ivp 



Published in the Interest of the American Hardwood Forests, the Products thereof, and Logging, Saw 

 Mill and Wood- Working Machinery, on the lOlh and 25th of each Month, by 



THE HARDWOOD COMPANY 



Henry H. Gibson, Editor and Manager 

 Edwin W. Meeker\^ 

 Hu Maxwell J 



^Associate Editors 



Entire Seventh Floor Ellsworth Building 

 537 So. Dearborn Street, CHICAGO 

 Telephones: Harrison 8086-8087-8088 



Vol. XXXVI 



CHICAGO, JULY 25, 1913 



No. 7 



'ix;«og>aslysca;a;a^^:>; ^x;iw^^^l\:/2^y:^^^ 



Review and Outlook 



General Market Conditions 



IT IS DIFFICULT TO SEE ANY CHANGE of consequence in 

 the general market conditions as pertaining to the hardwood 

 lumber business throughout the country. Eeports on the situation 

 embody a remarkable combination of optimism and pessimism, 

 but it is safe to say that most of the pessimistic expressions come 

 from those who are too prone to consider only immediate con- 

 ditions, and will not take into consideration the unusually sound 

 fundamental conditions that it is absolutely certain prevail all 

 over the country. 



For instance, while the government crop reports are at least 

 not discouraging, another source of information on the same sub- 

 ject, which can be relied upon to be absolutely authentic, gives 

 every assurance that the general crop of the country this year 

 will be the largest on record. Observations of those men who 

 have analyzed the crop situation in different sections surely indi- 

 cate a most excellent condition, and their opinions are backed up 

 in every way and the situation seems even more emphatically 

 favorable, judging from the statements emanating from the source 

 referred to. iV certain manufacturing company of tremendous 

 proportions, which markets its product to every farming section 

 in the United States, makes the unqualified statement that its 

 business this year will be the largest that it has experienced for 

 six or seven years past. 



It does not take a financial giant to know why favorable crop 

 conditions are always considered as the most favorable indications 

 as to the general business prosperity which we have, and judging 

 from the opinions noted above we could not even hope for more 

 favorable conditions in the farming sections. 



In addition to this the iron producing sections in the North are 

 reported as being in most excellent shape, and this combination 

 should surely serve as a counterbalance against any artificial 

 depression resulting from possible efforts of the financial and 

 speculative element of the country to play business for its own 

 profit. 



As a matter of fact, the only element that seems to be holding 

 back trade is the lack of money. This question has been talked 

 about a great deal, sometimes wisely and sometimes merely at 

 random, but it is an actual fact that the present stringency in 

 the money market is certainly contributing vastly more than its 

 share to the laxity of general business. 



For this very reason business as a whole should not take the 

 present situation too seriously as the money shortage is a factor 

 which is mechanical in itself, and it is easily within the power 

 of man to remedy. Its bearing on the lumber business is felt in 



different ways, it probably having a very strong influence on 

 the demand for hardwoods for factory work, and the demand for 

 building lumber for home building. 



As to the latter effect, it is reported in the East that banks 

 are declining loans for building purposes, which in itself offers a 

 satisfactory explanation of the laxity of demand for building 

 woods. As to the factory demand for hardwood, the basis of 

 the present situation is readily seen from the fact that collec- 

 tions are reported as being unusually slow. This points to only 

 one condition and that is that the factory trade generally is 

 pretty short of ready funds. Naturally not being over-burdened 

 with cash, these concerns are unwilling to sink any more than 

 is absolutely necessary in large purchases of material for which 

 they have no immediate use — that is they are buying for im- 

 mediate consumption only, figuring that they are not losing any- 

 thing by holding off in the hope that there may be a break in 

 prices, while if they buy in large quantities in the present mar- 

 ket, which does not offer any particular indication of going 

 higher, they are not pursuing good business policy. 



As to the actual conditions at the mills, the southern manu- 

 facturers are beginning to admit that stocks are not moving as 

 readily as they would like to have them, and in some cases they 

 are accumulating. This is probably more true of the lower Mis- 

 sissippi hardwood region than of any other hardwood section of 

 the country, and some slight recessions in value are noted on 

 woods coming from that territory, although these recessions have 

 not assumed any alarming proportions. 



From the North the general tone of the report is altogether 

 optimistic, stocks continuing to be exremely low, and it is stated 

 on authority that with a healthy condition of trade the shortage 

 of northern hardwoods during the next few months will be the 

 greatest ever experienced. Even under present conditions it is 

 anticipated that there will be absolutely no accumulation of any 

 kind or grade of northern stocks. 



With the exception of shipments to England, the export trade 

 is reported as not being in very good shape, which, in view of 

 the fact that the peculiar business situation is apparent all over 

 Europe as well as in this country, and in view of the further fact 

 that the political situation in the various countries of Europe is 

 at a rather acute stage, is not surprising. 



The immediate cause of the present export conditions probably 

 is the tnct that with the comparatively satisfactory prices pre- 

 vailing during the winter, a great many concerns got into the 

 export game and shipped large quantities of export stock, with 

 the result that foreign markets are overloaded and exporters are 



