OUR YORKSHIRE LETTER.

Marlborough Express, Volume XLVIII, Issue 110, 12 May 1914, Page 6

OUR YORKSHIRE LETTER.

' '

/AMERICA STILL CALLING FOR

WOOL,

LrROM OUR OOEHESPONDENT.J

BRADFORD, April 3. ; Interest in the woollen textile trade . -continues to centre far more around the raw material/than the pai%tly or fully-manufactured material. It is a case to-day of the tail wagging the •dog, of wool itself forcing the position, and showing the spinning and world its strength. It does indeed seem strange that the tables should be so completely turned iii its favor, an. experience very different from' what we have known on many former occasions. The writer's snirid goes back at this moment to< the year 1895, when wool was spoken of •as i. "dirt cheap," ■ and when it abounded on every hand. At that time everybody seemed to be fiilsd .to the very brim with stocks of merinos^ and crossbreds, particularly the former, and even "London selling Jirokers had to force sales for all they were 'worth. We remember very idistinctly buying good clean Queensland scoured combing wools at Is 3d ipecr lb., the same brand to-day being "well worth, 2s 3d, if not more.% The fact is, the raw material could then fee packed up at almost the price of &'n old song, and greasy combing merinos that, would give a clean yield of 50 per cent, were frequently .selling at '7d.t0.8d per<lb. To-day a Very different taile has to be told. We find that prices, are almost 100 iper cent."higher for eveiy grade of wool, and the demand is to-day distinctly keener than then, notwithstanding that trade is spoken of as being indifferent. Our firm conviction is that it is not so much the consumptive end. of the trade that is .wrong as the small profit that is resulting from the manipulation of ihe raw material, which is the chief cause of the present feelings of dessatisfaction whioh arise on every, Jiand.

TOP'SALES SLOW

Turning''to actual market condi•tions, we find that so far as top business is concerned, things are slow and unsatisfactory. Spimifrs are •finding sales difficult lo make, and mother than, .themselves to further ongagementp, are preferring to take up their old contracts and »is>e •Hiem off, the orders already placed. Many ftrWs are now spinning' tops which have cost"them anywhere from :2d to 3d less than they could buy at to-day, amd finding ¥cry little Inesponse to currant quotations . for yaiyis, are sailing very near the land. There seems at the moment to be less enterprise among the members of the Bradford trade than we have known for several yea>rs, due to the piece "business of the city being fair from robust. The fact is, conditions :obtain to-day to which Bradford spinners and manufacturers have been strangers for the past five years1, and not even in 1908, when the market ,wa§ suffering on account of .the 'American financial crisis, were things so ..Quiet in maimifaeturmg circles as they are now. In that year it seemed as if the world's trade in textiles was steadily developing, whereas today requirements apear to be on the ■decline. Tqpmakers are fairly busy meeting their obligations, but they are finding new business distinctly on the_ slow side, and therefore a.re complaining a good,deal. , Commission wool # combers ar© also in the same position. -"We.should say to-day that itoli 75 per cent, of the combing machinery in Bradford is running .full 'time, and for April, precious little night work is being done. Prices for

merino are very firm, although 2s5J-d seems to be about the utmost that can. h$ made, for a really good 64 3 top, with super GO'"s Id less. Experience proves that there, is to-day a bigger demand for, what may be called low! and medium merinos, say 60's and 64's, than for count* that are higher, there being to-day a greater straining after something reasonable- in price than we have seen for some time. \ CROSSBREDS NO MORE THAN

