New-York tribune., 1922-09-04
" age Increase
Il orces Cement
Cost Upward
Action Taken Through La.
Dor Shortage in Lehigh
Valley Section; Plenty Of
Brick in Local Market

Wage advances accorded to laborers
in the steel mills adjacent to cement
manufacturing plants in the Lehigh
Valley district, the main source OF sup
ply for this market. were responsible
in some degree for general boost in
cement prices to dealers in this vicin-
ity, according to the current Dow Serv-
ice Daily Building Reports.
The wholesale advance to dealers
makes the delivered price of this build
Ing commodity between $3.40 and $3.50.
Inc last quotation for cement delivered
on the job in New York City, as report
ed through the Dow Service, was SO Tor
spot business Conservative dealers
are not accepting future delivery busi-
ness at all unless they are covered for
the entire quantity by contract with
the manufacturers.
a recent advance of 20 cents in the
price of cement, Wholesale, was not
passed on to the public by the dealers.
The advance of September ], however,
left the dealers no alternative but to
advance their quotation to consumers.
The general manager of an impor,
tant cement manufacturing plant in the
vicinity Of the Bethlehem Steel Com
pany's plant in the Lehigh Valley
District when asked what he thought
cement price advance would have
upon the great building construction
movement now awaiting the settle
ment of various present and impend-
ing strikes said:
labor shortage Friday morning. The
wage increase made to laborers by the
steel companies threatened to drag
dangerous quantity of our men away
from our plants at. time when we
had met the coal crisis by installing
OIL burning systems. There was moth
ing else to do but to meet the wage
advance. The building movement, hav-
ing the prospective proportions it has,
Will depend for its uninterrupted prog
ress after the present readjustment
period passes upon a sufficient sup
ply Of cement. This cannot be assured
unless there Is at this time an un-
checked production as near to kiln
capacity as labor and fuel supply will
permit. The building public will be
best served by being assured an ade-
quate supply of cement"
Brick Cost Drops
Brick prices have dropped. Best
grades are to-day top at $18 thou
sand, wholesale Ito which must be
ADDED, Tor delivery. costs, handling and
haulage charges and 10 per cent?. From
this price quotations scale down to
SIS for run-of market brick. Five loads
were being offered in the market at
the week end as low as SIS This brick
was classed as being below market
standard, most of which was the prod
uct of burning the clay with fuel Of
inadequate quality and quantity.
The brick price slump was attributed
to the fact that demand had suddenly
fallen oil in Brooklyn, although it had
picked up considerably in Manhattan,
where three weeks ago it was in re-
dictionary mood. Eighty barge loads
We're in process Of being distributed in
this city, an unusually large quantity
for this time of the year, and thera
were twenty eight in the wholesale
market still unsold at the week end
According to the best available esti-
MATES of brick reserves for New York
and vicinity, covering any possible
squirt in building activity for the re-
mainder of the year, there are about