PENTONtrTED NOGKI.ATH

THE FIREPR.OOF IATH

I Reasons for the ever-increasing use of fiteproof Perforated Rocklath*-siown by fic sa/es of millions of fcet to date in all parts of the country-are found in the powerful combination of advanteges tbis remarkable lath provides. Fireprotection at en exceptionally low cost; a double bond for plaster that makes possible walls of unusual strength, rigidity and resistance to cracking; ease of handling, nailingandplastering. All combine to make added sales-and profits-foryou.

In addition, a strong, nation-wide campaign to stimulate demand for Perforated Rocklath still further, is going forward right now. As you read this, architects, builders, contractors' consumers, lathers, and plssterersall are seeing similar advertisements in widespread publicationsand all are being directed to you es a USG dealer. Let them know you carry Perforated Rocklath! Order now - your neirby USG mill or warehouse has a complete stock always on hand.

Remember-you can get Perforated Rocklath in mixed csr lots, along with your other USG needs.

Ihree Profit ltlakers That l{aturally Sell Together-Feature All

PERFORATED ROCKLATH-The Fireproof Lath

RED TOP* GYPSUM PLASTERS-and GYPLAP*-The Fireproof Sheathing

*Registered-Tradc-marks

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(Continued from Page 11) plants. It is felt that many buyers are holding back Fir orders until "bottom" seems near.

Shippers with unsold stock on California docks have had their fingers burned. These distress lots of common grades bring $1.00 to $3.00 per I\[ less than mill shipment orders, but they dynamite buyer confidence, tend to set the price pace in dull times, and have a very adverse effect on forward buying. They are the curse of the industry.

The Fir market can improve quickly, for the Coast industry, taken as a whole, is basically in sound condition. If a shipping strike on Sept. 30th seems probable, the boats will begin to tie up after the middle of September, to avoid being stalled with cargo aboard away from their home ports. This may mean rather heavy purchases for delivery within the next 3O days. For if the boats quit, many cargo mills must soon close; and rail mill prices will advance, as they have done in similar strikes of recent years. Staple farm crops throughout the country promise large returns and increased lumber purchases.

California yards are not ovef-stocked. It would seem wise to keep at least 2 or 3 months supply ahead. A study of May and June California building permits in the July lst and August lst issues of this journal, with the 1936 comparison, is encouraging, though July will probably show some decrease, for reasons already stated. The writer had occasion to learn recently of an acute shortage of 5 and 6 room dwellings in two small cities of Central California about 150 miles apart. There are doubtless scores of such cases. This should coax out building investment money, if costs are held down.

Redwood and California Pines being more specialty woods do not encounter altogether the same conditions as Fir, which is a primary construction species. Redwood mill order files are still healthy, though orders of long standing are being cleaned up. The steady demand for dry redwood perrnits mills to pile up safely heavy inventories that would make a Fir mill-owner frantic. The redwood buyer feels fairly confident he will not have the bottom of his price structure pulled out from under him overnight. Pine mills are all busy on summer schedules, filling orders and piling up stock for winter sales when many plants are down. Stocks are nearly normal, there is some mill curtailment; prices hold well, with only a few soft spots in Ponderosa. The Pine box market is stronger. California Pines find a steadily increasing sale and nerv buyers in their home State.

California lumber consumption is still a very important factor in Coast mill calculations, and with irer steadily growing population will continue tp bulk large on the lumber horizon. But "normal" is a term never applied to Coast lumber conditions in the present tense; it ahvays refers to past or future. For several years Fir cargo trade to Atlantic Coast ports exceeded water shipments to California. But for the first six months of. 1937 California took by boat 569,053 M ft. compared with Atlantic Coast 549,306 M ft. Measured with the same period last year, California gained 4% and Atlantic Coast lost l6t/z%.

Probably never before was the lumberman confronted with more perplexing problems within and rvithout his industry. We would like to forget the political jitters emanating from Washington, the prospective dangers of war, inflation, mounting public debt, unwise legislation, labor excesses, etc. But these outside forces have a vital bearing on our business in these modern days, try as we may to keep our eye mainly on the ball in our own lot, and closely watch mill and yard prices and our own order files. We may cuss and discuss the certainly uncertain lumber business, but at least it always keeps _us guessing. It is such an interesting game that even those who think they are well out of it may sometimes be found slipping in again under the circus tent. Some just can't quit the job of feeding the elephant, though his color may be white; others feel they have a bear by the tail and can't let go. If the market conditions existing as this is written are the same when it is printed, we shall be making some progress towards stability.