# Railroad Gazette/Volume 38/Number 5/Pig Iron Production

Pig iron Production in 1904.
The Bulletin of the American Iron & Steel Association prints the following statistics of pig iron production in the United States during 1904.
The total production was 16,497,033 gross tons, against 18,009,252 tons in 1903, 17,821,307 tons in 1902, 15,878,354 tons in 1901, 13,789,242 tons in 1900, 13,620,703 tons in 1899, and 11,773,934 tons in 1898. The following ​table gives the half-yearly production in the last your years in gross tons.
| | Periods | Periods |
| | First half. | Second half. | Total. |
| 1901 | 7,674,613 | 8,203,741 | 15,878,354 |
| 1902 | 8,808,574 | 9,012,733 | 17,821,307 |
| 1903 | 9,707,367 | 8,301,885 | 18,009,252 |
| 1904 | 8,173,438 | 8,323,595 | 16,497,033 |
The production of 1904 was 1,512,219 tons less than that of 1903. The production in the second half of 1904 was 150,157 tons more than that of the first half. The causes of the decline in production in 1904 as compared with 1903 are so well known that they need not be dwelt upon in this connection, but it is worthy of mention that the last four months of 1904 showed great and steadily increasing activity in production. This rate of production was continued and exceeded in January of the present year.
The production of Bessemer and low-phosphorus pig iron in 1904 was 9,098,659 tons, against 9,989,908 tons in 1903, a decrease of 891,249 tons. The production of basic pig iron in 1904, not including charcoal of basic quality, was 2,483,104 tons, against 2,040,726 tons in 1903, an increase of 442,378 tons. The production of charcoal pig iron in 1904 was 337,529 tons, against 504,757 tons in 1903 and 378,504 tons in 1902. The production in 1904 was 167,228 tons less than in
Total Stocks of Unsold Pig Iron.
| | Gross tons of 2,240 lbs. | Gross tons of 2,240 lbs. | Gross tons of 2,240 lbs. | Gross tons of 2,240 lbs. |
| | 1903 | 1903 | 1904 | 1904 |
| States. | June | Decmbr | June | Decmbr |
| | 30. | 31. | 30. | 31. |
| Mass. and Conn. | 477 | 3,452 | 3,142 | 1,451 |
| New York | 4,895 | 12,932 | 26,517 | 23,957 |
| New Jersey | 2,100 | 9,982 | 14,959 | 9,048 |
| Pennsylvania | 24,413 | 106,472 | 114,477 | 55,538 |
| Md. and Va. | 16,765 | 25,823 | 69,880 | 31,032 |
| N. C., Ga. & Tex. | 2,416 | 10,226 | 31,576 | 14,495 |
| Alabama | 30,619 | 234,828 | 110,814 | 112,673 |
| Ky. and W. Va. | 5,316 | 16,422 | 2,315 | 15,936 |
| Tennessee | 11,408 | 22,019 | 15,781 | 5,266 |
| Ohio | 20,073 | 72,189 | 99,942 | 38,500 |
| Mich. and Minn. |
| Ill. and Wis. | 7,828 | 77,183 | 133,851 | 100,896 |
| Mo. and Colo. |
| Pacific States |
| Total | 126,301 | 591,438 | 623,254 | 408,792 |
1903 and 40,975 tons less than in 1902. The production of spiegeleisen and ferromanganese in 1904 was 219,446 tons, against 192,661 tons in 1903. The production of ferromanganese alone in 1904 amounted to 56,076 tons. One company produced 946 tons of ferrophosphorus in 1904. A significant feature of the above statistics is the increased production of basic pig iron in a year of generally reduced production.
TOTAL PRODUCTION OF PIG IRON.
| | Blast furnaces | Blast furnaces | Blast furnaces | Blast furnaces | Production, gross tons of 2,240 lbs., (includes spiegeleisen). | Production, gross tons of 2,240 lbs., (includes spiegeleisen). | Production, gross tons of 2,240 lbs., (includes spiegeleisen). |
| States | In blast June 30, 1904. | Dec. 31, 1904. | Dec. 31, 1904. | Dec. 31, 1904. |
| | In blast June 30, 1904. | In. | Out. | Total. | First half 1904. | Second half 1904. | Total for 1904. |
| Massachusetts | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1,242 | 1,907 | 3,149 |
| Connecticut | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4,325 | 4,597 | 8,922 |
| New York | 10 | 12 | 10 | 22 | 250,980 | 354,729 | 605,709 |
| New Jersey | 5 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 121,294 | 141,000 | 262,294 |
| Pennsylvania | 82 | 108 | 50 | 158 | 4,714,867 | 3,930,454 | 7,644,321 |
| Maryland | 3 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 135,416 | 158,025 | 293,441 |
| Virginia | 12 | 12 | 14 | 26 | 186,037 | 124,489 | 310,526 |
| North Carolina | . . | . . | 1 | 1 | 40,508 | 29,648 | 70,156 |
| Georgia | 3 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 40,508 | 29,648 | 70,156 |
| Alabama | 25 | 25 | 24 | 49 | 800,256 | 653,257 | 1,453,513 |
| Texas | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 3,834 | 1,696 | 5,530 |
| West Virginia | 4 | 4 | . . | 4 | 103,153 | 167,792 | 270,945 |
| Kentucky | 2 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 17,516 | 19,590 | 37,106 |
| Tennessee | 11 | 10 | 12 | 22 | 165,883 | 136,213 | 302,096 |
| Ohio | 31 | 43 | 17 | 60 | 1,540,743 | 1,437,186 | 2,977,929 |
| Illinois | 13 | 12 | 9 | 21 | 798,221 | 857,770 | 1,655,991 |
| Michigan | 4 | 6 | 6 | 12 | 138,744 | 94,744 | 233,225 |
| Wisconsin | 3 | 6 | . . | 6 | 104,437 | 105,967 | 210,404 |
| Minnesota | . . | 1 | . . | 1 | 104,437 | 105,967 | 210,404 |
| Missouri | 2 | 2 | . . | 2 | 46,982 | 104,794 | 151,776 |
| Colorado | 2 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 46,982 | 104,794 | 151,776 |
| Oregon | . . | . . | 1 | 1 | 46,982 | 104,794 | 151,776 |
| Washington | . . | . . | 1 | 1 | 46,982 | 104,794 | 151,776 |
| Total for 1904 | 216 | 261 | 168 | 429 | 8,173,438 | 8,323,595 | 16,497,033 |
| Total for 1903 | 320 | 182 | 243 | 425 | 9,707,367 | 8,301,885 | 18,009,252 |
The stocks of pig iron which were unsold in the hands of manufacturers or which were under their control in warrant yards and elsewhere at the close of 1904, and were not intended for their own consumption, amounted to 408,792 tons, against 623,254 tons on June 30, 1904, and 591,438 tons on Dec. 31, 1903. The American Pig Iron Storage Warrant Company held 55,350 tons of pig iron in its yards on Dec. 31, 1904, of which 17,700, tons, included above, were reported to us as being still controlled by the makers, leaving 37,650 tons in other hands. Adding this 37,650 tons to the 408,792 tons noted above gives us a total of 446,442 tons that were on the market at the close of 1904.
The whole number of furnaces in blast on Dec. 31, 1904, was 261, against 216 on June 30, 1904, and 182 on Dec. 31, 1903. The number of furnaces in blast at the end of 1904 was 45 larger than on June 30 of the same year and 79 larger than on Dec. 31, 1903. ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​