SUPPLIES OF TIMBER.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIII, Issue 16310, 17 August 1916, Page 9

SUPPLIES OF TIMBER.

AUCKLAND AND WELLINGTON.

ADVANCE IN PRICES.

POSITION OF TWO CENTRES

A day or so ago an article appeared in a Wellington paper dealing with what was termed the marked increase in the prices of certain classes of timbers in that city. The prices then quoted have given rise to a good deal of comment in Auckland, in view of what appears to be a rather wide discrepancy in the cost of timber in the two cities. So far as -Wellington is concerned, the following are some of the increases which have taken place there since the. war commenced :— Previous Present price, price. 'Per 100 ft) p. <>. ft. 5. d. R:rau— Ordinary building ... 13 9 14 3 Tot an— Heart, fawn, buildine... 29 0 :u 6 Clean ... ... 30 11 33 I, Second-class ... ... 22 0 21 0 KauriHeart, sawn ... ... 38 c 40 0 Dressed ... ... 41 0 4.1 6 Oregon Pine Building quality, sawn 23 0 28 0 Selected ... ... 26 0 30 0 The Prices in Auckland. From the following table it will be seen that the prices in Auckland vary a great deal from those giv»n above :— Previous Present price. nricc. (Per lOOit) 8. d. H. d. Rimu— Ordinary building ... 12 6 13 0 Totara— Heart, sawn, building... 25 0 27 0 Clean ... ... 27 11 '29 0 Second-class ... ... 12 G 13 0 KauriHeart, sawn ... ... 2S 0 28 0 Dressed ... ... 30 0 30 0 Oregon Pine— Building quality, sawn 20 0 2.5 0 Selected ... ... 21 0 29 0

The Auckland prices show that there have been slight rises in all mixed timbers, which include all classes * except kauri. It is pointed out that one of the chief sources of supply at rimu and totara is the King Country, and the prices of timbers are fixed by the group of mills there. The price of kauri timber has not been altered during the war period. It is stated that the demand for timber in Auckland has fallen away very considerably during the two years of war. .i.-d one merchant said yesterday that there hid been a decrease in the sales of timber to the extent of fully 40 per cent. He said that the current prices were not sufficient to recompense merchants, but in view of the scanty demand it was obviously impossible to raise the prices. The larjri'r amount of discount given to builders ?nd contractors by the Auckland merchants was referred to. In Wellington tie discount is 2i per cent., while in Auckland 10 per cent, is allowed. In referring to the increase in the cost of Oregon pine, the merchant stated that the increase in the price of this class of timber since the war commenced was at least 83s per 1000 ft. The abnormal freight charges were held to be one of the chief causes for the increase. In order to give an idea of the increase in freights during the la-st few years, the following were quoted:— 1903 several cargoes of Oregon pine were landed in Xcw Zealand at 27s 6d per 1000 ft; at the present time the freight charge was 150s per 1000 ft, and even at this price it was only possible to secure deck cargo space.

i Reason for Wellington's High Price. i In explaining the difference in the I prices obtaining in Auckland and WellingI ton. it was stated that a large, proportion I of the Wellington supplies are obtained from the West Coast of the South Island, notably Greymouth. Prior to the war, Australia obtained a good deal of timber from the Baltic, but this source having been cut off the Commonwealth has had to turn to New Zealand to supply her demands. This increased demand lias caused the West Coast mills to increase the price of timbers, and in common with Australia, Wellington has had to pay the increase. Then, again, it was pointed out that, owing to the close proximity to Wellington of the camps, there has been an increased demand for timber, and this has also tended to raise the price. A third reason assigned is that the merchants in Wellington are " middlemen." and buy from tho mills, whereas some of the Auckland merchants are themselves millers.