Lumber Orders Heavy---$teady lmproyement THE CALIFOR}IIA Forecast for Building Construction

Lumber orders booked at the sawmills during the week ended 'lv/,ay 27, 1933, wete the heaviest since April, 1931, and slightly exceeded those reported for the previous week according to reports to the Nationd Lumber Manufacturers Association covering the opera,tions of. 644 leading hardwood and softwood mills. Production and shipments for the week were respectively 3 and 5 per cent greater than the week before and exceeded all weeks since November, 1931. Orders totaled 2r8r792rOOO feett shipments were 189r89!r(XX) feet, and production 1461010,000 feet.

The West Coast Lumberments Association reports that the volume of new business continues unusually high and more than 50 per cent greater than production. Small stocks and low production with active buying are forcing pdce increases in all markets.

New business reported for the week ended June !l by fSO mills is lllrggtrSt0 feet against a production of 7411371558 feet and shipments of 88,370,179 f.eet. Shipments werc 19.77 pet cent over production, and cunent sales were 51.39 per cent over production. Orderc booked by this group of mills during the week were less tr E64,7E5 feet.

The Southern Pine Association for the week ended June 3 reported orders from 100 mills as 4f,r5Tr0{il0 feet; shipments tsrt0rrffiO feet, and production 26r63lrffiO feet.,- Otders were 51.54 per cent over production and 14.72 per cent above shipments. Shipments wete 32.56 per cent over production.

The Vestern Pine Association for the same week reported orders ftom 123 mills as 49r7O4rOOO feet; shipments 45r301r0fi) feet, and production 3619581000 feet. Orders werc 34.4 pet cent over production and 9.7 per cent above shipments. Shipments were 22.5 per cent over production

239 hardwood mills give new business for the week ended June 3 at 3Or34Or@0 feet, or 126 per cent over production, and shipments 27rt60r0{Ji0 feet, or 104 per cent over production. Production was 13,439,O(X) feet.

The California market continues very strong. Fir cargo prices made another advance on June 12 and, considerable buying is reported at the new price levels. The market is still very active although bulng is not quite as bdsL ac bcfore the lart price advance. The cargo mills have big order files and meny of the big cargo shippers have withdrawn from the madcet.

Fir rail prices have also advanced and buying ic very tight as practically all the mills making rail shipments into Califomia have withdrawn prices both on general and special itemc.

The Pine and Redwood markets are strong. A price advance on California White Pine went into elfect this we€lt. Sugar Pine prices are also strengthening. The Pine and Redwood demand is good.

California retailers report that the conaumer demand is showing continued improvement.

Unsold stocks on the public docks at San Pedro are gradu. ally decreasing; on lune 7 unsold stocks here totalled 2rg26rgc/0 feet as compared to 31199,000 feet the previous week. Cargo arrivals at this port for the week ended June 3 amounted to 8,689,(X)O feet which included lO cargoes of Fir carrying 7p&rfi)O feet and 3 cargoes of Redwood with 1,407rflD feet; cargo arrivals t{re previous *".: .t.O lt,279,OOO f,eer.

Building activity in California is definitely on t{re increaee and indications are that this improvement will continue through the remainder of the year.

May construction in Loc Angeles totaled $114151742 arrd shorved a gain of $241,7O3 over May, 1932, which was the firEt time in nearly two and one-half years that the building pcmits for any single month exceeded the valuation of any conrparable month in the previous year. Homes featured the May construc. tion in Los Angeles with 194 homes started with a valuation of $5t5,6OO. Los Angeles' building permits for the first nine days of June, 193t, totaled f799,t52 which is far ahead of the carne period during the previous month, May.

Building permits issued in San Francicco during the month of May totaled $3211821222, greater than the total for any previous month in the city's history. The largest item was {ttr62,Er5,40, covering San Franciscots allocation of permits for worl on dre Golden Gate and San Ftancisco Bay bridges. A total of 977 permits were issued dudng the month.