HARDWOOD RECORD 



43 



still buying on a conservative basis. To ^1 

 appearances a steady progression in hardwoods 

 may be looked for from now on. the only 

 impedinnent recognizable at present being the 

 discretionary hesitancy, as they regard it, in 

 buying on the pait of the heavy investors, 

 who are waiting to see how the election goes, 

 before taking any decisive action. The furni- 

 ture factories of eastern Pennsylvania are 

 gradually resuming activity, but. being fairly 

 well supplied with goods, they are in no 

 hurry to add to their stock. Millwork con- 

 ■cerns continue busy; interior finish and floor- 

 ing houses maintain a fair activity, and in the 

 box factories a much more cheerful tone pre- 

 vails. The past fortnight has created no posi- 

 tively new quotations in hardwoods. Poplar 

 apparently heads the list; quarter-sawed oak 

 is a close second; plain oak retains good repu- 

 tation, and basswood is receiving more at- 

 tention of late. The other woods are running 

 along evenly. The repair shops of the rail- 

 I'oad companies in this section are showing," 

 more life, and trolley car building proceeds 

 without interruption. The consensus of opin- 

 ion is that the hardwood conditions are most 



moldings. Four and six quarter log-run maple 

 are good sellers and all better grades of white 

 and red oak are in good demand. 



PITTSBURG 



Ml thuigs considered, the hardwood men of 

 greater Pittsburg have reason to feel by far 

 the best of any dealers. It is true that yellow 

 pine has shown quite a tendency to "hike" 

 up toward its old-time quotations, but this is 

 the only wood outside of the hardwood list 

 that has "stood" for a raise in price. The 

 hardwoods are nearly all coming up in demand 

 steadily enough to enable dealers to quote full 

 lists and In a few cnses a little more. Local 

 trade is very quiet. The yards are buying 

 only what they absolutely need, and with the 

 exception of the box factories and ghiss plants 

 practically no hardwood is being sold to manu- 

 facturers in this immediate district. The bulk 

 of the trade comes from the Middle West at 

 present, where both retailers and manufac- 

 turers seem to have resumed buying on a 

 larger scale than in the eastern states. The 

 demand for building lumber, generally speak- 

 ing, is light. Hardwood flooring and fine hard- 

 wood finish is selling in some localities quite 

 well, but this is only occasional. The dry 

 weather has played sad havoc with the coun- 

 try hardwood mills of western Pennsylvani«. 

 eastern Ohio and West Virginia, and even 

 iiith the recent rains many of them are still 

 idle. A good number of the West Virginia 

 plants which have enough water power are 

 running nearly to capacity, which shows that 

 stocks of marketable hardwood are rapidly 

 getting down to bottom: The peculiar thing 

 about the market is that buyers all seem to 

 lack courage to purchase the lumber which 

 they actually need. Large factories which 

 have a large stock, considering the rate at 

 whith they have been running, at)Solutely re- 

 fuse to buy any more at present. Small con- 

 cerns and retail yards buy a car now and then 

 only when they have to fill an order. This 

 state of affairs is decidedly exasperating to 

 the wholesalers, who had a right to expect a 

 fairly brisk trade this lall. 



Clear spruce is oversold and prices are 

 edging up. Prices are also a little better for 

 spruce bill stuff. White oak flooring is a good 

 seller at good prices. Poplar lath are scarce. 

 Chestnut and spruce lath are not in large 

 supply. No. 3 box spruce and boards are sell- 

 ing fairly well, but bill stuff drags hard on 

 the market. Factories are taking some ash 

 and hickory, but In very small quantities and 

 In an irregular sort of way. Cottonwood Is 

 in good demand from the wagon factories. 

 Basswood is selling better than It has lor 

 months and at higher prices, most of it being 

 used for furniture stocks, picture frames and 



BOSTON 



The Boston market lor hardwoods is grad- 

 ually showing improvement, but there is still 

 a lack of snap to the demand. Dealers are 

 asking higher prices in some eases and indi- 

 cate an intention to hold, for their large buy- 

 ers, while in the market more frequently than 

 two or three months ago, still hesitate to buy 

 far ahead of nearby needs. The consensus of 

 opinion is that business will resume normal 

 proportions after the first of the year and 

 possibly after election. Manufacturers of in- 

 terior finish are only moderately busy and slow- 

 to place orders for lumber. Furniture manu- 

 facturers are doing a larger business and sev- 

 eral salesmen report it has been easier to 

 keep the buyers' attention. 



The demand for veneers is larger and manu- 

 facturers are producing larger stocks. , There 

 is a fair export call for white holly. Mahogany 

 is very well held. Buyers are not operating 

 in primary markets to any extent at present, 

 but all dealers have fair sized stocks. Quar- 

 tered oak is not in large offering and prices 

 are firmer. The best western one-inch one's 

 and two's are held by some manufacturers as 

 high as $86. There have been sales at $85. 

