The New York herald., 1921-06-06
BUILDERS SNAP UP
BRICK SHIPMENTS
Demand for Materials Shows
Quickened Construction;
Late Realty Reports.

Certain current market factors seem
to support the growing impression that
the Eastern construction industry is
undergoing a change for the better, says
the Dow Service Daily Building Re-
ports. Common brick moved out OF
the Wholesale market for the first time
| this year In volume more closely re-
sembling a normal seasons schedule
or fifty-four arrivals up TO Tuesday
fifty-one were sold and by Friday night
later arrivals and sales left only three
unsold loads in the market. AS most
of this brick was ridden direct to build
! ing operations the weeks distribution
| indicates the rate of actual building
construction work now in progress In
the various sections of the city.
Brooklyn took twenty y-seven OF the
arrivals Manhattan thirteen; Bronx
five; New Jersey. four; Astoria, one
and Flushing, one. Each barge carries
approximately 100000 brick, so that ap-
proximately 100000 brick went TO
actual building sites in the last ten
DAYS. None of this brick went into
| dealers hands for stock. There is
therefore still a large untitled demand
for this commodity, which is being soio
at sl4 a thousand wholesale base, al
though some of the better grades
brought SIS, to which prices, of course,
must be added the cost or hanoilhs,
haulage and 10 per cent. for denVery
price on job site.
| The Manhattan brick handlers nave
| accepted the wage cut and are now back
| AT work at so cents instead of 81
| thousand.
While there are some lines that give
every outward appearance of having
reached actual price bottoms even 10
the extent of passing up attractive Of
ferings whsn made contingent upon fur
ther price reductions. there are sui
some building commodities that snow
shrinking quotations in this week S Jist.
Lime Price Cuts Take Effect Here.
In the basic building material depart
ment the cut Of 81 a ton made by Ohio
manufacturers fourteen days ago in the
price of hydrated finishing lime in cloth
and paper bags became effective in local
| dealers yards at the week end. The
cut was followed fully h.. the retailers,
current delivered pr1ce listing showing
an even dollars reduction in hydrated
| finishing lines and a cut of Sl.5O in COM
mon hydrated lines, which figure also
represents the cut made by the pro-
ducers. These price cuts. while an
nounced two weeks Ego by the manu-
| facturers, became effective in the New
York retail yards simultaneously with
| the first arrival of the newly priced
material as the week closed.
Reflecting the great slump in the
| spruce market, wood lath is S1.50 a thou
sand lower in price than a week ago,
making the local delivered price now
| SlO50. Less than year ago this ma
terial was retailing at $50 a thousand
| Common Hudson brick was then selling
| a a nd tsh ar "A
imately $3l delivered or the job. whereas
to-day it is selling at sl4 wholesale, or
| approximately $20.50 delivered, dspend-
ing upon the length of haul.
A price advance of 10 per cent. in any
| commodity at this time is worthy of
comment. and particularly SO when the
| commodity in question stands up in the
building material market as almost the
only one in which a condition of over
supply exists. Two weeks ago copper
could be bought for June-July delivery
at 12A cents. To-day the leading pro-
ducers quote 1324 cents. Linseed oil -e-
flecting paints and protective materials
could be purchased on March 10 at "a
rels each. To-day It is stiff at so cents
cents a gallon in lots of over five bar
Flooring Goes Up In Price.
Several lumber manufacturers have
| dililOuuCcO an duVdnCe IN vertical grain
flooring and yellow pine flat grain
flooring. Both yellow pine and Douglas
| fir dimension and finished stock are
stronger in price. North Carolina pine
flooring and roofers are also strength
enng in the wholesale market where
certain items of rough lumber are
headed for a rise
| While these influences have not vet
been felt i'm the New York retail lum-
ber market they are. nevertheless.
crowding in and the slightest turn in
the building situation for the better has
emphasized this tendency somewhat.
just as IL is being felt by leaders in the
electrical supply manufacturing market.
who feel that some day in the near fu-
| ture there will be general rise in
| prices whereupon some investing build
ers will scramble into the market for
supplies and in the stampede for deliv-
cries will find themselves counterbid-
ding for delivery rather than for the
actual materials they require.
Another factor looked upon BY the
| building industry as significant IL the
word OF mouth reports from represen-
tatives OF structural steel plants to the
| effect that they are getting an increas-
| ing number of small orders OF 100 tons
or less. The reports turned I'm TO the
| Bridge Builders and Structural Society
| In recent months show tho gradual
trend and support these statements OF
| increasing business The percentage OF
structural steel shop capacity under
| contract in January was IS. IN February
Il 4 10