August 10. 1922 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



53 



mers. Orders from railroads are also growing larger and other lines 

 of manufacturing have been coming into the market. Delay in receiv- 

 ing shipments is reported on all sides as embargoes on the Chesa- 

 peake and Ohio. Norfolk & "Western and L#ouisville & Nashville have 

 been put into force. 



Prices are holding firm at the levels which have prevailed for sev- 

 eral weeks. Strongest varieties are oak, chestnut and poplar. Some 

 I'uying of ash and basswood is also reported. 



CINCINNA TI 



EVANSVILLE 



General business conditions in Evansville and other towns in south- 

 ern Indiana are about like they were a month ago, although the 

 railroad strike and the coal strike have caused more or less depression 

 and shippers are complaining that their shipments are being delayed. 

 Manufacturers of lumber and kindred products express the belief that 

 trade will become nothing like normal as long as these two strikes 

 continue. Lumlier manufacturers report that while they did some 

 business in July that there was some falling off in trade as compared 

 to the previous month. Orders and inquiries continue to come in but 

 the railroad strike has made things in a business way rather un- 

 certain and everybody seems to be holding back and buying only for 

 the immediate use. The lumber manufacturers are agreed that trade 

 ought to show a marked improvement by the first or middle of 

 September providing the two big strikes are over. The problem of 

 getting coal a little later on is a big source of worry to the various 

 manufacturers of Evansville and other manufacturing centers in that 

 section. The coal mines in western and northern Kentucky are being 

 operated at full capacity and in some instances with double and 

 triple shifts, but when cold weather sets in there is bound to be a 

 shortage of coal unless the mines in Indiana and other northern 

 states are running, for the Kentucky fields will be unable to supply 

 the coal that usually comes from the northern mines. The situation 

 is not a promising one at this time and manufacturers fear that 

 even should the northern mines start up within a short time the 

 price of coal is going to be higher thaji last year. Furniture manu- 

 facturers and other men engaged in the wood working industry in 

 this section say that everything depends now upon the settlement 

 of the railroad and the coal miners' strikes and that business is going 

 to be all right as soon as these strikes are out of the way. Collections 

 are holding their own very well. The retail lumber trade is keeping 

 pace with the wliolesale line. 



Due to the railroad strike, the local hardwood market has lost 

 some of its former activity. Shipments from the producing points 

 are very slow and as a result distributors in some instances are 

 forced to pass up business because of a shortage of stocks. There 

 is plenty of business in the air for those dealers who are fortunate 

 enough to have stocks on hand or who are getting shipments. Were 

 it not for the shopmen's strike, dealers say, business would be boom- 

 ing. Buying on the part of the retailers is the best feature, but on 

 the other hand, there is considerable buying by factories making 

 automobiles, furniture, boxes and interior trim. Prices are holding 

 firm all along the line and all recent advances are being maintained. 

 Export demand is slowly reviving and there is good buying on the 

 part of the railroads. Among the woods most in demand are plain 

 oak; poplar, gum, maple and birch. Both orders and inquiries are 

 increasing nicely, and there is a much better tone to the trade than 

 there was at the first of the present year. According to report re- 

 ceived here from the hardwood producing fields in West Virginia 

 it is almost an impossibility to get empty cars and where they are 

 obtainable and loaded with lumber, they are sidetracked before they 

 get very far from the point of shipment. Veneer demand as well as 



Where Are Your Customers? 



THE continued revival of purchasing activity is assured. 

 Some business men are ii.'aiting for the flood tide ; others 

 are going to meet it. It is advantageous to know not only when 

 to expect business but also u'here to e.xpect it. The current 

 Forecaster tells specifically why purchasing activity will come 

 earlier in the cotton growing than in the grain producing sec- 

 tions. It is well worth reading, and should enable you to make 

 a fair estimation of the value of the Brookniire Service, which 

 answers innumerable other perplexing questions. Send for a 

 free copy of Forecaster M today. 



TIMELY FORECASTS ON MARKET TRENDS 



Brookmire Economic Service, Inc. 



25 West 45th Street, New York 



The Original System of Forecasting from Economic Cycles 



