New-York tribune., 1921-04-18
Construction =
Awaits Lower
Freight Rates
Shipping Charges in Some
Cases Have Amounted to
More Than Cost of Build
ing Materials at Mills

Notable price movements besides
that Of steel feature the opening Of
the second month Of the 1921 BUILDING
season, says the current Dow Service
Daily Building Reports.
Hudson common brick dronned q
dollar thousand on the better grades.
Hollow stile is being quoted ON
levels lower than they were at the first
Of the month; window and plate glass
discounts have new levels. indicating q
further price shrinkage in this corn
modify, and in some of the lumber de-
partments, notably cypress, price re-
ductions 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 readju ustment perfod
that are expected to meet the demands
Of buyers Reinforcing material is en-
pected to reflect the general steel nrice
change. as well as metal and wire lath
Wired glass manufacturers produc-
ing rough and ribbed and figured
rolled products have already dropped
their quotations about 20 per cent and
in addition have dropped their boxing
charges % 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-S2 per cent to 1924 per cent
of jobbers' list of March l, 1913, on
all sizes, A and B quality single and
double, and from 80 per cent to 80
per cent on sizes over square feet.
Of official plate glass list of August
!, 1919.
This price reduction has had a
tendency to stabilize the glass market,
which has been made somewhat IRA
tional by the inflow Of foreign glass.
The reduction is only 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
production costs.
Big Advances in Freight Rates
1t is now generally conceded that
building material price reductions
alone cannot revive the big order
building movement. Freight rate de-
creases must take contributing part
II is pointed out that since 1915
freight rate advances have averaged
about 40 per cent between New York
and the Lehigh Valley, from which
center comes large part of building
material supply used in the metropoli-
tan district, apportioned in the compu-
tation as follows:
Portland cement from Zone to New
Hollow tile from Pennsylvania, ...:. 100
Face brick from western Pennsylvania
Fire brick from western Pennsylvania / o4
IFydratcd lime from Ohio tiinishng).. So
Enameled brick from New Jersey
consrnon lump lime from Virginia. +. 1870
iydrated lime from PENNSYLVANIA
Msiai lath from ohio and Pennsyl-
building sand from New Jersey pits. %
Building brick (comnon) from New
Jersey kilns ...............:..... $50
lumber (average from all ponts) to
New York ....-...s+.. ....--....-... loo
Building material consumers are be-
ginning to notice that an increase of
l52 per cent in shipping a barrel of |
cement, for example, means an increase
Of % cents a barrel in cost to them I
and that 100 per cent increase in the
freight rate on hollow tile means about
cents increase for the average size /
building block. In some cases the !
present high freight rates on building /
materials amount to more than the !
factory cost of the materials them
elves
Under the present conditions, exclud-
lng freight rates, the New York mill
ease to-day, including flooring used in
small house construction, is lower than
are the same items on mill base in the
are owner great dissriouting centers,
~hicago, st. Louis and Kansas City.
This statement is true also of common
trades of yellow pine, including dimen
sion and timbers. The significance of
the foregoing is that the lumber mills
ean make more money selling to the :,
nid-western markets than they can 20
,he metropolitan district of New York
The market is advancing in the Mid
lie West and as such movement is
invariably followed by corresponding
action in the East it will probably not
be more than thirty days before price
turn upward is reported in flooring,
common grades of yellow pine, dimen
SION and finn horc 11cod for cyro house