August 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



49 



The Hardwood Market 



CHICAGO 



The builiiing situation remains uncleared, and until the men are back at 

 work and the vast quantity of construction planned for is actually started, 

 there will be little apparent change in the general situation locally. 



The factory trade as a whole is continuing its purchases on a satisfac- 

 torj basis, and both the lumbermen and buyers are expressing appreciation 

 of the fact that there is a tendency to stabilize values on most grades of 

 hardwood.s. It is true that prices have shown still further upward impulses 

 in the last two weeks, but there is a growing tendency to arrive at a level 

 and stay pretty close to that point. 



Movements of lumber to Chicago continue large, and when the building 

 strike is over, as it must be in the near future, the amount of lumber added 

 to the Chicago purchases will be limited only by the number of carpenters 

 available for local work. 



BUFFALO 



ITie hardwood demand is active, with most all woods participating in a 

 fair doffree in the inquiry. A good deal of shortage of stock is reported 

 and prices have been advancing all around. Some woods are selling at 

 almost unprecedented prices. The advance, in fact, has been quite rapid 

 in most woods, but the mills report a general shortage of stock and are 

 unable to fill some orders, even at tempting prices. Wholesalers have been 

 holding down prices as much as possible, not de-siring any run-away mar- 

 ket, which would be followed by a slump. 



The revival of the factory trade as well as that in building has made 

 a heavy call upon yard .stocks, but assortments have been renewed as much 

 as possible, so that Buffalo is pretty well supplied with the woods now 

 most in demand. From all appearances factories are going to need plenty 

 of lumber through the summer, and the only bad feature is the possi- 

 bility of labor troubles. Railroad embargoes have shut off New England 

 business some lately, but this is regarded as only a temporary matter. 



The further decline of the already small lake lumber trade is shown by 



the fact that the fleet is unable to obtain sutBcient business and is already 

 laying up. When the government and others began to send these small 

 vessels to the coast during the war it was feared that the lumber fleet 

 would be crippled, but now there is more than is needed, in spite of the 

 fact that no new vessels have come into that trade tor quite a long time 

 and none are in line for it, as all the steamers recently built are of steel 

 and large size. 



BALTIMORE 



Continued activity characterizes the hardwood trade, the mills and 

 dealers with stocks handy being able to dispose of their supplies very 

 readily and at figures that yield handsome margins of profit. The mills 

 are obliged to turn down many orders because of their inability to fill 

 them within a reasonable time and for the most part are able to name their 

 own prices, the buyers asking only that their orders be taken care of at 

 an early date. Despite the frequent marking up of the quotations, which 

 continues to be a feature of the business, there is no halt in the inquiry, 

 the search for suitable stocks going on with the utmost diligence, and the 

 producers being always much behind in their shipments. So far no decided 

 approach to meeting the wants of the consumers has been recorded, and 

 the prevailing conditions in the way of labor and logs make it certain that 

 congestion is far off. All the woods are in excellent request, and while 

 some of the yards here have selections which enable them to make ship- 

 ment with reasonable promptness, others are sold out and making the 

 most determined efforts to replace the supplies disposed of. It is no trick 

 at all to place lumber, and the sellers have no need of sending out sales- 

 men or leaving their oflices. Despite all the factors that tend to hold up 

 the consumption, the latter appears to be on the increase or else the pro- 

 duction has made no headway of late, for the additions to the offerings 

 have not become freer and the calls are as numerous and persistent as 

 ever. More or less trouble is encountered with the railroads, and many 

 of the mills, for that matter, are still considerably below their normal 

 capacity. Labor is neither in good supply nor does it compare in eflSciency 

 with the workers prior to the war. At the same time the cost of produc- 

 tion, if not actually going up, does not go down. The exporters have begun 

 to heed the warnings from abroad about congestion and pressure upon the 

 markets, and are inclined to hold back with shipments. On the advice of 

 foreign brokers a number of shipments that had been actually booked have 

 been withheld, either to be diverted to the domestic market or at least 

 delayed until the situation abroad clarifies. It is being realized that with 

 the home trade in such shape as to absorb the output of the mills without 



