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CHAPTER XVIII

PACKING FURNITURE

XPORTS in 1919 of American metal and wood fur

niture were some $7,819,025, as compared with $5,349,320 in 1918, and whereas the growth is considerable, it could well have been produced by those conditions which have brought about expansion in the foreign trade in general of the United States. Therefore, there is no reason to explain the situation by alleging superior merchandise or increased interest on the part of shippers. The writer believes, however, that American trade in steel and wood furniture has a very large "spread" that it has not yet covered, and certainly the business in office furniture could be very materially increased with adequate attention to the work, and determination to build up foreign sales.

In the furniture trade abroad there are a great many competitive considerations that the American exporter has to face. There is the question of style, which varies greatly in different countries and which frequently is influenced by many factors; local factors, such as those present in different South American countries, and foreign influences, like that of France, in many parts of the world. In addition there is local production which must be taken into account, for woodworking is one of the oldest trades, and skilled men are found in almost every country. To be sure this latter consideration does not apply, in many countries, to steel furniture, as this is an industry of comparatively recent development and requires both equipment and special training for its development.

Faulty Packing Practice. However, it would seem that the American manufacturer has to contend abroad

chiefly with his own bad packing, and from many different quarters unfavorable testimony on this point is available. Characteristic of this testimony are certain statements in Harold E. Everley's report on the "Furniture Markets of Chile, Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador," recently published by the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce, in which stress is laid upon the paramount necessity of good packing in foreign shipments of furniture. Speaking of Chile, Mr. Everley writes: "One of the requirements of the furniture trade with Chile is better packing. American export packing must be greatly improved. Aside from firms that specialize in certain lines and have studied carefully the requirements of foreign packing, American manufacturers, generally speaking, have improved very little in their methods during the past two or three years. This is probably due in some respects to the trying conditions caused by the war. One thing American exporters should bear in mind is that goods are probably handled more roughly on the West Coast of South America than anywhere else in the world, Some of the officials supervising the unloading of the ships, as well as most of the workmen, seem to take very little interest in the way cargoes are handled, and as a result there are endless breakages and consequently much loss from pilfering.

"The common criticisms of American packing are that the cases are too light, the lumber used is too brittle and splinters very easily, nails are not of sufficient length to hold securely, and there are usually no strap-girdles around boxes to keep them from bulging open or coming entirely apart. It has been suggested by the manager of the shipping department of one of the most important steamship lines that cases of goods to be shipped to the west coast countries of South America, should be tested to withstand a dead drop of at least ten feet before they are allowed to leave the packing rooms of the factory. While this seems to be a severe test, it is not nearly so severe as the treatment they are likely to receive before reaching their destination.

PACKING OF BED. Seat of bed is placed in oil-paper lined crate. Layers of waterproof paper placed between each part.

"Extra strong cases or crates must be used to withstand the numerous operations of handling. Damage often results during hoisting by tackles. The sides of cases sometimes collapse when the slings become taut, causing the tackle to give way and the package to fall a long distance into the hold of the vessel or onto the lighter, or not infrequently into the sea. The contents of a case should be securely fastened within to prevent moving about, and proper reënforcements of the weak parts of the exterior covering should be made.

"A proper method of marking a case should be used. The numbers of the cases, destination of the goods and name or mark of the importer should be stenciled on with good paint in figures and letters at least 211⁄2" to 3" in height. There should be a discontinuance of the practice of covering boxes with English advertisements, which are generally burnt into the wood while the really important information is carelessly marked on with a brush and inferior ink-the letters being often so small as to be almost or completely obliterated before the case reaches its destination. This condition does not obtain in the case of goods from Europe; very little if any advertising is used, while the names, numbers and addresses are properly marked, easily read and withstand a great amount of rough handling. The matter of marking cases is something that American exporters should seriously consider in order to avoid trouble."

Manufacturing Furniture for Export.-Before any furniture can be properly packed for export, attention should have been paid to the manufacturing with this special end in view. Furniture must never be packed until the varnished surfaces are thoroughly dry and hard. Many complaints have been received of wrapping paper used to surround furniture surfaces and excelsior used for protection having stuck to varnish not thoroughly hard, with the result that when the articles arrived at points of destination they had to be scraped, re-varnished and re-finished before they were in salable or even usable condition.