20 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



February 10, 1319 



Senate recently tliat tlie American forestry troops in I'r.-uuo cut 

 and sawed (50,000,000 feet of lumber for war purposes. 



Good tenant houses draw farm labor, says the Department of 

 Agriculture, which offers free working plans for such houses to 

 parties interested. The houses are of different sizes and of frame 

 construction, which would be good news to lumbermen, but is tem- 

 pered by the department reeonimendation that local materials be 

 used wherever possible, including lumber cut on the ftirm. 



Return of Lumber Commissioners 

 Roger Simmons, lumber trade commissioner for the Department 

 of Commerce, who has been studying lumber markets and forest 

 production in Kussia, Siberia and Scandinavia, has returned to 

 the United States and is conferring with Department of Commerce 

 officials prior to touring the country to see lumber trade associa- 

 tion interests and tell them about foreign trade opportunities. John 

 R. Walker, lumber trade commissioner to western Europe, at the 

 last minute changed his sailing date homeward bound and is now 

 expected to leave a British port February 14, arriving in Wash- 

 ington about March 1. He, too, will confer with the department 

 and then with the trade. There is a disposition in Washington not 

 to give out much information about the reports of these agents, on 

 the ground that their operations were financed largely by the 

 National Lumber Manufacturers' Association, and it is held to be 

 entitled to information before the public generally. 



F. I... Driver of Thomasvillc, Ga., has been made member of the 

 special committee of the National Wholesalers' Bureau that plans 

 to sail for Europe on the liner France February 14 to study oppor- 

 tunities in the foreign lumber markets for the benefit of the Export 

 Sales Corporation of the Wholesalers' Bureau. 



Ocean Rates on Certain Commodities 



The United States Shipping Board is reported to be making good 

 rates on lumber from south Atlantic and Gulf ports to British, 

 French, Dutch and Belgian ports, as well as in the coastwise trade. 

 It has also made a number of reduced rates from north Atlantic 

 ports to British ports, including the following: 



Koat cars, .fl per 100 pounds; ompt.v casks from 75 cents to $3 each; 

 cedar slats, oO cents per cubic foot; clothes pins, auto trucks, cooperage 

 stock, pitch pine deck planks and crosstics, SI per 100 pounds; crutches, 

 .'>0 cents per cubic foot : hickory dowels, .<l per 100 poun.ls ; nuisical instru- 

 nieuts, no cents per cubic foot ; gumwood heads in bundles, handles, logs 

 not over 20 feet long or two' tons In weight, lumber of all kinds, rough 

 sawn hickor.v in bundles, match blocks, pine blocks, ?1 per 100 pounds ; 

 office ciiuipnient, furniture, desks and chairs, 50 cents per cubic foot ; resin, 

 shuttle blocks, skewers, oak spokes, spool wood, $1 per 100 pounds; tur- 

 pentine in ban-els, $1.25 per 100 pounds; wood alcohol. ?1.50 per 100 

 l)0unds ; wood pulp, $1 per 100 pounds. 



Tlie Shipping Board announces that it will continue to charter 

 its wooden steamers on time charter for service within approved 

 limits and at such rates of hire as may from time to time be 

 fixed. The vessels are of about 3,500 tons deadweight capacity. 

 Steamers so chartered are to be free from trade control, but subject 

 to the usual regulation of freight rates. Information with regard 

 to the terms at which they may be chartered can be procured 

 from the Emergency Fleet Corporation, Division of Operations, 

 Washington. 



It is reported that the government is about to establish rates 

 of $18 on fir ties and .$20 on fir lumber from Pacific Coast points by 

 way of the Panama Canal to north Atlantic Coast points. This is 

 said to be for voyages of Ferris wooden ships. 



Michigan Manufacturers Optimistic 



Members of the Michigan Hardwood Manufacturers' Association 

 met in regular session at the Hotel Statler, Detroit, on Wednesday, 

 January 29, in mid-winter meeting. There was a large attendance 

 present, the principal discussions being on the market situation, 

 and it developed as the consensus of opinion that the stocks and 

 general outlook for hardwoods are very strong. 



