HARDWOOD RECORD 



23 



Status of the Dimension "Business. 



Siinie tHo'voars ago, rerugnizing tin- cliaotii- 

 and iinsatisfaotorv romlition of the hanl- 

 woo<l dimension bu!>iness, the Hardwood RE( - 

 ORO organized an association of dimension 

 stock manufai-tiirers. Later this organiza- 

 tion was amalgamated with the Hardwood 

 Manufai'tiirers ' Association of the I'nited 

 States. This move was made with the idea 

 that the verv complete office machinery of 

 the large association would be better able 

 to handle the work to the interests of dimen- 

 sion makers than could a minor organization. 



A few days ago the editor addressed let- 

 ters of i.nquiry to several dimension stoi'k 

 makers prominent in the original movement, 

 asking them to freely express their views on 

 the status of the trade, particularly as coin- 

 [.ared with former years, referring specific- 

 ally to improvement in manufacture and 

 grading; prices — high or low, satisfactory 

 or not ; demand — volume, increase in call for 

 any special material; also anything further 

 along these lines which would be of interest 

 to the trade at large. 



K.\cerpts from several replies are herewith 

 appended, and they .show" unquestionably the 

 value of the educational work accomplished 

 through the movement. It is very gratifying 

 to note that even in the face of a slow sales 

 period the dimension stock business is in 

 very satisfactory comlition, and that prices 

 are now somewhat commensurate with the 

 value of the stock. 

 From Frominent Indiana Manufacturers. 



Referring to the Dimension Stock Associa- 

 tion forniccl a couple of years ago througli 

 ,your efforts, this concern for one wants to 

 thank you; first, for conceiving the idea, and, 

 next, fr)r pushing it to results. Your first 

 question, as to improvement in manufactur- 

 ing and grading, of course, we are not in 

 position to answer, as we do not purchase 

 any of this stock from outside mills, and the 

 forming of the association did not affect our 

 manufacture or grading in the least. We 

 niaile it the same as we always ilid, and we 

 grade<l it the same. But the second ques- 

 tion can be answered very satisfactorily. 

 We are obtaining a much higher level of 

 prices for all classes of this stock than we 

 <lid previous to the formation of the asso- 

 ciation. In reference to the third question, 

 we also think the demand for this material 

 is larger than it was, though we as a firm 

 manufacture about the same amount and sold 

 our entire outfiut always, but at the same time 

 it was notorious that we obtained a much 

 higher price for dimension stock than most 

 manufacturers of this class of material, prob- 

 ably from the fact that we nmnufactured it 

 ami that we graded it as the consumer want- 

 ed it. Summed up, the forming of the asso- 

 ciation has been of great good to the manu- 

 facturers of this class of material, bringing 

 them together and keeping them posted as 

 to the value of the goods and the prices they 

 should obtain for same. Formerly these 

 prices varieil. sometimes .tL'O per thousand 

 for the same class of material — just think 

 of it, :i()(l or odd dollars difference in i)rice 

 on one carload of lumber! We think that 

 prices are now fairly uniform all over the 

 country, a small portion only being sold 

 cheap; and yet this dimension material is 

 not bringing anywhere near the [)rice it 

 should. 



'omparing conditions for the twelve montlis 

 eliding Nov. 1 with previous years, would 

 say that there has been some improvement 

 in manufacture and grading of hickory stock, 

 and my remarks apply to hickory alone, as 

 this is the only da.ss of timber that we use 

 in the manufacture of light vehicle wheels. 

 There is. however, great opportunity for still 

 further improvement, both in the manufac- 

 ture of the stock and particularly in the grad- 

 ing of it. The rules of the Hardwood Man- 

 ufacturers' Association are not applicable to 

 the proper grading of hickory for vehicle 

 wheel |)urposes, and as there is possibly not 

 less than 4tMl,tlOO,OOi( feet of hickory" used 

 each year in this country, the rules for grad- 

 ing should be such as will give Imth the buyer 

 and the seller all there is in the timber itself. 

 As to the price of hickory, it is much higher 

 than it \\?is been in former years, but not, 1 

 believe, too high. The price on hickory had 

 been so low that the owner of timberlands 

 l)referred to have everything but hickory cut, 

 for the reason that he could not get enough 

 out of Ids hickory to pay him to cut it. The 

 price has within the last two years been 

 raised enough to make it profitable to cut 

 hickory, and this has brought to the market 

 a more satisfactory supply. There is no 

 doubt that hickory timber is being very rap- 

 idly exhausted, and it will be a great question 

 in the very near future what to do for a 

 substitute. The demand for our goods in the 

 year ending Nov. 1 was about the same as 

 the previous year, but considerably more 

 than two years ago. 



