THE TIMBER TRADE

Hokitika Guardian, 28 May 1921, Page 2

THE TIMBER TRADE

■ There is much talk in the district ns to the present condition of the timber trade. The millers have been holding meetings at Greymouth with the , en- . - deavour to try and stem the situation brought about by the present shortage of orders. A meeting of a committee was held at Greymouth yesterday, but it is the understoood no material advance was made in any scheme to alleviate the situation and enable the mills of the district to keep on cutting. A further meeting of mill owners is to be held at Greymouth on Monday in the effort to reach some solution of the trade difficulty. It appears that not only are there no orders forthcoming, but also that standing orders dre being cancelled or suspended. From enquiries made it is gleaned that the chief cause leading up to th e situation is the financial stringency throughout the Dominion checking enterprise. Most of the timber dealers have stocked up their yards, but builders arc at a standstill because the money is not available for building. Another factor is the inflow of Oregon pine, which is being landed in New Zealand at 3s and 4s per 100 ft cheaper than cheapest West Coast timbers can be put in the same market. The slump has visited America, and the millers there had the timber on their bands, so to get the commodity off their skids and get some money for it, they sacrificed shipments to Australia, New Zealand and elsewhere. The American millers are losing money on the shipments, but they, at least are turning the timber which was cut and unsaleable in the States, into cash derived from overseas. Talking yesterday to a miller, interested in som e nine mills on the Coast, a “Guardian” representative was informed that five of the mills had to close, and the others must soon follow suit. At the moment he had over half a million feet of timber on the skids paid for, and not immediately saleable. It represented to him a_cost of £5,000 and •until this was liquidated by sales, it would not be possible to carry on. Most of the timber was red pine, hut. white pine was likely to bo affected similaily, as orders for that class of timber were being cancelled in som e quarters now. Tt was difficult, in fact impossible, to send timber overseas at present at a profitable rate, or any rate, because the buyers indicated there was no mojiey to purchase with. Another miller expressed the opinion > that the immediate future*did not hold very bright prospects for the industry. In a month or six weeks’ time this would be apparent, unless a revival took place throughout the Dominion. New Zealand was about the last ountry to Joel the financial slump, and it was to be hoped that ,the wave was well spent when it reached our shores. The stag'itrttkm in regard to finance was more reriotis than most people thought. 'The stringency was caused not alone by the drop in the price of primary products, but also particularly so by tne tremendous amount of over importing which had been” done. This had drained the country more than people grasped, and the loss of the credit affected enterprise. There was! a) great need all j over the Dominion for houses, and houses should he building by the hundred, but without the money for the material, the building could not go on. , The suggestion was made that if a Government loan for a substantial am-* omit were floated at the present juncture on fairly favourable terms, the credit would be very helpful m restoring confidence and giving greater elasticity to the building trade. The Government and many of the local I ( iu the larger centres were pledged to carry out extensive housing schemes, and these would give a great impetus to industry and enterprise if they were . carried on now But at the moment these works were largely suspended, and with the industry standing still it was not surprising there was a dearth of orders from other parts of the Do-

million. One miller referred to the fallacy of the Forestry policy which had blocked export and so restricted output. Had the trade not b een interfered with in that way, the millers would have been in a 1 tetter way to carry on for a longer period now. It was a question whether the employment of men in the country now was more important than the preservation of a few hundred acres of bush country for posterity. The Forestry Department was proving a very costly luxury v and at a time like the present the need for such an expensive Department was shown to be a serious drain on the finances, while at the same time, it was ft most unfortunate drawback to'the chief industry of the district.

If the slump falls in the way it is likely to do, it will be seriously felt here, because it is the staple means, of general employment. At the same time there is nothing immediately at hand to take its place in the way of affording work for the men put off. The sawmill hand has a special aptitude for his work, and if he is lost to the industry- now he will be missed when in the course of time it will be possible to resume normal operations. The opinion seemed to be clear that the niilleis who have their whole capital invested in their enterpises will do their very best to carry on and hold their men together, hut unless there is a sudden and early letting up of the financial stringency over the Dominion, it will not be possible to maintain full working conditions for a great while longer.