30 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



will not be ready for use for some months, 

 with the result that, while it may cause some 

 checking of the demand, it will have little 

 bearing on prices during the period before it 

 is available. The smallest demand appears to 

 be from the New England States and from 

 the East generally. The northern and western 

 buyers are still operating on a fairly liberal 

 scale. Prices range firm on the general list, 

 with one or two items particularly strong. 



The demand for ash continues good, the 

 available supply limited. The call for thick 

 stock is particularly strong. 



Cypress is moving readily at full quotations. 

 Dry stocks are still much broken, and buyers 

 are not losing time in securing their require- 

 ments. 



Cottonwood is in good request, and the indi- 

 cations are that it will continue so as the 

 box manufacturers are doing a good business 

 and making large demands. There is not a 

 great deal of dry stock on hand and prices are 

 well maintained on all grades. Taken as a 

 whole, there is less progress in cutting cotton- 

 wood in the interior than is noted in connec- 

 tion with any other item of the list. 



The call for gum is moderately steady with 

 prices fair. The fear is expressed that the 

 disposition of interior manufacturers to sell 

 their output ahead will have the effect of 

 weakening the market during the summer. 

 There are some manufacturers, however, who 

 assert that, if gum is properly manufactured 

 and carefully handled, there is no reason why 

 it should not find excellent sale at prices now 

 current. 



Plain oak continues in good demand in all 

 grades and dimensions, but there is not much 

 business in quarter-sawed stock. There is 

 relatively better call for white than red, in 

 both plain and quartered stock. Prices on 

 plain oak are pretty well maintained while 

 those on quarter-sawed are steady. 



Poplar is in moderate request, with the vol- 

 ume of offerings in this market and through- 

 out this territory decidedly light. Prices show 

 no material change. 



New Orleans. 



Conditions which prevailed throughout this 

 section up to sixty or ninety days ago, and 

 which seriously affected the cut of hardwoods, 

 are now beginning to affect the market. 

 Stocks are low and the demand exceeds the 

 supply. This prevails despite the fact that 

 the usual summer conditions have obtained, 

 and notwithstanding that buyers have to a 

 large extent ceased operations. Prices have, 

 of course, been materially affected by the 

 short stocks and good demand. 



In the last sixty days favorable weather for 

 logging has prevailed and there are reasons 

 to believe that when the buyers do become 

 active again in the fall there will be plenty 

 of hardwood to supply the demand. At present 

 the export demand is good and considerable 

 lumber is being shipped from here. 



Minneapolis. 



Twin city dealers in hardwood are all opti- 

 mistic over the prospect for the season's busi- 

 ness. Thgy have found a healthy disposition 

 on the part of some large consumers to con- 

 tract for hardwood supplies in large quan- 

 tities, and at prices that are quite consistent 

 with the market. There is not a great amount 

 of stock moving now, as the yard trade is 

 quiet and many of the factories are still 

 working on stocks purchased in the winter. 

 There is a good volume of car orders re- 

 ported. Birch is the leading seller and there 

 is plenty of it. If the demand for birch 

 should weaken there would be a scaling down 

 of prices, since there are some large stocks 

 of last season's cut left over, and the new 

 stock will be ready to ship from a good many 

 mills in a couple of weeks. Basswood culls 

 are strong in price. Consumers are slow to 



buy. but will have to come to the higher prices 

 soon. New basswood stock is moving rather 

 freely. 



Oak is in steady demand, some dealers re- 

 porting a slight reaction and weakening in 

 the price of red oak. Ash, soft elm and rock 

 elm are very scarce, the last especially so. 

 There is a good demand for maple, and the 

 call for flooring is quite equal to last year. 

 The retail yards are not taking much wagon 

 stock now. 



Leading factory buyers report that they 

 have stocks of nearly all hardwoods used 

 heavy enough to last for some weeks. They 

 will not do much buying, except to provide 

 for immediate needs, until after the first of 

 August, when the result of the crop season 

 is pretty definitely known. There is a gen- 

 erally prosperous condition among the fac- 

 tories, and they are consuming hardwood at a 

 record-breaking rate. 



Toledo. 



The general condition of the hardwood trade 

 in this city and section is good. Prices are 

 firm on all hardwoods, and the demand active. 

 All grades of ash are in very strong call. 

 Some of the local .dealers report that white 

 and brown ash is the scarcest of hardwoods; 

 others that red and white oak is the hardest 

 to get. Maple finds ready buyers and poplar 

 is becoming scarcer with prices strengthening. 



Toledo has enjoyed a wonderful building 

 activity this year; 579 permits, with a total 

 valuation of $1,912,932, were issued by the 

 city building inspector for the first five months 

 of the year. Prospects are bright for a con- 

 tinuance of the building activity. 



Ehinelander, Wis. 



While trade is not as heavy as it was in 

 February and March, yet it still keeps up in 

 very satisfactory volume. Traveling men re- 

 port a great many of the factories well stocked 

 up, as would be natural to suppose after the 

 heavy winter and spring shipments, but they 

 are all cutting at a rapid rate, which is cer- 

 tain to make replenishing of certain stocks 

 necessary before long. The business coming 

 in Just now is usually to fill out depleted lines, 

 and this kind of buying is likely to continue 

 till fall. The demand is widespread, no par- 

 ticular locality more than another furnishing 

 the business. 



Basswood, especially No. 1 common and the 

 lower grades, is probably the leader, followed 

 closely by birch. Birch is an immediate seller, 

 depending only on the ability of the whole- 

 saler to fill orders for any thickness or grade. 

 A good deal of thick birch is being shipped; 

 the same applies to basswood, though not to 

 as great an extent. 



Hard maple is very dull, largely because 

 consumers stocked up several months ago, and 

 will not be in the market again for some time. 

 There is very little dry maple on hand. 



Ash is called for frequently by eastern deal- 

 ers, but there is none to be had dry enough 

 to ship on such a heavy freight rate. 



All other woods are in only moderate re- 

 quest. The trade situation as a whole is good, 

 and prospects are that the demand for the 

 balance of the year will average about the 

 same as the past five months. 



Louisville. 



The demand for hardwood continues to ex- 

 ceed the supply in practically everything on 

 the list, except possibly gum. "While this wood 

 has been manifesting a tendency toward 

 higher prices this spring it is still an uncer- 

 tain quantity. While those who have been 

 able to hold to it have been asking about $17 

 for mill run, reports from the box factories in- 

 dicate that Kentucky stock has been con- 

 tracted for at least $2 below that figure. Ken- 

 tucky gum does not run to reds much, but 

 that does not depreciate its value for use in 



box factories. In fact, it makes It more de- 

 sirable, for the whiter the wood the better 

 the appearance when it comes to printing. 

 Poplar bevel siding is still in excellent de- 

 mand, and while some can not see that the 

 demand for No. 1 common is as good as it 

 has been painted, poplar generally speaking is 

 in excellent shape and probably about the 

 strongest thing in the hardwood market. 



The situation among the manufacturers Is 

 practically as it was at the last writing; they 

 are handicapped more by inability to move 

 stock than anything else. The trouble is not 

 lack of cars, but want of hauling facilities 

 in the woods. They are all making fairly 

 good time, however, and expect to soon be 

 moving stock out in a satisfactory manner. 

 Meantime they have plenty of orders and are 

 not fretting on that score. 



Liverpool. 



Further mahogany sales have taken place 

 since the last report, but the amount of wood 

 offered was only a handful, and as was to be 

 expected, having regard to the low stock in 

 both first and second hands, sharp competi- 

 tion took place to secure even the poorest of 

 logs. When any figured veneer logs and 

 prime panel wood was offered, quite a 

 scramble took place to secure them. The 

 result of this is obvious and higher prices 

 were paid all along the line. Doubtless prices 

 will remain at this high level, at any rate 

 until the end of this year, though not going 

 higher. 



The only thing to bring prices down would 

 be that shippers from the west coast of 

 Africa should be tempted to flood the market. 

 This maxim should also be taken to heart by 

 American shippers who have been obtaining 

 high prices for American hardwoods. It often 

 happens when a broker obtains a good price 

 for a shipper that in reply to a query by a 

 shipper as to whether he can repeat the price, 

 the broker replies "send it along." This may 

 be giving the brokers a very bad name, but 

 of course "sheep and goats" exist among them 

 as doubtless among other classes of commer- 

 cial men. 



It is. however, the over-zealous anxiety of 

 some brokers to earn an increased number of 

 commissions that leads them at times to 

 advise their clients in the United States to 

 ship goods on which they have no chance of 

 realizing a profit for the shipper. Of course 

 there are exceptions to every rule and there 

 are occasions when extremely good prices 

 are obtained for goods shipped on consign- 

 ment, but shippers would be better off if they 

 never shipped goods without a definite order. 



A note in one of the Liverpool trade papers 

 says "now is a good time to buy birch," 

 which of course means that it is a bad time^ 

 to sell. Very little can be reported about 

 other goods which remain very much as pre- 

 viously. The arrivals being small keeps prices 

 firm. 



London. 



While there has been some slight improve- 

 ment in trade. It has not had a great effect 

 on lumber. Mahogany being in most active 

 demand, stocks are being cleared from sheds 

 at docks, and arrivals are light, being mostly 

 goods contracted for, very few parcels arriv- 

 ing on consignment. Oak planks are In very 

 good demand, and even "on contract," are 

 slow in coming forward; for boards the supply 

 is more than equal to the demand. 



There is a fair demand for cull and medium 

 walnut at good prices. Prime logs for veneers 

 are wanted and would realize high prices; 

 other logs are not wanted. There is a steady 

 inquiry for dressed whitewood of all grades. 



Ash logs, planks and boards are wanted and 

 are fetching very good prices at the moment, 

 but the demand bids fair to be filled by sev- 

 eral parcels coming on consignment. 



