632





RECORD AND  GUIDE





October 5, 1912.





BUILDING MATERIALS.

Portland Cement and Wire Products Prices
Advanced This Week.





What the Consumer May Hope For as the Result o(
the Interstate Commerce Commission's Investiga¬
tion Into Freight Charges on Structural Commodi¬
ties—General Market News.
IN view of the general stiffening in
prices of all buiiding materials, con¬
sumers will be more or less interested
in knowing that the Interstate Commerce
Commission has ordered an investigation
of the rates, practices, rules and regu¬
lations governing the transportation of
cement, lumber, slate, brick, iron
and steei, and their products, and,
in fact, any and all materials enter¬
ing into buiiding construction originat¬
ing from points outside of New Tork
•State. The scope of the investigation
will cover all points and roads east of
the Mississippi and north of the Ohio and
Potomac Rivers, known as Official
Classification  Territory.

It is natural for the consumer, as well
as the dealer, to hope that the result
of the investigation will be some sort of
legi'Slalion which will materially cut
down the cost of transporting basic
buiiding materials from points outside of
New York State on the general suppo¬
sition that railroad freight rates in gen¬
eral and those affecting buiiding ma¬
terials in particular are unjustifiably
heavy.

As a matter of fact it is hardly to be
presumed in the light of general price
conditions of the day present that the
dealer or the consumer will benefit par¬
ticularly from the investigation. High
wages 'that are now paid to railroad em¬
ployees, general demands of freight hand¬
lers for increased pay, the higher cost
of carting these materials in congested
cities, the inability to stack or store ma¬
terials where realty values are so higli
as to make storage charges prohibitive
on reserve supplies of bulky materials,
and the fluctua'ting demand in a big com¬
munity, such as the metropolitan dis¬
trict; present such widely varying prob¬
lems to the distributor and dealer as to
make the actual cost of hauling materials
from mill, kiln or factory, more of an
incident in price-making than as a
primary factor.

Even though stores are established
such as the Carnegie Steel Company
maintains in Waverly, N. J., the cost of
unloading, storing, reloading and carting
from stores to job remove the little
chance there originally might have been
to   reduce   building   ma'terial   prices.

As it actually works out in practice
the consumer pays little more for his
material for the convenience of having
goods delivered when he wants them and
making sure that there will be no delay
arising from strikes, railroad blockades,
weather conditions or other causes, which
he is likely to encoun'ter when purchas¬
ing direct from the mill.

The building material interests are
very much inclined to doubt whether
practical results will follow from this in¬
vestigation. It will be interesting, how¬
ever, to watch the results.

Briek.

The Hudson River common brick mar¬
ket is quiet, with few takers at the new
$7.25 level. The large number of unsold
barges on hand, numbering in all twenty-
two on Monday, presented a situation to
the dealer which was anything but con¬
ducive to prompt buying. Barges still at
distributing points, are temporarily held
up because of inability of certain con¬
cerns to get steel. This is a situation
which is beginning to embarrass some
building material interests, but it is sig¬
nificant that only those who did not heed
the Record and Guide's warning of last
spring about the future of the steel mar¬
ket, are tied up now.

North River brick are being taken on
the $6.75 level, with very few actual sales
at $7.25. The same is true of the Raritan
River  department.

The situation on ali the brick yards in
the metropolitan district is such as to
command the attention of prospective pur¬
chasers in this market. Cold weather,
coupled with rain, has made drying diffi¬
cult. In addition it is driving the im¬
ported labor south. This condition is al¬
most sure to bring about an early clos¬
ing down of most of the Hudson River,
and some of the Jersey plants, unless
warm weather comes in the next two or
three weeks. It is, therefore, extremely
desirable that purchasers be made irre¬
spective of the apparent supply at the
wholesale  and   distributing  docks.





Transax2tions on the market covering
Hudson River common brick for last week
with comparisons for the corresponding
week on 1911 follow:

1912.
Lett  Over,  Sept.  21—10.

Arrived.      Sold.

Monday   .........................15              13

Tuesday  .........................   3               6

Wednesday   ......................   4               2

Thursday ........................11              12

Friday   ..........................    9               4

Saturday   ......................,-.14               7

Totals   .........................56             44

Condition of market easy. Current
prices, $6.75 to $7.25 (Wholesale dock New
York. Add cartage and dealers' profit
for retail prices.) Left over September
28—22.

1911.
Lelt Over,  Sept.  23—17.

Arrived.      Sold.

Monday   .........................13               4

Tuesday   .........................   2               6

Wednesday   ......................   5               3

Thursday   ........................   7               7

Friday   ..........................   6               2

Saturday..........................   8               2

Totals  ......................... 41              24

Condition of market dull. Prices, $6 to
$6.50.     Raritans,  $5.75  to  $6.25.

In the corresponding week in 1910 the
arrivals were 67, and the sales 65, at prices
ranging from $5.25 to $5.50 per M. for
Hudson  River common.

Portland Cement.
Portland cement in this market is now
quoted at $1.58 to $1.63, representing 90
cents in bulk at the mill. This is an
evidence of strengthening in the cement
market and brings the mill price up to
a position higher than in 1908. It is of
interest to note that average mill prices
from 1903, which was the latest high water
market for this commodity at mill, have
been as follows: .

1903....................$L24

1904.....................98

1905.....................96

1906....................1.13

1907....................1,11

1908.....................85

1909.....................81

1910.....................80

1911.....................70

1912........................

It is probable that the average price
for 1912 will be about 78 cents, in view
of the fact that another advance of five
cents a barrel is expected to be an¬
nounced by about the middle of next
month, if the present tremendous demand
continues, which at this time seems en¬
tirely probable.

