New-York tribune., 1921-01-24
Construction
Market Ready
For Operations
Enough Materials Are ON
Hand to Meet Demand
of the Spring Season,
Dealers Declare
More Reductions in Cost
Drop in Wood Lath of 81
a Thousand; Yellow Pine
Near Pre- War Levels

w GA
Estimates made by The Dow Service
DAILY Building Reports for the terri
tory roughly covered by the metropoli-
tan district of New York indicate a. 35
per cent of normal building construe-
tlon movement this spring.
Normal, for the basis of this compu-
tatlon, is taken as Of 1912, when the
total number of new building projects
and alterations to old structures to-
tailed 3O l32 separate operations valued
at $3.50 0,395,439 for greater New York
For the metropolitan district of New
jersey, Westchester and Long Island
the total number of building projects,
both new building and alterations, in
Guiding the five boroughs of New York,
aggregated 40,176 valued at $29O,2l9,-
Building material distributors sup
plying this district, covering pract-
cally twenty-five mile radius of New
York, say that the available stocks
that they have on hand and on current
order Will be sufficient to Approximately
meet this demand. Inventories, re-
Gently completed, indicate that exist
ing stocks will not suffice for forward
building requirements beyond May or
that the building movement will have
attained rate of about SO to 60 per
cent of normal.
Replenishment orders now being
placed do not appear TO contemplate
excessive demand until about August,
when the market it is thought, will
awaken to the fact that building mate
rial and equipment supplies, due to
curtailed material production now, will
be in relatively the same position that
they were at the turn of the half-year
OF 1920, namely, far behind deliveries
Car shortages and fuel manipulation
contrlbuted last year to acceptuate the
builders difficulties. There is nothing
of the sort now visible upon the eco
nomic horizon to embarrass building
material production and delivery, ex-
cepting labor, credit and readjustment
of production and distribution prac-
tices resulting from an era probe and
investigation which also might be ex-
pected to the financing of new and old
building commodity manufacturing and
distributing enterprises.
Growing Demand for Homes
Offsetting these factors, however, is
the growing demand for housing and
similar construction, which, in the light
of what now appears to be something
like an overproduction of commercial
space in New York City, at least prom
jses to have practically a right of way
to material supply, at least for the first
part of the year, or until it has been
demonstrated to investment capital
that the commercial space that will
be offered for rent this spring can
be adequately absorbed.
With this view generally accepted by
the retail building material trade, the
market is now passing through the last
stage of price cutting, with manufac-
turers and dealers cooperating in bring
ing the price of basic materials within
the reach of the consumer who will
start the first spring operations.
In the lime department, which has
been one of the most rigid of all the
building materials during the last six
months of price readjustment, the man
ufacturers and dealers have made sub
stantial reductions. In barreled prod
ucts, such as finishing and common
lime. the 40-cent cut effective this week
represents a S0cent reduction by the
manufacturers and 10cent cut by
common and finishing, the manufac-
turer has taken off 81 ton, and SO has
the dealer an equal amount, making a
81 cut to the consumer.
Owing to a cut in the spruce market
the first item to be affected here was
wood lath, which dropped So a thou
sand, from S14 to S12.
The recent cut in the price of cement
has been misunderstood in the building
construction field. Mill base on Port
land cement is now $3.50 a barrel,
without bag rebate. Rumors have been
current in the trade that manufacture
ers' price cut in addition to the re-
cent one, would occur before the first
being hungry for business, announced
drop on January 8, Of 80 cents. This
cut has no relation to the 'manufac-
turers' price. This prospective cut
probably rejecting in large measure
the lowering cost Of fuel at the mi Is
is still generally expected by contrac-
tors who are, in many eases, deferring
their purchases until the reduction is
announced, making the mill base So. to
~hlch, of course, carrying. handling
package charges and dealers profits
have to be added for delivered price
Cost of Yellow Pine Drops
The cost OF yellow pine housing lum-
Der is now down to within 10 per cent
of prewar levels in the wholesale mar
ket and in the retail markets the deal
ers have shrunk their prices to a pro-
portionate degree, so that the stocks of
housing lumber at distributing points
have been considerably reduced.
One large Long Island building oper-
ator has recently purchased his entire
requirement Of lumber for vast apart
ment house project although he has
not yet decided about proceeding With
the enterprise. He is buying other build
TO LET FOR BUSINESS PURPOSES
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