How Lumber Looks

Lumber ia going to be hard to get and prices are going to be reasonabty frrm until well after the first of the year.

Developments of tte la* ferr weeks indicate that buying for next Spring'e delivery already har started, not only in Californiao but in all parte of the countr5r. They alro indicate tfiat ttere ir not going to be any lull in the market due to the holiday rearon.

Mills in the South ar well ar in the North are getting a big run of orderr. For the first time in more than three monthr, tte volume of Southern Pine orderc last week ex-

November Was Good Cargo Month

Cargo shipments to and through Los Angeles harrbor for tl.e mbnth of Novembcr aggregated approximately 110,000,000 feet of which about 16,000,000 feet rams redwood and the rest fir.

Tortal receipts for the 11 rnonths this year have been 1,301,125,000 feet.

ceeded tte volume of production. Most of this new burineer ir for delivery after the fint of t'he year.

The Douglar fir mills, too, are relling more lumber than t'hey are cutting. All t[rough the lete Summer and early Fdl they produced an average of nearly 2O,OOO,000 feet a week more tAan ttey rold, and rome of the interior millsff,e6s rhipping solely by railsss11sn11lg1ed a heavy eruplur.

In tte hrT few weekr lumber buyerr from far and wide have been running over each other in the Northwert trying to buy lumber. They have loaded up some of the mills witih bruineas enough to run ttem rmtil the frrst of March. Some mille are abrolutely refuing to take any m(re orderr until the present run of burines ha.r been cleaned up.

AU thir ir rignificant in thie particular: If buyers are willing to place ordes for next Springtr delivery on ttre barir of the present market, and if mills ,are unwilling to accept bucinegs on this barir, it indicatec that both buyers and sellers expect higher p"icer next Spring than are prevailing now.

And the market right now is much firmer than it was two weeka ago. Both common and upper gradeo have made a dirtinct advance in recent weekr and commoru are extremely rcarce-both water and rail ehipment. The price on mort itemr in commonr hac advanced from $1 to $1.5O per thou' aand rince the 6rrt of last month.

The recent advance of 5O cents per hrmdred in the cargo rater between the Northwert and Califorriia her not made a ripple on ttre market and buyers have paid that advance together with an additional 5O cents or a dollar trhat the market demanded. Q.rgo space ir rcarce, and a further increare in rates would not be eurpriring.

The car rupply ir not ro much of a fector in the market ar it war eadier in the Fall. Reportr from the South indicate that the car rituation har meterially improved. Some millr are getting dl the carr they want. Dealers are getting better delivery on their orders. But the Southern Pine market has not broken as might have been e:rpected. Some authoritier predic that if the cer rupply continues like it ir Southern Pine will weaken. This, of courre, will have itr effect on Douglas Fh, ar it will force fir out of rome competitive territory.

The car situation in the Northwest h'ar improved. Milb are not gefting all the caru they want, but they are gettmg a bigger proportion of their actual requirementr.

Gredually the car congestion at San Pedro ir being overcome. It will be after the firrt of the year before the rituation ir entirely relieved, but new cargo arrivalr are befurg moved promptly now ar they come in. Little unrold lumber remains on the docks.

The lath market is rhowing a rpectacular advance er ir urual about once every year. Pricer have gone up rapidly

L. A. BUILDING $11,5OO,OOO IN NOVEMBER

Btrildinq n'rti+s in l-os Angeles had a vatruAtion of $11,500,000 in November. For the firs,t 25 days ot tfie month they werre $10,161,211. At this same ratio the three remaining business days brought thgm past the eleven and a half million mark" in the last 3O days and ltrreaten to go even higher. No gfeen lath are in right and the accumulation of dry stock ir beginning to move.

The rhingle market remains firm. California buyerr are taking rhinglea more €agerly now that tbe Houring bill-which would have legislated rhinglee out of burineo, har becn rejected by the voterr.