HARDWOOD RECORD 



49 



pany is still confined to his home with illness, 

 but is improving. He has a light attack of 

 tjphoid fever. 



Earl Grossman of the Dennis Brothers Salt & 

 Lumber Company and Douglas Sinclair of the 

 Valley City Lumber Company compose the com- 



mittee on arrangements for the September 30 

 meeting of the Grand Rapids Lumbermen's Asso- 

 ciation. The Morton House has been selected 

 as the place of meeting. 



H. J. Dudley of the Dudley Lumber Company 

 has returned from a business trip to Buffalo. 



Hardwood Market. 



(By HA3DWOOS BECOBD Escluslve Market Reporters.) 



CHICAQO 



The local hardwood market has felt, to a more 

 or less limited degree, the general improvement 

 in business throughout the country. Men travel- 

 ing in the outside territory bring back word 

 that no notable depression is fell, as a general 

 thing, and the local concerns are begiuniug to 

 take the same view of the situation. The actual 

 volume of hardwoods sold is not what it really 

 should be for this month, but indications all 

 point to an increase as to sales, and bearing in 

 mind the fact that the hardwood concerns have 

 not been seized \yith the panicky price cutting 

 mania which has been so evident in the pine 

 trade, the situation is far from discouraging. 



Taken from the consuming standpoint, almost 

 all manufacturing lines are doing a good busi- 

 ness and are calling for their quota of stock. 

 Possible exceptions to this rule are the automo- 

 bile and furniture lines, who will probably re- 

 main below normal as far as consumption is 

 concerned, for sometime. But wagon and car- 

 riage factories, implement plants and the various 

 other lines of manufacture which constitute the 

 bulk of the hardwood consuming trade, are en- 

 couragingly active. 



In some quarters it is reported that collections 

 are unusually difficult and that the buyers are 

 evincing a desire to force paper in the place of 

 cash, though this is by no means a general rule, 

 and it seems more evident among that 

 trade, which is up against it as far as their own 

 sales are concerned. There is no alarming scar- 

 city of any stock, though dry stocks are not 

 especially easy to secure, in some items. North- 

 ern stocks are coming in in good quantities and 

 the same can be said of woods from the southern 

 points. A buyer in the south reports that mill- 

 men are insistent upon immediate payment, at 

 a good many of the places which be has visited 

 and seem more or less hard up for money. 



Quartered white oak is a little weaker than 

 it has been, probably to the extent of two or 

 three dollars. This condition, however, does not 

 apply to any of the other grades of oak, high 

 grade firsts and seconds plain red being in par- 

 ticular demand, though there seems more on the 

 market at present than for some time. The ques- 

 tion of picking up good stocks in this line at a 

 reasonable figure, also of oak step stuff, is merely 

 a question of elBcicnt buying, as there seems an 

 adequate supply at the distributing points. Oak 

 prices on the whole are exceedingly firm and 

 have their usual influence for good on the gen- 

 eral market. Cull oak has experienced a surpris- 

 ing improvement. 



As to ash, the supply on hand seems unusually 

 long, while the same can be said of low-grade 

 hickory, though the high-grade stock is hard to 

 secure for there is a tendency among millmen 

 to try to force log run sale of hickory, they not 

 wishing to have an accumulation of low-grade 

 stock on hand. 



The birch market has felt a slight recession 

 in sales, of late, though this is a condition 

 which is only momentary and cannot be taken as 

 an indication of anything permanent. Low 

 grade stuff is, as usual, long, while high-grades 

 are disposed of without any unusual effort. 



Good maple is in demand from all quarters. 

 Flooring people are using vast quantities of 

 good stuff and the market for thick maple is on 

 the ascent. Stocks will be a little more plenti- 



ful, probably, in the near future, according to 

 reports from mill points. 



Gum seems to be active in most quarters with 

 red gum, of course, in the lead. Gum seemingly 

 has come to stay and will not be denied its 

 market. 



Prices on poplar boxboards and panels remain 

 without any noteworthy fluctuation. Good stuff 

 is as always hard to secure, and when bought 

 is disposed of without trouble. 



On the whole the situation appears favorable 

 to the local merchant and in fact some concerns 

 report a doubling or even a tripling of last 

 month's sales. Conditions from out of town 

 points should certainly tend to bring down to the 

 level of common sense the local market, and 

 this condition seems to be already partially 

 effected. 



NEW YORK 



The opening of the fall season shows some 

 improvement in the local hardwood market. 

