66 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



April 



S.MIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!: 



I Plain & Qtd. Red & White I 



OAK 



Even 



Soft 



Color AND OTHER Texture = 

 HARDWOODS I 



)©ft Yellow Poplar | 



MADE (MR) RIGHT 



I OAK FLOORING | 



I PROMPT SHIPMENTS i 



I The MOWBRAY i 



I & ROBINSON CO. I 



— ( I N COBPOB ATBD ) £ 



I CINCINNATI, OHIO i 



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WE WANT TO SELL 



the following 



Dry Northern Michigan 



HARDWOODS 



BIRCH 



4/4 No. 1 & Btr 40,000' 



4/4 No. 2 Common 115,000' 



S/4 1st & 2nds 40,000' 



S/4 Selects 80,000' 



S/4 No. 1 Common 60,000 ' 



S/4 No. 2 Common 200,000 ' 



6/4 1st & 2nds 6,000' 



6/4 Selects 30,000' 



6/4 No. 2 Common 40,000' 



8/4 No. 1 Com. & Btr... 35,000' 



SOFT ELM 

 6/4 No. Z & Btr 



90,000' 



HARD MAPLE 



2 & Btr 40,000' 



1 & Btr 300,000' 



2 Common 175,000' 



1 Common 20,000' 



2 Common 175,000' 



2 Com. & Btr... 150,000' 



. 2 & Btr 60,000' 



BASSWOOD 



1 & Btr 200,000' 



2 Common lOO.OOO' 



SOFT MAPLE 



2 & Btr 100,000' 



2 & Btr 11,000' 



Can furnish all kinds of 



Hemlock and Hardwood Crating 



Band mills at 

 Chassell and Ontonagon, Michigan 



C. H.Worcester Co. 



NOT INCORPOBATED 



19 So. La Salle Street, CHICAGO 



liilihir, auU uinJoubtcdl.v will, in view of tbe light present production. 

 Siinie buyers would probably contract for four to six months supplies, or 

 Like a big block of .stock if .sold at $4 to $6 a thousand under average 

 jjrices. but leading operators are now holding lirmly, and refusing con- 



li-acls of more than thirty to forty days. 



ST. LOUIS 



llardwDiHl demand shows some improvement and manufacturers do not 

 seem so anxious to make sales at any price. Flooring manufacturers 

 are buying oak freely. Unconfirmed rumors state the Buick Auto v-O. 

 is removing its plant here to Flint, Mich. Heavy stocks In automobile 

 iiiunufacturcrs hands are being consumed and some inquiries are being 

 <:irculated. The furniture business is still weak. Railroads are not as 

 active as they might be. 



NEW ORLEANS 



I'lio Iiardwond iudusir.v uf the Mississippi-Louisiana-Texas terriiory at 

 |n-('spiit is in a rather hard plight, but, convinced that tbe bottom has been 

 rcjKlied and that any further change must be for their betterment, manu- 

 facturers of the tri-state territory do not appear at all pessimistic. 



So low are the prices being offered, in most cases, that the manufac- 

 turers claim they are operating without any profit and some even declare 

 they are being forced for some special reason to operate at an actual loss; 

 such reasons being to hold their crews together, to raise money for the 

 payment of their income taxes and for other emergency purposes and to 

 dispose of logs already cut to prevent their deterioration. 



But as a natural consequence of the low prices and the subnormal 

 ilt'inand, many of the plants in the tri-state territory have been forced 

 to close down altogether and many others to reduce their output. Accord- 

 ing to delegates from the three states in the city a few days ago for the 

 meeting of the Southwestern Hardwood Manufacturers' Club, probably 

 not more than about eighty per cent of the mills throughout the terri- 

 tory are actually running. Even the output of these, it transpired, is 

 considerably below normal, thus making the amount of hardwood lumber 

 iiKiuufactured throughout this section almost nil just at present. 



BEAUMONT 



While there has been no material change in price, hardwood men con- 

 sider conditions gradually improving. This consolation is taken from the 

 fact that there have been no changes in prices during the past week and 

 the stiffening of first and second grades. These items are becoming rather 

 scarce, and it is expected that this circumstance will have a tendency 

 to bolster up the lower grades. 



Railroad buying is slow about opening up and the recent cut in ceastal 

 crude oil from $1.20 to $1 a barrel will undoubtedly stop further devel- 

 opment in the districts affected. 



Due to high water, practically all hardwood mills in this section are 

 down and could not produce no matter what the inducements. During the 

 first two weeks in April 9 inches of rain fell in the Beaumont territory, 

 and this was sufficient to reduce the hardwood districts to a veritable sea. 

 It will take some time for the woods to dry up to a point where teams 

 can be used in getting out logs. 



MILWAUKEE 



There is a wide divergence of opinion among hardwood operators in 

 Northern Wisconsin concerning the present and future of business. Some 

 are expressing themselves as very much pleased over the improvement in 

 demand during the last few weeks, while others apparently have much 

 cause for complaint over the absence of anything substantial in the 

 demand. One thing that operators seem to be agreed on is that prices 

 obtained for hardwood products, as well as all lumber, are too low to be 

 profitable : in fact, sales that are being made generally show an unprofit- 

 able state of affairs. Buyers hold out for concessions that usually are so 

 unreasonable that it is impossible for sellers to meet them. 



Demand for hardwoods of all classes continues to be of a hand-to-mouth 

 order, especially insofar as the call from industries manufacturing panels, 

 veneers, furniture, cabinets, etc., is concerned. All of these interests are 

 playing a cautious game in respect to filling requirements, despite the 

 fact that stabilization of prices is believed to have come, since list prices 

 as currently established generally allow practically no margin of profit 

 and are merely enough to enable operations to be carried forward. 



Hardwood lumber manufacturers as well as wholesalers are still loaded 

 up with medium and low grade stuff, due to the keen discrimination 

 shown in favor of the choicest qualities by buyers in the last two years. 

 The best grades are very scarce as a result, while other qualities are in 

 heavy supply. However, because of this situation, and as a matter of 

 price, a better demand seems to be developing daily in respect to medium 

 and low grade hardwoods. 



The dwelling construction movement is making progress, but with no 

 degree of freedom. Complaint is heard that the movement is checked by 

 the attitude of financiers on whom lumbermen and builders depend tor 

 operating capital. Interest rates remain high and have not receded 

 appreciably from the war-time rates. 



