How Lumber Looks

Douglas Fir. Production, orders and shipments- were rePort. ed, by 2Zt identical mills to the West Coast Lumbermen's Associaiion for the week ended May 16 as follows: Production, 1161900,018 feet; Shipments, 128,76516O1 feet; Orders, 108,' 8791917 feet. Orders were 6.86 Per cent under ptoduction and shipments 10.15 per cent over the output.

Details of ordlrs and shipments as reported by these 221 mills follows: Ordere-Rail, 4o$66,49E feet; Domestic Cargo, 5ilr4ttr586 feet; Export, gr4lt,r26 feet; Local, 81466,5O7 feet. Shipments-Rail, 42,666,287 f.eeti Domestic Cargo, 46,881184, feei; Export, 70,750,964 feet; Local, 8,4665o7 feet.

Inveniories are now lower than at this time last year, and unfilled orders are holding at about the eqpivalent of four weekst production at cutrent levels.

A total ot 341 mills reporting to the Association for the week ended May 16 operated at 45.57 Per cent of capacity, as com' pared to 45.75 pet cerrt of capacity for the preceding week and 68.2f per cent of capacity during the same week last year. For the first 19 weeks of 1931 these mills have operated at 40.83 per cent of capacity, as compared to 65.24 Per cent for the same period in 1930.

- The Californi.a fir cargo market shows very little change and the retail demand is reported light. Lath in the Los An' geles territory is scarce and the market on th-is item is stJgng:r, Itherwise there is practically no change in fir prices. Unsold stocks on the public docks at San Pedro on May 27 totaled 6,4651000 feet. 47 lumber vessels in the California service are laid up.

The California White and Sugar Pine Manufacturers Association reported production ftom 24 mills fot the week end- ed May t6 as 15,7O2,000 feet; shipments 15r749,O@ feet and orders 13,430,O00 feet.

The California Redwood Association reported production from 12 mills for the month of Apdl as 16$22,OOO fect, orders on hand lgrtgzr000 feet, shipmenis 1910511000 feet and ordets received 19,558,000 feet.

The Pine and Redwood markets show very little change and prices remain about the same.

Orders for lumber received at the mills during the wcek ended May 16 were a{rproximately 9 per cent under produc' tion, it is indicated in reports from 775 leading hardwood and softwood mills to the National Lumber Manufacturen Asso' ciation. Production for the week repotted by these millr amounted to 23412571000 feet. Shipments were 4 Per ccnt above ptoduction.

The current relationship of shipments and orders to Production for t{re first 19 weeks of 1931, as reported by the re' gional associations to the National Lumber Manufacturers As' sociation, follows: fotal Hardwoods-Production' 4211597 M feet; Shipmcntr, 450,328 M feet; Orders, 457r0r4 M feet.

West Coast Lumberments Association-Production, 2r0/l,4t' 399 M feet; Shipments, 211011340 M feet; Ordets, 2rl94r4r4 M feet.

Western Pine Manufacturers Association-Production, 4E4e' 71S M feet; Shipments, 5J9r885 M feet; Ordets, 52L290 M f.eet.

Southern Pine Association-Production, 7111609 M fect; Shipments, 7731829 M feet; Orders, 7721422 M feet.

President Recommends Restricted Leasing of National Forests For Lumber Production

Restricted leasing of the national forests for lumber production because of the present overproduction of wood products has been recommended by President l{oover to the Secretary of Agriculture. The recommendation is contained in the following letter, which was released at the White House on May 15:

'In view of the manifest overproduction of wood products it' seems to rne ii would be of assistance both to the commercial situation and to the real conservation of our forests if the department of agriculture r,vould still further tempo- rarily restrict the leasing of the national forests for lvood production. I believe it would be desirable now to more positively define the limitation of all leases_by the Bureatt of Forests except for pulp purposes in Alaska to occasions when a sum of not more than five hundred dollars is involved and to cases where some cutting privileges must be given to actually maintain sawmills that_ are in operation and this only 'ivhere the rnills cannot obtain raw material elsewhere. The only reason I am moved to make these exceptions is that we should not deprive farmers and small industries of wood supply and should not create local unemployment by inconsiderate action."