22 



THE HARDWOOD RECORD, 



THE MAR.KETS 



THE CHICAGO MARKET. 



The closing of the year's business will, 

 we believe, show in most cases that the 

 Chicago lumbermen have done fairly well. 

 Not so well as last year, but last year 

 was an exceptional year. This was one 

 of the off years from which not much 

 was expected. It is one of the years when, 

 if a man holds his own, he has much to 

 be thankful for. 



And the prospects are good for next 

 year. Stock taking will show stocks mod- 

 erate, demand good and prices firm, which 

 is a very good condition to be in at the 

 close of a presidential .vear. 



Usually prices slump off in December 

 pending the holiday season. This year 

 they have not and closed with the firmesi 

 Ijrices there has been for si.x months. 



Plain oak is a very scarce article in 

 this market, especially thick plain oak. 

 Quarter sawed is in fairly good supply, 

 but it is also in fairly good demand and 

 prices are firm. 



Northern hardwoods are holding Iheir 

 own very well. 



And we go into the new year in very 

 good shape. 



ST. LOUIS. 



St. Louis, Dec. 20, 1904.— (Special Cor- 

 respondence.) — It is the holiday season 

 and such work as is being done around 

 St. Louis is more in the direction of bal- 

 ancing up the accounts of the year and 

 preparing for the invoicing of stocks than 

 otherwise. Another thing which has 

 tended to decrease the volume of busines.^ 

 now being done, is the cold wave which 

 struck St. Louis something over a week 

 ago and was accompanied by sufficient 

 snow to cause an inactive time of it in the 

 yard of St. Louis, For several days practi- 

 cally no lumber was hauled either into or 

 out of St. Louis and very little stock was 

 loaded on the cars for country shipments. 

 About the only form of activity now no- 

 ticed in St. Louis is in the buying end of 

 the business, as quite a number of the 

 local wholesalers are keeping their buy- 

 ers in the southern cotmtry. There are a 

 number of items which are in poor sup- 

 ply in this market, and it is the effort of 

 these buyers to balance up stocks as nnicli 

 as possible before the spring trade sels 

 in. Reports froiu these buyers indicate 

 that it is difficult to procure stock at these 

 times, the holidays interfering with it to 

 some extent and a majority of them will 

 remain idle next week. Those desiring to 

 buy cypress in Mississippi, Arkansas and 



Northern Louisiana are finding a majority 

 of the mills idle, because of the droutii 

 which is present in that territory and 

 which prevents the floating of logs. In 

 the more northern parts of the southern 

 country, however, there is no difficulty 

 of this sort, and a great many hardwood 

 mills have been running on very good 

 time. The item which is particularly 

 scarce in St. Louis is inch plain oak, both 

 red and white, and very few of the yards 

 have a sufficient supply of it. There is 

 some green on hand, but practically no 

 dry can be found either at initial points 

 or in a majority of the wholesale centers. 

 In quartered oak, there is a fair call for 

 upper grades in white and all grades in 

 red, and the latter seems to have the 

 preference in present trading. Ash is also 

 showing a firmness in upper grades, but 

 there is no particular call for common. 

 Cypress is very strong. Cottonwood and 

 gum have changed practicall.v none since 

 last report, but there is great expectation 

 for spring. One especially strong feature 

 of the present market conditions is the 

 fact that none of the wholesalers are will- 

 ing to enter into selling contracts for 

 spring delivery at present prices. Several 

 propositions have been up during the past 

 week, and available quotations show- ma- 

 terial advances over reigning prices. This 

 would indicate that the wholesalers have 

 the utnujst confidence in the outlook and 

 they firmly believe prices will harden im- 

 mediately after the first of the year. 

 Stocks are none too large, in fact, are 

 below what is desired, and this also will 

 have its influence upon spring conditions? 



fair one, and outside of the poplar end 

 but little complaint in sizing up the year's 

 business is heard in either wholesale or 

 retail circles. 'Values have been well 

 maintained during the entire twelve 

 months, while the outlook for a large de- 

 mand in the early spring and throughout 

 next year is exceedingly promising. Plain 

 oak still continues to be the leader in 

 demand, and holders of any amount of 

 dry stock or even mediumly dry are hav- 

 ing no difficulty in moving it at very good 

 prices. Ash is in much the same situa- 

 tion, with brown ash exceptionally scarce. 

 Chestnut, maple and basswood are also ' 

 in fair call, and poplar is picking up right 

 aiong. Of course, it is not expected that 

 there will be much business done in the 

 next two weeks on account of the holida.v 

 season, but a very fair winter trade is 

 looked for all along the line. 



NE'W YOKK. 



New York, Dee. IT, 19U4. — (Special 

 Correspondence.) — Just at this season of 

 the year, inventory taking and the gen- 

 eral balancing up of business for the year 

 naturally is the salient feature of the 

 local market as well as elsewhere, and 

 retrospection naturally in order, as, of 

 course, actual business is easing oft con- 

 siderably and it will probably be a little 

 quiet until after the New Year gels 

 started. The local hardwood market, how- 

 ever, can be stated as very firm, with a 

 fair amount of business offering, particu- 

 larly in the manufacturing trade, although 

 the yard trade has been a little quiet dur- 

 ing the fortnight. Prices continue to hold 

 very firm, and even poplar has stiffened 

 a little in value and in demand during the 

 l)ast month. Taking the year as a whole 

 the hardwood dealers have had a very 



PHILADELPHIA. 



Philadelphia, Pa., Dec. IH, 1904.— 

 (Special Correspondence.) — The local sit- 

 uation has brightened to a marked degree 

 during the past few weeks, and all indi- 

 cations point to an even greater improve- 

 ment in the near future. Sales are 

 somewhat light in tone, but it is thought 

 that the voltime of business will be quite 

 heavy after the holidays. There is a 

 much improved demand for hemlock, and 

 the dealers in this stock are pleased. The 

 list is being well lived up to. Poplar is 

 holding its own. 



The demand for white pine is about 

 normal, with no changes in the prices. 

 Nearly all the yard orders for yellow pine 

 have been given, but the demand still re- 

 mains remarkably strong. The prices ob- 

 tained are all that dealers could expect, 

 and the only fly in the ointment is the 

 matter of deliveries. North Carolina pine 

 is equally in demand, with the same trou- 

 ble over shipment. Prices continue to 

 rule high. 



PITTSBtrilQ. 



Pittsburg, Pa., Dec. 20, 19ii4. — (Special 

 Correspondence.) — Owing to the fact that 

 many of the retail firms of Pittsburg have 

 started to take inventory of their stocks, 

 comparatively few orders are being placed 

 among city firms. Generally the majority 

 of firms wait till January to take stock, 

 but this year there is a general feeling 

 that after the holiday season is over the 

 lumber market will brighten up very fast 

 and the retailers want to take advantage 

 of the dull period before New Year's to 

 get squared away for (he trade. Stocks 

 are, generally speaking, low. It is safe 

 to say that there is at least 25 per cent 

 less lumber in the local yards than last 



