Good Potentiol Lumber Demond For Bolonce of Yeor

Signs of both strength and rveakness in the lumber market result in a rather confusing picture as to the lumber supply and demand in tl-re secoird quarter of 1953, reported t1-re Lumber Survey Committee in its 89th Quarterly Report to the Secretary of Commerce. A gradual softening in the market was reflected in the gentle slide in the \\,'holesale Price Index for lumber, and in reports of the closing of some mills caught betrveen high production costs and a smaller retnrn for their products. Evidence of strength could be found in the high level of output of active mills during the first l-ralf of the year and in the considerable amount of lumber moving to major markets.

The large volume of lumber produced during the second quarter brought the output of lumber for the first half of 1953 to an estimated 19.363 million board feet, 7 per cent above the corresponding 1952 period. That total shiprnents of lumber corrtinuecl to be slightly more than production .rr,as attributed by the Committee to the firmer tendencies of harrlwoods.

Estimated hardn.ood production in the second quarter fell 8 per cent ltelor,r' the first quarter and rvas exceeded by both shipments and nerv orders. Roth shipments and nerv orders for softu,oods, hor,vever, were belou'the corresponding second quarter production.

Tl-re Committee reported that gross mill stocks of lumber declined 5 per cent during the second quarter of 1953 to an estimated 7,739 million board feet at the end of June. A decrease of 3 per cent took place in retail yard lumber inventories during the quarter while retail sales helcl up rvell.

The Lumber Survey Committee further stated that general business conditions are expected to be good through the rest of the year and indicate a good potential demand for lumber, although problems of the second quarter are expected to persist through the balance of the year.

The current quarterlv report of the Comn.rittee is the B9th of a consecutive series prepared at the request of the Secretary of Commerce; it is not an offi cial government publication.