The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-01-07
COLD WEATHER HAS
 AIDED BUSINESS Wholesalers Again Have Men
 on the Road JOBBING TRADE IS GOOD Cold Wave Has Boosted the Coal Business and While Most Indus- tries Are Quiet the Out
 look Is Good
JOBBING TRADE IS GOOD

New York. January e-Bradstreet's to-
 morrow will say:
 1 Cold weather, especially severe west
 and south, has stimulated demand for
 heavy winter wearing apparel, and, com bined with usual clearance sales, has
 made for a rather better than average
 final distribution of seasonable goods. In
 wholesale lines holiday inventories have
 been completed and salesmen are again
 on the road.
 Reports from jobbers are of quite optimistic tone as to spring goods. Clear
 ance sales are good. Industry is quiet
 Iron and steel are dull and pig iron stocks
 are accommodating. Cold weather has
 helped coal consumption and sales are
 active of bituminous coal at the west and of anthracite at the east. No shortages
 of supply are, however. reported. The
 leather trades are quiet and reports of a
 widespread stoppage of work in tan
 neries give frmness to stocks of finished
 material. Cotton goods are quiet in pri- mary markets and year-end reviews of the 1910 results are disappointing as whole There are rather more optimistic reports as to lumber trade conditions on the north Pacific coast and a feeling that the depression in that line in 1910 is giv- ing way to a more favorable situation. Business failures in the United States for the week ending January were 2S1, against 251 last week. 21 in the like week in 1910, 329 in 1909, 435 in 1908 and 2SS in 1907. Business failures in Canada for the week number 2 which compares with 35 last week and S3 in the like week of 1910.
 Wheat, including flour, exports from the United States and Canada for the week ending January (Portland, Ore, advices not received) aggregated 2,56s,9 bushels, against 2,179,92e last week and S,1S3,145 last year. For the 27 weeks end ing January exports are 63,59S.S47 bushels. against 9o,913.2S4 in the cor responding period last year Corn exports for the week are 22s4,379 bushels, against 1.149,411 last week and 1,7 6s4 in 1910. For the 27 weeks ending January 5, corn exports are 1s.SSs,64s bushels, against 0,464,597 last year. Dun's Weekly Review New York, January 6.-R. G. Dun e Co.'S weekly review of trade tomorrow will say:
 There is little or no change in the state of the larger trades Contraction of
 
 the outlook for the new year is regarded as encouraging.
 Tn the month of December 27 additional furnaces were blown out and the daily rate of production fell from 6. .659 to 57,252 tons, or nearly 2S,000 tons less than in the corresponding period of 1909. How ever, prices at all leading centers are holding back until further concessions will be granted. In some other branches of l the industry conditions appear more en- | couraging, reports from Chicago and | Pittsburg indicate a better inquiry from 1 the railroads. while the outlook in the structural division is considered quite | promising.
 Retailers of dry goods the country over are pushing sales of white goods and
 domestics, while jobbers are busy bring | ing out their new lines of spring goods 1 for house display. Buyers are showing 1 increased inactivity in the markets. There has been little more trading in special | ties, wash goods and ginghams and some- what greater interest in early showing of blankets and mapped goods, but drills and sheetings have ruled quiet. Selling agents in both cottons and wool ems, as well as in silk lines find it very difficult to adjust prices because of the sustained high cost of raw material and production, while buyers are operating only for immediate needs. The movement In some directions fs hampered by slow deliveries. A very fair export trade In cottons is now reported with the far east. The footwear mar ket continues quiet and unchanged. New England producers have but a small re- serve for spring cutting, but buyers gen. orally are known to be carrying meagre stocks and an improved business is looked for by the latter end of the current month. The question of price is not a disturbing element at present. There is a somewhat firmer tone to the market on domestic hides and this is especially mo- ticeable in COW and bull hides An ex- port demand is again in evidence, prin- cipally for good lots of country hides and this had a strengthening effect on the situation here.
 There is slight increase in the bus mess for leather but trade is still far from being active.