The age-herald., 1901-03-02
TRADE REPORTS
 ARE ENCOURAGING Weekly Review of Business Throughout the Country BOOM IN IRON AND STEEL Bradstreet Attributes the Advance To Broad and Strong Consumptive
 Demand and Not Operations
 of Pools and CIIques.
BOOM IN IRON AND STEEL

NEW IOTkt MdTCn ls-bTduSlIttLG " morrow will say:
 Trade reports from distributive centers at the West continue encouraging, while such measures of trade volume as bank clearings and railway earnings indicate considerable gain in business over a year ago. Soft spots' are of course to
 be found, notably in the manufacturing branches of the cotton and the wool trade, but advices from the dry goods Ing, and 1t Is thought will help business.
 A revival in export trade in cottons is noted among the encouraging features in this line In the Northwest cold weather
 has to certain extent retarded spring trade preparations.
 The strength of iron and steel this week recalls the boom of 1899.
 It is probable too, that the broad and strong consumptive demand and not the operations of pools or cliques is respon- sible for the steady advances. Practically all markets report iron and steel higher, but special activity is noted at Pittsburg,
 Birmingham and Chicago St. Louis
 alone reports foundry iron consumers in- different. At Pittsburg Bessemer pig Is
 75 cents higher and at Chicago, southern | pig shows a similar gain Steel binets
 now sell at 8 over the pool price for prompt delivery. Stocks of pig and bill | lets are reported smaller. Ore prices have | not yet been fixed and the improvement
 in iron may result in higher prices than
 earlier expected. In finished goods the | oIrx Of | steel sheets at Pittsburg and Chicago | All mills are reported well supplied with | orders Despite the fact that export
 trade in crude materials, particularly is
 small with industrally well advanced | countries, a good movement to other
 countries is noted. A sample or this IS 1 the order for 10000 tons of 56-pound rails l reported from Ecuador and orders TOT | railway material from Australia and Al 1 rica.
 Shoe traders are active at all markets | and manufacturers are busy. The rush l of Western buying is on the wane at Bos- l ton, but New England manufacturers are
 assured of busy time form now uh.ll
 October Leather is advancing NO. l Hemlock and Union sole are cent
 pound higher than actual sales "eeh l ago
 The cereals are without notable change
 wheat and corn being fractionally lower l in a dull scalping market
 | Corn is rather in better export demand,
 but rumors of deal at Chicago restric.
 operations somewhat Cuban sugar crop l prospects are responsible for the shgnt
 weakness shown in raw sugars this week.
 which later, however, has not aHeeteo refined.
 Lumber Is strong in price, pending the resumption of general building opera lions. Western advices are especially | bullish Chicago has done the heaviest | business ever recorded In yellow pine, and white pine. Stocks have broken Jad- l ly by the active demand, which has ad- vanced rices s1 to $2.50 apbove the list. Hard woods are rather slower to re- l spond, however and are still unsteady l not to say weak. Copper is less active for | export, but holds firm, while tin Is again | lower on weaker foreign advices | Wheat including flour shipments, for | the week aggregate 2,593,3 1928 bushels vs. l 3,424302 bushels last week, 3,S63 SIT bushels
 in the corresponding week of 1900; 6,S15,- | 5S5 bushels in 1899 and 3,252000 bushels in | 1898 From July l to date this season l wheat exports are 124, Al, ,S9S bushels vs.
 134,3SC59S bushels last season and 16S,-
 75O. .S75 bushels in 1s98-99.
 | Corn exports for the week aggregate
 4,1s5 449 bushels vs. 3267,63S bushels last l week. 4533 730 bushels in this week a year
 ago, 5,794 ,S63 bushels in 1899 and 5Oi4, 694 l bushels in 1898.
 Since July 1 last to date exports in corn are 132 157 ,423 Jushels vs. 143 3617, ,o14
 bushels last season and 113,508,0 ,095 bushels l in 1S9S-99.
 Business failures in the United States | for the week number 167 as against 221 | last week. 173 in this week last year, ITO
 in 1899, 232 in 1898 and 262 in 1897. Canadian failures for the week number | 2S against 24 last week, 29 in 1900. s7 In
 1S99 q in 1898 and 5l in 1897.