HARDWOOD RECORD 



3i 



RORL/\R 



Rough and Dressed 



SOUTHERN HARDWOODS 

 M. A. HAYWARD 



1021 Saving and Trust Bldg., Columbus, O. 



Keys=Fannin 

 Lumber Company 



Manufacturers of Band 

 and Circular sawn 



SOFT 



YELLOW 



POPLAR 



Plain and quartered red and white 

 Oak, Hemlock, Bass and Chest- 

 nut. Give us a trial. 



Herndon, Wyoming Co., W. Va. 



Save Your Money 



By Using the 



RED BOOK 



Published Semi-Annually 

 in January and July 



It contains a carefully prepared list of the 

 buyers of lumber in car lots, both among 

 the dealers and manufacturers. 



The book indicates their financial stand- 

 ing and manner of meeting obligations. 

 Covers the UNITED STATES and MANI- 

 TOBA. 



The trade recognizes this book as the au- 

 thority on the lines it covers. 



A well organized Collection Department 

 is also operated and the same is open to you. 



WRITE FOR TERMS. 



Lumbermen's Credit Association 



Established 1878 



1405 Great Northern Building, : CHICAGO 

 18 Broadway, : NEW YORK CITY 



MENTION THIS PAPER 



going 011 .-it a lively pace and the call for build- 

 in:; woods and interior finish is unprecedented. 

 Mills are all operating full time turning oul 

 stock as rapidly as possible to care for the 

 1 rade 



Che car question is about the only difficulty 



fronting the lumbermen of ibis section at the 



present time. Tiny are not receiving a suffl 

 cienl supply of cars to ship loss to the mills 

 here or to convey the finished product to th" 

 consumer. Some or' the roads have furnished 

 coal cars with high sides, but the number of 

 these supplied lias been far from enough. 



all indications the northern hardwood output 



is going to be light, and prices will be firm all 

 along the line during the next year. 



St. Louis. 



The market in St. Louis is active, almost 

 anything in hardwood selling without the slight- 

 est effort. Prices are very strong with the 

 tendency still upward on most .lasses of stock. 

 Ash is probably the most sought after wood and 

 prices haye been advancing steadily of late. 

 Poplar is also in active demand, and dealers 

 who make something of a specialty of ii have 

 very light holdings and arc trying to get sup 

 plies, but are meeting with considerable difficulty 

 in this direction. Cottonwood and gum are in 

 good request with prices stroug. Quartered 

 white oak meets with general favor among buy- 

 ers and quartered red is in fair and steadily 

 Increasing demand. Plain oak has displayed 

 some improvement during the past two weeks 

 but is still rather quiet. 



Louisville. 



The hardwood market is in excellent shape. 

 The demand is urgent all around and with 

 advancing values manufacturers and dealers 

 have more business than they can take care of 

 as promptly as they would like. Country roads 

 are getting better and it is now possible to move 

 more stock in the country, but railway trans- 

 portation continues poor. Anybody can sell 

 almost anything in the hardwood line. The 

 t limbic is to deliver it promptly. Not only does 

 the factory trade continue in good shape but 

 there is an urgent demand for yard sto.k. espe- 

 cially poplar siding, which yard men are buying 

 now and waiting till the mill men can dry it. 

 Altogether the hardwood operations are now 

 considerably enlarged over what they were a 

 nib ago. The weather is pretty good gener- 

 ally and everybody is hustling, and still they 

 are behind the call for stock in practically .ill 



Minneapolis. 



The demand for dry hardwood for immediate 

 delivery is not strong from the factories, as most 

 Dl them have provided earlier in the year for 

 their wants until the new stock is dry for 

 shipment. There lias becu trouble in gettiug 

 ears, and in some cases factories have been put 

 oul li.\ delay in delivery of the slocks they had 

 purchased, but most of them have bought what 

 they need and are only picking up an occasional 

 car. Those that are taken care of are lucky, as 

 there is very little dry northern hardwood either 

 111 1 be hands of dealers or mills. Basswood now 

 seems to be practically cleared out, and birch is 

 the only article that can be had readily. It is 

 being picked over pretty well, and is stlffer in 

 price than it was. Southern hardwood is begin- 

 ning io come more freely, but consumers are 

 still behind on receipts of oak and elm from 

 that direction. 



