54 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



Sentember 23, 1919 



BUSS-COOK OAK CO. 



BLiSSViLLE. ARKANSAS 



MANUFA CTURERS 



Oak Mouldings, Casing, Base and Interior 

 Trim. Also Dixie Brand Oak Flooring. 



As Well As 



OAK, ASH and GUM LUMBER 



Can furnish anything in Oak, air dried 

 or kiln dried, rough or dressed 



MIXED ORDERS OUR SPECIALTY 



EVANSVILLE 



The CHICAGO 



APPROVED PORTABLE 



Watchman's 

 Clock 



with its special Waltham movement, its lock 

 stations and its superior quality throughout, is 

 especially desirable for mills and factories and 

 for either in-door or out-door patrol. 



Write for booklet 



CHICAGO WATCHMAN'S CLOCK WORKS 



No. 9 Church Street, NEW YORK 

 1526 So. Wabash Ave., CHICAGO 



VESTAL LUMBER 

 & MFG. COMPANY 



INCORPORATED 



Soft Textured Oak 



Poplar 



Black Walnut 



Tenn. Red Cedar 



KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE 



BAND MILLS AT VESTAL 



A SUBURB OF KNOXVILLE 



FONDE, KY. 



There has not been much change in trade with the hardwood lumber 

 manufacturers of southern Indiana, southern Illinois and western and 

 northern Kentucky during the past two weeks. While some of the manu- 

 facturers in this section believe there will be some reduction in the 

 prices of lumber during the next few months due to the agitation against 

 the high cost of living in various parts of the United States, they say 

 that the reductions will not be radical. They point out that the manu- 

 facturers now are paying more for logs than ever before in their history 

 and that it is costing them more to manufacture and ship out lumber than 

 ever before. There has been a tendency for a few grades of lumber to 

 drop in price during the past few weeks, while on the other hand the best 

 grades have held firm and in a few instances there have been slight in- 

 creases in price. Logs are coming in better now than for some time, 

 and as one manufacturer expressed it : "High prices have started the 

 logs in the South to come out." Prices are unusually high but in spite 

 of this fact some of the local manufacturers are laying in a liberal supply 

 for winter. The demand for plain and quartered white oak remains firm 

 while hickory is scarce and hard to get with the prices high. Walnut has 

 been draggy since the signing of the armistice, or even before, and is 

 showing no disposition now to pick up. Poplar, gum. ash, maple and elm 

 are firm. Bos factories are being operated on better time since the settle- 

 ment of the strike at one of the local plants and they are now demanding 

 more cottonwood and poplar. Slack barrel stave manufacturers report a 

 slight increase in their trade due to the apple crop in southern Indiana 

 and southern Illinois. Emerich Bros., of this city have opened their 

 slack barrel shop at Parkersburg, 111., a few miles west of here. Stave 

 factories are fairly busy. The various wood consuming factories in this 

 city, especially the furniture plants, are being operated on steady time. 

 General trade conditions in Evansville and other towns in the tri-state 

 territory are better than a year ago. The retail lumber trade is fairly 

 good and sash and door men say that their out of town trade this year 

 has shown a big improvement over that of last year. 



MEMPHIS 



The hardwood market continues steady and there is a general disposi- 

 tion among manufacturers of southern liardwood lumber to anticipate 

 that, while prices may not go higher, they will at least be maintained 

 for some time around the present level. The market is free from the 

 wide fluctuations that recently characterized it and is described as de- 

 cidedly more stable. There is no doubt that there has been some recession 

 from recent nnnfiti'ips. notably in the case of gum, oak and cypress. 

 These have not been extensive and have apparently been more in the ■ 

 nature of an adjustment than anything else. There is an excellent de- 

 mand for everything on the hardwood list and here is the summary of 

 market condition as given out by the American Hardwood Manufacturers' 

 Association for the Boutbem field : 



"There is but little exception to the general opinion that the market 

 for the next few months will remain satisfactory. Seasonal dullness may 

 temporarily slow up business a bit but, with a continued strong demand, 

 assured by the fact that lumber consumers are crowded with business, 

 with building operations increasing all over the country, and with indica- 

 tions here and there that export business is to show improvement soon, 

 there is every probability of good business for the next few months. 

 Prices are not expected to go higher but present values should be main- 

 tained." 



Furniture manufacturers are taking more lumber than any other inter- 

 ests in the United States, according to the same authority. They have 

 jumped into first place over domestic wholesalers, the takings for the 

 former amounting to 34.7 as against 32.1 per cent for the latter. Box 

 manufacturers rank third, with 10.5 per cent. Purchases by other inter- 

 ests, expressed in percentage, are given herewith': Wholesalers (export), 

 1.7 : automobile, 4.9 ; flooring, 4.0 ; interior trim, 5.2 ; vehicle, 2.7 ; retail 

 yards, 1.9; miscellaneous, 1.9; railroads (car lumber), 0.3; railroads 

 (switch ties), 0.1. 



The association says that, if all the orders now on the liooks of its 

 members in the southern field were ready for immediate shipment and if 

 they were shipped out under normal conditions, they would all be filled 

 within 37 days as against 40 days that would have been required a 

 month ago. 



It places the unsold stock at 37 per cent of normal. 93.900.000 feet 

 against 257,750,000 for this time of the year, these figures being based 

 on returns from 45 of its members. 



It also places production during August at SO per cent of normal, the 

 output for 47 members during that period having lieen 51,426,000 feet 

 against a normal of 03,875,000. During July output was placed at 76 

 per cent of normal. Output for the sixty-day period from Sept. 1 is placed 

 at 85 per cent of normal, 107,300,000 feet. 



All of the foregoing figures apply exclusively to the southern field. 



Export business is admittedly quite small, partly as a result of limited 

 offerings available for shipment overseas but primarily because of the 

 very low rates of exchange. Demand sterling is close to its lowest record, 

 while French and German exchange are at about the lowest point in the 

 history of those countries. The American Hardwood Manufacturers' Asso- 

 ciation, it will be noted from its summary of market conditions, hints at 

 revival of export business in the near future and J. H. Townsend, secre- 



