The Japanese Tragedy Booms Lumber Market

The lurnber producing industry of the west already has occasion to acknowledge the truth of the old axiorn, to wit: "It's an ill wind that blows nobody good."

The tenible ,disaster that has befallen Japan during the last two weeks-the worst disaster probably in the history of civilization-h3s already set the lumber industry'of the Pacific standing on its ears.

A perfect fog of information and misinformation regarding the damage done to property in Japan" and the amount od mate,rials that will be needed to replace and rebuild thet devastated cities, has been flying around evetr since thd finst news of the disaster came. The daily press imunediately p,urblished reports that o,rders for half a b'illion feet had been received. by wire by the northwestern rrrrills, etc., etc.

As a matter of fact no great orders for Japanese stock have been placed or accepted, so, far as we have been able to'determine, as ye'L It is the one topic of conversation in the lumber bu'siness from Lqs Angeles to Vancouvsr, B. C., but nothing physical has yet come in the way of orders from across the water.

That they WILL come, in huge proportions, within'the next f,ew days, there can be no doubt. To say hwv rrnrch stock Japan is going to take, would be a foolish estirnate. That she will need at the very least from one to several billions of feet before all the damage can be replaced' seems very likely. That the northwest mills will be called upon for all the stoc,k they can give rush shipment on, ib also positively certain. That every effort will be made to filI Japa.nese orders, regardless of any other markets, is also certain, for there are humanitarian reasons to back up the commercial ones.

The rnrlls of the Northwest are sittiqg tigh$ as we go to prerss, waitihg flor o'rder to come o{ut df; chaos, so tlrat they nnay accurately judge just what will b€ reqr-lired of them. The first thing they are going to have to know is, how and when and where is the money to come frona. Financial affairs are going to be the first things to be straightened out. That these financral arTEurgements can and will easily be ,rnrade, is very certain, for the'credit of the Japainese Governrnent is good, and she will probably have to act to assist in financing the restoration of the destroyed cities' There is no doubt but that huge orders are corring immediately, or that the mroney will be secure'd to buy it with. So we know that for the tt.*X ssveral mio'nths the Northwestern mrills are going to have their hands full; also their order files.

Word comes from the Northwest that the mills feerl that they rnr;st handle the situation skillfully to Prevent profiteering, and to keep the market from gctting over-excitcd as a result of the Japanese situation, and that they p,ropose to do so.

The immediate effort of the Jap situation in California has been an enthusiastic awakening of the lurnber market. The California rnrarket was already picking up strong when the Jap situation developed, but it has jun:rped both in volum€ and price in the past ten days, and is still strengthening. California prices have advanced from $g to $g.So a thousand since our last issue. Everyone wants to buy and get in ahead of the sharp rise they feet will come when Japan gets to actually buying. So the Jap situation has already advanced the market in California, even before they have purchased a foot of lurnber.

Add the Japanese situatibn to the fact that l,os fingslgg is again smashing all of her own buildling records-note the more than twenQr million last month and the still heavy tide of building in L. A. this montlr-and the advancing msrket in California is easily exptrained.

Of course, the call o{ the Japanese market on the Nbrthwestern mills is not only going to strengthen the California lurmber,market, but is going to have the same sort of effect-though of course less marked-on the general lumber market of the United States.

For the past two weeks the Southern Pine demand has exceeded production, and with the sudden effect of the Jap siltr:ation on the Northwestern rnills, taking thern out of the pr,ice cutting line entirely, it is reasbnable to suppose that the general market is going to be much strengthened, and that at once.

Ih the last two weeks the mernbers of th,e West Coast Lumbermens' Associatron manufactured 1081684'000 feet and sales amounted to 96,127,000. Not much change frorn the last report. This production is about 23/o above notmal and new business about l2/o below p'roduction. Thc reporting mills have unfilled rail or'ders for 5500 cars.

The Southern Pine Association reports for the past two weeks a cut of 80,000,000 feet with sales of 82,000'000 feet. Looking naurch better with these figures.

The arrivals of lumber carriers at tlte Los Angeles Harbor up to the night of the l2th were 47 boats, carrying 57,700,000 feet.