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1014 RECORD AND GUIDE December 11, 1915 gjHjiiiiiiiiii^^ I BUILDING MATERIALS AND SUPPLIES | REASONS WHY CONTRACTORS MAY LOOK FOR A BOOST IN LUMBKR PRICES BEFORE FEBRUARY 1 Abnormal Demand for Concrete S Piling—Brick Held For $8 I I ■li[MIMMaiI»lli»IIIP«Wail»IIWIll»BltllM^^ COMMENTING upon the Eastern lumber situation, a leading authority on the subject made the statement that prices on all basic building commodities in this department were probably at the lowest levels that will prevail east of the Mississippi for some time at least. "Brick has gone to new high levels; cement probably will be higher than has been known in this vicinity, anyway, in more than a decade; steel, stone, glass, wire and anything that enters into build¬ ing construction are still far from their top levels. Naturally builders turn toward lumber, where city ordinances permit its use, and it is the only avail¬ able commodity that is not reaching to new price levels, although some advances have been made. - "This makes us think that sharp changes will occur before February 1 in many lines. For years lumber manu¬ facturers have been meeting ruinous competition and have been shading their lists to very immoderate levels. In the very recent past they have been noting a betterment in demand, and in those lines where supplies are low advances have occurred; but we begin to feel that the time for a general marking up of quotations is at hand. "The removal of competition with European woodenware manufacturers, the heavy demand for packing cases of carrying capacities suitable for export in larger quantities than ever before, the general revival in building through¬ out the country, heavy construction works requiring vast quantities of shor¬ ing, and the revival of shipyard activ¬ ities on both seaboards speak for greater production. Here comes the shortage ■of lumbering labor, difficulty of getting added machinery capacity and cluttered transportation lines, and the only way to equalize the situation is to boost prices. These are things dealers have not been thinking about. It is not for the best interests of manufacturers and distributors to encourage this sort of contemplation, but the fact is neverthe¬ less true." A concrete products company doing ■business in Chicago and ten other points -in the country where it has factories -equally as well equipped as that on the Newark Plank Road near the Passaic River is doing a volume of business for railroads and in concrete piling out of all proportion to previous records. Rail¬ roads are finding concrete posts and poles cheaper than heavy rough timber, in the light of heavier demand for this wood in other channels, and the same is true of piles. This concern has cov¬ ered itself with 10,000 barrels of cement. Ordinarily, this quantity of cement would last a year, but tlic Eastern manager said that with the present demand for cement products it would scarcely suffice for the business now developing. This same concern was in the market for additional cement-mi.xing machinery this week and found the same stress in that market. Speaking with the engineer in charge of cement manufacturing ma¬ chinery it was learned that cement com¬ panies are doing a normal summer busi¬ ness in the month of December, a fact fully verified by conditions in the two zones contiguous to New York, where in the month of November 556,000 more barrels of Portland cement were shipped this year than in the same month last year and was the largest November movement of this building commodity in any November in the last eight years, save one, when there was a shipment in excess of that of November, 1915, of barely 60,000 barrels. The predicted upward movement in the price of common brick came this week when Hudson commons were held in this market for $8 a thousand, whole¬ sale, and Raritan interests turned down future contracts running into first quar¬ ter deliveries for $7.50 a thousand. Bot¬ tom prices for inferior Hudson brick were $7.25. There is scarcely a distributor in the Eastern market who believes that top levels have been reached in any com¬ modity. Just so long as inquiry and or¬ ders come in, the building material mar¬ ket is bound to be nervous on future deliveries, and there is a feverish disposi¬ tion on the part of those who are able to finance operations now to close for requirements where it is possible to do so. Plan filings in the five boroughs for the last week follow, compared with those in the corresponding period at this time last year. Last week 318 new build¬ ing plans were filed, at an estimated value of $3,906,455. Week ending Dec. 11, 1914. Dec. 10, 1915. No. Value. No. Value. Manhattan..... 2 $333,500 7 $803,000 Bronx.......... 5 7S,.550 16 502,850 Brooklyn....... 79 386,900 109 713,350 Queens......... 58 143,495 62 351,293 Richmond...... 16 17,892 20 54,730 Totals........ 160 ,$977,337 214 $2,423,425 PORTL.\IVD CEMEiVT. Heavy November Shipments—Summer Business in December. PORTLAND cement manufacturers are doing a summer business in December. November shipments were 350,000 barrels in excess ot total shipments in tbe same month last year. This total was all but 60.000 barrels ot the greatest month's shipments in any November in eight years, save one. And there is no sign ot the current demand being temporary. Reliable authorities stated to the Record and Guide this week that the present price level was being held very stiff. There is hardly any shading. Everybody looks for another advance before the second half of the month closes. But even at the present prices and present condi¬ tions of production no manutacturer can make cement tor less than $1.00 a barrel, mill a"nd the present price calls tor only .