The Lumber Industry in l9Z3

A Condensed, Reaie-,a b9 l,I/ilson Compton, Secretarlt and Manoger of the National Lumber Manufacturers' Associntion.

Washington, January ?-The lumber industry is fast resuming its pre-war stride in volume of production and shipments and 1923 was, g'enerally speaking, one of the most ,satisfactory years in the recent history of the lumber trade. The volume of lumber movement has been perhaps the greatest in ten years. This activi.ty has been widespread, not localized. The service rendered by the railroads for the transportation of sarvmill produits for the country as a whole is the best in the industry's historv:-a credit to railroad performance and to the better urrd.rstanding between shipper and carrier. An increasing volqme is-being transported by rvater, probably 20 per cint of the shipments of the larger sar,r'mills and -perhips 15 per cent of the total shipments of the lumber industry. Waler transportatio_n is adding a valuable new facility to large portions. of the lumber industry as a substantial'guarantie against involuntary tie-up by car shortage. There is great safety tn tWo alte5nalive tr.pnsportationlutlets

The lumber stocks at the sarv-mills are generally smaller tlt1.1 " year ago. Many mills have run doirble, .";rr aripl;" .shrtts .throughout a considerable portion of the past year. r hat the stocks are relatively lorv is an indisputable- evi_ dence of the tremendous voluine of actual lumber .orrrr*f_ tion during 1923.

It is a tremendously significant fact that a volume of lumber, unprecedented dur:ing the last decade, has molrJ day by day from the mills tolhe retail yards and from the retail yards to the job. This was achieved rtuithout sub_ stantial increase in lumber prices. prices realized for lumber at the saw-mills are no higher than a year ago. In fact, there has been during the past six monihs a ionsiderable decline in the average prlce .le'r'el. Manufacturins costs, which had been greatly ieduced l92L and 1922, hav"e increased substantially during 1923. In some lumbering reg'ions, wages paid are the highest in history. The qualiti of labor performance has impioved and the-labor tuinover gre-atly decreased except in certain regions affected by spe- cial conditions such as the negro laboi exodus to the iVoitt from the South Atlantic.