Lumber Slingers

Hosted by Chelsea Zuccato & Natalie Heacock

BusinessInterviews guests

Website RSS feed

Episodes

147

Latest episode

May 2026

Language

About the show

Lumber Slingers is the podcast for everyone in the wood products world, from the trading floor to the mill floor. We bring the industry intel you usually only get behind closed doors, and we make it a good time.

Listen to episodes

60 recent

May 22, 202623 min

148. Newswire Update: Flat Lumber, Fat Gas Bill, Send Help

This week's Newswire hits different. The crew opens with a heartfelt tribute to Robbins Lumber and the community rallying around them after a devastating fire — a reminder of what really matters in this industry. Then Trent steers the ship (loosely) through lumber pricing that's about as exciting as a flat board, mortgage rates that just hit a nine-month high right as summer heats up, and gas prices that are making everyone reconsider their life choices. Kevin Warsh is officially in the Fed chair seat, and Natalie has opinions. There's also a full Costco tangent, a Taco Bell social commentary detour, and somewhere in there dead-face Gen Z, and what jobs will even exist in five years. Like and subscribe, and reach out to the crew at lumberslingers@gmail.com — they want to hear from you.

May 15, 202624 min

147. Newswire Update: Holding Pattern

This week Natalie and Trent are back with your Friday fix — and honestly, the market is giving them very little to work with. Lumber prices? Barely moved. Mortgage rates? Blinked down a hair. Applications? A polite nudge upward. But don't let the flatline fool you — there's plenty to dig into: two different "Builder Supply Companies" got acquired in the same week (yes, really), Interfor's Q1 numbers just dropped, the softwood lumber duty saga hits a new anniversary milestone (send help), and the R&R market is looking like the only real bright spot in housing. Natalie also just returned from the Oregon Women in Lumber Summit with two thumbs up and some thoughts on energy management that hit differently when you're in this industry. Trent, meanwhile, is grappling with gray hair and the school schedule gods. All this and more — if you like what you hear, subscribe on YouTube, Spotify, or Apple Podcasts, and reach out at lumberslingers@gmail.com.

May 8, 202623 min

146. Newswire Update: Nothing Burger? The Market's Holding Steady

The crew is back from back-to-back trips and running on fumes and good intel. Chelsea just got home from the NAWLA Regional in Vancouver, BC, where 210 industry insiders gathered to talk about the very real pressure Canadian producers are under - and spoiler: it wasn't a warm and fuzzy room. Natalie swung through Louisiana for her CFO 10-group and got a firsthand look at how different logging operations down South are compared to the heavily regulated Pacific Northwest. Then Trent takes the wheel and runs through a busy week: UFP and Carter Lumber making moves on the M&A front, Canadian curtailments, Q1 earnings check-ins on some familiar names, and lumber prices doing their best impression of a flatline. Mortgage rates are also doing that thing again where they tease us and then walk it back. All that plus Mother's Day plans nobody has figured out yet. Don't forget to like, subscribe, and reach out to the crew at lumberslingers@gmail.com - they actually want to hear from you.

April 24, 202622 min

145. Newswire Update: Billions, Brows, and Brad Jacobs Takes a Nice Sunday

The Newswire crew is back and they've got a lot of ground to cover — lumber prices on the move, mortgage rates hitting their lowest point in three spring seasons, and Brad Jacobs casually dropping a $17 billion acquisition on a Sunday afternoon with a "have a nice Sunday" energy that the rest of us can only aspire to. QXO's TopBuild deal is reshaping the supply chain landscape, West Fraser is juggling fires, new facilities, and mill closures all at once, and UFP Industries is shuffling the org chart with some truly oil-painting-worthy headshots. There's also some M&A action in the Pacific Northwest with International Paper picking up Norpac. Trent is fully present and fully unhinged, and Chelsea may have a thing for Brad Jacobs' eyebrows. Don't miss it — and if you've been sleeping on this show, now's the time to like, subscribe, and tune in every week. Have thoughts, tips, or industry news? Reach out at lumberslingers@gmail.com.

April 20, 202636 min

144. 55 Traders, One Sweater Vest, and a Donut Eating Champion

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 lumberslingers@gmail.com.

April 17, 202620 min

143. Newswire Update: It's Giving Standard Friday in Lumber

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 lumberslingers@gmail.com.

April 10, 202614 min

142. Newswire Update: AR7 Drops, Bed Bath & Beyond Buys Everything, and Trent has a TomTom

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 lumberslingers@gmail.com.

April 6, 202620 min

141. She Built a Tiny Home at 16. We Can Barely Pack a Suitcase.

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. lumberslingers@gmail.com

April 3, 202617 min

140. Newswire Update: Claude Phased Trent Out (and Other Good Friday News)

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 lumberslingers@gmail.com.

March 27, 202622 min

139. Newswire Update: Natalie's On Mute, But the Market Isn't

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 lumberslingers@gmail.com — and if you see Natalie at the International Mass Timber Conference next week, she'll be the one communicating exclusively through jazz hands.