The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1919-05-16
LUMBER SALES
BACK ON BASIS
FPEACEDAYS
BUILD A HOME MOVEMENT HAS
BEEN PRODUCTIVE OF GOOD
REsuLTs-DEMANDs STEADILY
CLIMBING.

New Orleans, La, May 15.-For the
purchase of southern pine lumber, one
Of the most widely used building ma
terials in the world, last week returned
to the normal volume of peace days
| This interesting fact was revealed
here today with the issuance of the
Southern Pine Associations weekly
trade barometer. which showed that
| total orders received by 166 association
mills, during the week ending Friday,
May g. were 102 per cent. or two per
cent above the line indicating normal
business. Production was 81 per cent
and shipments 10 per cent normal.
The barometer order column has
been steadily climbing upward for the
past sixty days. 1t is predicted that
in the face of business now in sight
orders will be 80 per cent Of normal
within the next month.
"The lumber business has come
back said j. E. Rhodes, secretary
manager of the Southern Pine Asso-
citation. in commenting the statistics,
which indicate that the demand for
southern pine is much in excess of its
production
Since the signing Of the armistice.
when the government ceased taking
lumber in large quantities, the produce
ton of southern pine each week was
considerably larger than the sale and
shipments. This continued to the mid
die of April with accommodating
stocks at the mills.
| Build Horne Move Shows Results.
THE extensive advertising cam
ipaign which this association has con-
Quoted in connection with the general
Build a Home movement of the de-
partment of labor, has produced re-
suits. and with the advent of spring,
permitting the resumption of building.
I there has been a steady increase in
business since April u. At that time
1.-THE number of untitled orders report
1 ed by the members of this association
amounted to 18,433 cars. Last week
the same mills had untitled orders on
hand amounting to 23,524 cars. There
were received during the week by 166
mills, representing more than one
half the total production of southern
pine in the gulf states, orders for 1868
cars, equivalent to more than one
hundred million feet. This is % per
cent more than the output of the mills
I for the same week.
The orders received by these mills
during the week ending April aver
aged 402,755 feet per mill: while the
average orders last week was 631,355
feet. an increase of more than so per
cent in business in six weeks.
Elm addition to the large needs for
lumber in foreign countries, especially
Europe, a most conspicuous feature
of the resumption of the lumber bus
mess is the great need for construc-
ton of every sort in the United States
"All the cities in the United States.
with two or three exceptions, report
an extreme shortage of housing facili-
ties, including dwelling and apartment
houses, as well as need for office build
ings and business establishments.
There is universal need for more and
better homes to relieve the congestion
everywhere.
9TH costs of manufacturing lumber
remain very high and the manufacture
erS generally do not see any immed-
late prospect of their reduction. There
is still an acute shortage of labor at
many southern lumber producing
points.
with the gradual resumption of
business generally, it is certain that
the capacities of the southern pine
saw mills will be taxed to the utmost
to furnish the building material re-
quired by the domestic market in adj
dition to supplying what foreign buy
ers will be able to ship from our
shores.