56 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



July 23. 1921 



HARDWOODS FLOORING 



BOX SHOOKS 



t.UM6eft 



ALL GRADES GUARANTEED 



MOUNT-GEARHART 



INCORPORATED 



YARD: 



JOHNSON CITY 



TENNESSEE 



OFFICE 



ESSEX BUILDING 



NEWARK, N.J. 



STRABLE 

 Lumber & Salt Company 



SAGINAW, MICHIGAN 



Mannjacturers 



Hardwood Lumber, Maple Flooring 

 ALL GRADES AND THICKNESSES 



MODERN DRY-KILNS AND PLANING MILL 

 Insist upon 



Wolverine Maple Flooring 



"Best by Test" 



S'^M^e^o'S Maple, Birch. Basswood, Elm, Beech 



-Shawano County Hard Maple- 



IS OUR..SPECIALTY 



WE HAVE FIVE (5) CARS EXCEPTION- 

 ALLY NICE SHAWANO COUNTY 10/4" NO. 

 1 COMMON AND BETTER HARD MAPLE 

 WELL MANUFACTURED. GOOD WIDTHS 

 AND LENGTHS. BONE DRY. 



WRITE US AT ONCE 

 FOR PRICES 



WAUSAU 



Chas. Gill Lumber Co. 



WISCONSIN 



The Tegge Lumber Co. 



High Grade 



Northern and Southern 



Hardwoods and Mahogany 



Specialties 



OAK, MAPLE, CYPRESS, POPLAR 

 Milwaukee, Wisconsin 



trade. The retail lumber trade has been a little sluggish, but it was 

 expected that it would show no Improvement during the months of July 

 and August, these months being considered dull. Ilardwood mills in this 

 section are not being operated as a general rule, although the manufac- 

 turers in some instances have been buying liberal supplies of logs during 

 the pa.st months, anticipating a rush in trade later on. The various wood- 

 working concerns are being run on an average of nearly fifty hours a week 

 and there are fewer unemployed men in the city now than there were at 

 the first of the year. 



MEMPHIS 



The hardwood market is rather less active than even a fortnight ago, 

 for the reason that flooring manufacturers and manufacturers of interior 

 trim are not buying as freely as a short time ago, and tor the additional 

 reason that other consuming interests have not appreciably increased their 

 buying. It is admitted that volume of business is decreasing instead of 

 increasing, and it is generally conceded that there is little on which to 

 base expectation of improvement in the situation during the next several 

 weeks. 



One of the features at the moment is the relatively large number of 

 orders for "mixed" cars. Several members of the trade comment on the 

 fact that mixed cars are in quite steady demand, and they accept this as 

 indicating that consuming interests are running pretty low on stocks and 

 still are without suflicient faith in the market to buy beyond their more 

 immediate requirements. 



Owing to the decrease in demand, the tone of the market is somewhat 

 easier on Nos. 1, 2 and 3 common, with particular reference to the last 

 two grades. There is notable steadiness in firsts and seconds, taking the 

 list as a whole, for the reason that stocks are so light, relatively, that 

 nobody is anxious enough to sell to make them willing to shade their 

 quotations. There is likewise quite a scarcity of plain red and white 

 oak in No. 1 ctimmon, as well as in red gum in the same grade, and this 

 an^ouuts ftir the fact that No. 1 common, generally speaking, is displaying 

 a better tone than Nos. 2 and 3. 



Some encouragement is being extracted from the fact that reports from 

 the furniture shows indicate a larger business with furniture manufac- 

 turers within the next few weeks. But it is admitted that these inter- 

 ests are buying comparatively little lumber at the moment. It is also sug- 

 gested that decision of the government to pay the railroads approximately 

 $500,000,000 may also prove of decided stimulus to hardwood demand 

 within the next few weeks. There is an inquiry among members of the 

 trade here for 5,000,000 crossties from a foreign source. Nothing has 

 developed from this inquiry thus far, but it is pointed out that it is indi- 

 cative of the needs of foreign interests and may be the forerunner of 

 more active buying from European sources. It may also be noted that 

 there is a slight increase in exports of southern hardwoods to Europe, 

 where the situation is pronounced better from a commercial, financial and 

 industrial standpoint. 



The veneer market, as a whole, is rather quiet, but some manufacturers 

 are fillinj; orders from makers of battery boxes, cypress being used prac- 

 tically altogether. Negotiations are under way, too. with manufacturers 

 of bread baskets for plain sawn oak veneers. Tliese interests have been 

 buying their lumber anil cutting their own veneers, but they are figuring 

 now that they can eliminate waste and save themselves some money by 

 cutting down transportation costs. There are several million feet of 

 veneers in negotiation at the moment. 



It is impossible to find any change of attitude on the part of producers 

 regarding logging and manufacturing opera.tions. The vast majority are 

 remaining idle, pending further developments in the general situation, 

 with particular reference to demand for lumber and transportation costs. 

 The railroad men have discounted everything the lumbermen have said 

 regarding their inability to operate successfully on the basis of existing 

 freight rates on logs to their mills and on lumber to consuming destina- 

 tions, but it is perhaps not overstating the case to say that present high 

 freight rates are far more responsible for slack logging and manufacturing 

 operations in the hardwood field than all other factors combined. 



As giving an idea of the shrinkage in logging operations, it may be 

 noted that the Valley Log Loading Company loaded only 102 cars during 

 the entire month of June, and that it has not loaded a single log thus far 

 in July. It estimated that it will load forty to fifty cars during the 

 remainder of this month. Ordinarily this company loads about 2.000 cars 

 each during the months of June and July. 



LOUISVILLE 



Business with the Louisville hardwood trade is qui,-i, l>ut inquiries are 

 better, and it is with nuicli satisfaction that the trade has secured reports, 

 indicating that the furniture shows this year have been very successful, 

 which indicates some good business shortly. So far there has been no 

 material increase in sales as a result of the furniture movement, but it is 

 noticeable that sales of walnut and mahogany are improving, while gum 

 is more active, and poplar is holding it.s own. Quartered and plain oak 

 are moving fairly well as a whole. Ash is slow. The hardwood trade 

 reports that as a whole the demand all season has bt-en principally from 

 the furniture trade, as the cabinet trade overproduced last year, and the 

 musical instrument peo|de are buying slowly. The wagon and implement 

 trade is at a standstill .iust now, and the auto trade is slow. Hardwood 



