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THE CALIFOR}*IIA LUMBERMERCHANT JackDiorrne,pfildhu
LOS ANGELES, CAL., AUGUST 15, I94I
How Lumber Looks
Lumber production during the week ended August 2, 1941, was.07 percent less than in the previous week; shipments were 11 percent greater; new business 5 percent greater, according to reports to the National Lumber Manufacturers Association from regional associations covering the operations of representative hardwood and softwood mills. Shipments wers g percent above production; new orders 10 percent above production. Compared with the corresponding week of 194O, production was 16 percent greater, shipments 18 percent g'reater, and new business 5 percent greater. The industry stood at I27 percent of the average of production in the corresponding week of 1935-39 and 142 per cent of average 1935-39 shipments in the same week.
The ratio of unfilled orders to gross stocks was € per cent on August 2, 1941, compared with 23 percent a year ago. Unfilled orders s,ere 74 per cent greater than a year ago; gross stocks were 15 percent less.
Lumber orders for the week ended August 2 by 383 softwood mills total 300,632,000 feet, shipments werc294.467.ffi feet, and production vas 274,256,Cb0 feet. 91 hardwood mills for the week gave new business as 11,515,000 feet, shipments 11,693,000 feet, and production 9,977,NO feet.
Seattle. Washington. Augrrst 12, 1941---:lhe rveekly average of West Coast lumber production in July (5 rveeks) was 159,766,000 feet. or 100.3 per cent of estimated capacity. Orders averaged 179,004.000' feet; shipments, 165.1iX,00b. Weekly averages for June were: production, 1579n,W feet (80.2 per cent of the l92Gl9D average); orders, 179,256,000 ; shipments, 172,584,m.
31 weeks of 1941. cumulative production. 5,023,170,000 f eet ; same period, 19 40,-4,11 5,627,0AO ; 1939,_3,67, 1 56,000. Orders for 31 weeks of l94I break down as follows: rail 2,985,105,000 feet; domestic cargo. 1,529,014,000; export, 134,350,000 ; local, 71 5,105,000.
The industry's unfilled order file stood at 883,493,000 feet at the end of July; gross stocks, at 831,482,000.
Although West Coast lumber production for July u'as but little over that of June, the four weeks succeeding the July 4 shutdown period have more than offset the loss of production in the holiday week. Production for the month was further affected by the general taking of the week's vacation with pay accorded lumber industry employees in the last labor agreement negotiated.
Production for the u'eek ended August 2 total 185 mil- lion feet, an excess of 26 million feet, or 16l per cent, over the estimated normal machine capacity of the industry. This is a rate of production not exceeded for 11 years. It represents unlimited effort by the industry to bring into play every resource and facility availabe to comply with urgent requests from the Government to increase the supply of defense lumber.
The Western Pine Association for the week ended August 2, 88 mills reporting, gave orders as 83,754,000 feet, shipments 91,959,000 feet, and production 95,293,0@ feet. Orders on hand at the end of the 'week totaled 455,510,000 feet.
The Southern Pine Association for the week ended August 2, 125 mills reporting, gave orders as 42,460,000 feet, shipments 46,380,000 feet, and production 35,488.000 feet. Orders on hand at the end of the week totaled 207,350,m feet.
The market for California mills are badly oversold and get in any grade or size.
Redwood is verl' active. The Redwood lumber is hard to
Lumber cargo arrivals at Los Angeles harbor for the week ended August 2 totaled 13,446,000 feet as compared wlth 2&,611,000 feet the previous u'eek.
Sid. L. Darlins Visits California
Sid L. Darling, secretary-manager of the National-American Lumber Association, New York City, was a recent visitor to California. He arrived in Los Angeles August 1, called on Association members and visited Yosemite National Park on his way to San Francisco.
San Francisco wholesalers entertained Mr. Darling at a luncheon at the Commercial Club, August 7.
Back On Job
Ben Maisler, Maisler Bros.. Fresno, is back at his desk after recoverv from a recent ooeration.
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Two primcry iaEredients cre tespoasible lor lhe premier quot' ity lor which Brcdley's lcmous Eodemork etcuds. Oae is tcnqible-lhe other, lnlaaglble. The tangible cottslElB ol Brqdley's eonprehenaive t€aoutce3 in tlnber supPlY qnd qdvqnced plqal equiPmeat. The ialqngible ic BradleY's eustoined, thoroughEolng tnlenlioa lo tur! out a bell€r product. Each rupPlemealg lhe olher ond both qdd up to the recsou why BRADLEY DRIND is q none thal wirs dealercustoner coalideace qnd holdg it.
II you're lot tet cmong lhe nclion-wide list ol sstisfred declers who swecr by Brcdley's lqmous red eynbol, q lricl car will lnttlqte you. Write Your own licket in Ock Floorinq... stqndord gtrip or plcnL. Mix it with Beech and Pine Flooring, Red and Scp Gum Trim, qnd <t wide list ol BrcdleY hqrdwood speclclties. frere's s Brcrdley representqtlvo wltbin reqch ol your teleptrone.
Fee holdings like this (1), supply premier logs like these (2) . . . cort'verted in this large ca\aciry mill (S) into lumber zahich is seasoned thoroughly in modern kilns (4), Producing ample stocks, zuell laoused (5) and' loaded zaitlo care in clean cars (6) to reach you in printe condition(7) for deliuery to well pleased customers.
A sawmill man said the other day: "This is one summer I'm going without a vacation. I never saw conditions like these before, never expect to see them again, and I,m going to stay right here and run my business." Looks like the gentleman had something there.
