FIow Lumber Looks

Douglas Fir-345 mills reporting to the West Coast Lumberments Association for the week ended February 28 operated at 39.O9 per cent of capacity, ab compared to 67.O5 per cent of capacity for the same week last year, and 40.86 per cent of capacity during the preceding week. During the past 13 weeks orders have averaged,12.82 per cent over production due to the low levels of cutting and low volume of buying.

Production, orders and shipments at 224 identical mills for the week ended February 28 were reported to the Association as follows: Production 9918051344 feet; Shipments lO3'179,288 feet; orders 991393,327 fieet. Orders were 0.41 per cent under production, and shipments 3.38 per cent over the ouqput.

Details of orders and shipments as reported by these 224 mills follows: Orders-Rail 36,653,985 feet; Domestic Cargo 32,69t,242 feet; Export 22,405,667 feet; Local 7,6401433 feet. Shipments-RaiL 38,5541053 f.eet; Domestic Cargo 331689'927 [eet; Export 23,294,875 feet; Local 7,640,433 Leet.

San Francisco wholesalers report that the fir cargo market is showing a better tone with a strengthening of prices in certain items. They report more inquiry, particularly for specials. No. 3 Common is scarce in San Francisco, and also at the mills, and the ptice is somewhat stronger. Rail wholesalers repott that the market shows very little change and the dernand continues quiet. The Los Angeles fir market shows no change but retail dealers teported more inquiries during the past two weeks. Unsold stocks on the public docks at San Pedro totaled 7r005,ooo feet, on March 11, the lowest reached in nearly two years. 48 vessels in the California service are laid up.

PERRY DAME BACK IN S. F.

P. A. Dame, Western sales manager of the Creo-Dript Co., In,c., returned to his San Francisco headquarters March 2 from a 10-day trip to the Northwest.

While in the Northwest Mr. Dame visited the companv's staining plants at Seattle and Vancouver, B. C., and attended the convention of the Western Retail Lumbermen's Association at Tacoma, whete his firm had a fine exhibit of Cre,o-Dipt produ,cts.

. C. E. DANT VISITS SAN FRANCISCO

C. E. Dant, president of Dant & Russell, Inc., Portland, Ore., left for Portland March 11, after spending a ferv days in San Francisco.

The California White and Sugar Pine Manufactlrrers Association for the week ended February 28 reported production from 25 mills as 7r72Or0OO feet, shipments 1416581000 feet, and orders 15,011,000 feet. Sales for the week continued far in advance of production. Pine stocks at the mills are reported welt balanced and prices are firm. Some of the Redwood mills report that they find a better tone to the market and are looking for an improvement in the demand. Redrvood*prices show no change.

Vith lumber production continuing low, new business received by the mills was about 9 per cent in excess of the cut during the week ended February 28, it is indicated in reports from 804 leading hardwood and softwood mills to the National Lumber Manufacturers Association. These mills give their total production as 19316621000 feet, with orders 9 per cent above this figure, and shipments 15 per cent above it.

The current relationship of shipments and orders to production for the first 8 weeks of 1931, as reported by the regional associations to the National Lumber Manufacturers Association, follows:

Vest Coast Lumberments Association-Production 772,294 M feet; Shipments 82l,l9t M feet; Orders 872,599 M feet.

California White and Sugar Pine Manufacturers Association -Production 33,771 M feet; Shipments l0t,366 M feet; Orders lO2,27O M feet.

Southern Pine Association-Produ ction 3Ol1223 M feet ; Shipments 328,608 M feet; Orders 346,668 M feet.

Total Hardwoods-Production 1731785 M feet; Shipments 178,762 M feet; Orders 197,279 M feet.

J. H. BLOEDEL VISTTS LOS ANGELES

J. H. Bloedel, Seattle, Wash., president of the BloedelDonovan Lumber Mills, rvas a Los Angeles visitor around the first of the month where he spent a fer,v days at the company's Los Angeles office conferring rvitli J. FI. Prentice, their Southern California representative.

Ray Cox Returns From Southwest Trip

Ray B. Cox, vice-president and general rnanager of the Built-In Fixture Company, Berkeley, expects to return to his Berkeley headquarters on March 16 from an extendecl tour of the principal ,cities of Arizona, Ner'v Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas. Mr. Cox has been away about a month.