CPA Extends Control Over All Sawmills In Effort To Boost Housing Construction Lumber

Washington, D. C., June 6.-Production of every sawmill in the country, regardless of size and output' was brought under Government control by the Civilian Produc' tion Administration today in an efrort to ,bdost housing construction lumber and flooring reserves by trtore than 4/a billion feet.

Previously, CPA had only controlled those sawmills producing 8,0@ feet of softwood or 4000 feet of hardwood per day. Reserves will be increased because, in addition to includittg all sawmills, regardless of size, in the grder, the "*oorrt of each sawmill's reserve has been increased, and the number of military rated orders which must be filled has been reduced.

Today's action u'as efiected by amendment of Direction 1 of Priorities Regulation 33.

The action does not alter the original intent of Direction I to Priorities Regulation 33, rvhich is to channel lumber needed for housing and hardwood flooring to the veterans' housing program, but it does broaden the scope of the order to proiiie houtirrg and flooring'lumber for the essential of the Veterans Administration and military and civilian uses as well as for the housing program'

The action stemmed from the fact, CPA stated, that Direction 1 as previously written, was not adequately provid' ing for the requirements of other essential needs'

CPA officials expect that by including ali mills in the regulation the construction lumber reserves will be in.rlured almost four billion feet and hardwood flooring reserves increased 27O million feet annually'

CPA pointed out that these sawmill increases are expected tL 'result in distributors receiving two billion feet more a year on certified orders, while an additional 5'CI million feet will go to millwork manufacturers and 270 million to hardwood flooring manufacturers.

Besides channeling the production of all sau'mills, the amendment makes these changes: (a) increases the size of the reserve held by the sawmill and the distributor; (b) increases the quantities of construction lumber and hardwood flooring lumber which distributors and millwork and hardwood flooring manufacturers can receive and (c) changes the kinds of orders forrvhich the lumber, millwork and hardwood flooring reserves can be sold.

The amendment affects sawmills, distributors;'millwork and hardwood fooring manufacturers, office wholesalers, and housing contractors in the following manner.

Sawmills

A sawmill as now defined includes any stationary or portable mill or plant producing lumber, or any plant or concentration yard processing into lumber 25 pet cent or more of the logs and lumber it receives. Not covered are plants known as retail or rvholesale distribution yards.

The operator of such a sawmill must now set aside 50 per cent instead of 40 per cent of his monthly softwood construction lumber production. This set aside will now be used to fill rated as well as certified orders but only has to be held until the last day of the month instead of a full 20 days as formerlY.

The quantities of hardwood flooring lumber which must be produced and reserved remain unchanged. However, a sawmill operator does not have to accept MM orders for more than five per cent of his reserve.

Any hardwood flooring and construction lumber not re- quired for certified or rated orders during the month must be sold without regard to priorities except AAA orders.

Distributor

A distributor can issue certified orders for construction lumber to his supplier by either of tr,r'o methods: (a) by placing certified orders each month, starting rvith June, for not more than seven per cent of the total footage of softwood lumber he had in inventory on January l, 1942; or (b) he can place certified orders during each calendar quarter for two carloads of lumber, to be delivered at the rate of one carload in any month.

The distributors' reserve has been decreased from 100 to 75 per cent of the lumber received in anv month on certified orders. Also the period he must hold this reserve for certified or rated orders has been de'creased from 60 days to the remainder of the month in which the lumber was received. He can accept MM orders for only 10 per cent of his reserve.

Any housing construction lumbern'hich the distributor is not required to reserve or anv of the 75 per cent reserve which is not taken by certified orders and rated orders during the month can be delivered only on uncertified and unrated (except AAA) orders.

Millwork and Hardwood Flooring Manufacturers

Beginning in June these manufacturers can obtain every month, eight per cent of the quantity of construction lumber and hardwood flooring lumber they turned into millwork or hardwood .flooring during the year 1940.

Seventy-five per cent of this production must be held in reserve for certified and rated orders only during the month it is manufactured instead of 60 days. Acceptance of MM orders is limited to 10 per cent of the reserve in anv month.

All millwork or hardwood fooring in excess of the 75 per cent reserve, and any millwork or hardwood flooring remaining in the reserve at the end of the month can be delivered only on uncertified and unrated (except AAA) orders.

Office Wholesaler

The quantity of housing construction lumber or hardrvood flooring lumber which the office wholesaler can obtain on certified orders is determined by'the amount required to meet certified orders placed rvith him. In addition he may extend the AAA, MM, CC or HH ratings he receives to the sawmill for direct shipment to the customer.

Housing Contractor

Housing contractors are now prohibited from issuing certified orders. They norv obtain housing construction lumber by applying an HH rating to the distributor or, if the quantity desired is a carload or more, they may apply the HH rating to a sawmill or office wholesaler.

Rated and Certified Orders

The provision that both rated and certified orders must be filled from production reserves changes the order of precedence at the sawmill level to: AAA, MM, certified orders and CC and HH, with the latter two of equal value.

At other levels the order of precedence is: AAA, MM; and CC, HH and certified orders, with the last three of equal value.

Extension of Preference Ratings

f)i.stributors, hardn'ood flooring manufacturers and authorized millurork manufacturers cannot extend or applv any ratings, except AAA, to their suppliers to obtain housir.rg construction hrmber or hardr,vood flooring lumber.

A millwork manufacturer, although not authorized to issue certified orders can, holvever, exterid whatever ratings he receives to his supplier to fill rated orders.

An office wholesaler can extend all ratings he receives to the savi'mill for direct shipment.

A housing contractor can apply an HH rating to obtain housing construction lumber, millwork, and hardwood floorittg.

