The New York herald., 1921-04-18
MORE CUTS MADE
In BUILDING COSTS
But Exorbitant Freight Rates
on Materials Still Hold Up
Large Projects.

Notable price movements. besides that
OF steel, feature the opening of the Sec
ond month of the 1921 building season,
say the current Dow Service Daily
Building Reports.
Hudson common brick dropped down.
a dollar thousand on the better grades.
Hollow tile is being quoted on levels
lower than they were at the first of the
| month. WINDOW and plate glass dis
| counts have new levels indicating a
further price shrinkage in this commod-
ity and in some Of the lumber depart
ments, notably cypress. price reductions
at mill or market centers have taken
place. There are some items in the
concrete ingredient department. like
gravel crushed stone and sand which
have remained surprisingly rigid during
the price readjustment period that are
expected TO meet the demands of buyers.
reinforcing material is expected to re-
fleet the general steel price change. as
we'll as metal and wire lath.
Wired glass manufacturers, producing
rough and ribbed and figured rolled
products, have already dropped their
quotations about 20 per cent. and in
addition have dropped their boxing
charges 25 per cent. Manufacturers OF
plain, rough and ribbed and figured
rolled have taken off 25 per cent. OF
their former list quotations. Discounts
on ordinary window glass have changed
from so to SO per cent. to SO to S4 per
cent off jobbers list of March /, 1913,
on all sizes A & B quality. single and
double. and from 80 per cent to SO
per cent on sizes over five square feet,
off official plate glass list of August J..
1919
This price reduction has had ton
dency to stabilize the glass market.
which has been made somewhat IRA
tional by the inflow of foreign Elass.
The reduction is only a slight one. but
1t Is said to represent the extent to which
price reductions can be made in view
Of the existing freight rates and produce
ton costs.
It is now generally conceded that
building material price reductions alone
cannot revive the big order building
movement. Freight rate decreases must
take a contributing part. 1t is pointed
out that since 1915 freight rate advances
have averaged 10 per cent. between
New York and the Lehigh valley, from
which centre comes large part OF
building material supply used in the
metropolitan district.
Building material consumers ere be-
ginning TO notice that an Increase Of
|152 per cent. in shipping a barrel Of
cement, for example, means an increase
of 25 cents barrel in cost to thcm
and that a 100 per cent. increase in
the freight rate on hollow tile means
about cents increase for the aver
age size building block. IN some cases
the present high freight rates or Duiid-
ing materials amount To more than the
factory cost OF the materials themselves
Under the present conditions. exciud-
ing freight rates, the New York mill
base to-day, including flooring used In
small house construction. IL lower than
are the same items on mill base in the
three other great distributing centres,
Chicago, st. Louis and Kansas City.
This statement is true also Of common
grades of yellow pine. including d.men-
sion and timbers The significance OF
the foregoing is that the lumber mills
can make more money selling to the
mid-Western markets than they can 70
the metropolitan district OF New York.
The market is advancing in the Middle
West and IA such n movement - invari-
ably followed by corresponding action
in the East II win PROBABLY no. be more
than thirty days before 2 p-icc turn
upward is reported in flooring, common
grades of yellow pine. dimension and
timbers used for small house ,onstruc-
ton