Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1901-10-04
The Steel Business.

II was Jay Gould who sail that the
iron and steel trade is the baron ter
of business. ard Z most reas suring
feature OF the present business situa-
ton is that this reliable barometer
now points distinctly in the direo tiCn Of
fair weather. III sp.t Of TIE recent
iu-advised st:ikc VIII $. ,esUl. wa;
complete nzzle. production hiss teea
maintained on an I'll y N us scale.
The last number OF the Iron -,ge
gives some facts with regard II ste,
rails. 1t says the orders fer rails for
1901 delivery aggregated eco 600 tons,
excluding exports Export shipments
for the first seven months Of tee year
aggregated 81 eco toms, and il i; csti-
mated will reach over $4,000 tons for
the year This means that the rail
mills have received orders for over ~
OOO. 600 which is ESQ, 600 tons in excess tf
the banner year of 1900. The o.ders
run S0n.O goo or 400. coo ms B. ) nd til
capacity of the mills. which means
big start for 1902. and is probably the
reason that many roads a:e W pla, ing
orders for 1902 delivery. The Gu
system has contracted for 10000 tons.
half il needs, and the Union Pacitic has
purchased 80 900 tons, while ether large
lines have plac d advIn. orders reach
ing 100000 tons. Heavy buying Will II
doubt continue. for there is much NV
construction going on. in addition to
which the great trunk lines are al lay
ing heavier rails or doubling their
tracks. The Illinois Central gives no
tice IN the annual report just published
that it has TO spend $4,000. 900 in this
way, and tie same poll is being pur-
sued by the other big lines. very
large amount of bridg- hGiidnis il go
ing on.
A Pittsburg co. respondent Of tn y "
York Journal 81 Commerce wrtt. last
week that all tse surplus pig il n that
the furnaces can make in TIE next
thirty day: had been cleaned no. The
United States Steel Cooperation has
bought 50 900 tons within the last week,
and manufacturers in many ca:Cs are
placing orders for all their next years
supply. Southern furnaces advanced
their price on pig iron fifty cents ton
last week. With regard to the steel
trade, the journal of Commerce says:
There probably never was time
when there was such a demand for
steel and it was so hard to get as il is
at the present time. The Carnegie
Steel Company, which now sells all the
output of the steel mills Of the Ma
tional Steel Company, is not offering
steel in the open market but claims it
will need every pound it can make for
the finishing mills of the constituent
companies, namely. the American Steel
Hoop Company, the American Sheet
Steel Company and the American Tin
plate Company. The independent
sheet mills are having great difficulty
in keeping their mills running, being
unable to get steel as fast as they need
it, A local sheet mill recently paid
to the Sharon Steel Company 81 4 ton
for sheet bars for prompt shipment.
This is fully s. a ton above the regular
market Jones & Laughlins, who are
large makers of steel, are using every
pound they turn out in the manufac-
ture of finished material and recently
bought 5000 tons of Cpen-hearth ingOtS
from the new works Of the Sharon
Steel Company. These We're shipped to
the mills of Jones & Laughlins. on the
south side, and rolled into finished
steel Conditions in iron and steel
seem to be approaching another boom.
Prices have been kept well in hand 50
far but advances are being made in
various articles because Of the scare
ity. AS yet however none of the
great producers has shown any dis
position to put up quotations to tie
height that killed the trade in 1899.
Conservatism is still the rule. An en-
couraging fact is. while domestic con-
sumption is taking all the iron and
steel now being turned out. President
Schw; b of the United States Steel
Corporation. has said that he can sci!
abroad at $3.50 a ton what British
manufacturers ask $3.50 for. The
ability to undersell foreign manufac-
turers thus provides always an outlet
for the surplus"