Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-10-14
THE TREND OF TRADE.
Leading Features Of Hide and Har-
ness Leather Markets.
DECLINE OF LIGHT WEIGHT HIDES.
Dull Season in Harness Leather, and Stock
Accumulating.
QUALITY OF BARK BELOW AVERAGE
OFFICE OF PITTsBURe DIsPArcH.
SATURDAY. October IL. 1889.

The buff hide market is off No the past
week. There is no change in heavy steer
hides, which are rather scarce. Calfskins
are weak and unchanged. Harness leather
manufacturers report a Stacking up Of orders
since the first of the month, and trade is not
now sufficient to take away the output 1t
| is to be remembered, however, that the ca
pacity of the Allegheny harness tannerles
has been increased fully 25 per cent in the
past two years, and that the time of the year
is here when orders are uniformly light.
The quiet time for harness leather trade is
from the beginning of October to January.
Until the past week or two the harness
leather tanners of Allegheny were working
on back orders, and, now that they have
caught MP, stock begins to accumulate.
There is no fear, however, that all the
stock which our home harness leather
makers will be able to turn out won't in due
time, find ready sale, as has been the case in
other years, since their products are always
at premium in the worlds markets, COM
manding easily 1c per pound
Above All Other Brands.
Western harness makers consider it their
best card to proclaim that their materials
come from Pittsburg. and hence, at the first
signs of active trade manufacturers here reap
the benefit of the activity. There is general
complaint of the bark received this season.
Very little of that coming to our Allegheny
tanners in response TO orders last spring is able
to pass the inspector as up to the standard. The
quantity Of bark necessary to do the appointed
work this season Is much above the average
owing to damaging effect of rains in the bark
regions of West Virginia. While the COM
plant comes from the Northwest that there
has been too little rain, from our southern
borders comes the opposite complaint Of too
much wet weather.
The Harness Gazette, a monthly magazine
published in Rome, New York State, in its
October number publishes number OF op1n-
ions from our Allegheny tanners, which are
MARTIN Lappe & Sons report demand all
right but prices diseousagingiy@ low low, ,d,oo =; =.
tion of an advance.
.Kiefer & stiefel think demand for good
grades is greater than production, but cheaper
grades are neglected. There Is every 1ndtcatlon
of higher prices.
''James Gallery & Co. report that they are
running to their full capacity, and II demand
continues prices will be higher. This market
has
Less Stock on Hand
than for years at this time. Hides are held
firm, with slight advance, but harness leather
is too low The meager profit which has been
the result of the hand-to-mouth business for
some time will turn out to be q loss. but there
is ray of hope for the future from present
dealings"
The same journal quotes in its news from
Pittsburg that packers hides are very firm,
and heavy trace leather, as well as heavy steer
hides, ars scarce and firm; also better demand
for light leather than there was month ago.
The feature of the hide and leather trade
worthy of notice is the closeness Of margins, 80
close that in some lines margins are about
obliterated.
More goods have been manufactured and
sold by our tanners this year than ever before,
but it cannot be said that more money has been
made.
There is harder work at less profit than any
year on record ID the trade. But the needs Of
the country are steadily growing, and it is true
of leather as of iron, that bottom has certainly
been reached and that any change must hence
forth be toward higher prices. When the
change comes our home tanners are bound to
be among the first to reap the fruits.
The following quotations on hides are fur
nished by James Gallery CO.: