The diamond drill. (Crystal Falls, Iron County, Mich.) 1887-1996, 1890-08-30

GENERAL FEATURES or THE TRApE-rRoN
oRE-plG IRON.

oRE-PiG IRON.
The Cleveland Iron Trade Reviews
resume of the week in iron circles. --Cen-
crl fcntures-The railway interests
which ARE the backbone OF the iron bust
ness. continue 60 show very favorable
condition OF things. Earnings az 1875
railroads iorJihv aggrcga te S36, 1852 1856.
an increase over July, 1889, of 500 per
cent. that month in turn gaining S31
per cent. over July, 1883. The Southern.
Southwestern and Pacific groups con
tinue to make the best relative showings
The production 81 steel rails throughout
the country during the first half 81 the
current year * estimated at soc, 900
tons, The probable new mileage will
probably call for about 100000 tons
more 81 steel rails in 1890 than were re-
quircd in 1899 Besides this there is n
demand for renewals az rolling stock. etc.
All of this indicates that the demand for
iron and steel for railroad pwrposes this
year will greatly exceed that oflast year.
and il seems within bounds TO say that
the increase Will not TALL short 81 .OO0,-
600 tons of pie iron for railroad purposes
alone. Reports from central western
markets are M follows: Continued mid
summer dullncss chnrActcrizes the Chica-
co iron market. Few orders have been
booked and the amount OF these il not
large. There is continued activity, how
ever, among consumers, and with but
few exceptions the fOundries and machine
shops are well supplied with orders, and
In some cases more business Is offered
than can bc handled with comfort. Sales
Of Lake Superior charcoal iron have
been light, but prices ON these are well
sustained. While there is continued
activity in the Detroit pig iron market,
prices, with the exception 81 a short adj
vance In Jackson County Slveries. show
no change from the hast report The de-
mand for prompt delivery is the most
noticeable, and IL would seem asifsouth-
ern furnaces in particular have contract
ed for August and September delivery
rather more than they could actually
deliver. The cnrtailment ia the produc-
ton, however, is largely accountable for
this. Jackson County Silverv irons are
becoming scarccr all the time, and nm
advance az fifty cents per ton was made
general only on Monday Malleable iron
manufacturers are again forced into the
market for Lake Superior charcoal to n
certain extent. aud in consequence IA
number of inquiries ARE being figured up
ON at the present time. At Louisville
there has been lair amount OF buying
but sales have not been as large ~ was
hoped for, though the coming week will
show the placing of hrge orders. Manu-
LECTURERS OF iron report more work than
they can take cure ~. and that large
amount Is being turned away. Prices
with them ARE higher than at any period
OF this year, and they do not understand
why pig iron does not advance I'm svm-
patty with them. The most encourae-
ing feature of the market, therefore. *
the condition of consumers; they are
not only crowded with work but orders
are being turned away. Unless furnace
capacity has been increased very much
out OF proportion to that OF consumers !;
the fall Will witness AN active market
and prices firm. Louisville houses have
nude sales aggpgatine about = 900 tons.
some Tor deliveries running into Februa-
~ and March ui next year. There are
no important changes TO note in the
Cincinnati pig iron market. A quiet
spell always dcvelOpes some weak sellers
no matter how strong the general sitna-
ton. Some of these have been heard
from the past week, and salesa are report
cd a shade under what leading companies
are holding Tor. There lsa great pressure
90 get iron forward ON orders, particu-
larry ON certain scarce foundry grades.
Foreign markets are stronger Consume
ton keeps up at AN unprccentcd rate
Finished products are in great demand
Latest reports show temporarily dim.
inishod oatput 81 pig ON the other
hand muchis being made oi the promised
shortage ia the corn crop, and Of the ex-
pcctod blowing in of new furnaces south
and north ON the latter head IL seems
certain that the accession ~ now furnaces
TO the producing list will be slow ON
account Of the difficulty of securing ma.
terials IN full supply. IS Co corn il il
commended that a fair crop at high prices
~ as good rs - big one at low prices
Prospects continue 20 favor good fnll
business, but expectations 81 a decided
advance ia prices are practically aband-
oned. Enquiries at st. Louis during tho
past week have been rather more nunlcr-
Gus for small and medium lots: but
actual sales have been mostly on the
hand-to-mouth basis previously reported
and at unchanged figures. Southern
furnaces claim TO he we'll sold ahead. and
Tor the present show no disposition to
sacrifice prices Tor the sake ~ securing
new business. Iron Ore.--DcSpite the
continuance Of the delay In caring for
cargoes, and the certainiics Oi trouble in