Juue 10. 1921 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



25 



generally kuowii. This is iii spite of the fact that the spieail be- 

 tween No. 1 C and FAS is al)norinalIy large at the present time. 

 Standardization Will Effect Great Savings in Lumber and Freight 



Now if the ostablisliniont of ;i marliet for staniiardized dimen.siou 

 stock becomes effective, by means of which the bulk of low grade 

 lumber (and all mill waste possible) can be marketed as net dimen- 

 sion, the enormous wastes and expense involved in shipping low 

 grade lumber will be eliminated. 



Freight will have to be paid only on the net usable salvage of 

 low grades and waste. Now ostensibly the cost of freight is in- 

 cluded in the price of the lumlier, and loaded on the buyer. Actually, 

 it is an open question W'hich party is paying tlie freight. About 

 now the lumberman is not only paying all freight, but he is paying 

 considerable in addition for the privilege of shipping on that basis. 

 Last year, at this time, it was the other way 'round. However, the 

 freight paid on the non-usable portion of graded hardwood lumber 

 is a dead loss, whoever has to pay it. The conversion of low grades 

 into net dimension will entirely relieve liotli parties from all lia- 

 bility to pay this dead loss, which in the aggregate is a stagger- 

 ing sum. 



Possibly a thcjrough study of the freight jiroblem would lead to a 

 different conclusion, but apparently the money values involved in 

 this single item of freight waste is a sufficient warrant for both 

 lumbermen and wood users to league together to make effective the 

 whole program of Standardization. 



In order to bring this out as graphically as possible, we have pre- 

 pared the following cliart. The black portion of each square rep- 

 resents the relative amount of freight paid on the usable portion of 

 each commercial grade of hardwood lumber. The white portion of 

 each square represents the relative amount of freight waste involved 

 in shipping commercial lumber. The total amount of this waste is 

 •only six points less than the freight on the usable portion. This 

 means that the freight charges on all raw materials for hardwood 

 fabricating industries such as furniture are almost exactly double 

 what they need to be. The fluctuation between the "Buyers" and 

 .the "Sellers" market decides which party has to pay this double 



c H A B T 



1200 



4130 



1 1 00 



*5o 



PAS 



#1C 



#ac 



#3c 



"The Deadly ParaUel" 



In these three papers, an attempt has been made to discuss the 

 general problems of the Standardization Program. No attempt has 

 been made to handle any of the patriotic or altruistic phases — not 

 that the value of these considerations are held to be of minor im- 

 portance. No attempt has been made to furnish a technical basis 

 -on which to undertake the manufacture and marketing of Dimension 

 Stock. These factors will be dealt with as occasion may arise. 



To summarize the considerations which have been discussed more 

 -or less adequately, as sound reasons for both lumbermen and wood- 

 users to give their support to the Standardization Program, we 

 have arranged these considerations in parallel columns, as they 

 affect favorably one or the other of the parties at interest. 



Lumbermen Woodusers 



1. Provides a market for prod- , Eliminates all cartage aid 

 net of surplus low grades and i,^,,,,,;,,^ ^.^st^, 



•mill waste. 



2. Greater utilization of prod- i. Kliminates all freight 

 uct of tree means lower cost of wastes. 



stumpage and conservation of 



^standing timber. 3. Reduces the volume of 



3. Dimension production will «t'""'^« necessary to be carried, 

 -concentrate total wastes at mills, 



thus making commercial salvage ■*■ Eliniinates the necessity for 



operation feasible. extensive yards and the fire haz- 



. .^. . , 1- -11 ard incident thereto. 



4. Dimension production will 



• effect very large savings in shi|i- _ . ,, .• 



■' ^ ^ "). Eliminates the old time 



^ ^ ' "preparatory department" to a 



5. Will relieve the abnormal ,.j^^,^, ,.,;tent," with all its wastes, 

 pressure on high grade lumber. 



6. Establishes a series of pro- 0. Eliminates the problem of 



This graph is designed to indicate four comparative values of full mill 

 run hardwood lumber from the viewpoint of a buyer whose location from 

 the originating mill involves a 35 cent freight rate. 



1. Cost of mill run lumber to wooduser at shipping point, the amounts 

 of the various grades being taken from the report of the Michigan 

 Association. 



2. Cost at shipping point to wooduser mill run lumber to make clear 

 stock per thousand feet b. m. No allowance in this computation for labor 

 to cut out this clear stock into dimension. 



3. Delivered cost to wooduser of lumber necessary to make one thousand 

 feet b. m. of clear stock. Inasmuch as the only reliable available data ap- 

 plies to turning squares — this curve is to be regarded so to apply. 



4. Total cost to wood user per M ft. b. m. of clear turning squares, with 

 allowance for manufacturing and disposing of waste. 



duction operations at the mill, disposing of large quantities of 



now carried on at much greater waste. 



cost at the wooduser 's plant. _ ^„.,, , , ., . ,, 



7. Will doubtless favorably 



7. In most mills would estab- ^^^^^ ^j^^ ^^,gj ^^^ ^^^^^ ^f cur- 

 lish a year round operative base, j^ gtock 



which will reduce overhead and 



stabilize labor. s. will favorably affect over- 



8. Provides a market for prod- head by reducing requirements 

 uct of short logs, top logs, and for floor space, yardage, kilnage, 

 all logs too small to produce light, heat, power, and all simi- 

 FAS. lar charges. 



9. Gives production value to 

 crooked logs, and the large 

 branches of some hardwood trees. 



10. Will greatly reduce the 

 cost of selling low grade lumber. j^ stabilizes and standard- 



11. Careful students believe ii,es basic cost of raw materials 

 that the opportunity which di- fm- related classes of production 

 mensiou production offers luni- (>„,. ti,e entire industry, 

 bermen as a means of adapting 



their output to varying market 11. .\flFords production man- 

 conditions will result most fa- agers an established basis for 

 vorably in the direction of sta- gauging and speeding produc- 

 bilizing the whole industry. fioii. 



.\s one looks over this rough summary, at least one fact sticks out 

 big and plain. It's a good proposition for all concerned. Just 

 where the weight of advantage lies, time only will tell. Also time 

 will adjust that advantage (if any) so that the whole problem will 

 be on the same basis as ordinary transactions in commercial lumber. 



The reader no doubt sees important matters which the wTiter has 

 overlooked. If he is a lumberman, he will doubtless rather incline to 

 the opinion that the wooduser is getting the best of it. On the 

 other hand, if the reader be a wooduser, or the late attorney-general, 

 he will certainly lean to the opinion that the lumbermen have all 



9. Will reduce charges for cap- 

 ital now locked up in lumber 

 piles. 