STEADY. There is the same difficulty in handling crossbreds jin fact,'more than we fiiKi in merinos. We hear on the best authority .that some Bradford shipping houses are offering tons at less money than they were ten days i«go, and we find a tendency among '.'th(sse who have been fortunate enough to buy when prices were at the lowest point last December, to sell at topmakers' quotations, and so realise their profits. There seems to be the most irregularity in medium crossbreds, coarse a«d fine qualities being steadier and firmer. Tliis is not to be wondered ait in view of the prospective offerings in. London. Eveiybody knows that tho New Zealand clip this season is running more tham ever to medium quality wools, and this is to be regretted. Last season there was an abundant supply of. 44's to 48's quality, while 86's to 50' si as well as 50's to- 56's quality wools were, somewhat scarce. No doubt-■ New" Zealand pastoralists are going in very strongly indeed for producing a good freezer and a moderate weight fleece animal, and the Romney Marsh sheep.is the most faro-red sire. All -this means a big supply of merino crossbred -wool, and therefor© everything points to-day to tlw9. quality of raw material being a little cheaper next series in London. A good many complaints are heard at the hands oi' crossbred spinners about the unsatisfactory state 4of the yarn trade, spinners not being; so, much short of orders as particulars. It now .turns out tluat a, good, deal 'or the' big buy last January and February was speculative, and to-day several export houses i houses are doing- their utmost to sell their surplus yarns abroad/ even though they have to take less i than spinners are quoting '.for similar yarns'-.t^day'J So far :^ajriii; end; of /the;', trade:Ms Gohcerfled/'^in^eir^^eein..•■'Jfo '■■ bo completely out of it alongside Bradford shipping houses, who are in a position to sell <a,t under what spinners- can take to-day. We cannot hear*of any marked degree of activity in crossbred yarns for the United States, although some very reasonable lines can be picked up in the second-hand market. I THE POSITION OF WOOL. ! There is one item of particular interest to those immediately engaged in the Bradford trade, but who are indirectly interested in it. Stocks of wool are admitted to be much under jjar in the West Riding, and! considering the time of the year it is amazing that so small a weight of wool should be in sight. Of course, direct imports are now pouring into consuming centres in' a" more normal way, but topmakers' warehouses, railway stations, and combing establishments ar© all very lightly stocked indeed. A year ago, everybody was seeking extra room; to-day the very opposite is the case, the-result being! that- a- good many will be forced to come into the market later on in order to keep their lnachinery running. Commission wool ■aomoers in particular are having a bad time, and we shall be surprised i£ some-'of the dividends do not suffer materially at the end of tbeyear." The'feeling obtains that wool Values are not going , ! t i i | ( s i

lr> show much change compared with current prices. It stems useless hoping for cheaper wool, particularly merinos and fine crossbreds. From all we oau gather no material stocks will be sent from the.' Continent to London for re-sale,, for French spin- '; 'ii&va, Jin particular/ ■aire so busy* that 'they- can deal with1 what they have on hand. We hear that Iloubaix top'makers are1 comfortably situated,' and ..many, are wondering where fine wools are oommg from for the next London sales. The fact is, the whole market is" lightly stocked, .and therefore prospects point to steady and j firm wool values. America is a fairly (active customer even to-day, # and is I buying very commendable weights of both merinos and orossbreds, though the la,tter are scarce. We know one 1 firm with very good orders on their books for the United States, but they have a difficulty in finding exactly j whait is wanted. Further good sales ofj orossbreds are being made, and even' Mazamet skin wools are selling lin considerable quantities. In fact, ' the American demand for wool is , the prime factor in relieving depression in Bradford wool' circles to-day. j THE PIECE TRADE. ' As I write, the exports from the Bradford Consular District to the United States for the month of March are unpublished, but we understand they will be considerable, the total mot being far off : the figures for February. The piece trade actually ! doing is a decent one. We find that • in. dress goods there is nothing very special, except one firm is shipping fairly big weights of Henriettas with ■ the Oravenette finish, Permos serges, I and an endless variety of ladies* dress ■ goods,* including lustres and mohairs, I Fashions, this spring in England are ' running upon very loud colors, almost [ deep reds., silver greys, fawns and : drabs; in -fact, for once it is going jtobe a show season. In men's wear, ! some nice quantities of worsted coat- | ings are being shipped, but woollen cloths' are figuring to-day mom prominently than at aaiy time this season. j» Checks are coming to the front fairly i well, and check effects for ladies' dress goods are a leading feature. Donegal tweeds, are also well to the front, and Scotch Saxony fabrics are also selling freely. Low tweeds front Batley, Dewsbury, and < Hucldersfield are, also occupying a leading, place, in the exports, and everything from Is 3d to 5s 6d per yard, covering an endless variety of cloths, is being shipped. . Manufacturers are now making active preparations for showing for the spring of 1915, and American mills will have to produce something very showy at a very little price if they are to retain their hold upon their own market. Very great use is being made of' soft-handling shoddies, and anything of a hosiery nature, including Berlins and stockings, .is selling at the price of wool, all for the production of cheap fullhandling, effective tweeds.