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Show Credit Losses Fail to jHurt Traders j ly $. BURTON HEATH NEW YORK Ona of the bogles which has been disturbing the aleep of United States exporters turned out to be a little man who wasn't there. Survey of a cross-ection cross-ection of manufacturers who carry car-ry on consistent and aggressive foreign trade to such an extent that their businesses would suffer suf-fer materially If it were killed off has revealed that neither credit nor foreign exchange lossea are large enough to add materially to costs or to Interfere disastrously disastrous-ly with profits. Unsettled conditions In Europe, followed by war and then by the complete disruptions resulting from territorial occupations, blockades, sinkings and credit freezings, have had exporters worried which is to say, has had American Industry over the ropes, for big industry, which employs largely, must depend to some extent ex-tent upon exportation for its outlets. out-lets. Inquiry has developed that over the past four hectic years four exporters ex-porters out of ten lost nothing through the credit they extended to foreign customers, and another 14 per cent had losses ranging . from "negligible" downward to too small to compute." The greatest credit loss reported at all was 2 per cent. Only four firms mentioned exchange losses as great as 1 per cent, but one of these took an 11 per cent beating last year in Colombia. Price of Lumber Hits Builders Defense agencies are worrying bout the price of lumber and wondering whether they can and should take steps. Thus far they have confined themselves to trying try-ing to plan their own use so as to make the least possible drain on supplies, so that the ordinary consumer con-sumer will be hit aa little as possible. pos-sible. When the army started its cantonment can-tonment building program, the . cost of lumber polevaulted 50 per cent Now most of the army housing in the south is completed, and that in the north is well enough along so that the strain ahould come off the lumber market. mar-ket. But prices stay aloft as . though they were out for an endurance en-durance record. Of course inventories were depleted de-pleted badly by the sudden draft but resources are ample, there should be no lack of manpower to work them, and unless they are utilized and lumber prices come down, the housing program is going go-ing to be even more expensive than had been anticipated. Copyright, 1941, McClure Syndicate. |