Country yard trade is more active. Wagon 

 slock is freely called fur, and the best of it is 

 getting scarce. Flooring is moving more than 

 usual into the smaller towns, and a good spring 



1:1.1. in it seems to be .1. maple being us 



usual the leader. Oak planking and timbers are 



11 big demand for bridge construction, and there 



considerable difficulty in supplying orders and 



getting them shipped from the southern mills. 



consumers of hardwood are all 1 

 ning 1.. figure on the nevi cut, and some of them 

 have contracted for it on a large scale. From 



Rhinelander, Wis. 

 Stocks of dry hardwood are getting pretty* 



low .1 1 lie mills, Bassw I. 1 k elm and ash 



.lie ompletely oul ■'! Hi.- market; hard maple 

 1. almost as closely shipped out, ami there is 

 nothing left to sell bin soft elm and birch. 

 Soil elm has picked up in price and demand 

 lately, ami is bringing very fair pri.es now. 

 Birch is selling in Hie usual way. culls being 

 in the greatest demand for crating, box rnak 

 ing and for cheap sheathing, S'^s or dressed 

 and matched. A great deal of the No. 2 com 

 mon is also sold in these forms, which is a 

 good thing for the lumbermen as the furni- 

 ture factories have not been taking a great 

 deal of this grade of stock lately. They say 

 iha' the high price of expert labor makes it 

 impossible for them to cut up anything under 

 No. 1 common and handle it ai a profit The 

 best customers for No. 1 common and bettet 

 birch are the planing mills and sash and door 

 manufacturers, who have a steadily increasing 

 trade for birch for interior finish. It is only 

 about half the price of oak, and makes a very 

 good finishing wood, and can be stained to 

 represent mahogany. The big ear manufactur- 

 ers work in a good deal of red birch with their 

 mahogany, and only an expert .111 tell the 

 difference. 



Even the stock of birch now on band is suf- 

 fering from the steady demand, and will all be 

 gone before new stock is ready to ship. Most 

 mills are shipped out even now. but all the 

 large jobbing firms have more or less of it on 

 hand. Stock thicker than inch is scarce ; there 

 seems to be no 1U inch at all. and 1 Vi inch 

 and 2 inch are pretty nearly out. The jobbers 

 have been busy during the past three months, 

 buying up for next season's trade, ami most of 

 them have all they are going 1,. need. Some 

 mills are still holding out. waiting to see if 

 they will not get a little higher price later on. 

 hut as a rule, the stocks are pretty well under 

 contract by this time. 



All the firms here are enjoying a fair trade. 

 to the extent of their supply of lumber and 

 cars. 



.Mr. and Mrs. C. 1'. Crosby expect to leave 

 here next week for a short trip to New 1 Irleans 

 and Havana, stopping off a day or so at Men 

 plus. It is purely a pleasure trip. 



Liverpool. 



We think we have at last arrived at the 

 boom which we have been talking about here for 

 the last five or six years. For the tirsl time 

 since the end of the Boer war we have a fair 

 rush of orders. We sincerely trust this is going 

 to last and that our anticipations are going 

 to be realized. Oak is in great demand and 



we heard of one parcel realizing a very s I 



price iiid 1. So good, in fact, that we will 



not repeat it for fear shippers win be tempted 

 1.1 -hip all they can lay their hands on in the 

 in.pe that they. too. can gel ibis price. Holders 

 of ibis stock should obstinately refuse to ship 

 ..11 consignment and wait for an order from 



I their clients. Two mahogany .lies will 



lake place shortly. Lower prices can 



confidently expected. 1 ; 1 adi Ice to buyi 



would he to after this sale buy fairly heavily. 

 Prices cannot so lower and might rise a frac- 

 tion during May and June. Hickory loss are 

 siill very slow- ami we cannot understand their 

 position. The only excuse to be found for I loir 



really absurd cheapness at the mom is the 



lack, of demand on Hie part ..I' a tew buyers 



« in. apparent ly mut 1 com rol 1 1 arket. Ash 



log . second grow 1 b, are in 1 :h demand. Ash 



planks of good white coloi 



and we think have now Been the top. Pop 

 : are still high in price and may go 

 higher. 



