The morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1899-1930, 1899-10-13
THE TRADE IN
IRON AND STEEL
CONSUMPTION BEATS OUTPUT
Every Department Of The Industry
Under an Extra IIravy Strain.

NEW YORK, oct H. Discussing the
situation In the iron and metal trades,
The Iron Age today viii say
our monthly blast furnace report
shows that the weekly capacity of the
coke and anthracite furnaces on Oc-
iober had gone up 10 27I2s gross tons.
a. io,7js tons above the September fig
ufrs In other words. the preparations
for production arr telling. In the south
number Of small plants will drop In
from month to month. but they do not
count for much Furnace stocks have
declined further. thus showing that
consumption II still crowdlog output.
4 very serious feature II the great
scarcity NJ cars. which affects the sup
ply Of coke
one large plant Of three furnaces
has h.en forced to bank three times in
cue month because coke shipments
were delayed and this In the face OF
an Effort made for months 20 accuinu.
lau' stock for just such emergencies.
Every department cffectlng the great
industry of The central west IN under
such tension tha, any extra strain f.
an" direction causes rupture which
tisorganizes everything
The fear OF a shortage Of ore, Of trou-
hles over coke supply and Of any pos
sbI, other contingencies affecting rsg-
u,ar and maximum Of pig production
iS the one factor which dominates the
trade. on the other hand. Of course the
increasing production ought to be reas-
surfing with the winter before Us,
bringing lcssened consumption, the
expansion In output ought to enable The
furnaces to catch up on deliveries.
While the makers Of iron are stn
behind the consumption, 1t looks as
though in some lines Of finished iron
and steel the mills are looking FOR some
tonnage for the first half Of 1900
Cases Of this kind are cropping up
aud may have yome effect In modify
irg values
Much Is being said about the export
trade, The statistics of shipments W.
10 and incluling August are referred
TO as proving that the outlet is stll
running fun But after all that is real
ly like watching the mill race without
keeping an eye on the headwaters.
In many lines new orders have b.en
scarce for months, and a sharp drop
ir shipments is coming. Is Is we'll
however TO make exceptions, In ;ha
wire industry in which the Germans
are our principal competitors, export
sa'es have been heavy In spite Of sue
ccssive advances aggregating since ear
ly August about $40 per ton. The rea-
son is that the Germans are a good deal
orse on than we are in the matter of
scarcity Of raw material. and we are
profting thereby, AS an Indication Of
the pressure in the wire trade. We may
mention that the leading interest has
ordered 10000 additional blocks.
In structural material, we are aided
by the fact that our designs. while
amply heavy to meet the strains, are
lighter than those Of other countries.
The,h II course. there is the matter
Of time OF delivery, Of which we have
advantages even now in certain lines
but to expect that We can maintain our
rate Of tonnage In the export trade at
present prices for the next six or nine
months shows a misapprehension Of the
situation.
The rail makers are getting good
prices, and in some cases the require
merits are Unexpectedly large. 1t is
probable that further advance I'M
prices will take place at an early date.
In steel, the scarcity for prompt deliv-
cry continues unabated. AS much as
S4S and $50 per ton has been paid for
round lots Of open-hearth steel blllets.
SILK CULTURE IN OREGON,