The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-04-12
A BIG BUSINESS IN PIGS.
THOUSANDS OF TONS OF SOUTHERN
IRON SENT NORTH THROUGH
SAVANNAH.

The Movement of Alabama Iron to
the North Through Here Larger
This Year Than IL Has Ever been.
IL Goes Right Into the Same Mar
kets with the Pennsylvania Iron.
A Movement Looking TO the Com
petition of southern Iron with
English Iron in Europe.
The pig iron market is looking Up. which
means a great deal to the transportation
lines doing business through Savannah,
especially on account of the fact that the
Alabama iron enters into such successful
competition with the Pennsylvania iron in
northern markets.
The shipments of Alabama iron through
this port are considerably heavier this
year than they have ever been before
and It looks now as if the entire years
shipments would surpass those of any
other year.
The Central railroad, together with the
Ocean Steamship Company, now has a
contract for the shipment of 5000 tons of
pig iron through this port to Philadelphia,
where it goes right into the Pennsylvania
markets. 1t was partly on account of the
heavy traffic in pig iron that the steamer
Elhu Thomson was chartered to so
on the Philadelphia line This is only one
of many large shipments that have been
made within the last few months, and the
prospect is that heavy shipments will
keep up for sometime to come.
Not only is the pig iron carried to Phila-
delphia, but to Boston and New York by
the Ocean Steamship line and to Balti-
more by the Merchants and Miners
Transportation line. In all of these mar
kets the southern iron enters into success
full competition with the northern iron,
and the iron manufacturers in those sec
tions are making large contracts for the
shipment of the pigs from this section.
The product is well handled by the trans
portation lines that carry it through this
port. as there is quite a lively COM
petition for the business, and the fact
that it is on the increase keeps the differ
ent lines continually on the lookout for it.
The competition of the Alabama iron
with that Of the Pennsylvania mines was
inaugurated a year or two ago, and it has
been steadily on the increase. The north
ern manufacturers find the southern iron
fully as good a product as that of the
northern mines, and the Alabama miners
nave an LlEy Cdi 10 now TO supply the
demand Of the northern markets. Their
ambition, however,is still more wide reach
ing, and they are now looking to compet-
Ing with the English iron in Italy and
other European markets This 1t Is be-
lieved, will be brought about within a
short time, and il may be that direct
shipments of iron will be arranged
through this port.
The total shipments through this port
for 1929 were 1884 tons. while in 1893 "a
they dropped down to 1858 tons This
year, however, they are increasing heav-
lily, and IL is believed from the indica-
lions that the shipments will go far above
$1,000 tons. The heaviest shipments here
tofore have been to New York, but this
year Philadelphia will be a close second
in the receipts of southern iron from
Savannah, and the amount going to Bos-
ton is also on the increase.
THESE are the facts in the situation
though, singularly enough, the transpor-
tation companies refuse to give any fig
ures with regard to the amount of iron
they are carrying Competition is a great
thing, and to give away figures might
stimulate competitors to strive harder
for a bigger share of the business. Some
Of them seem to fear if they tell what
they are Uoing they will be unable to
hold their OWL, and the statistics they
keep to themselves.