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Hardwood Record — Veneer & Panel Section 



November 10, 1917 



Freight Rates on Veneer 



Examiner Esch Discusses Thickness, Weight, and Value 



N a plan for the reclassification of lumber for 

 rate purposes. Examiner Fred Esch has sup- 

 plied the Interstate Commerce Commission 

 with data of much value bearing on the ques- 

 tion whether transportation charges on veneer should 

 consider thickness and value, or only weight and cubical 

 contents. He introduces his discussion by asking if a 

 line of demarcation should be drawn between different 

 thicknesses of veneer, and a summary of his argument 

 follows: 



It is strongly contended on behalf of manufacturers of 

 veneer that there is no justification for charging higher 

 rates for the transportation of veneer under one-eighth 

 inch or one-sixteenth inch in thickness, as the case may 

 be, than for veneer of greater thickness. 



The only distinguishing characteristic which the car- 

 riers advance in justification of different rates on veneer 

 of different thickness is value. They contend that the 

 thinner veneers are more valuable than the thicker 

 veneers, and by the shippers the reverse is claimed to 

 be the fact. Considerable confusion in the record as to 

 the value of different thicknesses of veneer arises from 

 the fact that both the shippers and the carriers have 

 argued from the standpoint of the value per 1,000 feet 

 surface measure, which is generally accepted as the unit 



The Dean-Spicker Co. 



Manufacturers of 



Oak —Mahogany —Walnut 



AND 



LUMBER 



22nd St. and So. Crawford Ave. 

 CHICAGO 



All Three of Us Will Be Benefited if 



of sale. Obviously, however, since freight rates are 

 based upon the weight of the articles transported, the 

 proper comparison to make in determining the effect 

 which value should have on freight rates is in terms of 

 value per ton. 



The following statement of the low and high value per 

 ton of different thicknesses of veneer manufactured from 

 several species of wood is contained in the answer of the 

 Southeastern Veneer Association and the Southern Furni- 

 ture Manufacturers' Association to the Commission's 

 interrogatories of August 2, 1915: 



VALUE PER 1,000 FEET AND PER TON. 



Value per 1,000 



feet Value per ton 



Kind of Lumber — Low High Low High 



1 4-inch poplar $6.49 $13.00 $18.50 $37.10 



3 16-inch poplar 5.55 11.00 22.40 41.80 



1/8-inch poplar 4.50 8.25 25.32 46.20 



1/16-inch poplar 3.76 5.50 38.70 56.72 



I /20-inch poplar 3.16 4.00 39.50 50.00 



1/24-inch poplar 2.75 3.25 39.10 46.10 



1/28-inch poplar 2.65 3.10 44.20 51.66 



1/30-inch poplar 2.78 3.00 48.35 52.20 



1/4-inch gum 5.50 11.10 13.75 27.75 



3/16-inch gum 4.72 9.35 15.73 31.13 



1/8-inch gum 3.90 7.00 20.80 37.30 



11 6-inch gum 3.25 4.70 29.25 42.15 



l/20-mch gum 2.70 3.40 29.30 37.00 



1/4-inch oak 8.00 22.00 14.55 40.00 



1/8-inch oak 6.00 20.00 20.16 72.00 



1/16-inch oak 3.50 11.50 26.50 86.75 



1/20-inch oak 2.50 8.00 25.00 80.00 



The above outlined materials seldom move in straight carloads, 

 but the different thicknesses are usually shipped in mixed car- 

 loads. It is estimated that the average value of actual shipments 

 per ton are as follows: 

 Lumber — 



Low $35.00 



High 55.00 



Carriers refer to this statement in support of their con- 

 tentions. It v/ill be observed that the low and high 

 values per ton of the thinner cuts is generally somewhat 

 greater than of the thicker cuts of veneer. The difference, 

 however, is not great enough to justify a difference in 

 rates, especially in view of the fact indicated in the state- 

 ment and frequently reiterated upon the hearing that the 

 different thicknesses seldom move in straight carloads but 

 are usually shipped in mixed carloads. Furthermore, the 

 statement does not show weighted average values and it 

 may be that the average value per ton of the annual pro- 

 duction of thinner cuts is approximately the same, bar- 

 ring veneer made from woods of value, as the average 

 value of the thicker cuts of veneer. Other statistics as to 

 values contained in the record would tend to indicate this 

 to be the case. 



It will be observed that the range of value per ton is 

 as great per ton for cuts over as for cuts under one-eighth 

 inch thick. Veneer from different species of wood and 

 of different thicknesses frequently moves in mixed car- 

 loads. 



LINE SUGGESTED AT ONE-FOURTH INCH 



On behalf of carriers it is argued that the only force 

 which a showing of equal value for the thicker and the 

 thinner cuts of veneer can have is to prove that the line 

 should be drawn at one-fourth inch rather than one-eighth 

 or one-sixteenth inch as at present. It is contended that 

 by comparison with the average values of lumber, there 



You Mention HARDWOOD RECORD 



