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Published m the Interest of the American Hardwood Forests, the Products thereof, and Logging, Saw 

 Mill and Wood- Working Machinery, on the lOlh and 25th of each Month, by 



THE HARDWOOD COMPANY 



Henry H. Gibson, Editor and Manager 

 Edwin W. Meeker"! , 

 Hu Maxwell J 



^Associate Editors 



Entire Seventh Floor Ellsworth Building 

 537 So. Dearborn Street, CHICAGO 

 Telephones: Harrison 8086-8087-8088 



LmHA 



NEW Y 



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Vol. XXXV 



CHICAGO, MARCH 25, 1913 



No. 11 



:>j ^goscaTO ^K,.\:m^ ^^^ 



Review and Outlook 



General Market Conditions 



'Y HOSE HANDLLSG XOETHEEX WOODS anticipate the immi- 

 * nent drying of a considerable quantity of northern stock simul- 

 taneously; and believe that such a condition will be a blessing to the 

 hardwood handling and consuming trade rather than, as would be 

 the case under ordinary- conditions, having a detrimental influence 

 upon the hardwood trade. In other words, there has been such a 

 decidedly short quantity of stock that any sudden placing of a large 

 amount of dry hardwoods on the market would not break the market, 

 but would simply go to fill up requirements which actually have been 

 short for several months. Of course, there has been the usual active 

 selling, but a mere sale will not put dry stock on sticks either in a 

 distributing yard or at the wholesale consuming factory. 



The wholesale element can probably appreciate this condition more 

 acutely than can any other branch of the hardwood trade. A great 

 many wholesale concerns whose selling organizations are perfect have 

 merely been able to supply the actual immediate demands of their 

 trade, and hence the acquisition of a large quantity of drj- northern 

 stock will certainly be considered by them most favorably. 



Yery little change has been noted recently in the southern produc- 

 •ing field in the matter of logging, save that in some sections the 

 planting season has already resulted in the withdrawal of innumer- 

 able teams from woods operations for work in the fields. Of course 

 the effect of such a shortage of horses and labor in logging operations 

 will not be particularly excessive, because the small farmer operating 

 in the woods hauls in only a relatively small amount of logs annually 

 under any conditions. StUl, with the demand for logs as it is now 

 being maintained, even this influence on the supply will be felt in 

 «very section where such conditions exist. It wUl mean that the 

 supply of logs secured through other methods will be strained to a 

 greater degree. 



The small mills throughout the southern hardwood fields have 

 actually produced considerable stock during the last few months, but 

 there has been a veritable swarm of buyers from every class of whole- 

 sale and consuming houses, with the result that where these small 

 accunralations of hardwood lumber have not been snatched up imme- 

 diately, the owners have been wise enough to play one buyer against 

 the other, and have in some eases realized outlandish prices for stock 

 of mediocre manufacture. 



It is undoubtedly a fact that various conditions have somewhat 

 checked immediate building activity with the coming of the early . 

 spring months. Three causes can be seen as possible explanations of 

 such deferred activity. In the first place high prices on all classes 

 of raw material entering into house construction are actually being 

 considered seriously by home builders before they invest their savings 



in house construction. Lumber is not the only commodity for building 

 purposes which has increased in value, and the aggregate increase of 

 all raw material makes a considerably greater expense to the home 

 builder than he would have incurred a few years ago in erecting the 

 same type of house. 



A second point to be considered is the tightness which has prevailed 

 in the money market for some little time, which would necessarily 

 have the effect of reducing activity in speculative building. Such a 

 condition has actually been obesrved and it is reasonable to suppose 

 that the money tightness has had some influence. 



Further, the uncertain seasonal conditions probably delayed con- 

 tractors in getting started at their work. The holding oft' of rigid 

 winter weather in most of the northern states led a good many people 

 to believe that winter was merely being deferred, and they were not 

 svOHng to take a chance of starting on building operations and being 

 held up later. This prediction has been carried out and it is quite 

 likely that after the last violent effort of winter things wUl open up 

 much more actively. In fact a great many houses built on a specula- 

 tive basis have not found a ready market because of the open win- 

 ter, and it is anticipated that with pleasant spring weather coming 

 in these will find a ready sale, and speculative builders will enter into 

 new contracts for further structures. 



The factory trade is for the most part not placing large orders 

 ahead, but is purchasing a considerable quantity of lumber for imme- 

 diate use. This would indicate that buyers are stUl anticipating a 

 break in prices, and the question has resolved itself into one of judg- 

 ment as between the sawmill man and the wholesale buyer. The saw- 

 mill man reiterates constantly that he sees no chance for a break in 

 hardwood prices for se\eral months, whUe, as suggested, the buyer 

 through his buying policy and sometimes through his expressed 

 opinions shows that he thinks such a break is imminent. Regarding 

 this question there is still every reason to believe that the sawmill 

 man is correct in his opinion. 



Plain oak continues to be the king of them aU at present. Prob- 

 ablj' the demand for this wood has been somewhat accentuated in 

 addition to the regular lines of consumption, by its increase in favor 

 in high-grade furniture manufacture. Eecent offerings on the part 

 of furniture makers have shown a considerable quantity of high- 

 grade plain oak furniture, which seems to be taking very readily. 



Quartered oak continues to forge steadily to the front. Some items 

 of quartered oak are actually short, and aU of the better grades are 

 commanding constantly stronger prices, and are showing a steadily 

 improving demand. 



Low-grade hardwoods in some items are practically not in the 

 market. A large manufacturer in one of the biggest of the southern 