The gain in production of Portland
cement in 1912 over that of 1911 probably
will be not over 5 per cent. This
is due largely to increased capacities of
certain companies. The estimate is based
upon building and engineering construc¬
tion reports and quantities required as
shown by Dodge and other reports for
the current year and the fact that mills
are not carrying large reserve stock.

One authority, in speaking of the ce¬
ment situation this week, declared that
this advance is in no sense arbitrary, hut
is based entirely upon current demand
and probable requirements incidental to
subway construction work in this city,
and prolonged demand for Portland
cement based upon the present inability
of the construction steel companies to
turn out finished shapes in proportion to
the volume of new business being re¬
ceived.

The reasons as explained in this de¬
partment last week for the increase of
the price of common brick in the market
is also applicable to the Portland cement
price situation, and therefore, corrobo¬
rates the Record and Guide's advice to
the effect that building materials this
winter will all assume stronger price
tones.

Lumber.
Considerable interest centered this
week in the shingle situation in Seattle.
Wash. Prices out there have advanced
sharply during August and September.
They seem to have reached their limit
and are well sustained at the present
high level, or $2.15 for stars and $2.50
for clears. Shingle logs are holding
steady and flrm at $14, so that it is en¬
tirely probable that there will be marked
upward movement in red cedar shingle
in this market in the very near future.
The shortage of cars from the far West
is also adding to the situation which is
almost sure to hasten heavier prices be¬
fore long.

In the general w^holesale lumbert
market, quotations are all very flrm,
especially on hard woods. The capacity
of door and sash mills, to turn out
finished products that are required in
building operations now under way is
severely taxed. Generally speaking the
door factories have never been busier
in   their   history.     The   sash   and   blind





mills are very active on special orders.
The soft pine stock door and sash In¬
quiry Is normal.

The total estimated cost of building op- ■
eratlons now finishing in New York City
is $83,000,000. This does not include small
suburban construction work in Queens,
Brooklyn, Westchester or East Jersey.
Of this total $53,609,200 covers representa¬
tive office, loft, store, hotel, apartment,
power house, armory, museum, dwelUng,
institutionally, hospital, school, ware¬
house, theatre, flreproof construction.
Special mill work is reqiiired in excep¬
tional volume for this business which ac¬
counts in large measure for the activity
of most of the mills in this district.
Some mills have their capacity taken
up to January 1, while others report en¬
gagements of output well into the first
of March.

Mills outside of New Tork which sup¬
ply this territory report that they are
running behind their orders. Especially
is this true of veneered door department.
Prices, however, are stiff and consumers
may expect a gradual strengthening of
lists.

Coal.

Statements of the coal consumers and
distributors in this market do not con¬
form in many respects to the position
taken by the coal operators, who say
that they are mining more coal than they
can sell at this time. Despite this fact
the price of domestic size coal is very
much heavier today than it was at this
time last year on the ground that coal
is scarce and even commercial sizes are
not procurable in volumes anything like
that   called   for   by  consumers.

The Record and Guide learned this
week that there are now 700,000 tons of
unsold surplus stocks above the normal
consumption and that all talk of there
being a shortage of anthracite coal is
largely the result of car shortage, which
at worst can he only  temporary.

The coal trafflc is heavier than any¬
thing the operators have known. Through
the first twenty-four days of September
anthracite shipments were 169,000 tons
ahead of September, 1911. The bitumin¬
ous shipments were 171,000 tons ahead
of last year, or an average of 34,000 tons
daily above the shipments of a year ago.
This is an indication that the manufac¬
turers of the country are anticipating
capacity schedules well into the first
quarter of next year.

There is also n lively inquiry for floor
covering, but this is not considered excep¬
tional at this time, owing to the fact
that the leasing market, especially in the
downtown section, has not shown signs of
being exceptionally active this fall. Man¬
agers, however, are expecting a very ac¬
tive leasing market next spring, and are
therefore making inquiries for building
materials and alteration supplies for de¬
livery after January 1. when it is ex¬
pected that for about thirty days better
concessions will be more easily procur¬
able than any other item within the next
twelve months.

Building   Supplies.

Building managers expressed consider¬
able interest this week in the lubricating
oil market, because all departments there¬
in are steady. In the vegetable depart¬
ment cocoanut oil had only a routine
trade; corn oil is quiet;' animal oils are
easier in tone; the market for lard oil
shows no appreciable change in general
position, and on fish oil there was prac¬
tically no change in the menhaden situ¬
ation. The market for refined petroleum
oii shows a tendency to Increase, and for
this reason the attention of building man¬
agers was attracted to the whole oil and
lubricant market, because any movement
in petroleum is almost sure to be fol¬
lowed by a similar movement in other
oils.

Particularly is this true of linseed oil.
Buiiding managers who watch the linseed
oii market carefully are those who buy
good paint theN cheapest. Just at this
time linseed oil is quoted at 68 and 69
cents, American seed oil raw city, and
for that reason managers are again ac¬
tively in the market for paints.

Managers are also watching with con¬
siderable   care   the   copper    market,   be¬
cause fluctuations here affect sheeting and
flashing, which they use in large quanti¬
ties.   For that reason the receipt of news
that   standard   copper   was   stiffer   under
the    Balkan    stringency,    although    the
tendency    among    them     caused    it     to
move    actively    into    the    market    until
the    expected    action    more    completely      i
conforms   to   their  idea  of  what  copper      |
prices should be.    Current finished copper
and brass prices are held in this market      ..
at  23  and  24   cents  base  for  large  lots.      I
F\ill  extra for small  quantities.     Copper      f
wire is firm at 18%al9 cents base carload
lots at the mill. Seamless copper tubes are
at the mill.    Seamless copper tubes are
held at 24a25 cents base, and brass ditto
21a22 cents per pound base.





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