HARDWOOD RECORD 



47 



.< BOSTON y- 



The anticipated upward turn of the marliet after the new year has 

 shown but limited results. While there is a small increase in inquiry, the 

 amount of business being placed is but little, if any, above the recently 

 prevailing situation. The general view of the dealers who come into wide 

 contact with buyers is that there will be no sudden advance in business 

 or prices, and it is agreed that this is a factor which is favorable in the 

 long run. Stocks are low, curtailment has been in force for some time 

 and new lumber could not be made available for use for a considerable 

 period If wanted. Therefore, should the demand rise actively and 

 approach consumption of the present stocks on hand, values would be 

 unnaturally raised. This would have a speculative value in a few cases, 

 but would be a detriment to the dealers in general, as the usual substi- 

 tutions of a less valuable wood or a different material altogether would 

 follow such an elevation of the cost of the manufactured goods. Substi- 

 tutions have already made very serious inroads on hardwood consump- 

 tion, and in the widely varied manufacturing industries of this section, 

 the effect is plainly felt. The element of cost of material enters strongly 

 into such replacements and it is one therefore that the hardwood men 

 here hope to see developed with intelligence and care when the pressure 

 of increased demand is felt on the curtailed stocks. 



=-< BALTIMORE '>-- 



While no important changes in the hardwood situation are to be 

 noted, it can be said that the inquiry has picked up somewhat and that 

 more interest is being shown in the offers of the sellers. The number 

 of orders taken by millmen and wholesalers has undergone an increase 

 and the outlook is not without some encouraging features. In a general 

 way, however, the movement shows no important modification, this 

 applying especially to the range of the quotations. While many of 

 the mills are still shut down and the available supplies have under- 

 gone some reduction, the effect upon prices has not been such as to be 

 called a positive advance. The entire list continues to rule low and 

 there is a notable lack of steadiness in the figures given to the buyers. 

 For months past the hardwoods have been without any definite bottom, 

 one seller naming a figure which seemed hardly to have any proper rela- 

 tion to the quotations of others ; and the hardwood men have been in 

 the position where they did not know what to quote. However, this 

 state of affairs is less pronounced now than it was during a consid- 

 erable part of last year, after the beginning of the war, the production 

 having been curtailed sufficiently to narrow the selections and remove 

 pressure on account of liberal offerings. The feeling in the trade is 

 appreciably better, at least in so far as the domestic business is con- 

 cerned. 



Exports continue to give cause for much complaint, and to the other 

 troubles of the exporters there has been added in the last few days 

 an embargo upon shipments froc Baltimore, Philadelphia and Nor- 

 folk, the steamship companies having served notice that they will for the 

 present take no shipments for London and Liverpool on account of the 

 Inability to find room on the docks there. The exporters are of the 

 opinion that the steamship lines are merely taking advantage of the 

 scarcity of tonnage to shut out lumber for other freight which pays 

 them better. This will naturally cause a still further contraction of the 

 export movement and will necessitate a more complete falling back upon 

 the home market, at least for the present. With the general business 

 situation improving, there is a fair prospect that hardwoods will be 

 benefited. The railroads are once more in the market to some extent, 

 and there are indications that other consumers will augment their calls 

 for stocks as the demand for their products expands. It is yet a little 

 early in the year for the recovery to make itself felt in a very pro- 

 nounced way, but there are signs that hardwoods will be favorably 

 affected by recent developments and those that are to be expected in 

 the near future. 



=•< COLUMBUS > 



The hardwood trade in Columbus and central Ohio has been fairly 

 quiet during the past fortnight but that is to be expected. Serai-annual 

 Inventories have not been completed with the result that retailers' stocks 

 are found to be short. Buying is expected to be more active within a 

 short time. In fact some buying is now being done, both for immediate 

 delivery and for shipment during the month of February. The tone of 

 the market is better and future prospects are not believed to be bad. 



Buying Is pretty evenly divided between factories and retailers. Fac- 

 tories making vehicles and furniture are the best customers although some 

 buying Is being done by implement concerns now. Orders are generally 

 small, as retailers as well as purchasing agents of manufacturing con- 

 cerns are loath to accumulate stocks under present conditions. 



Prices arc rather steady at the levels which have prevailed for some 

 time. There Is less cutting of prices now to move stocks. In fact stocks 

 in the hands of mill owners and Jobbers are not large. Some cutting Is 

 being done in poplar and oak but this is not sufllclent to demoralize the 

 market. Collections are had. 



Shipments are coming out promptly and no trouble Is experienced from 

 a shortage of cars. Rural districts are probably buying better than cities 



(Leading Manufacturers) 



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