48 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



I*rices hold firm in all standard woods, and in 

 low grades the stocks have been pretty well 

 cleaned up. 



Construction work in Philadelphia continues 

 fair, but a slump continues in the general op- 

 erative building work. Throughout the east, 

 with probably the exception of Boston and one 

 or two other New England cities, a receding 

 market is reported, but the volume of trading 

 from small towns and outlying districts has 

 swelled considerably. Taking the situation as 

 a whole the outlook for hardwood lumber is 

 encouraging. Chestnut holds steady and the 

 sound wormy keeps to the front. Prices in gum 

 have moved upward and a fair volume is being 

 handled at this time. Poplar remains firm : 

 birch and beech find a steady market, and red 

 and white oak has a good call : quartered oak 

 is reported stiff, with stock low. 



PITTSBURGH 



June business showed that 1912 buying is 

 keeping up well. The midsummer season is not 

 causing any serious falling off in orders and 

 shipments have, if anything, increased a little 

 during the past two weeks. Conditions at the 

 mills are better. Floods are over and manufac- 

 turers have commenced to catch up with their 

 orders which were placed several months ago. 

 Prices in all lines of hardwood are up to stay. 

 Yard trade shows little improvement. The big 

 industrial concerns, the railroads and furniture 

 and implement factories are taking most of the 

 stock now being sold. Some good purchases of 

 hardwood timber have been made lately by Pitts- 

 burgh firms and new operations will be started 

 this summer. 



BOSTON 



There has been quite an Improvement in the 

 market for hardwood lumber during the past 

 few weeks, and prices have hardened consider- 

 ably. Manufacturers are writing their agents 

 and the wholesale trade in this city that their 

 offerings of good stock are comparatively small 

 and they follow such letters with a firmer price 

 schedule. Buyers are showing more interest 

 and where stock has actually been wanted ad- 

 vances have been paid. Consuming manufac- 

 turers are cutting up larger lots of lumber and 

 it is said that few are carrying any stocks to 

 amount to anything. Table manufacturers have 

 been busy and have a good volume of business 

 on hand. Veneers have been selling with more 

 freedom and manufacturers of this product are 

 looking forward to a still further increase in 

 demand during the next few weeks. Prices are 

 firmer in most cases. 



Maple is in very fair demand and offerings of 

 good stock are not large. Some dealers have 

 been in receipt of a good business while others 

 claim the demand has not been large. Plain 

 oak has become quite a little firmer. Practically 

 all thicknesses are in demand at full prices. 

 For quartered oak an improvement in demand Is 

 reported but business cannot be termed active 

 as yet. Prices are a little firmer if anything. 

 Walnut Is in fair call at high prices. White- 

 wood is selling in fair sized lots. 



BALTIMORE 



In spite of various diverting factors, chief 

 among which was the Democratic National Con- 

 vention, the hardwood trade of this city has 

 held up surprisingly well during the last two 

 weeks. Salesmen from all the territories covered 

 by Baltimore report that the demand kept up, 

 and that even an increase in the inquiry was to 

 be noted. The woodworking factories and the 

 yards manifested a gratifying interest in as- 

 sortments of hardwoods, and there was an un- 

 mistakable tendency to be more liberal in the 



placing of orders. The strike situation showed 

 further improvement, and the accumulations at 

 the terminals here were rapidly diminished, the 

 steamers that sailed carrying out large quan- 

 tities of lumber and logs. What is equally im- 

 portant, the foreign buyers evidently find the 

 demand good, for they are taking up stocks 

 with much freedom, and the supplies on the 

 other side of the Atlantic are by no means 

 large. Notwithstanding the heavy movement, 

 the foreign trade has remained in excellent 

 shape, and is far more active than might be 

 expected at this time, which is generally a 

 period of pronounced quiet. This also applies 

 to the domestic trade, which has continued far 

 better than the millmen and dealers felt they 

 had reason to expect not so long ago. The in- 

 quiry at the mills for stocks is still such that 

 the producers have been unable to accumulate 

 extensive assortments. 



Quotations are very firm — even higher in some 

 divisions of the trade. Of course, the shipper 

 must get more money for his lumber, on account 

 of the advance in the freight rates and the in- 

 creased cost of handling, but the range of prices 

 enables him to come out on the right side, and 

 the margin of profits is widening in nearly every 

 division of the business. Chestnut still is in 

 sufliciently active request to bring acceptable 

 prices, the low-grade stocks used for making 

 boxes holding their own, and .vielding very fair 

 profits. They are perhaps stronger than the 

 high-grade lumber, but even the latter holds its 

 own and brings fair returns. The tjendency as 

 to good dry oak is still upward, and the indi- 

 vidual requirements and urgency of needs alone 

 dictate terms. Perhaps the relatively weakest 

 item on the list is extra wide poplar of fine 

 quality, the demand for which seems to lag, and 

 is not bringing the returns it should. 



