The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1908-09-28
Lumber Market.


While the lumber market in this terri
tory continues to show gradual I'M
provement, the upward movement Is char
acterized by sort of irresolution and
accentricity that are puzzling to the anx-
ious mill operators who want to form
some sort of reliable estimate as to the
future of the trade. Some extremely large
orders have been received in the past Few
weeks. Some of these orders have been
at prices not unsatisfactory to the manu-
facturers.
But again buyers have been sent into
the field to make purchases at prices be-
meath the attention of the mill men, lndi-
eating either that the buyers were not
badly in need of the goods or that they
had a belief that the advance In prices
was but a spasmodie squirt that would be
lost later in the season. Under such con-
ditions the mill men scarcely know what
to believe about the future of the trade,
and this uncertainty is in large measure
responsible for the failure of the idle mills
to resume operations earlier In the year.
The baekwardness of the idle mills has
had strong influence for good upon the
market 1t has had the effect of keep
ing down the cut, and thus preventing
glut of the market at time when puf-
chases were scanty. The result Is Two
fold. The stocks at the mills are small,
and in most cases badly broken Ana
the mills that have remained in operation
have been able to take In so many Or
ders at fairly good prices that they have
been able to turn down the low offers and
thus In some measure to force the market
upward. A notable illustration of how
this works was given this past week when
the representative of a big Omaha whole
sale house came on this market to place
orders for 10, 100000 feet of railroad ties
for the Union Pacific Railroad company.
So large a contract was calculated to
tempt the biggest of the mills at any
thing like reasonable prices.
But the offer was turned down at the
time; and while negotiations are now on
for a renewal of the negotiations, 1t has
been shown that there is business to be
placed, but that buyers need not expect
to get the goods at starvation prices be-
cause of the necessities Of the mills The
mills are not taking any large orders even
at present quotations. This Is again IL
Illustrated in the case of an extraordinary
order for car material that is now being
filled on this market. 1t Is for approxi-
mately 5,0O0000 feet of car material of
all kinds for a Canadian factory. The
BUYERS agents who are handling the bus
mess have found it necessary to pare eel
out the orders in small lots among the
different mills The prices obtained for
the business are regarded as fair in COM
parison with the depths at which the mar
ket has been ranging during recent
months past
Mills To Reopen.
The first day of October is the day
set for the reopening of great many
of the mills that have been idle and
which for the past few weeks have been
undergoing repairs and overhaulinS
preparatory for resumption. Stories OF
mills resuming prior to this time have
been largely mythical and prophetic
rather than actual and present. Propa-
bly, not more than a half dozen mills,
and them all small, have reopened for
business In all the yellow pine belt or
Mississippi this fall. But on October
l. or til ereab outs, the saws will be-
gin to turn on many mills that have
been idle all through the year. The
B. T. Toomer mill on the Kansas City
road. the Burkwalter mill at Win
gate, the Little Creek mill at Little
Creek, the Kansas City Lumber COM
pany at Lucedale, the Conner mill at
Seminary the Ikeler mill at Moselle
are but few in this immense territory
that will get busy on or about that
time. The result of their activities VIII
not be apparent in the marts of trade
for another month, but they promise
to make business lively by Christmas.
Railroads Improve.
The railroads all report improved
traffic. The planning mills at Hatties-
burg have started running nights as
we'll as days. Railroad men as we'll as
lumbermen are now particularly APP
prehensive that the mills during the
winter will have to contend against
car famine in comparison with which
that of two years ago was mild and
moderate. 1t is foreseen that If
heavy demand for lumber does come It