26 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



October 10, 1922 



Pertinent Information 



Durgin Will Bring Hoover Message to Chicago Retailers 



The Chicago Retail Lumber Dealers' Association will give a luncheon in 

 the Elizabethan Boom of the Congress Hotel, Wednesday, October 11, at 

 12 :30 p. m., and William A. Durgin, as the personal representative of 

 Secretary Hoover of the TJ. S. Department of Commerce, Washington, D. C, 

 will be the guest of the association" and will make an address on "The Im- 

 portance of Simplified Practice in Lumber." This will be a message direct 

 from Secretary Hoover. 



Mr. Durgin is chief of the Division of Simplified Practice of the De- 

 partment of Commerce and his address, which will be illustrated with lan- 

 tern slides, will deal particularly with the Hoover Plan of Standardization 

 and Simplification of Grades of Lumber and Guarantees of Quality 

 and Quantity, In order that the public will be fully protected. 



The members of the Illinois Society of Architects, the Illinois Chapter of 

 the American Institute of Architects, and of the Structural Engineers' 

 Association of Illinois have been invited to attend the luncheon to hear 

 Mr. Durgin's message from Secretary Hoover. 



Johnson Takes Over Rochester Yards 



The Mowbray & Robinson Lumber Co. of Cincinnati, O., has announced 

 that, effective October 1, Charles Johnsf-n, who has be<-'n associated with 

 them tor many years, became owner of their Rochester, N. Y., hardwood 

 lumber yard. lie will continue to operate for them the hardwood flooring 

 warehouses without change as well as sell their product for direct mill 

 shipments. 



Slight Increase in Lumber Export to Great Britain 



By Trade Commissioner Alexander V. Dye, London. 



Compared with June, Imports of lumber and timber into the United 

 Kingdom In July showed a very slight Increase. The United States shared 

 m this increase as far as hewn hardwoods and hewn softwoods were con- 

 cerned, but sawn woods, both hard and soft, showed a decrease. The 

 principal increase in sawn softwoods came from Finland and Sweden, 

 and this increase might be regarded as seasonal and not due to any increase 

 in demand. There was an increase in the import of mahogany, both hewn 

 and sawn, from all countries. The popularity of mahogany seems to be 

 growing ; particularly does it seem to replace walnut as a fine furniture 

 wood, thus reversing the tendency which is prevalent in the United States, 

 where walnut is more popular at present than mahogany. 



The docks were very busy during July unloading shipments, particularly 

 from Finland and Sweden. While there has been no actual Increase in 

 the movement of timber from the United States, there have been several 

 American firms who have made arrangements with regard to marketing 

 lumber In the United Kingdom either by appointing agents or opening 

 offices In London, and who seem to be preparing for an increased demand 

 In the future. It has been difficult for shippers elsewhere to understand 

 why the trade In the United Kingdom seems to lag behind Improvement In 

 the United States. The principal reason seems to be the lack of building 

 and construction work, both house building and public offices. It is not 

 probable now that there will be any improvement in this situation until In 

 the autumn, as August Is generally given up to holidays and little new 

 business Is started. 



Reductions In dock charges on lumber, ranging from 10 to 17 per cent, 

 took place during July. 



The following table of comparisons of Imparts of wood during the months 

 of June and July, 1922, reflects rather accurately the condition of trade : 



IMPORTS OF LCMBEK INTO THE UNITED KINGDOM 



Bands June, 1922 July, 1922 



Hewn : 



Hardwood — 



Mahogany, cubic feet 140,666 152,709 



All others — 



From United States, cubic feet 10,526 15,216 



Total, cubic feet 185,694 169,153 



Softwood — 



From United States, Board feet 2,949,000 4,468,800 



Total, board feet 5,452,200 6,747,600 



Sawn : 



Hardwood — 



Mahogany, cubic feet... 49,371 78,840 



All other— 



From United States, cubic feet 687,910 642,377 



Total, cubic feet 1,025,058 1,116,016 



Softwood — 



From United States, board feet 10,385,400 9.003,600 



Total, board feet 215,223,600 323,892,600 



Staves, board feet 1,659,600 6,989,400 



Railway ties, board feet 6,709,200 13,472,400 



Lumber Movement Improved by Industrial Peace 



The stimulus of returning peace in the fuel and transportation sectors 

 of the Industrial lines, together with the release of certain restrictions on 

 the use of cars for lumber transportation and the success of the regional 

 associations in securing better car service, resulted In a marked accelera- 

 tion of the lumber industry during the week ending September 23, says 

 the National Lumber Manufacturers Association under date of September 

 28. Orders and shipments went up with a bound and yet production was 

 maintained at practically the high peak of May (though apparently being 

 slightly less than in the preceding week) and so high that it shows a grat- 

 ifying excess over expanding shipments and orders. 



The public significance of this surplus of production is that the larger 

 manufacturers of lumber, who constitute the membership of the regional 

 associations, are bending every effort to stabilize the lumber market by 

 replenishing depleted stocks, thus denying speculators the "bull" argument, 

 and relieving consumers of the fear of an increasing accumulation of un- 

 filled orders or of a runaway market. 



Assuming that the mills of the five large associations which have estab- 

 lished a normal production figure are representative of the industry, they 

 being 337 out of the 369 reporting for the week under review, and their 

 normal production being 221,200,478 feet, the lumber industry Is pro- 

 ducing 98 per cent of Its normal capacity while shipments are 86 per cent 

 and orders 83 per cent of normal production, notwithstanding current 

 increases in the actual amounts of the two last Items. All of the report- 

 ing mills, 369 (numbering 18 less than the revised number of the preced- 

 ing week) give shipments as 89 per cent and orders as 84 per cent of 

 actual production. The slight decline which the following figures show 

 in production undoubtedly to be attributed to omissions of reports rather 

 than to real reduction of cut : 



Week ending Sept. 16. 

 Week ending Sept. 23. 



Production 



Feet 

 239,122.923 

 237,718,945 



Increase •1,403,978 



Shipments 



Feet 

 196,854.978 

 211,133,351 



14,278,373 



Orders 



Feet 

 179,449,970 

 200,250,134 



20,800,164 



•Decrease 



As comparetl with the corresponding week of 1921 production was 60,- 

 007,711 feet larger and shipments 29,226,206 feet more ; while orders 

 showed a decrease, though probably only apparent, for the second time this 

 year. 



The recent firm maintenance of large volume of production in the face 

 of decreasing orders has resulted in a material Improvement In the situa- 

 tion regarding the accumulated surplus of orders over production for 

 the year so far. It will be noted in the following table that that 

 surplus has been reduced, for the first 38 weeks of the year to 186,000,000 

 feet, whereas It has been as high as 500,000,000 feet : 



Thirty-eight Weeks' Statistics 



Some of the regional associations reporting through the National Asso- 

 ciation do not make uycekly reports. It is helpful, therefore, to note that 

 the lumber movement for the month of August, 1922, compared with 

 August, 1921, was as follows : 



Production 



August, 1922 (535 mills) 1,323,684,000 



August, 1921 (437 mills) 878,045,000 



Increase 445,639,000 



Shipments 

 1,2.S0,050,000 

 857,098,000 



372,952,000 



The following table shows the lumber movement by regional associations 

 for the week, and the 38 weeks, ending September 23, as compared with 

 similar periods of 1922 : 



Lumber Movement for 38 Weeks, and for the Week Ending Sept, 23 

 Northern Hemlock and Hardwood 



rroductltm Shipments Orders 



1922 1921 1922 1921 1922 1921 



TotaJ TT.SPO.MO 78.028,000 107.48G.0OO 64,627.000 100,190.000 58.122,000 



Week (18 mlUs.. 1, 197,000 982.000 3.020.000 2.715,000 2.258.0OO 3,924,000 



Clubs and Associations 



Inaugurate Monthly Dinners 



The Lumbermen's Club of Cincinnati Inaugurated its monthly dinners, 

 October 2, at the Hotel Metropole, with a well-attended meeting. In the 

 absence of John A. Morris, chairman of the Interchange Committee of the 



