38 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



October 25, 191i. 



Specializing in Heavy 

 Asli, Oal<, Hickory and 

 Tliin Oal< and Gum 



E. Sondheimer Co. 



MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE 



WHOLESALE 



Manufacturers 

 and Exporters 



Wire Orders Loaded Same Day Received 



You Can See Logs Like These 

 on Our Yard Any Day 



STIMSON VENEER AND LUMBER 



p. O. Box 1015 



COMPANY, INC. 



Memphis, Tenn. 



MANUFACTURERS 



Hardwood Lumber, Rotary Cut 

 Veneers, Rotary Cut Gum Faces, 

 Cross Banding and Cores, 



All Three of U« Will B« BeneSted if 



(lential years. The main talk at the yards Dowadays is of shortage ot 

 labor and scarcity ot cars. Men are hard to find, eveu at good wages, 

 and cars show a tightening tendency, though the situation here does not 

 compare with the tension at the mills. 



Ash and maple are among the woods which are most in the demand, 

 though plain oak is also called for in fair quantity. Maple is showing as 

 much strength as any wood, but the general tone ot the market is firm. It 

 could not be much otherwise considering the difficulty now being experi- 

 enced in getting lumber from the mills. Most ot the cars now coming In 

 are crippled, but the yards regard it as good fortune to get lumber at all 

 in any sort ot season. Delays are frequent and vexatious, even though ex- 

 pected. 



:-< PITTSBURGH >-. 



Business continues good and fairly satisfactory in all ways except as to 

 cars. The car shortage is getting more acute every day. It is felt worse 

 in hardwood circles on the Southwestern lines which deliver gum and Cot- 

 tonwood to this territory. Shipments of these woods are away behind 

 orders. Hardwood mills in tri-state territory are working right along 

 but cannot get one-half the supply of cars they need to ship out their 

 lumber. Trade with the railroads and manufacturing concerns keeps up 

 well. There is also a good inquiry from the yards, considering the season. 

 Prices are firm and demand looks as it it would keep up pretty firm all 

 winter. 



-< BOSTON y- 



Practically every plant in New England is running to capacity, and the 

 demand for Uardwoods is correspondingly active. Certain changes in cabi- 

 net construction processes as well as in popularity of woods have resulted 

 in decreased demand for some varieties for furniture. This effect is in- 

 creasingly noticeaOle as to quartered and plain oak. For other hardwoods 

 there is a steady call. Although there is not much purchasing for future 

 reserve, current needs are sufficient to produce a well sustained trade and 

 to hold values on a firm level. There are many offering stock, but all prices 

 quoted are up to or above market and there is a marked absence of larg« 

 accumulations. Brown ash, maple and birch are not in good supply, and red 

 gum, while quite plentifully offered, continues in a more extensive use by 

 the industries in this territory. 



^-< BALTIMORE >-- 



The hardwood men are not enthusiastic over prevailing nuirkct condition.?. 

 Practically all of them report that the Inisiness has eased off to an ait- 

 preciable extent, the demand, for some reason, having sagged. The ex- 

 planation nearest at hand is that the partial raising of the freight em- 

 bargo by tlie railroads resulted in large quantities of stocks, that had been 

 out on the road for a long time, reaching the buyers, and so augmenting 

 their supplies that they naturally hesitate to place further orders. It is 

 also pointed out that the uncertainties of the toreisn situation suggest cau- 

 tion. But the check upon the movement has not attained proportions suf- 

 ficiently large to affect values, which remain about where the.v were. Here 

 and there it is also stated that the inquiry for one kind of lumber or an- 

 other shows considerable activity. Tlie market, on the whole, is ratiier un- 

 even, with one wood being called for with considerable freedom, while an- 

 other ilevelops little strength. At the same time the fact remains that the 

 nuinufacturers of furniture, among other consumers, are busier tlum they 

 have been for some time, with other woodworking establishments also run- 

 ning full time or working after hours to take care of the orders offered. 



In some cities the builders call for hardwoods quite freely; there Is no 

 room for serious complaint, even it the market seems to show weak spots. 

 The exports, of course, are still reduced to nominal proportions, the 

 various checks that have prevailed continuing in effect : but the slack in 

 this direction has been taken care of fairly well by liberal requirements in 

 the domestic trade. 



The movement in No. 1 common oak is quite large, this being the grade 

 chiefly us'>d by the furniture makers, and much chestnut is finding takers 

 for use as cores in veneered stocks. Ash shares with spruce in the demand 

 from abroad for aeroplane construction, and the lower grades ot poplar are 

 being sought by the box makers and other users with some freedom. In the 

 opinion of members of the trade, the present check upon orders is merely 

 temporary, and may be expected to yield to activity as soon as the holders 

 ot hardwoods can ascertain Just how they stand. The fact that the mills 

 have no extensive accumulations may also be expected to stimulate the 

 demand. 



=-< COLUMBUS >- 



strength has developed in the hardwood trade In Columbus and cen- 

 tral Ohio territory. Demand is increasing both from factories and 

 yardmen and the general tone of the trade is satisfactory. Lumbermen 

 generally believe that the remainder of the fall will be active as 

 general prosperity In all industrial lines prevails. 



Uetall stocks are not large, neither Is there any effort to Increase 

 them. Dealers are still following the policy of buying only for the 

 present. Building operations are rather brisk for the fall season and 

 consequently there is a hirge consumption ot many hardwood Item*. 

 The car shortage is Interfering with shipments and delays are now 



You Mention HARDWOOD RECORD 



