THE TIMBER INVASION.

Otago Witness, Issue 3773, 6 July 1926, Page 32

THE TIMBER INVASION.

MAY BE A LULL. AMERICA WINS BY AID OF MASS PRODUCTION. While there is some reason to believe that North American sawmillers will not continue to be able to sell oversea their lower grades at recent under-cutting prices, the fact remains that New Zealand sawmills, like New Zealand freezing works, have the economic disadvantage of operating in small units as compared with their competitors in America and Argentina respectively. In the first place, it is believed that the American sawmiller’s increasing inability to get as high prices as he used to get for the sale of his higher-grade timber in his home market may compel him to charge more for lower grades, in which case the higher home price for the latter will leave him less margin for underselling in oversea markets like New Zealand. Details of imports show that during the 5 months ended May 31,1926,27,000,000 ft B.M. of timber were imported into New Zealand, compared with almost 33,000,000 ft B.M. imported during the corresponding period of 1925. Trade in poles and sleepers which, as explained last month, had fallen considerably this year, again showed a decrease. Only three and onethird million feet B.M. have been imported this year, compared with 12,250,000 ft B.M. for the same period of last year—a decrease of approximately 9,000,000 ft B.M. This indicates the curtailment of Government and local bodies’ buying activities. Perhaps the curtailment is temporary. Movements in American soft woods are still active, almost 13,500,000 ft B.M. having been imported this year, compared to 10,500,000 ft B.M. for the same period last year—an increase of over 3,000,000f$ B.M. For the month of May the importations of cedar and hemlock were low, compared with those for the previous months of this year. There is some reason to believe that soft wood importations will commence to decline, within the near future. Present importations represent commitments made during a period of higher demand than now exists. Future •nnortations should reflect the decreased consumption of recent date and the competitive lowered prices of native woods. Recent develonments on the American domestic market may also work to the advantage of the native woods. Not only do prices tend to harden, but there topears to be a steadily lessening demand for the upper grades of lumber in all soft woods. It is the considered opinion of responsible American authorities that this may require the recasting of the nresent system of apportioning the selling values of the log, placing less dependence on the often comparatively small proportion of clears recovered, and distributing the values more equitably among the lower glades in order to make tile average run of the log .how a profit. This will tend to rame the ice of those grades of whose importation the New Zealand sawmillers so bitterly complain. AMERICA S ADVANTAGE IT T , hr °“£i h ‘‘a mon s | y organ, the Dominion lederated Sawmillers’ Association eon- “ statement in the New Zealand Building Trades Journal that freights on timber are approximately as under: Hundred Miles n ... . , __ __ sq. ft. carried. Ba.hc ports to N.Z. ... 5/3* 11,538 Pacific ports to N.Z. 4/- to 5/9 5 68l G reyniouth to Wellington 4/9 273 Ohakune to Wellington ... 5/9 202 The association’s organ contends that among the factors that enable Pacific Slope lumbermen to land timber in New Zea*ant* ,4 at prices with which it is impossible for the New Zealand sawmiller to compete, is the system of mass production, and this is indicated by the fact that the average number of employees per mill in U.S.A. is 210, as against the average of 21 in New Zealand. A recent visiting lumberman from Washington stated that one milling company alone in that State produces annually almost exactly the same quantity of timber as is produced by the whole of the mills of New Zealand put together. “Further, owing to tne great volume of timber per acre, its even size, length, and texture, and light weight, water carriage and numberless other natural advantages (the parallels of which are actual physical disadvantages in New Zealand), the timber of the Pacific Coast lends itself peculiarly to mechanical processes which are physically impossible in New Zealand. This is fully borne out by the telling fact that, to produce 1000 super feet of timber on the Pacific Coast takes but from 20 to 25 man hours, against 35 to 45 man hours for the same operation in New Zealand; and the New Zealand timber-worker in the main is decidedly no slouch! Reducing these man-hour figures to actual costs per 100 super feet discloses that the wages cost of producing timber in New Zealand is exactly double the cost in U.S.A.”