Published in the Interest of the American Hardwood Forests, the Products thereof, and Logging, Saw 

 Mill and Wood-working Machinery, on the lOlh and 25lh of each Month, by 



THE HARDWOOD COMPANY 



Henry H. Gibson, President 

 Burdis Anderson, Sec'y and Treas. 



Entire Seventh Floor Ellsworth Building 

 537 So. Dearborn Street, CHICAGO 



LIBI 

 .NEW 

 BOTAI 



Oar 



Vol. XXXIV 



CHICAGO, JUNE 25, 1912 



No. 5 



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General Market Conditions 



fieports from the chief hardwood ccnsuining centers of the country 

 indicate a slight tendency on the part of big buyers to feel their way 

 rather slowly in the face of advancing prices, preferring to buy as 

 they have been doing — to meet their immediate requirements rather 

 thau to take chances. This sentiment, however, seems to be really 

 the result of cautious buying rather than of any general distrust of 

 the advance. There is no question but that the general shortage 

 justifies a reasonable advance in the standard grades of hardwoods 

 and that the trade as a whole will stand firm for what advances have 

 already been made. It would do well, however, before boosting 

 prices any higher, to consider fully the possible effect of such action 

 on the market in general. There is every reason to suppose that a 

 considerable amount of hardwood lumber will come in in the late 

 summer, and reports from the South indicate that the smaller mUls 

 are already shipping stock to the yard trade. 



In some instances stock sheets show that southern mills have more 

 dry plain oak, both red and white, on hand than a month ago. In 

 fact in a few cases the price of this stock has been shaded somewhat. 

 There seems to be a fairly general strengthening of quartered oak, 

 althouyh the situation is still comparatively weak. A decided de- 

 crease in the cut of northern basswood will insure a continued firm 

 price, and a strong demand for this line of stock. Birch and maple 

 will undoubtedly continue as strong factors in the market. There is 

 a considerable added strength to the demand for wide poplar, while 

 the poorer grades are continuing in active request. Low grades of 

 Cottonwood and gum are also 'selling actively. 



Pending advances in ocean freight rates from southern shipping 

 points, the export trade is stimulated to great activity in that section, 

 with the view of getting shipments under way as quickly as possible 

 in order to take advantage of present rates. Export trade generally 

 is favorably spoken of. 



Kumerous failures in the East would indicate that it behooves the 

 eastern trade to move rather cautiously. Stocks in that section are 

 short, but the general condition of the market seems to be about 

 on a parallel with other consuming districts. 



Indications from the larger markets in which are located the furni- 

 ture and various other wood-working factories, point to a continued 



laxity in demand for those commodities, while favorable building 

 reijorts from many sections would justify the belief that the buUding 

 trade will continue as an active consuming factor in the hardwood 

 business. The same can be said of railroad construction and repair 

 work, and the devastation caused by the southern floods has also 

 afforded a market for a considerable amount of construction material. 

 A fairly general level of prices and demand is prophesied during 

 the simamer. 



Possibilities in South America 



The United States has always been notoriously slow in grasping its 

 share of commerce from an undeveloped territory or from countries 

 which are in the process of development. It has seemingly been the 

 preference of American manufacturers to wait until foreign com- 

 petitors had established a stronghold on such trade, and then go in 

 and by main force wrest it from them. This policy undoubtedly fur- 

 nished an enjoyable little commercial scrap occasionally, but it is 

 doubtful, from an economic point of view, if it is a policy working 

 in the best interests of American industries. 



Of the various industrial groups in this country, the lumber inter- 

 ests have perhaps been among the laggards in taking up foreign 

 trade. It is indeed gratifying to note that reports from South 

 America indicate a phenomenal gain in the South American export 

 trade during the fiscal year ending with June, and it is further 

 gratifying to note that this increase is particularly true in the exports 

 of lumber. 



Lumber exports to Argentina, in the ten months ending with last 

 April, amounted to $5,750,000, against an export value of but 

 $4,000,000 for the corresponding period the year before. The bal- 

 ance of the South American trade aggregated over three mOlion 

 dollars against two million of the same period a year ago. The 

 total value of all exports from the United States to South America 

 ten years ago aggregated $38,000,000; five years ago $82,000,000 

 and in the current year will probably aggregate about $135,000,000, 

 an increase of 250 per cent in a decade. 



While the bulk of the lumber shipped from this country to South 

 American ports is undoubtedly for building purposes, it is reasonable 

 to believe that this will serve as an entree for a great many other 

 types of American lumber. There is no question but that South 



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