

?^ The Urjited Kingdom's Use of Wood 8S 



Tlir nnntinl UnilH'r trade of Englnud, Scotliiiiil, \ViiU>ti and Irelaud 

 is • : t>{ a ro*ont report liy CoiiMil Curl (i. Loop, who in 



nta' l.ouJou. Tito report sIiuwd tiie ini]>orle<t lumber onlv, 



BDil utiicr I'orest products from other countrien, and not Uio hoiiii- 

 grown woods. The items in the lists which follow give the imporU 

 of wood into tiio United Kingdom, with the countries of origin. 

 The home grown woods which go to market do not amount to a great 

 deal; conmviuentlr, the figures below show within a fair approximation 

 the annual uite of wood in tliosc countries. The statistics ore for 

 1013: 



Items Uonrd feet 



Slaves ... 100,2711,800 



Furniture inuurlal, ttc 234,727,200 



Ilenod timber .'.57,741,800 



ritprops, etc 2,070,700,800 



Sawed lumber :i,U$l,t)G'l,200 



Total 0,054,500,800 



Railroad ties added to this raises the tool to 7,083,832,600 board 

 feet. 



The population of the United Kingdom is loss than half that of 

 the United States, while its use of wood of all kinds is not one-cightli 

 as much as that of this country. 



The most important matter, from the standpoint of the lumber 

 dealer in the United States, is the source of supply for the British 

 Isles. We have lumber to sell, and that is a large market, well 

 ■worth seeking. The United Kingdom's supplies in 191."! came chiefly 

 from the following countries: 



Country Board feet 



Itussia 2,256.150,000 



Sweden 845.025,000 



Cnnadn n"o,717,O00 



fnlli-d fSlali- 1 • ■iTI.MMi 



Norway .... ' ■ i • :hi.4oii 



tSermnny ... 



East Indies . 



Various countries Mi.ii.<- ii|. Im lhimih.-. >>i.i.i- i.. . mi.-.i .-ini.-- 



inakes a very res|>ertable hhowing, it is only fourth in the list. Kiu- 

 Hia leads all other countries ns a source of supply of tinilKT for the 

 I'nitcd Kingilom. 



The war cut off ninety \>ct cent of the timlier from Itutisia to 

 • Jrent Britain. Not a stick cjime from the Baltic after the <levlara 

 tion of war, but supplies were shipped from the Whit« sea, by way 

 of the Arctic ocean during most of the wintiT. As soon ns the ice 

 breaks in the White sea, that trade will l)et;in again; but umler the 

 most favorable circiimstanoos the quantity leaving Russia by that 

 route will bo coiiiji.-iratively small. 



During the continuance of the war no supplies are ex]«eeted from 

 Germany. The shipments from Sweden have fallen in quantity, owing 

 to interference by German war vessels with the trade. It is evident 

 that the United Kingdom cannot procure adei|uafe supplies from the 

 usual sources open before the war. It must lock r'lsewhero for much 

 of its timber imports. 



A fair portion of the trade ought to fall to the United States. 

 In fact, it is coming to us, and with proper pushing more of it 

 should come. The chief obstacle in the way at iirescnt is the exces- 

 sive freight charged. 



There is less timber on hand at the London docks than at any 

 other time in recent years. Stocks are so low that increased buying 

 must soon take place. 



•'■fxnsaBasfaasm'y.'jys'PJ^- 



t^' 



&nririhini 





Baltimore Exports Gain 



to'nnm'^ini 



The report of exports for March is out and tends to give further 

 encouragement to the members of the hardwood trade in that it 

 shows a gain in the amount of business done. While for a time the 

 value of the cx])orts from Baltimore was only about one-third of that 

 for the corresponding months of last year, the proportion has now 

 gone up to more than two-thirds, which encourages expectations that 

 the difference may disappear altogether before, long. The fact is 

 not to be lost sight of, to be sure, that the first months of 1914 

 were far from active, the congestion which then prevailed in the mar- 

 kets of the United Kingdom and elsewhere serving to depress prices 

 greatly and check shipments. Shipments, attracted by remunerative 

 returns, had been so active in 1913 as to result in extensive accumu- 

 lations of lumber and logs at many points, and these accumulations 

 naturally caused a reaction in prices, with the consequence that the re- 

 turns ceased to be profitable, serious losses being inflicted upon a num- 

 ber of the shippers. The totals for the first months of 1914 reflect the 

 quiet which then prevailed, and can hardly be called normal. Com- 

 parison between these months ami the current year, therefore, is 

 more favorable than it would otherwise be, but the fact that an 

 actu.tl gain in the movement has taken place remains, and affor.ls 

 much satisfaction. Some of the items represent a positive increase 

 over the same month last year, and the statement as a whole is 

 distinctly encouraeinff. It is as follows: 



March. lOl.T March, 1914 



Qoantit}- Quantity 



Feet Value Feet Value 



Logs, nickor.v ... 84,0fPf) ? 2,900 174.000 S 5,975 



Logs, Walnut 10,000 500 218,000 12,940 



Logs, Oak 8.000 350 



Logs, .MI others 128,000 S.-'-SS 



Lumber, Oum 25,000 r,55 



Lumber, Oak 880,000 r!.3,.';27 1.147,000 .'?7,1."<1 



Lumber, Short Leaf Pine 235.000 7,720 34S.000 11.071 



Lumber, Poplar 66,000 2.42!t 92,000 4,GC7 



—20— 



Lumber, Spruce 70,000 2,100 50,000 1,875 



Lumber. Pitch Pine .16,000 1,010 



Lunihcr, .\11 others 105.000 7,050 40K.OOO 21,100 



Staves 1 .-..iv,i7 1,400 41,750 1 ,728 



Headings 380 



.\11 other kinds of lumber 14.570 7,440 



Furniture is 2,228 



Trimmings 50 



All other manufactures of wood 2v,r,77 33,940 



Total • $102,140 1143,207 



A subject which is occupying the attention of the exporters is that 

 of war risk insurance, the London and Liverpool timber broker.^ 

 having advised the exporters through their respective associations 

 at the beginning of the war that "owing to the existing conditions 

 we, the undersigned, have decided to accept only drafts for ship- 

 ments of lumber against ocean bills of lading with English or Amer- 

 ican marine policy ineluding war risks attac! ed. " The National 

 Lumber Exporters' Association instructed its loreign representative, 

 Frank Tiffany, to advise the London and Liverpool brokers that 

 the former could not assume the payment of the war risk insurance, 

 the letter of Mr. Tiffany on the sub.iect stating among other things: 

 The board of managers considered this at Its meeting In August 

 (of last year), and the signers of the London cablegram were advised to 

 the effect that the contents of the cable had been transmitted to our 

 membership, and "It Is deemed advisable to call your attention to the 

 fact that the demand which you make In your cable that ocean bills 

 of lading and war risk Insurance be supplied on all shipments would 

 not legally apply on contract shipments where there Is no stipulation 

 to this effect In the contract. However, It Is to be presumed that our 

 shippers will supply war risk Insurance, when requested, at the ex- 

 pense of the broker or buyer. Such expense, you are, no donbt, afrare, 

 the shippers could not properly lie asked to assume. 



The question was further considered at the annual meeting of the 

 National Lumber Exporters' Association in Memphis last January, 

 when the following resolutions were passed: 



