THE CALIFOR}IIA LUMBERMERCHANT

Mgr. San Francirco Ofile

How Lumber Looks

' Car upply<r lack of car rupply-continuec the dorninating elemcnt in the California lunber markeL ln the lart 1O dayr or hpo weekr the car situation at the tcrraindr har been a whole lot earier and latent burineg hae rcvived. The market has rtrenglhened, in rome particulan et lcart.

Paradoxical ar it rnay reem, the car rituation ir controlling thc cargo rnarkel to a great extent, ar well ar the rail mar. Let. The railroadr rerwing the big terminalr at San Pedro end Witnington have been rhort of can for the last montrh and conrequently the imrnenre territory that getr itr lumber through thore portr har been ehort of lumber.

The effect on t'he rnarket har been peculiar. When dealen bcgan to realize that they would have a hard time getting dcliverier they rtopped buying. They knew that millionr ot feet were piled up at the dockc and that a! roon as thit etock could be moved they could get rome of it. So they withhctd thch orderr until there war aome rearonable prorpcct of getting deliveriec. The market ragged.

Mcanwhile Northern California war getting ju* enough rail rhiprnentr to keep dealerr fnom paying a prernium on dclivericr.

Both clear and cornmon grader of fir have stiffened ell along the line--not advanced in price exactly, but taken on a rnuch firrner tone. Flooring, both in vertical and f,at grrin rtock, har rhown particular strenglh. It ir probable that upper grader have exhibited more activity in the lart hro Yreckr than tommonr

Dry rhingler have failed ro profit from the forward novcncnt, but they reem to be holding their own. Pricel on grsen rhinglee are firmer now than a month ago rrhen thc bic rlunp came. The prorpective demand for rhinglel it good, in ottcr partr of the countty as well ar in Califonria, ind tbcne ir no rearon why they ehould further decline.

Another lounce of prerent rtrength ir the prorpective advance in charter rater. Steamrhip liner have been threatening for romc timc to advance the rate to Soutthern portr a doller and rome cautiour buyerr are playing to get delivenier bCorc any advance goer into effect. The prerent rate to Southcm California from all northern portr ir $7.

Evcqr indhation pointr to continued building activity throughout California and Arizona thir winter, but the rnillr are certain to have enough lumber to rupply tte expected demand.

The fir millr now are cutting from 20TOOOTOOO to 3Or(XX)rOOO feet a week in exceu of their orden, with Southem pine about the rame, but theee figurer arle not a true red€ction of the rituation. Millr that are unable to get orrs ane not taking on any new burinecr. At the eame time thcAr are continuing to nn, and will continue to nrn, and pile up stock, ro long ar they have room to pile it. A few milb in Oregon and Warhington already have cloted for leck of pilinc space.

But the exce$ of production over new busine$ ir con fined largely to the millr that rhip by rail to the Ea^rtern trade. The cargo milh have a pretty well balanced run of orders with production, ar, obviously, they are not depcndent on the railroads.

The Southern Pacific har been more fortunate then thc northern liner and har maintained a much betten averagc supply of caru. Conrequently Califonia rhipmentt have not suffcred the sam€ as Eartern rhipmentr.

Some fir clean have come into Cdifornia rccently in opco can, covered with a few layerr of boardr.

An effort now ir being made to relieve the car ritrntion in tte Northwect by bringing wheat from Montana to Portland and Puget Sound, and uring the empty can for tnovcment of lumber Eart. Thir wheat ordinarily rnovee eert from Montana and competee with lumber for car spacc. An improved car rupply might weaken the Eartern rail markct, ar the millr have plenty of lurrber.

The redwood market maintainr itr rtrengtt with a rtpady demand from dl conruming centen. Redwood rniilr ti!g' wire have ruffered from inadequate car rupply, and could sell more lumber if they were able to rhip it.

The weakert rpot in the California market right now ir lath. There reem to be plenty of lath but no one, appa!entlS needs any.

Cargo roceipts at Lor Angelec harbor for October were well over 9O,OOO,O00 feet, of which approximately 131500'OOO feet war redwood, the relt fir and other woodr fnon the Norhtwect. Receiptr at San Francieco and Bay Pointr were about 7O,OOO'OOO feet in October.