 From present indications, while there is no boom 

 expected, there is a general feeling that both the 

 yard and consuming trade will show considerable 

 improvement and a full volume of business for 

 the balance of the year. It is certain that good 

 lumber will be firm in price, with an upward 

 tendency on some of the more desirable class of 

 stock. High-grade hardwoods are giving no con- 

 cern to holders, the chief interest lying in the 

 direction of low-grade stuff. Low-grade lumber 

 has been soft in spots during the summer and 

 has been subjected to considerable competition 

 on such business as has been offered, due to 

 supplies being more plentiful than demand. But 

 with the scarcit.v and high price of good-grade 

 lumber, the general improvement in the market 

 which- is expected to develop will, it is believed, 

 considerably improve the range of values on low- 

 grade stock. 



The hardwood flooring market is very firm 

 and has been all summer, and market condi- 

 tions look favorable for a good run of business 

 for the balance of the year. General condi- 

 tions are s6ch in the flooring trade as to give 

 no concern to that market. Generally speaking, 

 the political agitation is causing some disruption 

 and unrest in business circles, which is looked 

 upon as unfavorable to normal business, but. on 

 the other hand, it is believed that actual needs 

 in the way of lumber consumption will be suf- 

 ficient to provide a fairly healthy market. , 



BUFFALO 



The hardwood trade is somewhat better than 

 earlier in the month. Some dealers say they 

 have done as much selling during the first half 

 of September as they did in all of August, 

 i'rices, however, are not very satisfactory. Low 

 grade stock is still hard to sell. 



Oat leads the market. Poplar is a good seller 

 if of good grade and not too narrow. Some 

 dealers are moving a good amount of maple. 

 White ash is a little quiet. Birch is probably 

 more scarce than any other wood, and there is 

 an effort to put gum in its place. Most of the 

 lumbermen speak of cypress as pretty quiet, 

 largely on account of the high prices asked for 

 the best that comes from Louisiana. 



The uneasiness in business extends to lumber 

 somewhat, though many members of the trade 

 stoutly maintain that overselling in the spring 

 was the main reason for the quiet summer, if 

 this is true the slow revival of business now 

 will go on until it has reached a normal vol- 

 ume again. Lumber stocks here are good, 

 though would be much better if low-grades sold 

 more readily. 



PITTSBURG 



General demand for hardwoods seems to be a 

 little better this month. Wholesalers are en- 

 couraged by the broader inquiry and the fact 

 that prices are holding up well in the face of 

 many discouraging conditions. One of these 

 is the prolonged troubles in some of the leading 

 coal mining districts. Another is the fact that 

 the steel interests in the Pittsburg district have 

 curtailed their production considerably the past 

 few weeks and naturally are not buying any 

 surplus of lumber. Still another, and a very 

 important item, is the slump in the automobile 

 trade, which has induced many auto manufac- 

 turers to practically stop buying lumber until 

 the situation is cleared up. On the other hand, 

 railroads are buying more stock. The orders 

 placed with them during August were for early 

 tall delivery and this stock is being moved in 

 now to good advantage. There is also quite a 

 gain in the trade from the retail yards, for fall 

 building is starting off better than was antici- 

 pated. Pittsburg building still holds aloof and 

 there is little prospect of more than a spatter- 

 ing of new operations this fall. There were no 

 changes in hardwood lists this month to speak 

 of. the main tendency being to hold up quota- 

 tions to list on all the better grades and to sell 

 the lower grades of hardwood for about what 

 you can get. 



BOSTON 



While an active demand cannot be reported 

 for hardwood lumber, the sales foot up well in 

 the aggregate. The better grades are well held 

 and have been for the most part, even though 

 demand for them has not been large. What 

 surplus manufacturers have had has comprised 

 largely of the poorer selections, and these have 

 been sold at concessions in many instances. The 

 fact that the better selections have been held 

 at high prices has helped sell the poorer grades. 

 It is the consensus of opinion that the demand 

 this fall will be good and that practically all 

 of the better lumber will be wanted. Buyers for 

 several months have been only willing to pur- 

 chase as their needs demanded. As a result few 

 consumers have more than moderate sized stocks. 

 Wholesale dealers state that the demand is not 

 heavy, still they are doing more than they are 

 willing to admit. The yard trade has been fair. 



Offerings of the best quartered oak have not 

 been large. The demand is moderate, but prices 

 are well held. As has been the case for some 

 time past, there is still a fair demand for plain 

 oak. Desk manufacturers have been more lib- 

 eral buyers than for a long time and consider- 

 able has been wanted for interior finish. The 

 call for birch has been good. Offerings are of 

 fair size and prices are well held. Walnut in 

 this market has attracted rather a small volume 

 of new business and cherry has not been selling 

 with any great amount of freedom. 



BALTIMORE 



A change for the better seems to have come 

 over the hardwood trade. Yardmen, who for- 

 merly placed orders only as they were actually 

 needed, are now disposed to buy more liberally 

 and to exceed the more immediate needs. Sup- 

 plies in various directions have been reduced 

 and the millmen are called upon to furnish 



