TIMBEE DEPLETION, PRICES, EXPORTS, AND OWNERSHIP. 



47 



and of the upper grades of white pine, a species formerly avail- 

 able in large quantities and of general utility, but now Hear- 

 ing exhaustion, in relation to upper grades of southern pine, 

 a wood of present large-quantity production. The curve for 

 walnut, it will be noted, shows a rise in price from $25 in 1865 

 to $112 in 1905, without a single drop. This was undoubtedly 

 due to the comparatively small original stand of wahiut. At 

 present firms handling walnut in quantity have scouts in the 

 field searching out and buying single trees to supply their needs. 

 In contrast to wahiut prices, the prices of white pine were 

 only slightly higher in 1895 than in 1866. During this period 

 white pine was the general utility wood. It was available in 

 large quantities in pure stands first in southern New England, 

 then in New York and Pennsylvania, and later in the Lake 

 States. To-day it is largely a specialty wood. The transition 

 from a general utility to a specialty wood following 1900 is 

 strikingly illustrated by the marked divergence of the white- 

 pine curve from the southern-pine curve. The difference in 

 price in 1900 of approximately $20 per thousand had reached 

 $70 in 1915 and $130 in 1920. 



PRICES IN DEPLETED OR NONFOEESTED VERSUS FORESTED 

 REGIONS. 



Retail prices collected indicate that in normal times and 

 much more during periods of shortage and extreme prices^ 

 such as the present communities close to large lumber-producing 

 regions, benefit very materially in lumber prices. Retail lum- 

 ber sales in producing regions of the South and the West are 

 often made at rates which check closely with wholesale prices 

 in the respective regions. This is an advantage which formerly 

 forested regions, such as the Lake States, Pennsylvania, New 

 York, and New England have now lost. Lumber dealers in 

 producing territories are able to handle lumber on "a smaller 

 margin than retailers at distant points, primarily because 

 they are near the source of supply and are not required to carry 

 large stocks or to buy lumber far in advance in anticipation 

 of delayed shipments and trafllc breakdowns. Present differ- 

 ences, however, far exceed prewar margins. 



Furthermore, many mills retail lumber locally at whole- 

 sale prices. Instances were found, in fact, where special prices 

 below the going wholesale price were made by mills in order 

 to stimulate local building and community development. Red- 

 wood bevel siding sold in February, 1920, at a producing city 

 in California for $40.90 wholesale and $43 retail. During the 

 same month in Washington, D. C, and at Dayton, Ohio, the 

 quoted prices on the same material varied from $110 to $130. 

 The freight rate from California to these points was approxi- 

 mately $8.50. 



The three tables which follow indicate retail selling prices 

 in towns and cities in lumber-producing regions in contrast 

 to prices prevailing in markets far removed from forest 

 regions. In some instances, sale prices and price quotations 

 from different dealers varied considerably, and in these cases 

 an average of the prices obtained Is used. 



Table 18. — Comparison of retail prices per thousand feet of 

 North Carolina pine lumber at points in producing and in cpn- 

 summg regions. 



North Carolina pine. 



Flooring, 13A6 by 2i inches. No. 



2and better 



Partition, 7/16 inch, all widths, 



No.Zand better 



Ceiling. 7/16 inch, all widths, No. 



2 and better 



February, 1914. 



Wil- 

 ming- 

 ton, 

 N.d. 



$25. Off 

 27.50 

 18.00 



New 

 York 

 City. 



S38.00 

 45.00 

 27.50 



February, 1919. February, 1920. 



Wil- 

 ming. 



ton, 

 N.C. 



$46.00 

 60.50 

 32.00 



New 

 York 

 City. 



$62.50 

 64.50 

 56.00 



Wil- 

 ming- 

 ton, 

 N.C. 



$98.50 

 101.00 

 46.00 



New 

 York 

 City. 



$150. 00 

 160.00 

 91.60 



The freight rate from Wihnington, N. C, to New York City amounted to approxi- 

 lately $3:25 per 1,000 feet in 1914 and to 14 per 1,000 feet m 1919 and 1920. 



mately 



Table 14. — Comparison of retail prices of southern yellow pine 

 lumber in South with prices in consumimg region. 



The freight rates per 1,000 feet from southern yellow pme mill points to Kansas 

 City, Mo., Linoohi, Nebr., and to Chicago, lu., Dayton, Ohio, Pittsburgh, Pa., 

 amounted to approximately $7.25, $7.90, $6.60, and $7.50, respectively. 



Table 15. — Comparison of retail prices of Douglas fir on West 

 Coast with pi-ices in consuming region. 



The freight rates per 1,000 feet from the West Coast to Lincoln, Nebr., 

 and Kansas City, Mo., Minneapolis, Chicago, Pittsburgh, and New York 

 City amounted to approximately $lS.'t5, $12.50, $15, $18.60, and $20. 

 respectively. 



Differences shown in the foregoing tables are in most cases 

 very striking. No. 2 and better flooring of North Carolina pine, 

 for example, was retailing at around $150 in New York In 

 February, 1920, but was retailing in Wilmington, N. C, at about 

 $100 per 1,000 feet, although the freight rate to New York 

 amounts to only $4 or $5 a thousand. Similarly, No. 2 southern 

 pine common boards 1 by 8 inches were being bought in south- 

 ern cities at from $50 to $60 a thousand feet, but were costing 

 $80 'a thousand in Dayton, Ohio, and Pittsburgh, Pa., despite 

 freight rates equivalent to only about $6.50 and $7.50, respec- 

 tively. In the case of Pacific coast Douglas fir flooring No. 2, 

 clear vertical grain, 1 by 4 inches, average retail prices were as 

 low as $85 in some western cities and as high as $140 in somf 

 eastern, with freight rates of $20 or less. In some cases th' 

 difference between present retail prices in producing regions 

 plus freight and retail prices in consuming regions exceeds the 

 total prewar prices in the consuming region. 



Twenty years ago sawmills In Minneapolis were cutting more 

 than 500 million feet of lumber annually. As tributary forests 

 became exhausted these mills were forced one by one to close 

 down. The last remaining mill closed a year ago, and one of 

 the larger cities of the country, as well as the rich agricultural 



