The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1907-06-27
LUMBER PRICES
TAKE A DROP
Decrease of From ST to 81 on
All GradeS-Retai!erS Still
Refuse to Buy.
WHOLESALERS WORRYING
THEY ADMIT SHORTAGE OF CARS
is EXPECTED THIS FALL.

NAtd~tu III tAAt past iii &C NtthS nun -
to 500 on all grades of lumber and a
larger volume of lumber is arriving in the
valley than has been brought in for
months past
The price has gone down for both the
wholesalers and the retailers and the
consumer is getting the benefit al pres
! ent. In spite of the decrease a most pc
cuiiaT situation prevails here and one
that is causing the wholesalers and lum-
Der manufacturers any amount of worry.
The retailers, or yardmen, expect the
prices on all lumber TO go still lower this
summer and they are refusing to replen-
ish their stocks for the present season
/ or stock up for the winter at the present
prices. Notwithstanding the reduction of
the past three weeks The buyers for
the retailers fear that If they buy in
heavily now the rates will take another
slump and even though they cannot lose
any money. they will not make as much
as they would if they waited for the an
ticipated decrease.
The wholesalers and manufacturers ad-
NIT the prices may go still lower this
summer, late in the season probably, out
declare that by the time another de-
crease in prices comes. the western
| roads will be so busy with the movement
of fall traffic they will be unable to give
/ the lumber cars and the situation for the
/ local yard men will be fully as bad as
| that of last winter
/ Wholesalers Stocking Up.
/ The manager Of one of the largest
that he had twelve cars of lumber in
/ transit to Salt Lake at present. and that
not a foot of it IS sold as yet, a thing
J he has not experienced in months past.
/ Like conditions prevail with the other
wholesalers and with the manufacturers
{ Both of the latter, however, as discovered
yesterday by inquiry, are taking all the
/ lumber they can get and making pTepa-
rations for storing it here. believing that
before fall has advanced very far the
I local retailers viii be glad to get II at
any price. Altogether indications point TO
! the same if not lower prices than pre-
vailed here last year in the lumber mar
ket. No dealers. retailer. wholesaler or
/ manufacturer, will say there IS a posi-
bility of prices going higher than they
The cause of the drop in prices the past
| three weeks IS due to the fact that the
I Oregon manufacturers and wholesalers
/ who supply Salt Lake dealers with lum-
4 Der. have seen shut off from their Cali
! fornia market, and with Hartman IN
better shape than he has been for some
months to handle lumber shipments, they
( are sending their stocks this way and
I have lowered the prices in an effort TO
/ get the trade to stock up before fall. The
/ retailers think they viii reduce rates
/ even more to get their lumber into the
territory and that is why they refuse to
| stock up heavily.
| For two years past California has been
an immense market for the Oregon lum-
1 Der. The state has been flooded with
shipments at a high price and with stocks
away up the CatifOrilld lunlDeFIIleu nav
4 suddenly stopped buying. MuCh OF Inc
I lumber sent from Oregon 10 California
I goes down the coast by water a year
| ago and less the steamship companies
/ charged $40 a thousand for carrying luin-
Der from the Portland mills TO California
/ Todav the rate is $40 thousand. The
| Oregon manufacturers prevailed on the
l steamship men TO lower the water rates
TO induce the Californians TO Keep on
buying. but the lumbeTmen of the latter
state have all the lumber they want tor
! A time With the California market IN
such moor shape the Oregon men turned
their attention toward the intermOuntain
country and the local wholesalers can
get lumber without much trouble nO"'
Sure to Be Car Shortage.
Tho most serious aspect of the case at
I present is the refusal OF the retailers 10
/ stock up at the lower prices II IS estl-
I mated that while the Hartman line from
Portland to Salt Lake IS in better shape
for cars now and will be this faH than
/ IL was last year, there IS certain 10 De q
big shortage in the equipment again Tor
traffic has increased faster than the cars
have been added.
! The matter Of opening up Washington
mills in the vicinity OF Puget Sound *, 10
local trade by forcing Hartman and Hill
10 put in a through routing agreement
for cars over the two lines from Tacoma
| to Salt Lake ana make one charge IOI
the haul will not be decided Tor several
months. George E Merrill. president or
the Morrison Merrill company here and
! president of the Western Retail Lumber
I mems association. who went to Washing
ton. d c. two weeks ago to present the
/ Western Retail LumbeTmens side OF the
question to the interstate commerce com
mission. to whom the Washington manu-
facturers appealed for the through rout-
ing and one charge order. Is now on his
wav home The commission has asked
For briefs from the railroads and the
washington Iumbermen in the matter
Hartman asserted before the commission
that he didn't want to be obliged TO haul
tbe cars from the Hill line between Ia
coma and Portland into Salt Lake over
his line because he hasn't engines enough
now to handle his own cars. The argu-
mont seemed strong enough for the COM
mission to order briefs and counter briefs
i'm the matter. Meanwhile Salt Lake and
| the interu1ountain country viii continue
to get it's lumber supply from the Oregon
mills.