28 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



for the hardwood list are well maintained and 

 the trade good. 



St. Louis. 



With the furniture people still out of the 



market, the wholesalers in St. Louis are nol 



enjoying a very voluminous trade, and arc 



plaining to some extent at the general situation. 



.an see no reason why hardwoods should 



r i if led out as the one branch of the lumber 



trade having dull conditions, and it is a well 



known fact that other woods are prospering as 



never before. The furniture trade in the hard- 



xv 1 Industry is the one depressing item 



,,,:,, ii all other lines of consumption are buying 

 ly. The box trade is not quite as brisk 

 as it might be, but this applies more particu- 

 larly to St. Louis than to ol the shook 

 business having cut into the St. Louis trade 

 to a large extent. The one bright pol Is the 

 planing mill trade, as th.-re is a tremendous 

 amount of business in all portions of the eoun 

 try and mueh of this is of a higher chai 

 calling for hardwood finish. As a result the 

 planing mills are buying much more heavilj 

 than is usual and all are running on full time. 

 r as the St, Louis mills are concerned thej 

 are running extra hours these days In order to 

 keep reasonably even with their orders, and the 

 Indications are they will have .-ill thej can do 

 riming the rest of litis year. 



Thus, it will be seen thai trade is Bpotted, 

 but is in volume somewhat less than the whole- 

 salers would have predicted a tew nths ago. 



Wholesale stocks are rather limited, especially 

 dry lumber, and this particuar featurt 

 rented a decline In price, as the wholes 



all this year, I d fully as anxious to buy 



o sell. Practically all of the local ; 

 have buyers In the southern producing districts 

 and these still report that the smaller opei 

 are doiug practically nothing because of wi 

 conditions, but thai the larger mills an 

 ginning to get alien. I with their work, although 

 little dry lumber is available, 



There has been no change in the .1 

 inch plain oak or for other thicknesses Of plain 

 oak, and the scarcity oi tins item has given 

 prices an upward tendency, even though the 

 furniture people are not buying except for im- 

 ineiiis. Quartered oak also has 

 held to a lirm basis and considerable sto 

 moving, but not in such volume as should be 



true • eason. Cottonv, 1, gum and the 



grades of poplar are especially quiet and 



it somewhat 



let than the demand would warrant. Upper 



poplar and all grades of cypress are 



quite strong, which can also be said of upper 



grades of ash and hickory. Dealers are of the 



ilon that the hue summer trade will be 



heavy and are making their plan- accordingly 



business done the five months just ended shows 

 a good increase over the corresponding time of 

 Inst year, but this increase has been more 

 largely noted in shipments of the better grades, 

 especially in ones and twos and saps. Inquiries 

 for the hist two items named seem to have been 

 freely distributed in the past month or two, 

 with po i decrease during the past 



ten days. whi. Ii might naturally show a further 

 slackening up as midsummer approaches. No. 

 1 common has been moving only fairly well, in 

 the rough, but our trade for this class of stock, 

 worked, has been excellent. Both No. 2 and No. 

 3 common moves very well, with possibly No. 2 

 common in the lead. Planing mill stock has 

 been, and is, moving very well. All our mills 

 are running full time, and we are accumulating 

 ,i very nice assortment of poplar, oak, basswood 

 and chestnut." 



time. In fact, there is somewhat of a lull in 

 the lumber market at present, which local lum- 

 bermen cannot account for. There is still a 

 very active demand for high-grade plain oak and 

 also for No. 1 and No. 2 poplar. 



Grand Rapids. 



The bardw 1 lumber market is In bee 



condition. While dealers are not crowded with 

 business and trade is quiet with the furniture 

 manufacturers and allied industries, this lull is 

 expected The furniture exposition will open 

 in this market June 19, and indications point 

 to a fair season. Building operations continue 

 brisk and the demand tor m Ing Is large. 



Ashland District. 



She 'tit heavy b Ided, the 



manufacturers of this section are busj loading 

 , hi orders for stock received while I 



■.. weeks ago prevented loading. 



Th, present favorable weather is conducive to 

 tot only at the mills, but bll 



n favorably ui purchas 



tock. 

 .lust now the difficulty is to -.cure dry 



.••is. as recently manufa. > c 'i 

 stuff is scarcely ready for market, and old 



, are either entirely exhausted or < 

 badly broken. Poplar. In export stock, espe- 

 cially, is In 6 1 demand, as are all the 



higher grades. Oak I In plain 



more so than quarter sawed. In fact, there is 

 no special complain! to be made at present re- 

 vement of anything. 

 J. E. Walker, the energtlc junior member of 

 the KeysFaunin Lumber Company, said this 

 week, in speaking of trade conditions: "P 



er is moving very well. The amount of 



Cleveland. 

 The demand for hardwoods is light — oak 

 Ing— i.ni prices arc firm. 



Indianapolis. 

 There is nothing new In the Indianapolis 

 hardwood lumber situation. In fact, there has 

 been no change in the past month or six wei 



I doing a rushing business and 



yet they arc let complaining l i icular 



in of business being l ' 

 is Just about what they expected. I'rices re- 

 i In- same as for the past in. .nth and no 

 <iitting is reported. There is n fair stock of 

 lumbi do not antlclps 



large trade In July, for that is usually a slack 

 in.. in I. 



Nashville. 



Ling Dp in the pi 

 market at this time and there Is a much I 

 demand in all grades ,,i that useful wood. The 

 market on quartered oak is a trifle firmer and 

 there Is no disposition to cut prices. The local 

 planing mills bavi all they can attend to in the 

 way of orders. I aestnui is In big demand and 

 is very scarce. A big run of logs has come down 

 the river on the recent rise, which Includes 

 quite a lot of cedar. An advance of 2 cen 

 noted in the cross tie market. Hickory is In 

 good i " and but is also scarce. The local build- 

 ing ' "• ■- and dealers who furnish 

 building purposes arc doing a rush- 



Memphis. 



There are continued complaints of quietness 

 in the hardwood lumber trade here, but there is 

 some slight improvement noted over conditions 

 prevailing a short time ago. There is still no 

 rush of orders, but conditions are regarded by 

 the trade as a whole as quite healthy for this 

 time of year. There is the same disposition 

 noted heretofore to buy for only immediate re- 

 quirements, though this is less pronounced and 

 some good bookings are told of for forward de- 

 livery, indicating some change of policy on the 

 part of the larger consumers. However, the 

 general Impression is that there will not be any 

 rush to buy lumber during June, which is wind- 

 ing up the fiscal year, though after that time a 

 better demand and a more active business are 

 anticipated. Domestic conditions are still bet- 

 ter than those abroad and the bulk of shipments 

 ilng Into the former outlet. There is an 

 excellent call for plain oak and almost every 

 manufacturer or wholesaler says he is able to 

 sell more than he can either manufacture or 

 buy. with the result that this wood is holding up 

 exceptionally well ns to prices. The sale of 



.•'.mi. quarter sawed oak Is reported 



from Nashville and some dealers here are secur- 

 Ing fair orders for this wood, though the de- 

 iiian.i not begin to compare with that 

 for plain-sawed stock. Ash is in excellent de- 

 111:11. .1 at full prices and for all grades. There 

 Is a strong call for cypress, which extends to all 

 grades of this wood. Poplar moves readily In 

 the upper grades, but continues slow in the 

 lower. Tiinv i- some improvement reported In 

 the demand for Cottonwood and prices are 

 slightly better for the upper grades. Hum is 

 Steady and is holding its own. The best de- 

 mand api is to be for clear saps, which are 



moving with 1 uslderable readiness. 



Stocks of almost every kind of hardwood lum- 

 bei In the hands of manufacturers and whole- 

 in Memphis and vicinity are light and it 

 Is asserted that they will continue so for a good 

 long while. Better weather conditions have pre- 

 valled during the past ten days, but a number 

 of the mills are still closed down because they 

 cannot get timber. The bottoms have not yet 

 dried out, and by the time they do and lumber 

 is put on sticks, It will be several months more 

 before it will be in shipping condition. For 

 this reason lumbermen here are standing pat on 

 their holdings, feeling confident that- they will 

 . In disposing of them to better 

 advantage bj holding than by pressing them for 

 sale at this time. 



Cincinnati. 



M. st reports Indicate that business this month 

 lias improved as compared with the last two 

 \l..re propitious weather condi- 

 tions have brought about this change. Wood- 

 nits have been taking supplies on only 

 a moderate scale. Building operations have con- 

 sumed a liberal quantity of lumber. Implement 

 and vehicle manufacturers have purchased larger 

 lots than heretofore. Oak for some time, both 

 plain and quartered, has moved readily. Cypress 

 and ash have mei with a vigorous demand. Cot- 

 tonwood and gum ruled steady, with the demand 

 lacking urgency and stocks fully ample. No 

 Improvement has been noted In the poplar sit- 

 uation, i'rices have shown no essential altera- 

 tion. 



Chattanooga. 

 There is little demand for the lower grades of 

 1 and oak in this section at the present 



Kansas City. 



The noticeable absence iii tliis territory this 

 season of representatives ■■( the hardwood in- 

 dustry from other wholesale .eiiicrs and from 

 the mills bears out the statements to the effect 

 that the general demand all over the country 

 continues to met the ability "f producers to 

 supply material. As gathered from the hard- 

 wood people of Kansas City, the southern mill 

 country has never before contended against such 

 a continued spell of wet weather as during the 

 past five months. With even a dull demand 

 they would have had as much business as they 

 could have taken care of under the circum- 

 stances, but this year the call for all kinds of 

 stock has been unusually active and steady, with 

 the result that the manufacturers have been 

 unable to take care of the business with any 

 degree of satisfaction, and at the close of the 

 spring season And themselves practically cleaned 

 out of dry stick. Some, in fact, have contracts 

 sold which will keep them busy until close to 

 the end of tire year. The last reports from the 

 harilw I mill country stated that It was still 



