THE CALIFOR}IIA LUMBERMERCHANT JackDiorne,pil,lishc' How Irumb er [.rooks

Portland, Oregon, September 18.-Production, orders and shipments at Douglas fir sa'rvmills through the {rrst eight months of the year are rvithin a whisker of being identical.

Harris E. Smith, secretary, West Coast l,utnbertnen's Associati.on, said production for the fir region of 7,050,585,000 board feet is 392 million feet over the first eight months of last year, but slightly behind the record ()tltput of 1951. Orders and shipments both top last year, although shipments lag behind 1951 totals to clate.

Smith said the unfilled order file for the ir.rdustry for August was down belorv Jul,r' totals almost 100 million feet. Lumber inventory at Douglas fir mills crept t-tp to a high for the year to 1,053,000,000 lroard fect.

The weekly average of West Lloast lumber production in August was 190,480,000 b.f. or 100.3/o of the 1948-1952 average. Orders averaged 164,9.56.000 b.f. ; Shipments 186,817,000 b.f. \\'eekly averages for July were: I)rocltlction, 166,217,UJD b.I.; 875% of the 1948-1952 average; t-rrclcrs. 176,204,WA b.f. ; shipmentse, 167,616,000 b.f.

Eight months of 1953 cumulative production, 7,000,585,000 b.f.; eight months of 1952, 6,668,612,000 b.f.; eight months of 1951, 7,M7,514,W b.L

Orders for eight months of 1953 breakdown as follou's: I{ail ancl truck 4,8@,511,000 b.f.;domestic cargo 1,5O3,674,000 b.f.;export 345,883,000 b.f.; local 315,207,000 b.t.

The industry's unfilled order file at the end of August, gross stocks stood at 786,461,000 at t.053.474,000 b.f. b.f

Lumber shipments of 518 mills reporting to the National Lumber Trade Barometer were 8.8 per cent below production for the week ended September 12, 1953. In the same lveek nrv orders of these mills were 8.4 per cent below prodrrction. Unfilled orders of the reporting mills anrounted to 33 per cent of stocks. For the reporting softrvood mills (Continued on Page 76)

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