June 10, 1919 



Hardwood Record — Veneer & Panel Section 



29 



turer. He must give the allowance called for and see 

 that the piece is wide enough, and no piece should get in 

 the bundle that will not permit the necessary trim. 



Article 6 brought on considerable discussion, as it 

 covered splits and checks, and the Four-One people 

 wanted a change. An addition to the second line was 

 made "one-fourth the length of the piece and in not over 

 15 per cent of the pieces shipped." An addition to the 

 bottom line of the paragraph was added, it reading "Splits 

 or checks one-eighth-inch and under shall be considered 

 no defect." 



Article 1 of the sales code was the only one in which 

 a change was asked. This article relieves the seller from 

 shipment in case he cannot make shipments through 

 strikes, storms, fire or other causes over which the seller 

 has no control. It was decided to add another line read- 

 ing "Buyer shall be relieved under like conditions." 



The discussion of market conditions was one of the 

 most important features of the meeting. Nearly every 

 member present had something to say on the subject and 

 an opinion to express as to prospects of business in the 

 future. 



W. T. Neal said he spent a few days recently in Chi- 

 cago and that one box manufacturer there said the ques- 

 tion now worrying him was how they were going to take 

 care of the business that w^ould soon be offered. He 

 found no one w^as anticipating their wants, as the major- 

 ity of buyers believe the present prices are war prices 

 and will soon come dow^n. He then related some expe- 

 riences with buyers along that line and how badly the 

 buyers had been fooled in regard to their belief as to the 

 decline in prices. 



Many of the manufacturers present spoke of the nar 

 row margin between cost and selling price. In some cases 

 the margin was so narrow that it was impossible to figure 

 out any profit, and under those circumstances, the more 

 work done, the greater the probability of loss. Some 

 were simply waiting for an improvement in prices and 

 were not trying to put anything on the market; others 

 were running their plants part of the time to clear up 

 orders as they came in. A few had no trouble in keeping 

 supplies of logs on hand, while others were not prepared 

 to give encouraging reports on that phase of the business. 



Secretary Pritchard related the experience of certain 

 hardwood manufacturers. They had entertained the 

 same ideas as the veneer buyers as to war prices. Manu- 

 facturers of automobiles and furniture had postponed 

 buying because they had been certain that prices w^ere 

 bound to come down. But they changed their opinions 

 and had concluded that prices could not fall much w^hile 

 production of lumber was low^ and demand strong. The 

 tendency in those industries now is toward buying lum- 

 ber, and a similar tendency may soon be expected to 

 appear in the rotary veneer industry. 



W. T. Neal said that while in Chicago one rotary cut 

 box lumber manufacturer from Wisconsin told him the 

 entire Wisconsin production for 1919 had been sold and 

 this despite the fact that oak logs were costing $100. 



Value of Veneers by Weight 



When the Interstate Commerce Commission published its de- 

 cision recently in what is known as the reclassification of lumber, 

 it included some statistics regarding the value of veneer of various 

 thicknesses and different woods, by surface measure and by the 

 ton. The table of weights and values, quoted belo\v, was filed 

 with the commission by the Southeastern Veneer Association and 

 the Southern Furniture Manufacturers* Association. 



Considerable confusion in the record as to the value of different 

 thicknesses of veneer arises from the fact that both the shippers 

 and the carriers have argued from the standpoint of the value pe^ 

 1 ,000 feet surface measure, which is generally accepted as the 

 unit of sale. Obviously, however, since freight rates are based 

 upon the weight of the articles transported, the proper compari- 

 son to make in determining the effect which value should have on 

 freight rates is in terms of value per ton. 



Value Per 1,000 Feet and Per Ton 



Value Per 1,000 Value Per 



Feet Ton 



■'■]i:- 

 Is- 



Kind of lumber Low 



nch poplar $6.49 



nch poplar 5.55 



nch poplar 4.50 



nch poplar 3.76 



nch poplar 3.16 



nch poplar 2.75 



nch poplar 2.65 



nch 

 nch 



nch 



poplar 

 gum . . 

 gum 



2.78 

 5.50 

 4.72 



nch gum 3.90 



nch gum 3.25 



nch gum 2.70 



nch 



nch 



nch 



nch 



oak 

 oak 

 oak 

 oak 



High 



$13.00 



1 1.00 



8.25 



5.50 



4.00 



3.25 



3.10 



3.00 



I 1.10 



9.35 



7.00 



■ 4.70 



3.40 



22.00 



20.00 



11.50 



8.00 



Low 

 $18.50 

 22.40 

 25.32 

 38.70 

 39.50 

 39.10 

 44.20 

 48.35 

 13.75 

 15.73 

 20.80 

 29.25 

 29.30 

 14.55 

 20.16 

 26.50 

 25.00 



High 

 $37.10 

 41.80 

 46.20 

 56.72 

 50.00 

 46.10 

 51.66 

 52.20 

 27.75 

 31.13 

 37.30 

 42.15 

 37.00 

 40.00 

 72.00 

 86.75 

 80.00 



8.00 

 6.00 

 3.50 

 2.50 



The above outlined materials seldom move in straight carloads, 

 but the different thicknesses are usually shipped in mixed carloads. 

 It is estimated that the average value of actual shipments per ton 

 are as follows: 



Lumber 



Low $35.00 



High 55.00 



It w^ill be observed that the lovi' and high values per ton of the 

 thinner cuts is generally somewhat greater than of the thicker 

 cuts of veneer. The different thicknesses seldom move in straight 

 carloads but are usually shipped in mixed carloads. The state- 

 ment does not show w^eighted average values and it may be that 

 the average value per ton of the annual production of thinner cuts 

 is approximately the same, barring veneer made from woods of 

 value, as the average value of the thicker cuts of veneer. 



The Bissell Lumber Company, Marshfield, Wis., on June I re- 

 sumed the operation of its new^ sawmill and veneer mill at Tripoli, 

 Wis., work on which has been going on for six months. A year 

 ago the Bissell company purchased the entire property of the 

 Stolle Lumber & Veneer Company at Tripoli and since then has 

 been engaged in improving the facilities and enlarging the capacity. 

 The mills were closed down late in December so that large addi- 

 tions might be constructed and much new machinery installed. 

 The equipment includes a Phoenix band and carriage, Murray 

 resaw, Diamond trimmer and Murray edger. The transfer chain 

 has 127 bunks, greatly facilitating sorting. The mills are now 

 being operated with day and night shifts to catch up on a large 

 accumulation of orders and much new current business. 



The F. Eggers Veneer Seating Company, Two Rivers, Wis., 

 had awarded contracts for the erection of a factory and mill 

 addition which will cost approximately $100,000, including con- 

 siderable new machinery and equipment. The additional facili- 

 ties will become available about September ! or 15, and will 

 serve to relieve the congested condition of the existing plant, due 

 to rapidly increasing orders. 