A prefabricator cannot apply or extend an HH rating for housing construction lumber, millwork or hardwood floorit g.

Take Steps To lncrease Production of Nails

Washington, D. C., June 1l-Steps to increase the production of nails to meet requirements of the Veterans Emergency Housing Program and eliminate a critical materials bottleneck rvere announced jointly today by National Housing Expediter Wilson W. Wyatt, Civilian Production Administrator John D. Small and Price Administrator Paul Porter.

The actions consist of a $10 a ton price increase by OPA, and concurrent action by CPA in setting up specific production goals for all manufacturers of nails.

In the same action, OPA increased the price of bale tie wire.

The two agencies acted at the request of Mr. Wyatt who had received reports from all sections of the country that the nail shortage was delaying the completion of veterans' housing. He urged the two agencies to take whatever action rvas necessary to increase nail production.

Mr. Wyatt requested CPA to step up production goals to not less than 55,000 tons this month and increasing to at least 66,000 tons per month by September. He further asked that production be accelerated as much as possible during the summer months so that nails may reach builders in northern areas in time to be used during the peak construction period.

In addition to the OPA and CI'A actions to increase nail production, another government agency, the Office of International Trade, Department of Commerce, has placed building nails under export control at the request of NHA and CPA to provide additional nails for domestic use.

(Amendment 17 to Revised Price Schedule 6-Iron and Steel Products-effective June lI, 1946.)

Congrctulctions

Mr. and Mrs. H. A. Collins are the parents of a tenpound daughter, born June 9. The report to this office said that father, mother and daughter were all doing fine, and that Mr. Collins rvas handing out the cigars. He is manager of the Wilmington office of Kilpatrick & Company

New Ycrd in Cloverdcle

Floyd G. Frasier is manager of Cloverdale Supply, r'r'hich recently started business in Calif.

By Ed Nohiger

Wycrtt Urges brcrecsed Labor Trcining

Some reports have been received recently in Washington of a shortage of skilled building tradesmen in the South, West and Mid-West, according to Wilson W. Wyatt, National Housing Expediter and Administrator of the National Housing Agency. "This occurred despite the efiorts of the Department of Labor, union officials, contractors and veterans organizations to train and recruit the workers that ivill be required for the Veterans' Emergency Housing Program," Mr. Wyatt said. "This is a plain warning that the apprentice training program must be speeded up unless labor is to become a future bottleneck." The number of Joint Management-Labor Apprentice Committees have increased from 1,117 last February to 1,457 at the end of April and there was a 12 per cent increase in the number of men entering apprentice training in April over March.

New Multiple-Blade Power Feed Edger

U. S. Fif"t Suits Against 40 Western Lumber Cohrpanics

San F'rancisco, June 26.-Forty suits against 'Western lumber companies'and dealers were filed by the Office of Price Administration today in Federal District Courts in California, Arizona, Washington and Oregon and in certain state courts in Oregon.

The suits were, filed simultaneously in U. S. District Codtts in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Sacramento, Phoenix, Sedttle, Spbkane, Tacoma, and in five Oregon courts.

An OPA statement described the far-flung court actions as its "first mass.legal move to bring into the open some of the practices in the lumber industry which the Government believes responsible for artificial shortages and resulting exorbitant charges faced by contractors and builders."

The multiple suits, involving a total of 65,649,123 board feet of lumber, sought an estimated $9,043,53O in treble damages from defendant companies and individuals.

, Designed especially for high-speed, efficient edging or re-sawing, a new muliiple-blade power feed edger has just been announced by Equipment Sales Co., Inc.

bh" rr.* unit is equipped with multiple 24' or 36' blades, and a positive power feed. A 3-speed transmission provides feeds of 60, 80 or l2O feet per minute' Feed can be changed or stopped instantly while the sarv is operating. The unit is of rvelded all'steel construction, and is equipped with anti-friction bearings throughout. Full-width idler rolls at each end of the table facilitate handling.

Standard finger plate and mandrel spacers accommodate l, 2, 4,6, 8, 10, and, 12 inch cuts. Plate and spacers for other dimensions can be supplied. Mandrel is designed for a 75 h.p. drive, although motors from 15 h.p. up can be used. Drive is a combination of multiple V-belt and roller chain.

Full information can be obtained by writing to Equipment Sales Co., fnc., 306 13th Street, Oakland 12, California.

Ceiling Prices lor Western Bed Cedar Poles and Piling Increcsed

Dollar-and-cent ceiling prices have been set for westerri red cedar poles and piling to reflect the l0/o price increase recently authorized. (Amendment 4 to MPR 554, effective June 29.)

Ralph Golub, enforcement chief of OPA's lumber division, said the actions were "aimed exclusively at practices and techniques that are not, and never were, common to the lumber industry." He listed the following:

1. Shipment,of lumber to the shipper himself at dummy addresses, to be held for bargaining.

2. Resawing lumber without regrading.

3. Refusing to produce standard size lumber such as 2x4s.

4. Upgrading of materials.

5. Charging customers for more lumber than rvas actually delivered.

6, Making retail sales without having licenses.

7l Flagrant over-ceiling prices.

8; Cutting short lengths.

Henry lL Hcnsen

Henry H. Hansen, 34, young Monterey, Calif., retail lumberman, passed away suddenly, June 10, in a hospital where he r'r'as under treatment,

He was a native of Monterey, and was associated with his father, Henry A. Ifansen, in the operation of the Union Supply Company.

In addition to his parents, he is survived by his sister, Mrs. Myrtle Giffen. Ife was a member of Monterey Elks Lodge.

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