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THE
JANUARY 3, 1925
MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
37
SUPPLY BRANCHES OF THE INDUSTRY
The Situation in the Supply Field
With the Opening of the New Year
Price Trend in Basic Materials Likely to Be Reflected in the Prices of the Finished Products
—Fractional Price Increases Indicate Better Buying Trend Generally
*THK consideration of 1925 for materials
going into the manufacture of the pianos
lias by this time become quite general through
the trade, many manufacturers having placed
supply orders for January or February delivery
months ago. There is nothing alarming there-
fore in the prediction that a rise in the price of
nearly all piano supplies is to be expected dur-
ing the coming year.
This statement must be modified to exclude
those commodities which commanded increased
values shortly before and since the recent pres-
idential election. It is entirely likely that the
schedule of prices in effect for many materials
this Fall will not be changed particularly, but
the point is that the 1925 schedule whenever
it began is significantly higher than that of
previous years. There is nothing to indicate
that the increased costs of piano materials will
be other than slight fractional jumps, but the
general tendency in all the primary markets has
been upward, and this has shown an effect in
every field.
From a general survey of the different
branches of the supply field, it appears that
the largest price'changes have been experienced
in the felt and plate manufacturing industries,
due to the marked rise in the prices of raw
wool and pig iron this Fall. More moderate
increases have already been shown in the lum-
ber, veneer and piano-hardware fields, with
slight oscillations for varnishes, stains and other
finishing materials.
Supply men, regardless of their being jobbers
or manufacturers, obviously have no control
over the prices they themselves must pay for
their raw materials. It is to their advantage
to be able to sell to the manufacturer at the
lowest possible price, in view of the strong
competitive factor which exists in the industry.
It is to be concluded then that the price asked
by the supply man, after he has shopped the
primary markets for the best he can buy, repre-
sents an economic constant.
A short consideration of each of the individ-
ual markets will furnish a better idea of the
cause of rising values. The raw wool market,
for instance, is exceptional in that the 1924
clip in Australia and Argentina has been the
largest in years. Everything seemed to indi-
cate a falling market, until the announcement
came recently from London that the regular
Fall and Winter auctions of. colonial stocks
will be prolonged through thi Spring. It is
the intention of the large importers, who were
instrumental in postponing the sales, thus to
hold off large quantities of wool from consump-
tion and keep the market firm. Those looking
for fine felting wools will be compelled to pay
the price.
Many factors have contributed in raising pig
iron values this Fall, with a direct effect on
piano-plate manufacturing costs. The nation-
wide epidemic of iron and steel buying, which
started a week or two before the elections and
has not yet subsided, has been the dominant
stimulus of the boom. Recently other causes,
such as the rise in production costs, the wage
advance in the coke field, have combined to
boost the price of pig. By this time, however,
the high points are considered to have been
touched and the trade may look forward to a
more settled period in the future.
THE
PIANO
MESSAGE
FOR YOU
Are you still wasting your time and
going to the expense of scraping off old
varnish and shellac to eliminate the
checks and cracks in order to secure a
smooth surface for refinishing?
Use Behlen's Varnish Crack Eradi-
cator.
It saves time, trouble and, incidentally,
expense, at the same time giving you as
fine a body surface for the new finish
as you could possibly wish for.
A sample can for trial awaits your
request.
THE STANDARD ACTION CO.,
CAMBRIDGE,
Cxclusivt manufacturers of
Stains
Fillers
10-12 Christopher St., New York
Near 6th Are., and 8th St.
MASS.
ARJNOVELTYCO.
H. BEHLEN & BRO.
Anilines
Shellacs
HEART OF THE
Piaivo BeiveKes
and Musie Cabinets
GOSHEN
Writ* for catalog and details
INDIANA
Lumber and veneer costs have been less
spasmodic in the past year than most of the
other piano supply items. The reasons for a
consistent price increase from year to year,
however, arc manifold. The uses to which
veneers can be put are growing, and there is
no doubt that the radio industry, with its dec-
orative cabinets in period style, has made a dis-
tinct inroad into the supply of materials which,
a few years ago, would have found their way
into piano or furniture manufacture. Unusually
severe forest fires and a lack of proper re-
forestation means have likewise been reflected
in the limitation of supply and the proportion-
ate rise in prices.
Rising production costs and shortages, then,
explain most of the increased values for supply
stocks this year. Piano-hardware, pouch-leath-
ers, varnishes, etc., are following the general
trend, but offer nothing unusual for considera-
tion. Economically, the present movement of
prices is perfectly natural, and possibly bene-
ficial. It will be well for the piano manufac-
turer to regard it in this light when paying
the fractional increases. Nation-wide buying
has always accompanied rising prices, and if
the present boom sees more pianos made and
sold in 1925 than last year all will be right
with the world.
Forest Service Report
Urges Definite Program
Calls for Establishment of Fiscal Policy for
Extension of National Forests and Elimina-
tion of Waste
WASHINGTON, D. C, December 28.—The out-
standing event of the year in national forestry
was the passage of the Clarke-McNary Forestry
Act, declares W. B. Greeley, chief of the For-
est Service, in his annual report to the Secretary
of Agriculture made public this week. He urged
the establishment of a definite program and
fiscal policy for the extension of the national
forests by purchase and the elimination of waste
in the manufacture and consumption of timber
in industry.
Chief Forester Greeley, in his report, lays
special emphasis upon the development of a na-
tional forestry policy in the United States, a
policy that has heretofore been almost entirely
lacking as far as the 400,000,000 acres of pri-
vately owned forest land is concerned. It is from
this privately owned forest land, Chief Forester
Greeley says, that probably 80 per cent of the
nation's forest products must come in the long
run.
WHITE, SON CO.
Manufacturer* of
ORGAN AND PLAYER-PIANO
LEATHERS
530-540 Atlantic Are., BOSTON, MASS.
For over 25 years Specialists
in high grade Piano Cases
411
Paterson Piano
Case Co.
PATERSON, N. J.