How Lumber Looks

Los-Angeles_ Harbor's nine-day,,liftboard dispute" tieup ended on March 24. The longshoremen and employers accepted a return-to-work proposal by Albert Rosensliine, spegial Federal arbiter, pending arbitrition. Hearings began o.n March3OatLongBeach. Iiis expected that Mr] Roinshine will spend thrie or four days ii taking testimony and another week in reviewing evidence befori rendering his decision.

According to reports to the National Lumber Manufacturers Association from the regional associations, durine the week ended March 12, 5I9 mills produ ced 17!,142,000 tit oi hardwoods and softwoods combined; shipped i29,335,000 feet, and booked orders of 186,000,000 feet.

_ Reports from 96 hardwood mills for the week gave new business-as 5,936,000 feet; shipments 6,312,000 feet]and pro- duction 10,763,000 feet.

A total of. 149 down and operating mills in Washington and Oregon which reported to the WJst Coast Lumberm-en's Association for the week ended March 19, produce d, g4,Zn,890 feet of lumber. At the rate of cutting at the reporting mills, the entire industry produced 53.8 per cent of its aver"_ age weekly cut during 1926-n.

The new business_r_ep-orted taken during the week by tle-se mills_ was 93,977,L49 f.eet, and shipmenis were 97 g$:_ 236 feet. The unfitled order file stood ai 324,4g5,947 teet.

The Association states that production, orders and ship_ ments, as shown in this week's report continue extremeiy low for the time of year. A check oi the record shows thesl movements to be lower than the averages of March as re_ ported to the Association in any year si-nce 1935.

The Western Pine Association, for the rveek ended March 19, Ln mills reporting, gave production as 44,052,000 feet; shipments 58,654,000 feet, and new business 55.272.000 feet. New business was 26.5 per cent above production, and 4.9 per cent below shipments. Shipments u'ere 33.1 per cent above production. Orders on hand at the end of the r,veek totaled 165,317,0@ feet.

The California Redrvood Association. for the week ended Mar.ch 12, reported production of 13 mills as 6,197,000 feet; shipments 5,I67,W feet, and new business 6,€5,000 feet. Orders on hand at the end of the week totaled 42.194.W) feet'

The Southern Pine Association for the week ended March 19,126 mills reporting, gave production as 27,951,000 feet; shipments 27,882,W feet, and new business 25,894,000 feet. Orders on hand at the end of the week totaled 67J41.W feet'

Construction operations in Los Angeles for the month of I\{arch vvill run above $5,000,000, about 91,000,000 over the February total, according to the Department of Building and Safety. The March total is also ahead of March 1937, rvhen the total was $4,398,000.

The volume of home building in Los Angeles, reflecting the stimulus furnished by the new Federal Housing Administration liberalized loan program, is mounting rapidly, the Department's records show, rvith the possibility that the number of permits approved for erection of single- family dwellings rvill exceed 500 for the month of March.