How Lumber Looks

Commonr have advanced in price; clearu have not advanced but remain firm; rhingles are steady but not any rtronger; }at[ are moving up sharply; botb tonnage and clrs'are sciarce; millr and distributorc are loaded up with orderr, and the demand for building material is brisk as GYET.

That just about sum! up the prerent state of the lumber market in California.

While the foregoing might be interpreted to apply only to fir lumber, it can equdly well cover the redwood situation in thore particulars where it is applicable to redwood.

One rignificant element so far as the dernand for common lumber is concerned ir that tte market reemt to be abrorbing growing quantities of the lower gradet, such ar No. 2 and No. 3 end even No. 4, where occasion requirer.

So long as thic kind of a demand continues it ir urelecs to look for any dirtinC weakening in prices, and l,ooking at it from a Catifornia viewpoint, the demand is going to continue for quite a while longer-indefinitely, you might ray.

The fact of the matter ir, the California market now is absorbing all the lumber that the rteamship lines ard railroadr are phylically able to bring-and crying fq more.

But were it not for rhir California trade the 6r market probably could not hold up, as the Atlantic coast ir tte only other section of the country that ir boyittg heavily today. The car rhortage has rertric{ed rnovement to the agriculhrd territory of the Middle Wert, a iection that usually buyr heavily in fir but it is doubfful whether tth rcction would buy in rubrtantiral volurne even were the carr available.

It ir quite apparent that tfie car ehortage has cultained the strength of the rail market because there ir nothing else in the preeent rituation to iustify the continued upward pre$ure.

On the contrar5r, reportr of production, ordere anrd shipmentr at tte 6r mill! might j,rstify 'an opposite tendency. For the 6rrt 48 weekr of the prerent year producion at the mills reporting through the Wert Coast Lumbetmentr Arsociation was 410951007,148 feet and new bruiness 3r857r3251318 feet-a surplur production of practically 25OrOOOrOOO feet. The mills entered tte yeer with rtocks below norrnal and thir excels cut har enabled ttem to replenirh and to accurnuLate a cmall rurplus.

Latest reports show 8r14O carg of rmfilled orderc at the milh-a normal annount. UnfiIled domeatic cargo ordelr aggregate 152,979,925 feet and export orderr 7814481717 feet.

Beddec ttere is a tremendour pressure behind the market, indicative of confidence in the new year'l developments. Buyerr are so anxious to get their orderr placed that they are willing to pay the price prevailing at time rhipment ir made.

Tiderrater mills are well rupplied with orderr and ere not seeking new burineea even rmder ttooe conditionr. Moot of them have enough businear on their bookr to run ttem until well hrto the new year. The holiday shut-down will be brief this year, ercepting at thore millr ttat cannot get can.

At the rame time, Cdifornia buyeru are confronted with a pbrsiatent rhortege of luurbe-both rail and cargo-and the market here h ac{ing accordingly.

Arrivals at Lor Angeler harbor were cothparatively low it thg eady part of the month and the congertion of 6O daye ago was considerably relierred. But the middle of the month is bringing more veraelc into port end tte rmloadings for December probably will be on a par with ttore of preceding monthr.

Total lumber receipts for the portr tributary to Lol Anseles will approximate one and a quaft€r billion feet for the year.

Kyne To Write For California Lumber Merchant

Peter B. Kyne, popular fiction writer, who has been on a visit to the Northwest for the last two weeks, will write his im'pressions of the recent Red Cedar Shingle con€fress at Seattle for the n,ext issue of THE CALIFORNIA LUMBER I\4ERCHANT.

Watch fo,r it-in the Tanuary 1 issue.