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Copyiigllt , '1 11 K HAin)WO(H) (riMPANS, |r,ji 



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

 Mill and Woodworking Machinery, on the 10th and 2Sth of each Month, by 



THE HARDWOOD COMPANY 



Edwin W. Meeker, Vice Pres. and Editor 

 H. F. Ake, Secretary-Treasurer 



Seventh Floor Ellsworth Building 

 53 7 So. Dearborn St., CHICAGO 

 Telephone : Harrison -8087 



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Vol. LI 



CHICAGO, APRIL 25, 1921 



No. 1 



IWtABY 



Review and Outlook 



NFVV YOKtt 



I«)TANICAL 



U.ikklttM 



General Market Conditions 



•-pHIS WEEK'S ATTEMPT to picture conditions in the major 

 *■ hardwood markets, to sketch causes and possible results, and 

 to indicate thoughts which might profitably be further pur- 

 sued, must of necessity be closely in line with accounts during the 

 past few issues. Hardwood Record believes that the readjustment 

 processes have reached that point where individual occurrences here 

 and there will have a minimum of direct effect on the major course 

 of events, and where movements must be reckoned as tendencies, and 

 not as individual facts in themselves. In short, the long haul is 

 more than ever apparently with us, and it is going to be a haul up- 

 wards very gradually, but consistently. The road wUl not be with- 

 out its bumps and ruts, but it is likely that these will gradually be- 

 come less and less frequent, until they eventually lead to the smooth 

 highway of progress. To abandon the simile, conditions are better 

 than they were, and probably will continue better, but this progress 

 will not he regular. Distress offerings will here and there find the 

 market. Conditions will develoji in this or that industry to further 

 postpone renewal of activity. P^inancial questions will here and there 

 be almost impossible of solution, but because we have reached the 

 point where tendency and not individual happenings mark the course 

 of future business, these individual occurences will not be sufficiently 

 powerful in themselves to divert the main comae of business prog- 

 ress. 



There are many troublesome factors to contend with. Many com- 

 munities, both large and small, had anticipated a heavy volume of 

 building during the summer months. This revival hag apparently 

 awaited a more reasonable labor charge, as materials in the main 

 have been strongly reduced. Attempts to reduce labor costs have met 

 with such opposition that in some cases they are likely to result in 

 a more complete tie-up of building than ever. But in spite of this 

 the general tendency indicates increasing total volume. 



Large building projects and the purchase of agricultural imple- 

 J~ ments have apjiarently been indefinitely postponed in rural districts. 

 cy> Yet the tendency is progressive even there, for there is a large vol- 

 I ume of small repair and enlargement projects, and while the farmer 

 ^3 is not buying his instruments, many small town dealers in Ford, and 

 >- 



other small automobiles, report themselves oversold to the rural 

 trade. 



Merchandise in general is showing fairly satisfactory and acceler- 

 ated volume of movement. While unemployment in general is still 

 increasing, as some industries felt a pinch of conditoins only recently, 

 those industries which were first hit, have now reached the up-grade, 

 and are gradually taking on men. This means a gradual revival of 

 buying power. 



As to hardwood conditions — there is no reason to change estimates 

 of what may be anticipated. The further we go, the more apparent 

 it becomes that firsts and seconds grades in hardwoods are relatively 

 an unknown quantity. For instance, mills offering a million or two 

 million feet of oak, will show a carload or two of firsts and seconds. 

 The tendency toward the complete shut-down of plants is more 

 marked than it was thirty days ago. Hardwood Record reaffirms 

 its belief that practically all of the southern hardwoods to be made 

 this year will be in pile by the first of July. The logs now being 

 cut are of poor quality because through exposure in the ditches they 

 have greatly deteriorated. New logs are not coming out. Mills are 

 operating only to clean up these accumulations. Because most hard- 

 wood mills are sawing only such timber, the resulting first and second 

 lumber will be practically negligible. In fact, so deplorably broken 

 is the visible supply of dry firsts and seconds, that large buyers might 

 very well begin to show some concern as to future stocks of No. 1 

 common. 



Hardwood Record wishes to emphasize that this is a true report 

 of mill conditions that can readily be verified by any factory buyer 

 who wishes to carefully analyze mill offerings. The invariable rule 

 Is that a developing scarcity of firsts and seconds will, as soon as it 

 is manifest, have a strong lifting influence on the next lower grade. 



Hardwood Record strongly councils buyers to determine for them- 

 selves the relative amounts of the principal grades used, as it is im- 

 possible that the saw mills can greatly add to the amount of upper 

 grades now offered. 



T 



Sales Code a Step Ahead 



HE LAST ISSUE OF HARDWOOD RECORD contained a com- 

 plete account of efforts of southern hardwood men to formulate 



