Lumber Slingers

Chelsea Zuccato & Natalie Heacock

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.

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

    4 DAYS AGO

    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

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

    6 DAYS AGO

    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.

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

    27 MAR

    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.

    23 min
  4. 138. Newswire Update: T-100, Donna Whitaker Makes History, Lumber Prices Going Up

    21 MAR

    138. Newswire Update: T-100, Donna Whitaker Makes History, Lumber Prices Going Up

    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

    20 min
  5. 137. Newswire Update: Don't Let Freight Rates Blow You Away!

    13 MAR

    137. Newswire Update: Don't Let Freight Rates Blow You Away!

    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 lumberslingers@gmail.com

    20 min
  6. 136. Mass Timber's Biggest Year Yet — And We've Got the Inside Scoop

    9 MAR

    136. Mass Timber's Biggest Year Yet — And We've Got the Inside Scoop

    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 lumberslingers@gmail.com

    35 min
  7. 135. Newswire Update: Trent's Back, Rates are Down, and the Midwest is Popping

    6 MAR

    135. Newswire Update: Trent's Back, Rates are Down, and the Midwest is Popping

    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 lumberslingers@gmail.com

    23 min
  8. 134. Tribal Wisdom Meets the Lumber Industry | Steve Rigdon

    23 FEB

    134. Tribal Wisdom Meets the Lumber Industry | Steve Rigdon

    In this episode, Natalie and Chelsea sit down with Steve Rigdon — enrolled Yakama Nation member, former general manager of Yakama Forest Products, and current Tribal Partnership & Resource Stewardship Manager at Sustainable Northwest. Steve shares his remarkable journey from wildland firefighter to mill GM to policy advocate, and what it means to steward forests the way Indigenous communities have for millennia. The conversation covers the Portland Airport mass timber project, what "social license" really means for the timber industry, how tribes are connecting with private landowners and manufacturers, and why active forest management — not hands-off preservation — is the key to avoiding catastrophic fire and economic collapse. Steve also opens up about the personal sacrifices of running a mill and why finding balance led him to his most impactful work yet. Got questions or want to connect with a tribal wood supplier? Email us at lumberslingers@gmail.com.

    46 min
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About

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.

Information

  • Creator
    Chelsea Zuccato & Natalie Heacock
  • Years Active
    2019 - 2026
  • Episodes
    140
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © All rights reserved
  • Show Website
    Lumber Slingers

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