20 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



September 10, 1910 



Hardwoods in the Retail Yard 



The Hardwood Flooring Situation 



The rise or fall in the demand for flooring is a sort of barometer 

 to measure the condition of the building business. Wooden floors 

 are of two general classes, hardwoods and softwoods, the latter consist- 

 ing principally of yellow pine and Douglas fir, and the hardwood floors 

 chiefly of oak and maple, with considerable birch and beech and 

 smaller amounts of other kinds. So far as hardwood floormg is con- 

 cerned, the demand is now pretty good, takmg into account the whole 

 country; but a few districts are temporarily at a disadvantage. One 

 such district at present is Chicago when, for two months building 

 operations have been held up by a strike of carpenters, which brought 

 building almost to a standstill in the city, which contains more than 

 two per cent of the population of the United States. 



But even in Chicago, in spite of the carpenters' strike, flooring has 

 continued to sell remarkably well. Some of the large dealers can 

 account for it only on the supposition that supplies of flooring are 

 being collected, to have it ready when the strike ends and building 

 shall be resumed with a rush. In the natural course of affairs, the 

 strike cannot last much longer, and everybody expects unusual activity 

 when building is resumed. The contractor who then has material 

 on hand will be in a position to take advantage of opportunities. 



Throughout the country the demand for hardwood flooring is good, 

 so good in fart, that it is hard to meet in many localities. The out- 

 put of lumber of all kinds is considerably below normal, and it is 

 probable that the production of hardwood flooring is also below nor- 

 mal; but be that as it may, the fact remains that those who sell 

 flooring have less trouble in securing orders than in filling them. 



As is well known, hardwood flooring is cut from high-grade lumljer, 

 and some of the flooring people attribute the scarcity of the article 

 to the practice of exporting so much good lumber instead of keeping it 

 in this country for people who could use it. It is not easy to prove 

 or disprove the correctness of that view; but some well-informed floor- 

 ing men are inclined to look on exports of lumber as a draw-back to 

 the domestic flooring business. Nevertheless, the good demand and 

 the prospect that such demand will continue give a hopeful air to the 

 whole situation. Everybody knows that the hardwood forests of this 

 country contain plenty of timber suitable for flooring, and that any 

 temporary scarcity that may be felt can be and will be overcome when 

 production again gets in full swing. Sellers prefer unfilled orders to 

 unsold stock. The sawmills will catch up in course of time, no matter 

 what may be the dimensions of the expected building boom. 



One tendency that is very encouraging may be noted, the tendency 

 to use high grade flooring instead of cheaper and poorer stuff. The 

 ■ flooring associations and large manufacturers shoidd be given much 

 credit for this. They have carried on educational campaigns in the 

 interest of better floors, explaining and proving that a good floor is not 

 only handsomer but more economical than a floor of mediocre material, 

 no matter how the first costs may compare. The propaganda is bear- 

 ing fruit, and results are seen in the preference now generally shown 

 for good floors, not only in expensive buildings but in those of small 

 size and moderate cost. Hardwood flooring of the finest grades now 

 goes everywhere, shipments of hundreds and even of thousands of 

 miles being common occurrences. The manufacture of hardwood floor- 

 ing is not nation-wide. Certain districts do most of it, others do 

 little, but every builder in the United States can get such flooring 

 if he wants it, whether oak from the South or East, or maple, birch, 

 or beech from the North. The distribution is so perfect and thor- 

 ough that no important section of the country is overlooked. 



Importance of Hardwood Lumber 



One fact stands out prominently in the lumber business as seen 

 from the standpoint of the dealer in hardwoods, and that fact is 

 that demand is strong and promises to so continue. That is true of 

 all kinds of lumber, but especially for standard hardwoods. The 

 dealer with good hardwoods for sale is not much bothered about find- 



ing a market for it, and it is so in all parts of the country, and the 

 only question is, will the demand continue and can it be met? That 

 is not a serious question, because everybody is firmly convinced that 

 demand will continue and will grow stronger, rather than decline, and 

 that ways will be found to meet the demand. 



That belief is justified by the present situation, as it is viewed by 

 hardwood dealers and manufacturers. Building is starting up vigor- 

 ously after four years of stagnation, and the revival is not in spots, 

 l)ut is all over, with here and there an exception. People who contem- 

 plated building, waited a long time in expectation that cost of mate- 

 rials would come down; but the period of waiting has ended. The 

 need of buildings is so urgent that construction has begun, as^ is 

 shown by the late building reports from widely separated cities. 

 Houses must be had, and cost is of secondary consideration. Advance 

 in costs is believed to be about over, but nobody yet sees any indica- 

 tion of decline. The building revival— it should not be called a boom- 

 is backed by necessity, and necessity is a pretty strong force. 



Lumber production is below normal. It is thought to be about 80 

 per cent of normal, and everybody kuows why it is so. The disorgan- 

 ization due to the war was primarily responsible. But that is now m 

 the past, and lumbermen are more interested in the future and its 

 prospects. Manufacturers of and dealers in hardwoods have every 

 reason to feel encouraged, and are planning to take care of the buUd- 

 ing that is getting under way. 



It is not felt that it is necessary to organize campaigns to push 

 sales.' No pushing seems to be needed. The main thing is to get the 

 stuff ready for sale. That seems to be the idea concerning the coun- 

 try in general, but some localities have local questions of their own. 

 'Chicago at present forms an exception to the general rule of build- 

 ing revival The carpenters' strike has had a bad effect, and though 

 Chicago is only a small part of the United States, the harm to the 

 hardwood trade has been considerable. 



Nevertheless, lots of hardwood is being sold in Chicago. Those who 

 sell flooring are agreeably surprised that sales continue so good, while 

 building is practically at a standstill. So much cannot be said for 

 interior finish, yet this sells in pretty large amounts. It is believed 

 that building contractors are laying in supplies to have ready when 

 building is resumed. It is not difficult to foresee that when the rush 

 comes, the builder who has stock on hand will have the inside track. 

 A good deal of low-grade hardwood is being sold in Chicago for 

 crating purposes, and the strike has not had much effect on that trade. 

 A good business in hardwood lumber in Chicago is carried on, in 

 spite of the strike, to supply carpenters who are doing odd jobs, such 

 as building fruit closets, porch repairs, picket fences, and numerous 

 jobs of that kind, each small when considered alone, but in the aggre- 

 gate the lumber amounts to a large bill. This trade In small items 

 is constant and contributes quite a lot to business. Some think it has 

 grown on account of the strike and that more lumber of that kind is 

 being sold than usual. 



Those who sell lumber are counting on satisfactory business in the 

 weeks and months to come. They expect strong demand for hard- 

 woods and they believe that the sawmills will soon strike their pace 

 again 'and will be able to supply all that is needed. It is very im- 

 portant that they be able to do this, for no branch of the lumber 

 business can be prosperous as it should be, if supplies are not avaUable. 

 Hardwood men who sell stock are not wholly in sympathy with ex- 

 porters of lumber at this time. The criticism is mild and reserved, but 

 it occasionally crops out in discussing hardwood supply and demand. 

 Exports consist largely of best grades, and this is the stuff that is 

 needed here to meet the needs of many users. Precise figures on 

 exports at present are not available, but it is believed that a pretty 

 large quantity of good hardwoods is being sent across the sea, and 

 that this, or other lumber like it, could be used to advantage in this 

 country. 



