' vi:^;^moA i >A;^Sl^;A;>;X:>s^^ 



Co|)>rij;bt, The Hardwood Company, 1918 

 Publithed in ihe Intcrril of ihe Americin Hardwood Foretii, ihe Product! (hereof, and Logging. Saw 

 Mill and Woodworking Machinery, on the lOlh and 25th of each Month, by 



THE HARDWOOD COMPANY 



Edgar H. Defebaugh. Pre.idenI 

 Edwin \V. Meeker, Managing Editor 

 IIu Maxwell. Technical Editor' 



Seventh Floor ElUworlh Buildmg 



537 So. Dearborn Street, CHICAGO 



T,!q,lu.nts: I I.-rrWun 8086-8087-80&3 



Vol. XLV 



CHICAGO, JULY 10, 1918 



No. 6 



T^ ;^^^^M ! a^w)^^'m^'Jim!Z l!^S!g 



Review and Outlook 



General Market Conditions 



THi; I'A.ST I'Ofl'LK OV WEKKS liavv l.oon mark.a by a toii- 

 dcncy to draw in following a I'aiiifjaign of buying to cover 

 before the twenty-five per cent increase in freight rates went into 

 effect. Naturally every last foot of lumber that could be gotten 

 out was shipped through on the obi rate and the result was, of 

 course, a considerable boom in orders as well as shipments. The 

 slackening off does not necessarily indicate that the buying trade 

 is over stocked but rather that it has enough lumber on hand 

 now to take care of its immediate needs and, having bought as 

 heavily as possible, there necessarily is going to be more or less 

 curtailment in the immediate future. However, it is not likely that 

 enough lumber was bought or shippe<l to interfere with conditions 

 for very long ahead. 



There is very little use in trying to fabricate a story of radical 

 changes in the hardwood business for the past couple of weeks, 

 for the situation remains about stationary, the main feature being 

 as above noted. There seems to be quite a tendency, in fact, for 

 buyers to emphasize the amount of lumber they have on hand, 

 this holding especially among the buyers for the big vehicle in- 

 terests. However, the true state of affairs is reflected better in the 

 tone of selling and in the lumberman's stock sheets, and from the 

 buying end. 



The hardwood lumberman seems to have an increasing confidence 

 in the value of his product and indeed he would be foolish were 

 he to let his idea of value go backward for he certainly is going to 

 have to stand the gaff of increased cost and difficulty of getting 

 out anything like an adequate supply. 



The lumberman 's chief concern seems to be not so much in keep- 

 ing a full force going as to keep enough workmen on hand to make 

 the running of the mill practicable at all. This holds all over and 

 is successfully operating to keep stock sheets worked down to the 

 very bone. 



Everything is moving readily and at good prices, and what few 

 items are breaking at all merely have a tendency to slow up. This 

 slackness is not being noted in any big way as the bulk of stock 

 is moving so rapidly and at such strong prices that there is no 

 possibility of any general slump. 



Decline in Lumber Production 



ACCORniXG TO STATISTICS KKCKXTLY MADE PUBLIC 

 by the government, the production of lumber in the United 

 States in 1917 was nearly seven billion feet below the average 

 annual production during the preceding ten years, that is, from 



1907 to 1916, both years inclusive. The cut last year is given at 

 35,831,239,000 feet. The average for the ten preceding years was 

 42,730,000,000 feet, the difference being, in round numbers, 6,900,- 

 000,000 feet between last year 's production and the average. 



The falling off is important, though it is reasonable to hold the 

 war responsible for the most of it. Yet, this decline in total lum- 

 ber production is not the only showing made by a comparison of 

 figures. The falling off in the use of lumber by the civil popula- 

 tion is still more remarkable than in the decline in the total cut, 

 and it would be serious were it not for the fact that the war may, 

 with almost absolute certainty, be held responsible for the decline 

 in the use of lumber by the civilian population. 



The quantity of lumber employed last year for war purposes in 

 this country is not yet a matter of public record, but if the estimate 

 is placed at 3,000,000,000 feet it will be accepted as conservative. 

 Taking it at that, it follows that only about 32,800,000,000 feet of 

 lumber were used in ordinary business in the United States last 

 year. That is nearly ten billion feet below the ten years' aver- 

 age; for, during those ten years, the whole production of lumber 

 was used by the civilian population. 



The conclusion is worthy of thought. The war has reduced by 

 ten billion feet a year the quantity of lumber employed in civil 

 life for manufacturing and building in this country. Yet, the 

 lumber industry is not depressed, for the reason that the govern- 

 ment is a large purchaser, and prices have so advanced as to 

 make up to the sawmill men what otherwise would be a serious 

 loss. 



The decline in the use of lumber in business is pretty general, yet 

 it is not uniform among all the wood-using industries. The largest 

 falling off has been in building. No figures for last year are avail- 

 able to show just how large the decline was in building opera- 

 tions; but in ordinary years the quantity of lumber used for plan- 

 ing mill products, sash, doors, blinds, and general mill work totals 

 about 13,500,000,000 feet, or nearly one-third of the whole output 

 of lumber in this country. If to this is added the amount of 

 rough lumber going into buildings, one-half of the whole produc- 

 tion of lumber will be accounted for by building operations. 



Construction was slack last year and probably most of the ten 

 billion feet decline was due to dullness in building. The reason 

 why the loss was not severely felt was that tho government carried 

 out great building projects for war purposes, and where sales to 

 private parties fell off, increased purchases by the government 

 kept the mills going. However, there was an actual decrease in 

 lumber cut amounting to nearly seven billion feet, compared with 

 the average for the ten preceding years, or half that much, com- 

 pared with the cut of 1916 which was also a war year. 