COLUMBUS 



Conditions in the hardwood trade in Columbus 

 nnd central Ohio are continuing steady in every 

 fespect. There is a good demand for the general 

 Mst with the lower grades selling the best. 

 I'rices are ruling firm and there is no tendency 

 (o shade quotations in order to force trade. One 

 nf the best features of the trade is the scarcity 

 of stocks in most parts of the country, which 

 means that the good prices which have been pre- 

 vailing for some time will continue. 



The retail trade is good in many respects. 

 Building operations are active, especially In the 

 larger cities and towns of central Ohio. The 

 factory trade is aLso buying more liberally, and 

 taking it all in all the outlook for the future 

 is very good. 



There is a good demand for all grades of oak, 

 both plain and quartered. Prices are firm and 

 show a tendency to advance. Poplar is also fairly 

 strong, with the exception of the wide sizes 

 which are a sort of drag upon the market. 

 Chestnut is moving well and the demand is 

 especially good for sound wormy. There is a 

 good demand for ash. Basswood is selling well 

 and other hardwoods are strong. 



CINCINNATI 



The hardwood market keeps up remarkably 

 well for this time of year. There has been a 

 steady demand for small lots of hardwoods from 

 the furniture manufacturers who have been buy- 

 ers in a small way for many months and who 

 have ne^er deviated from the rule of buying 

 oak in small quantities, though the demand has 

 been ever so great. The same rule was applied 

 to plain and quarter-sawed oak. It was bought 

 with a single purpose of a reduction in price, 

 though oak Is as low as it can possibly be, owing 

 to the difficulty in reaching the same. Oak for 

 immediate use is very scarce, nearly all that is 

 In the market being of this season's cut. The 



demand for quarter-sawed oak in good figure is 

 rather light, while plain oak is in fair demand. 

 Heavy oak is wanted at the mills for ties, ship- 

 timbers and car timbers. Chestnut is in good 

 demand for rough, heavy stock and long, clear, 

 wide boards for the building trades, while the 

 general run of medium grade is in fair demand. 

 Sound-wormy chestnut in wide, clear stock is in 

 good demand. Better prices can be obtained for 

 this grade than can be obtained for any other, 

 providing, however, that the wood does not show 

 any other defect than worm-holes. 



Clear wide poplar is in fair demand. There 

 ;s only a moderate call for box-boards from the 

 wagon-makers' industry. Low-grade stock is 

 plentiful. Red and white birch is In good de- 

 mand, with a preference for the white. Stocks 

 cf both are light at this point. Mahogany, bass- 

 wood, Cottonwood, buckeye and other hardwoods 

 are in fair demand. 



INDIANAPOLIS 



There has been a normal trade for the season 

 in hardwoods during the last two weeks. Busi- 

 ness has been fairly satisfactory, with indica- 

 tions of showing some improvement. Inquiries 

 are getting strong and retail dealers are showing 

 more inclination to place orders. Some dealers, 

 however, are holding off, buying only for current 

 needs. 



Prices continue steady and a decline in the 

 market Is not anticipated. Building operations 

 are booming and there is an exceptionally large 

 demand for hardwoods for interior finish. Fac- 

 tories using hardwoods are not especially active 

 at this time, but will soon begin their runs for 

 the fall trade. 



MEMPHIS 



There lias been a little slou iug down in the 

 demand for hardwood lumber dui-ing the past 

 fortnight but, with the opening of a new fiscal 

 year and the completion of the taking of in- 

 ventories, it is anticipated that there will be 

 a substantial increase in the volume of business 

 in the immediate future. Meantime stocks of 

 hardwood lumber in the South, readily avail- 

 able for delivery, ai'e comparatively small, with 

 the result that the majority of the trade Is 

 disposed to look for continued firmness in prices. 

 Buyers are carrying comparatively small stocks 

 and this is regarded as another feature work- 

 ing for continued maintenance of values on the 

 present basis. There has been little change In 

 the relative position of the various items. 



There is a very satisfactory demand for plain 

 oak, gum and cottonwood in all grades, and 

 prices are quite firm. Ash has shown Increased 

 activity lately. Inch stock is in good request 

 and 2 to 4-Inch ash is wanted in considerable 

 volume by manufacturers of automobiles, ma- 

 chinery and agricultural implements, as well as 

 ^ chicles of all kinds. Cypress is in good demand 

 in all grades and the call for quartered oak is 

 moderate. The lower grades, however, appear 

 to be more wanted than the upper and are rela- 

 tively firm as to prices. Export business is 

 good and the feeling here Is one of optimism. 



LOUISVILLE 



Business is satisfactory, and though trade is 

 not booming, as it never does in July, it is 

 coming nearer filling expectations than any pre- 

 vious part of the year. Mills are running rather 

 generally, and while the supply of lumber Is 

 not top-heavy and most of the items which have 

 been scarce remain so, dealers and manufacturers 

 are in a better position to go after trade with 

 the ability to take care of all the needs of 

 their customers. Prices have not relaxed, and 

 are continuing good, and with a fair amount of 

 business coming in right along, there Is no com- 



