Thc Mrhogtny Outlook Junc, 1950

By George N. Lomb, Secretory-Monoger MohoganY Associotion, lnc'

I-et's take a quick backward look befnre we talk about the future. F'irst we can say definitely that the Mahogany industry has not ftrlly returned to normal since the scarcity of Mahogany logs from Africa. This shortage was acute from September 1949 through February of this year' IJnprecedented rains and tl'ren a political strike on the Gold boast were the reasons for that shortage' Except for a very large inventory of Mahogany veneer at the beginning of the shortage of African logs, the situation would han-e lreer', vcry serious. As it was, inventories went down but shipments held up' Thus, many favored items were in very short suPPlY.

Log shipments were resumed in March on a substantial basis and production for that month was the best since May 1948. This would have eased the situation materially except that March vcneer shillments reached record-breaking proportions. Increasing log shipments from the Gold Coart rhould produce veneer to meet current demands in the very near future. There is plenty of Mahogany available on- the African West Coast and it's only a matter of stepping up production to meet increased demand'

Since the first of January the Mahogany lumber situation has followed a rather steady pattern of balanced production and shipmer-rts' Demand for Mahogany lumber has been better than dttring the last half of 1949 but no runarvay market has developed. The secrlnd quarter of the year is traditionally the low ebb in Mahogany production. Last year's logs have been converted and the current season's production has not yet begun to arrive in volume. With a normal season in Central and South America it appears that the supply will take care of demand' This certainly will be the case if the furniture market experiences the usual mid-summer lull.

The prospects for Mahogany production in the tropics at this time appear to be normal. Political and economic conditions are always a factor, usually a hazard in Mahogany production. Even so, the weather is the overall determin- ing factor in Mahogany production. That is entirely un' pridictable, except on the basis of the law of averages'

In the furniturl industry Mahogany will occupy its usual lxrsition in furniture of the medium and better grades but ivith modern design or modified traditional making moderate advances. New and better finishes will show up here and there. These mostly will be in the middle range between the standard traditional finishes and the bleached finishes in modern designs. Improvement will be particularly apparent in lower priced Mahogany furniture'

We cattn"t speak fulty on the Mahogany outlook without considering the closely allied industry-television' 'fhis rapidly expanding industry for the most part rerluires a .ulin.t that is really a piece of furniture. As a matter of fact, a goodly num,ber of TV cabinets are being procured by furniture factories since the demand for cabinets has far outrun the capacity of specialists in radio and TV cabinets to suPPly them.

Television is already a very important factor in the demand for Mahogany llut it would be a rash person who would predict how fast it will go from here and when the market will reach the saturation,point. It is rather unfortunate in some respects that the TV industry has a strong preference for the same types of Mahogany veneer that are in most demand for furniture.

It is also true that for sales training purposes' there has been an unprececlentecl clemand for The Mahogany Book, "Facts to Help You Sell Mahogany" and for the color sound film "Mahogany . Wood of the Ages'" Soon this film will be available in a 30 minute version as well as in the original 43 minute version.

Ioins Pcbco's Design Stcll

William H. C. Cook has joine<l the design staff of The Parraffine Companies, Inc., San Francisco, it was announced toclay by A. E. Lawrence, Pabco's style director' Cook will specialize on the styling of building materials and paints manufactured by the company'

After education in Art and Architecture at Yale University and the University of California, Cook has been associated with such firms as Raymond Loewy Associates and Western Electric as a color consultant, and immediately preceding his employment by Paraffine was color designer for I-ippincott & Marguilies, Iuc., of New York'