month, and Bryson DeChambeau 3D-printed a five iron. We support the chaos.

Subscribe on YouTube for visuals. Reach us at [email protected].

Year two at the Mass Timber Conference for their 10 year anniversary and we're practically locals. We're recording live from the Union Ironworkers booth — on the second floor of a structure they built inside the Oregon Convention Center — talking show stats, Shark Tank-style investor pitches, and why every lumber person should have this conference on their radar. Then we sit down with Neveah, an architecture student we sponsored to attend, who casually mentions she designed and built a tiny home at 16. From scratch. With secondhand materials. We're fine.

It's Good Friday, lumber prices are up, and Claude personally removed Trent from the podcast for being a non-believer. (He's fine. Probably.)

This week: WS Building Materials makes its debut, Mead Lumber keeps stacking locations, QXO finally closes on Kodiak, Rainier gets a new logo (the panel has thoughts), and mortgage rates are doing absolutely no one any favors.

Also: Buc-ee's, Aperol Spritzes, and a CrossFit competitor repping Lumber Slingers on the world stage. It's a lot. You'll want to tune in.

Got something to say? Find us at [email protected].

Natalie has laryngitis. Chelsea has opinions about the Brawny Man. Trent has mortgage rate news that nobody asked for but everybody needed. This week's episode is equal parts industry intel and chaos — the good kind.

We're tracking rising lumber prices, freight rates that are giving Chelsea serious COVID-era flashbacks, and mortgage applications that just fell off a cliff. Oh, and that mystery executive departure from a few weeks back? Circle officially closed.

Plus: Georgia Pacific's magazine-worthy headshots, Ashley Cribb's new gig, and a passionate debate about whether One Battle After Another was worth anyone's time. (Spoiler: it wasn't.)

Drop us a line at [email protected] — and if you see Natalie at the International Mass Timber Conference next week, she'll be the one communicating exclusively through jazz hands.

33.33% of us are back from the NAWLA T-100 conference in Dana Point. This week's episode covers what made T-100 different from Traders Market, why smaller and more intimate sometimes means bigger picture, and what Chelsea brought back to her company from being in a room with some of the top leaders in the lumber industry.

They also celebrate a historic moment, Donna Whitaker becoming the first female recipient of the Mulrooney Award, and break down the week's biggest industry news including Canfor completing its merger with Canfor Pulp, Arclin closing its acquisition of Willamette Valley Company, Trimlight acquiring Harris Door and Millwork, and Sherwood continuing its steady expansion with a new distribution facility opening in Danville, PA.

Then it's time to talk market. Mortgage rates are back up to 6.22%, applications dropped nearly 11%, and the Fed held rates steady at 3.5-3.75% in an 11-1 vote. Lumber prices cracked $500 again, is that a sign of spring momentum, or are we still in a wait-and-see market?

All that plus Trent's backyard shed project, a missing Natalie, and the debut of a potential AI co-host called Natbot.138. Newswire Update: T-100, Donna Whitaker Makes History, Lumber Prices Going Up

This week Trent Johnson and Chelsea Zuccato cover:

Windy city weather and atmospheric river in Oregon. Flatbed spot rates hit their highest point since October 2022, If you're buying or selling lumber on delivered pricing, this matters right now. The mood at the LMC show in Chicago was positive with no negativity on the floor. Mortgage applications ticked up but so did mortgage rates. March is going to tell us a lot! Patrick Lumber Co. is producing longer-length Alder, and yes, the product is beautiful and the industry perception that PNW hardwood trees don't grow long enough is simply not true. Ashley Townsend Cribb is stepping down as EVP of Wood Products at Rayonier, to take a CEO role elsewhere. We're keeping an eye on where she lands!

Congrats to Andy Beckerman on his new VP of Vendor Relations role at Gulf Eagle.

Questions Comments?

Email us at [email protected]

The International Mass Timber Conference is three weeks out and this year it's doing something we've never seen before. We sat down with Shelby Cherry, Show Director for the International Mass Timber Conference, to get the inside track on what's coming — and let's just say the 10th anniversary is going to be a good time!

We're talking live investor pitches, a keynote from one of the most influential architects in the world, sustainability executives from two of the biggest tech companies on the planet, 225+ exhibitors, and a Women in Timber Power Hour expecting 500 attendees.

Oh, and Lumber Slingers is sponsoring a student to attend this year — and we want to tell you about her.

If you've been on the fence about going, this episode will push you off it.

IMTC runs March 31–April 2 in Portland. Register at masstimberconference.com and email us at [email protected]

Trent's back from his cruise, slightly sunburned and somehow more productive than ever. This week all three amigos are reunited — and there's a lot to catch up on.

We're talking a brand new industry column making its debut, a wave of M&A activity putting the Midwest on the map, some notable personnel moves, and the market signal lumber has been waiting on for a long time.

Tune in — then email us at [email protected]