 Some lots of quartered oak can be purchased 

 down to $83. The call for plain oak is quiet 

 and prices are easy in some cases. White- 

 wood is in moderate call. Cypress, while not 

 active, has sold in larger lots during the past 

 few weeks. Some mills are said to be asking 

 higher prices. Chestnut is in quiet call and 

 offerings have been made to Boston dealers 

 at concessions. The market for North Caro- 

 lina pine is more or less unsettled. .\ few 

 dealers are well filled up with orders and are 

 asking firmer prices, but there are several 

 large mills that still cut prices when running 

 near the end of their ordiT;^. 



BALTIMORE 



The hardwood trade of this section shows a 

 steady improvement, the demand from con- 

 sumers undergoing a gradual expansion and 

 prices manifesting an upward tendency. The 

 reality of the recovery is now generally ad- 

 mitted. Even the most conservative firms 

 freely concede that the inquiry is decidedly 

 better and that dealers show a disposition to 

 place orders at figures which leave the seller 

 a fair margin of profit. This condition has 

 been developed, notwithstanding a disincli- 

 nation on the part of the yard men to lay in 

 large stocks, and a determination to limit 

 themselves to current requirements. It may 

 therefore be assumed that whatever quicken- 

 ing in the movement has taken place is the 

 result of the revival in trade and of the return 

 of normal conditions. To have an appre- 

 ciable effect upon the hardwood situation. 

 the improvement must have been all the more 

 positive, because it has obtained no support 

 whatever from the export trade, which re- 

 mains very quiet, even dull, and has so far 

 manifested no indication of a better state of 

 things. 



Stocks abroad are still very heavy, and bro- 

 kers continue to encourage consigning, in the 

 face of the fact that they may be loaded up 

 with lumber of the very kind which they call 

 tor. This would suggest a studied purpose 

 to keep the market congested, so as to de- 

 moralize the quotations, and should make the 

 exporters all the more resolute to be drawn 

 into no transactions except upon a basis which 

 leaves them a fair margin and gives reason- 

 able guarantees of being lived up to. The 

 domestic business shows a gratifying respon- 

 siveness to the better feeling, the only retard- 



ing factor being the national rampaign now 

 in progress, which . mus. s in-i . imugh un- 

 certainty to make man n |. ■- : itate about 

 entering into arrange n. !- ici'ly prob- 

 able future needs. Tli' auL^i . -.i\ • u. ss of the 

 campaign, especially in the past week or two. 

 has tended to increase this feeling of un- 

 certainty and has done much to divert atten- 

 tion from ordinary pursuits, with consequent 

 injury to the interests involved. This, how- 

 ever, means merely a determent of business, 

 which may be expected to set in all the more 

 actively as soon as the doubt-producing factor 

 has been removed. 



CLEVELAND 



The hardwood market conti 

 upward trend, and the deale 



to have an 

 y they are 



satisfied with the way business is holding 

 out. With the building industry giving some 

 hint of letting up, more factories are opening 

 up, so things are about as encouraging as they 

 have been at any time this year. Hardwood 

 merchants do not look for a normal resump- 

 tion of business until next spring, when it is 

 believed that old prices will be restored and 

 the volume of trade creep to a higher point 

 than for many months. 



Red oak. quartered oak, poplar and chest- 

 nut, especially the better grades, are in good 

 demand. Birch is showing better form than 

 for some time past. Hickory continues very 

 dull. 



Building permits for the first nine months, 

 of this year indicate that the year's volume 

 of building will about equal that of 1905, but 

 will be exceeded somewhat by the past two 

 years. 



Prices on all lines of hardwoods are firmer, 

 with some advances In a few instances. Prices 

 are not expected to sag much this winter. 



COLUMBUS 



.Miout the Columbus markets there is but 

 little new to be said. Prices remain firm 

 all along the line, but there has been no 

 material advances during the past week. High- 

 grade oak is in excellent demand and the 

 seconds are selling well. There Is an active 

 demand for poplar, especially the rough grade 

 and siding. Prices for poplar are firm and 

 show no tendency to go lower. With several 

 of the local companies, stocks are unusually 

 light. Hemlock Is holding its own and selling 

 fairly well. Yellow pine Is steady but not 

 active. If anything, the demand for all hard- 

 woods shows slight improvement, compared 

 with the market of two weeks ago. In nearly 

 all lines stocks are light and will have to be 

 replenished in the near future in order to meet 

 local requirements. It now looks as if there 

 would be a good demand for nearly all the 

 hardwoods throughout the winter months. 



General business Is improving. Collections 

 are good and bills are being paid promptly. 



^-^■^ CINCINNATI ^^— 



The hardwood situation during the month 

 of September was never better and some 

 firmer prices were realized on several of the 

 desirable items. The demand for the higher 

 grades of hardwoods especially, showed a much 

 better tone, which was due to the more liberal 

 purchases of the furniture dealers, interior 

 finishers and planing mill men. Other hard- 

 woods developed a better feeling, due to the 

 absorption of the carriage and implement 

 manufacturers. Cottonwood, gum and cypress 

 have been in better demand during the past 

 thirty days than for several months, espe- 

 cially so on the latter item, and higher prices 

 were realized. The building material of 

 cypress has been in fair demand for some 