$1.03. Winter is coming on and the cost ot coal is consistently advancing, labor is hard to hold and it is hard to get cars. Mining ot limestone is also more expensive in winter. Railroads insist upon quick moving ot freight cars at the mills. "The flve-cent margin is too meagre to last long, especially under tbe existing demand. By July there will not be an idle cement plant In the country, according to present Indications, and by tbe flrst ot 1917 tbe present cement ca¬ pacity will not be able to take care ot the business that will be offered. This is exclusive of possible European export orders and is not contingent upon the non-passage ot national preparedness legislation at Washington. Rail¬ road business. South American export trade and prospective construction work alone will be sufficient to take care ot present national ce¬ ment producing capacity. The production ot Portland cement in the United States next year will turn the 100,000.000 barrel mark, in the opinion ot the best informed men in the trade. STRUCTURAI, STEEL. Ten Point Advance in the Price of Struc¬ tural Steel. QUOTATIONS on structural steel are up ten points from prices ruling last week. Cur¬ rent levels are 1.969c as against l.S69c last week. The change is in direct conformity with predictions made in this department of the Record and Guide on November 13th, when it was stated that two-cent steel might be ex¬ pected before the first of February. The present level is only four-tenths ot a cent a pound from the predicted level. The trade is reticent about discussing future developments in this material, but there are in¬ dications that point to possible higher levels than two cents. Every fabricating shop is try¬ ing to cover itself on shapes, but the big steel interests say it is a question ot getting mill capacity to turn out the orders and that they are taking business, in many cases, without stipulation as to minimum delivery periods. The concrete reinforcement department re¬ ports a tremendous movement for bars and wire. In some cases reinforced concrete beams are being used where possible as substitutes for beams where loads are not likely to be exces¬ sive, and where immediate construction work has to go ahead. BIG PLAN FIHIVG GAINS. National Construction Exceeds NoTcmber 1913. M OT only does national construction tor No- 1^ vember, 1915, show a gain ot 53.9 per cent, over that for November, 1914, but it also shows a gain over November, 1913, falling only slight¬ ly below the plan filings throughout the country in 1912. This is a continuation of the suc¬ cessive gains in building construction reported since August which showed a gain ot 13.7 per cent.; September, 30,5 per cent. ; October, 37.5 per cent. New York leads in national pros¬ pective construction, according to Bradstreets, with about one-flfth ot the entire country's expenditure. COMMON BRICK. Hudsons Being Held for $8—Price Jump of ::5 Cents. FOLLOWING the predictions made in the * Record and Guide ot last week the price of common brick has advanced in this market. Where Hudsons were being held a week ago for $7 there is some brick here waiting an $8 level, and there is some on the way down the river that is not being quoted. The supply of brick here continues low. The only thing that is holding the market down, even to present levels, is the tact that the river is still open tor navigation. Raritan interests had an opportunity to sell considerable brick to a dealer the first of the week for $7 a thousand covering immediate shipments. The offer was turned down and on Wednesday this company was quoting $7.;*5 to $7.30 a thousand. Official transactions for Hudson River brick covering the week ending Thursday, Dec. 9, in the wholesale market, with comparison for the coresponding period last year, follow : 1915. Open barges, lett over, Friday A. M., Dec. 3—12. Arrived. Sold. Covered. Friday, Dec. S........ 15 13 0 Saturday, Dec. 4...... 3 1 0 Monday, Dec. 6........ 15 13 0 Tuesday, Dec. 7....... 1 9 8 Wednesday, Dec. 8..... 9 4 0 Thursday, Dec. 9...... 11 6 2 Total ___........... 54 46 10 Reported eh route, Friday, Dec. 10—. Condition ot market, firm. Prices; Hudsons, $7.23 and $7.75; covered Hudsons, no quota¬ tions ; Raritans, $7.25 (wholesale dock, N. Y.) ; (for dealers' prices add profit and cartage) ; .Newark, $7.30 to $------ (yard). Cargoes left over Friday A. M., Dec. l6—. Covered sold, 1. Left over covered barges, 9. 1914. Lett over Friday A. M., Dec. 4—17. Arrived. Sold. Covered. Friday. Dec. 4......... 10 5 0 Saturday, Dec. 5...... 1 2 0 Monday, Dec. 7........ 14 11 4 Tuesday, Dec. 8.......... 4 0 Wednesday, Dec. 9___ 1 0 0 Thursday, Dec. 10...... 7 8 2 Total ............... 33 30 6 Condition ot market, weak. Prices: Hudson, .$5.00 to $5.25; covered, $6.00; Newark, yard, $------ to $6.75 ; nominal. Left over Friday A. M.. Dec. 11—20. Covered, 6. Left over cov¬ ered barges, 6. OFFICIAL SUMMARY. Left over, Jan. 1. 1913................... 64 Total No. bargeloads arrived, including left over bargeloads, Jan. 1 to Dec. 9, 1915 1766 Total No. bargeloads sold Jan. 1 to Dec. 0, 1915................................1756 Total No. bargeloads left over Dec. 10, 1915 10 Total No. bargeloads left over Jan. 1, 1914. 87 Total No. bargeloads arrived, including lett over. Jan. 1 to Dee. 10. 1914...........1586 Total No. bargeloads sold Jan. 1 to Dec. 10, 1914...................................1566 Total No. bargeloads left over Dec. 11, 1914. 20 IRON. Ornniiientnl and Kire Escape Manufactur¬ ers AVorried. DRACTICALLY every fire escape manutacturer * in the metropolitan district is considerably worried about his supply of iron tor the forth¬ coming season. With the factory inspection work pushed to its height since the Diamond factory fire in Brooklyn, business in this line has been exceptionally active and the result is that there is an aggressive movement under way by manufacturers of fire escapes to cover them¬ selves on raw material over the first half ot 1916. Ornamental iron interests are also finding it difficult to get supplies and It is apparent by the fact that they have been forced to advance their figures on operations estimated, but which have been held back tor some reason or another since last year. Some iron equipment interests have been forced to make bids subject to imme¬ diate acceptance. Radiator interests are operating upon a closer semblance to profit-taking bases. Tbis has been forced by the upward movement in the price of pig iron. For the flrst time since 1907 the price ot pig iron is approaching $20 levels for No. 1 foundrv northern, the present prices being $19 and $19,.30. Bar iron interests advanced the price ot their products this week $3 to $4 a ton, thus putting the common bar iron on a range of 1.8Sc to 1,90c. THE RECORD AND GUIDE QVOTATIONS ARE ACCEPTED AS OFFICIAI, BY BUILDING MATERI.VL EXCHANGES.