How Lrumber Lrooks

Portland, Oregon, November 17-For the eleventh straight week orders for West Coast lumber exceeded production from the Douglas fir sawmills of western Washington and Oregon, according to H. V. Simpson, executive vice president of the West Coast Lumbermen's Association. Orders averaged 185,654,000 feet per week during October as against production averages ol 168,626,000 feet per week.

Unfilled order files at West Coast mills stood at ffi9,049,000 feet at the end of October, Simpson pointed out, which is the highest point reached since March of this year. Gross stocks at Douglas fir mills shrunk during October to 918,508,000 feet, lowest they have been since October of 1948.

Continued strong demand for all West Coast species is best indicated by total orders for the first 43 weeks of this year of 7,077,?f,8,0W board feet as compared to 6,972,584,000 for the same period last year, Simpson said. An unusually heavy demand from Atlantic Coast states has accounted for 909,598,000 board feet shipments by water so far this year as against 599,8D,0m to the same area for the first 43 weeks of last year. Shipments ol 6,916,233,ffi0 board feet for the ten months of. 1949 top production for the same period by 143 million feet, the lumber leader stated.

The weekly average of West Coast lumber production in October was 16,626,000 b.f. or 1L2.8/o of the 1943-1948 average. Orders averaged 185,654,000 b.f.; Shipments 177,708,000 b.f . Weekly averages for September were : Production 170,076,0m GJ37% of the 1943-1948 average) ; Orders 18B,956,000 b.f. ; Shipments 183,196,000 b.f.

Forty-three weeks of. 1949 cumulative production 6,772,751,000 b.f.; Forty-three weeks of 1948, 7,303,589,000 b.f.; Forty-three weeks of 1947, 7,183,788,000.

Orders for Forty-three weeks of. 1949 break down as follows: Rail 4,426,0n,W b.f.; Truck 325,050,000 b.f. Domestic Cargo 1,244,874,N0 b.f.; Export 291,257,ffiO b.f. Local 7W,079,000 b.f.

The Industry's unfilled order file stood at 609,049,000 b.f. at the end of October. Gross stocks at 918.508.000.

Lumber shipments of 418 mills reporting to the National Lumber Trade Barometer, National Lumber Manufacturers Association, were 3.6 per cent above production for the week ending November 5, 1949. In the same week new orders of these mills were 1.0 per cent above production. Unfilled orders of the reporting mills amount to 38 per cent of stocks. For reporting softwood mills, unfilled orders are equivalent to 22 d,ays' production atthe current rate, and gross stocks are equivalent to 55 days' production.

For the year-to-date, shipments of reporting identical mills were 4.5 per cent above production; orders were 6.5 per cent above production.

Compared to the average corresponding week of 19351939, production of reporting mills was 47.0 per cent above ; shipments were 56.2 per cent above; orders were 57.5 per cent above. Compared to the corresponding week in 1948, production of reporting mills was 7.3 per cent above; shipments were 26.7 per cent above; and new orders were 42.0 per cent above.

The Western Pine Association for the week ended October D, 91 mills reporting, gave orders as 58,523,000 feet, shipments 64,011,000 feet, and production 61,771,W f.eet. Orders on hand at the end of the week totaled 181,915,000 feet.

The Southern Pine Association for the week ended November 5, 93 units (121 mills) reporting, gave orders as 18,344,000 feet, shipments L9,447,000 feet, and production 18,460,000 feet. Orders on hand at the end of the week totaled 58,748,000 feet.

The West Coast Lumbermen's Association for the week ended November 5, 167 mills reporting, gave orders as 112,724,M feet, shipments 114,483,000 feet, and produc. tion 1O8,817,000 feet. Unfilled orders at the end oi the week totaled 449,599,n0 feet.

For the week ended November 12, tli€se same mills reported orders as 101,654,000 feet, shipments l@,714,W feet, and production 102,095,000 feet. Unfilled orders at the end of the week totaled 442.626.000 f.eet.

\rfrorn Our Own Forests and MiIIstt