Very little, if any, dimension stock is be- 

 ing made in the South on account of the 

 ability of mills to sell their low-grade stock 

 either in the form of lumber or ties, at a 

 price which obviates either the necessity or 

 the desirability of making dimension; this 

 statement is based upon reports from mills 

 both east and west of the river. Wood- 

 working establishments west of New York 

 have been filling their wants in plain-sawed 

 oak from local mills, and prices for this 

 stock have hardly been up to the proper 

 'range. Hickory and ash have been sohl at 

 very good prices. 



Opinion of a Large Missouri House. 



Complying with your request of Nov. 11, 

 our observation is that the Dimension Stock 

 Association, which was afterwards merged 

 into the Hardwood Manufacturers' Associa- 

 tion, has been of great benefit to manufac- 

 turers. We have always furnished a very 

 high grade of well-manufactured dimension 

 stock, and are pleased to report that we have 

 in some cases obtained from $2 to .$S advance 

 over ])rices received prior to the educational 

 work done by the association. So far prices 

 have been very satisfactory. We have not 

 noticcil any particular demand for special 

 material. In fact, the only changes we note 

 are in the improved prices, and possibly a 

 somewhat lowering of grades demanded by 

 some chair makers. 



Souni Sense from Pennsylvania. 



.\s regards improvement in manufacture 

 and grading, I think most every one in the 

 business has learned by experience more eco- 

 nomical methoils in the way of cutting out 

 this stock, and in so far as grading is con- 

 cerned there has been no particular change 

 in such items as we get out. As to the 

 question of price, would say that in the last 

 eighteen months or so prices have been bet- 

 ter on this stock than heretofore, although 

 as a matter of fact the price on this dimen- 

 sion stock is not commensurate with price 

 on rough lumber. While it is a fact that 



the milliiicn figure on getting this stock out 

 of low-grade material, or in some cases cut- 

 ting the log in such a manner as will enable 

 them to put it into dimension stock, if cut 

 in the regular way for boards and planks 

 it would not grade up very high. A great 

 many millinen do not figure that even though 

 they cut up low-grade lumber into small di- 

 mension stock, the clear cuttings gotten out 

 of this low-grade lumber do not amount to 

 as much as the actual waste. It is a more 

 expensive ojieration to cut low-grade lumber 

 than it is good lumber. I do not think that 

 [irices geing quoted on dimension stock gen- 

 erally are high enough. I speak more for 

 oak than anything else. I am not suffi- 

 ciently well posted on hickory to know what 

 the people' interested in that line of busi- 

 ness are getting. It is true with all mill- 

 men that they take on a certain amount of 

 dimension stock business in order to get rid 

 of low-grade lumber, or in many cases un- 

 ilesirable lengths and thicknesses. At the 

 same time there are more people buying di- 

 mension stock today than there were several 

 years ago, for the reason that they can buy 

 dimension stock practically ready to use very 

 much cheaper than they can buy the lumber 

 and cut it up at their own factories. In the 

 alxive I have given you my ideas of the situ- 

 ation, and while 1 do not want to be under- 

 stood as talking for publication, I think more 

 concerted action among the large manufac- 

 turers of this class of stock would have a 

 tendency to bring results. This, of course, 

 is a bad time to talk on the question of prices, 

 but I think the more you get the people figur- 

 ing and thinking about the matter the better 

 they will understand it. I venture to say 

 that a great majority of people getting out 

 this class of stock do not know what it 

 actually costs them. If a great many of 

 them would figure out what the lumber is 

 worth as it stands on their yard, or at least 

 what they could get for it before they cut 

 it into this dimension stock, then keep an ac- 

 curate account of what it fosts to work it up 

 per thousand feet, and in the end measure 

 what they actually get out of it in finished 

 stock, they would find the price that lumber 

 actually netted them per thousand feet in a 

 great many cases less than they could sell 

 it for without putting any work on it at all. 

 I think this cla.ss of millmeu, when they 

 read about such things in trade papers, will 

 get to thinking, and when they do see where 

 they stand they will be ready to ask a 

 sufficient price to compensate them for their 

 time and material. 



From a Chicago Viewpoint, 



We have not noticed any particular ini- 

 |)rovement in the manufacture of dimension 

 stock, while the over-production and liberal 

 shipments have enabled the consumer to be 

 more exacting in regard to inspection. Prices 

 are unsatisfactory, and where stock is forced 

 on the market they will remain so. 



Two Letters from Kentucky. 



Yours of Nov. 11 received and contents 

 noted. In answer will say we feel that 

 there is (piite an improvement in the manu- 

 faitnring and grailing of dimension stock, 

 but still it is far from what it ought to be, 

 and only those who are manufacturers of 

 stock just as it should be are giving the 

 grade :us specified or getting the prices they 

 ought to have. Prices on dimension stock 

 are low" considering the material required, 

 and it seems that it is a very difficult matter 

 to get them up to what they should be in 

 comparison with other lumber. We believe 

 that dimension stock values, for all except 

 the very smallest pieces, ought to be well 



