52 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



September 25, 1021 



May we quote you on 

 our present stocks of 

 Southern Hardwoods 



Oak Poplar 



Chestnut Ash 



MANUFACTURERS 



, BAND MILLS: 

 rAVETTVlLLE ,TENN. 

 BASS.ALA. 



EffirSTTVILLE ,T&HK. 



Tennessee Red Cedar 



{JKOMATIO 



Basswood Maple 



Elm Walnut 



OTHER HARDWOODS 



STRABLE 

 Lumber & Salt Company 



SAGINAW, MICHIGAN 



Manufacturers 



Hardwood Lumber, Maple Flooring 



ALL GRADES AND THICKNESSES 



MODERN DRYKILNS AND PLANING MILL 

 Insist upon 



Wolverine Maple Flooring 



"Best by Test" 



SrMfple'FioS Maple. Birch, Basswood, Elm, Beech 



The Tegge Lumber Coi 



High Grade 



Northern and Southern 



Hardwoods and Mahogany 



Specialties 



OAK, MAPLE, CYPRESS, POPLAR 

 Milwaukee,, Wisconsin 



pust two weeks ha« been the activity ilisplajeil by the wood consnmio!; 

 inUuatrlis, priijcipnlly among them beint; the furniture factories. With 

 the furniture plants the big demand is for walnut veneers. Automobile 

 concerns and the railroads are buying bettor than a month ago. The 

 demand for hardwoods, which has increased consideral)ly, is for no prin- 

 cipal items, but a general sprlnlillng of all stocks. WTiile the number of 

 sales are not largo the aggregate represents a good volume of business, 

 when conditions in general arc taken into consideration. Mills are not 

 making the concessions they were several weeks ago. The building trades 

 is rapidly rounding into shape and the hardwood distributor stiil ha.-^ 

 hopes that this Industry will prove his l)est bet before the end of 1021 

 Reports calculated at the Building Commissioner's office show an increase 

 in the number of permits for dwelling and apartment houses, but the effect 

 of this improvement has not as yet hit the lumber industry. There is a 

 steady, though not large, absorption of interior finish, flooring and the 

 like, but not enough to reduce stocks to the vanishing point. Sorae yards 

 are taking additional quantities of fiooring, but the whole movement is of 

 a hand-to-mouth character, so that wholesalers are still having more or 

 less difficulty in placing material that is finding its way into this market 

 from the mills. Upper grades of hardwood still command the lead in the 

 trade, while some difficulty Is still being experienced in moving lowers. 

 Most dealers say that freight rates are responsible for this condition. The 

 market is on a much better plane with the ridiculously low prices heanl 

 several months ago, a thing of the past. 



CLEVELAND 



While there are plenty of signs which show the way the wind is blowiu;; 

 in business generally, there is nothing blowing in the direction of the 

 hardwood distributor that makes him over optimistic at this time. Building 

 operations for the last month are 25 per cent better than for the same 

 period a year ago, and so far this year there is a 12 per cent gain in this 

 direction over the same period in 1920. This means more interior finish 

 and other liardwoods are being taken, and as far as this goes the move has 

 served to strengthen the situation somewhat in this market. On the other 

 hand the manufacturing trades — furniture, cabinet work, and particularly 

 the automobile and truck trades, have failed to respond. The motor inter- 

 ests point out that their active season is over for this year, and they are 

 not disposed to look too far ahead ; in other words, are marking time more 

 or less in their 1022 production plans. The demands from this source 

 are better, but not as good by any means as was expected. An average 

 production of 35 per cent of normal in all manufacturing lines may be 

 taken as the reason. The result is that locally stocks are fairly well main- 

 tained, and there is little replenishment on the part of retail interests here. 

 The best that can be said for the situation at the moment is that more oak 

 and maple are being taken for flooring purposes. 



INDIANAPOLIS 



Both retail yard demand and industrial demand slu'W some improvi'- 

 ment over two weeks ago. Trices are firm and with a rontinued demand 

 the trade here believes there will he some upward revi.^ion of prices in 

 some grades. During the past week there has been nmrp activity shown 

 in the furniture factories than for some time. Some of the activity is 

 because of direct orders, while some is caused in making up stork in antici- 

 pating orders. There can be no doubt of the fact that the pnnoral situa 

 tion is improved. The box manufacturers here report some orders and 

 many inquiries, while the talking machine cabinet manufacturers say they 

 are getting more business than for some time. Most of the industrial--. 

 while not getting phenomenal orders, declare the orders are steady and are 

 such as enable them to figure more accurately on the required production. 

 The retail trade is the best this fall it has been for years. The l>i.ir 

 demand on the retail trade is for flooring, interior finish and sash and 

 doors. Automobile body manufacturers here are busier than they were 

 two weeks ago, largely because of the nearness of the winter season ami 

 the big demand for closed cars. 



EVANSVILLE 



There has been some improvement in trade with the hardwood lumber 

 manufacturers of southern Indiana, southern Illinois and western and 

 northern Kentucky during the past two weeks and manufacturers are 

 feeling better over the trade outlook now than they have for some time 

 past. September has brought in ' more orders and inquiries than the 

 months of July and August. Collections are reported to be holding their 

 own very well. General trade conditions are better than they were a 

 month ago, and it is believed that there are fewer unemployed men than 

 there were at the beginning of the present .vear. WTiile many of the large 

 mills in the tri-state section have been closed much of the time during 

 the past six months, indications are that some of them will be aide to 

 resume operations within a short time. Lumber prices are holding very 

 firm. There is not as much low grade luml)er on the market now, and in 

 fact the market has become more stabilized during the last two or three 

 months. Logs arc coming in fairly well, although the prices are hisb 