,t:t*
Senator Tom Connally stated the facts about our defense program and its purpose and necessity, in the following eloquent words: "In the face of the arrogant decrees of the dictators that democracy will be destroyed wherever the armies of Hitler and Mussolini can march, wherever their navies can float, and wherever their swarrning fleets of the sky can fly, the United States and Americans have determined that we shall give of our substance and of our arms and of our equipment and of our cannon and of our machinery of war, to the brave nations, the brave peoples, who, scorning the demands of the dictators, dare to fight for their lives and the life of the democracy of the world."
*:F*
We are accustomed to thinking of defense materials in terms of war materials, and of training c:rmps, etc. But, as the production of defense materials increase there arises a tremendous need for another very vital but more prosaic commodity made of wood-BOXES. yes sir-boxes. Boxes and millions of them for packing, and storing and shipping these millions of war things that the factories and mills of the nation are turning out. Right now wooden boxing materials are in tremendous demand, and those who make them are describing rapid circles in their efforts to furnish defense needs.
*:f*
Seems like old times to hear and read about ..car shortage." A generation ago-and less-we had a car shortage every fall, when the nation's crops began to move to market. For many years car shortage has been unknown. But it has come back this year. The railroads, straining their best efforts to meet the defense transportation situation, are calling upon the shippers of the country to load the freight cars full and pile them high, in order that every foot of space and every pound of tonnage may do its bit in the present great job of transportation.
The railroads comprise one more great industry that the defense program is lifting high out of the slough of poor business. And sadly did they need this tide of prosperity. Not even the long suffering lumber industry needed a break more than our rail transportation systems.
Reading about tfre fayilg ", a* wooden keels for ten wooden \ilar vessels in a single day in a GuIf shipyard furnishes splendid evidence of the way the great shipbuilding progr:rm is being prosecuted. In this particular case these vessels are being built by the sons of a former shipbuilder who did splendid work building wooden ships at that same spot during the first World War.
There has been a.lk i"-a; *rr-r recently of the call that has been made upon the lurnber industry to furnish wood to replace vitally needed metals for a large variety of uses. Not only is this true today, but the lumber folks are Iikewise scratching their heads trnng to find wood to substitute for other items of wood that the defense demand has made hard to get. Take Southern hardwoods. Today there are numerous items that have been in such demand that they are almost unobtainable. So the lumber folks are using their ingenuity to produce the same items in other less popular species, to replace the stuff that is so hard to get. There is a world of that sort of thing going on.
*d.* tt 4. X.
One Southern hardwood manufacturer, trying to tell how very scarce some items of hardwood lumber are, said that a certain item and species in the number two grade had become so very popular and so much in demand that he was figuring on slipping in number one stuff in the number two order, whenever he could do so without the customer catching him at it. Ife was thinking about the old real estate story where the seller sold a man a hundred acres of land, and then slipped him another hundred acres free when he wasn't looking.
Generally, when discussing the defense lumber demand, we think of the great quantities of softwoods that have been and are being used for the huge army camps, housing projects, etc. But hardwoods, all sorts of hardwoods, have also been called into play by the defense progr:rm, making most of the standard items of commercial hardwoods very popular indeed. And stocks are very low, as 3 rul€, especially in the South, where the timber stands in bottom lands, and bad weather interferes sadly with lumber production.
Weyerhaeuser made a splendid presentation of the work the lumber industry is doing in the defense program, in a page advertisement that appeared recently in The Saturday Evening Post, Time, Business Week, and other publications, as well as the trade press. Part of the Weyerhaeuser statement is as follows: "All America reads and works and asks about defense? Where are the materials coming from? IIow much? How fast? About lumber this can be recorded -Lumber is doing a tremendous job both for defense and domestic needs, and doing it quickly, efficiently and economically. With swiftly expanding production, the men of the lumber industry delivered ovef, two billion feet of lumber to 350,0fi) carpenters working on the biggest housing project of modern times---cantonments for a million, two hundred thousand soldiers. At the same time, additional lumber was provided for housing half a million workers in defense.
"Lumber is serving "r, IruJrr,tl function in nearly every industry. It cradles the ships being built in the shipyards. Since the start of the war, the Royal Air Force of Britain has been maintained largely by American lumber made into laminated propellers, struts, and spars. Timbers are being produced for pontoons that can take the shock and carry the load of heavy tanks charging at high speeds. Lumber is so adaptable that it is shouldering new jobs and releasing other materials for defense needs. The men of the lumber industry, in addition to producing a wide variety of forest products for defense, supplied a more than normal demand for lumber for use in shop and factory, and for the construction and remodeling of homes and farm buildings. Wherever men live and work, you'll find forest products helping them in their jobs and providing better homes, for lumber is America's most available adaptable and economical building material."
*:N.*
Weyerhaeuser selected a splendid time for sending these true and impressive thoughts concerning the lumber industry and its grand defense efforts, to the American public. It was a wise and highly commendable thing to do, and a definite service to the lumber industry in general.
R,EDWOOD rutnBER
For siding, trim inside and out, panels, underpinnings, posts and pickets you'll 6nd Palco Red. wood Lumber at its best-accuratelv milledproperly cured--<arefully graded.
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W."R*9",L
Palco 
Durable and fire retardant, their rugged beaury and nut brown tones rnake them ideal for modern architectural requirements.
PAICO R,EDWOOD SEPTIC TANKS
Constructcd scctionallv of scl(ted Healt Redwood. Thousrnds'in usc, many for over..20. years. Easily assembleil by unsxlll( labor-