The usual business routine was carried through, iuclu<liug a read- 

 ing of the minutes, rcdl call, etc., after which Secretary Knox 

 presented an interesting rejiort. 



After briefly reviewing the situation during the preceding six 

 mouths, Mr. Knox referred to the remarkable strength of the 

 hardwood and hemlock market. His conclusion was, that, making 

 all due allowances for concerns cut out and new members of the 

 association, the total amount on hand, sold and unsold, is about the 

 same as a year ago. He also mentioned that very few members 

 manufactured the amount of hardwoods or hemlock they antici- 

 pated they would produce at the beginning of last year. 



The finances of the association were shown to be in excellent 

 condition. 



Mr. Knox then referred to the coming voyage of R. H. Jones 

 across the ocean to develop foreign markets. This trip, he said, 

 may be the means of an entering wedge for considerable northern 

 products to England, France, Belgium, Italy and other countries. 



Chief Fire Warden Morford made a brief report for the forest 

 fire department, saying that -the report of last fall covered the 

 situation for that department and that the forest fire department 

 would be able to carry on probably with a slight decrease in 

 expense. 



C. A. Abbott, chairman of the market conditions committee, then 

 went carefully over the report that had been compiled as a result 

 of the all-day session of that committee a day prior to the regular 

 meeting. After a careful analysis of all the statistics that were 

 developed at that meeting and through the secretary's office, it 

 appeared that there is no justification whatsoever for decreasing 



strength in the hardwood situation. The preliminary part of the 

 report appears as follows: 



Total stock on hand is 15,1SS,000 feet less, all grades. Total of all kinds 

 of wood. No. 2 common and better, 5,092,000 feet less. All kinds of No. 2 

 conimou and better are less with the exception of beceh. this item being 

 2.250.000 feet over. Four/four beech is less by a little over 1.000,000 foot, 

 but 5/4 and C/4 are each approximately 13/4 feet over. However, total 

 5/4 and 6/4 No. 2 eommou and better beech, aggregjiting approximately 

 7.000.000 feet, is not in excess of normal. 



No. 2 common and better maple differs less than oueiiuarter million 

 feet. Four four No. 2 common and bettor maple, SO per cent of which 

 would undoubtedly be considered as Booring stock, is less on hand to the 

 extent of 4.000.000 feet. An actual comparison would show this item 

 practicall.v identical as included in Ilie figures of January 1, lOlS. One 

 firm reported 5.000,000 feet and did not report this year, owing to dis- 

 continuance of nnunbership. hence we are safe in saying that flooring 

 stocks on hand .January 1, 1919. do not exceed those on hand January 1. 

 191S. No. 3 comniun hardwoods are 10,000.000 feet less. 



Hkmi.ock 



Hemlock stocks on hand are 38,500,000 feet less. Lath stocks are 700.0no 

 feet less. Hemlock stocks indicate a larger percentage of lower grade. 

 The total stock of hemlock of 72,437,000 feet is, however, away below 

 normal. 



I'uonrcTiox 



The actual pruduction of hardwoods in I'.IIS of 273.000.000 is aiipnixi- 

 mately 25 per cent less than the estimated cut for 191S, and 25 per cent 

 less than the actual cut of 1917. The actual cut of hemlock was 2."">.ooo.oo(i 

 feet less than the estimated cut for 191S and 46.000,000 feet less than 

 the actual cut of 1917. 



The estimated cut. of hardwoods for 1919 is about 7.000.000 feet less 

 than the cut of 191S. while the estimated cut of hemlock is only about 

 3.500,000 fnet less than the cut of 191S. 



With anything near normal consumption it would be hard to conceive 

 of a more favorable stock condition than exists today. 



-A^s to what the future may have in store, the conditions confronting 

 us make it difficult to offer even a suggestion as to what we may look 

 forward to In the way of values. The one big object which Is always with 

 us Is the cost of production, and until such time as the manufacturer of 

 lumber can show a reduction in his costs it is absolutely essential that 

 his product be marketed at the values indicated if he is to return to him- 

 self or stockholders a reasonable return on the investment. 



