Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1901-05-13
ENORMOUS PROFITS Of
The SHEET STEEL TRADE.
MILLS UNABLE TO SUPPLY THE
URGENT DEMAND BY THE
TRADE.
Outside Mills Filled with Tonnage.
Combination Making $22a23 Per
Ton More Than Under the Inde-
pendent System-New Competition
in Prospect.
Especial Correspondence New York Jour-
nal OF Commerce.

cJ
PITTSBURG, May 11.-No depart
ment in the iron trade has shown more
activity in the last three or four months
than sheets. From present indications
this activity is going to last for some
months ahead. as most of the large
mills Of the American Sheet Steel Com
pany have their entire output sold for
three or four months, and this, in
spite of the fact that output of sheets
by the combine is much larger at this
time than when the constituent mills
were operating independently. The
present heavy demand for sheets start
ed in January, and has grown right
unable to supply enough for the trade.
The sheet combine is using every en-
deavor in it's power to increase the
output, and are adding new machinery
to some of their large mills, and are
also improving smaller plants. The
combine have just issued orders 70 have
two new sheet mills and three jobbing
mills butt at the Aetna-Standard
Works at Bridgeport, Ohio. This will
give this works total of twenty-five
sheet mills, making it the largest works
owned by the company, the largest be-
ing at the Apollo Works at Wander
grift. The combine has also issued Or
ders that the sheet mills at Chester,
w. Va, shall be dismantled at once
and most of the equipment moved to
Wandergrift, and some of it to Wells
willie, Ohio.
AS a natural result of this condition
of the sheet trade, the outside mills
are filled up with tonnage and are
making a great deal of money. In the
Central West there are only few con-
Germs making sheets outside the Amer
ican Sheet Steel Company, these being
Zug & company at Pittsburg, the
Wilkes Sheet Company at Sharon, Pa,
the Whitaker Iron Company at Wheel
ing, and Middletown Rolling Mill at
Middletown, Ohio. The Wheeling Steel
e Iron Company, Wheeling, also make
some sheets, while the Niles Iron &
Steel Company have just about finished
the building of four-mill sheet plant
at Miles, Ohio, and are now soliciting
orders for sheets in the open market.
With such heavy demand prices are
naturally high, and the American Sheet
Steel Company and the Independent
mills have been making a barrel of
money. AT one time No. 81 black
sheets, which is gauge commonly
used, sold as low as $1.75 per 100
pounds. This same gauge of sheets has
been quoted for some time by the
American Sheet Steel Company at 1925
ton over lowest prices. The cost of
sheet bars at present over prices paid
when sheets were at their lowest fig
nre is not more than 81 or IS ton.
This would leave from $22 to s23 ton
more profit in sheets at the present
time than back in the old days of the
independent sheet companies, when
they were cutting the life out Of trade
and making prices that in many cases
were below cost of production. When
the American Sheet Steel Company was
organized the concern took over TWEEN
ty-eight independent mills. largest of
these being the Apollo Iron & Steel
Company at Vandergrift, and w. De-
wees Wood Company at MoKeesport.
The sheet company has an output at
the present time of close to 1000 tons
of sheets per day of all kinds 1t is
safe to assume that the profit on each
ton is not less than SIS, which would
give the American Sheet Steel Com
pany daily profit of $4,000, and it is
possible they may be making $40 a
ton. That present conditions in the
sheet trade are going to last some time
is shown by the fact that buyers are
placing orders for three or four months
ahead at present prices.
However, the American Sheet Steel
Company, with all the advantages of
accruing to it from the fact that it is
one OF the constituent companies of the
United States Steel Corporation, IS go
ing to have some of the strongest kind
of opposition At the present time
nearly one dozen concerns in Western
Pennsylvania and Eastern Ohio are put
ting up sheet mills as fast as the ma
chine shops and foundries can furnish
the machinery and the bridge compan-
les the buildings. I'VE note above that
the Niles Iron & Steel Company, have
just finished a new sheet mill at Niles.
Ohio. In the same district that is, in
Youngstown, the Youngstown Iron <
Steel Roofing Company are building
four-mill plant, and expect to make
sheets not later than July 1st. The con-
tract for most of the equipment of this
plant, including the sheet mills. oar
mill, squeezers and roughing mills, was
placed with the Braddock Machine &
Foundry Company at Braddock, Pa
Also at Youngstown, the Youngstown
Iron Sheet & Tube Company have start
ed work on new six-mill sheei plant.
This concern is going to puddle iron
and make iron sheets exclusive, and