The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1903-02-21
EXCELLENT TRADE IN
METALS IN THE
WEST :.
This in Spite of the Cold
Weather Of the Past Week
Significant Sale of Ger
man Steel Bars and Billets
for Western Territory.

CHICAGO, FEB. 20.-The iron and
Machinery World says: OF greater
significance perhaps than the mere
tonnage involved has been the sale
within few days of about $500 tons
OF German steel bars and similar
quantity of German billets for delivery
into Chicago territory, which Is con-
sidered more difficult to reach for these
importations than seaboard region.
There are large inquiries in the West
for this foreign steel, and the pros
poets are for additional purchases of
Importance The bars are large sizes
Of rounds for shafting and manufac-
turing, which are now quite scarce.
The local mill and furnace situation
shows improvement. By strenuous eff
fort supplies Of coke have been in
creased and the Milwaukee and Joliet
furnaces, which last week were COM
PEELED to bank their fires, have been
started up again. The threatened loss
Of material for the big wire plants at
Joliet and Waukegan has been averted.
Trading Excellent.
There has been excellent trading in
most branches of finished material, de-
spite the cold weather this week.
Spring, with it's many sided metal re-
Qu1rements, is too near to make posi-
BILE any long delay in buying, no mat
ter what may be the temperature. But
In some lines the demand has been just
trifle disappointing. The main rea-
son seems to be lack of confidence
that present levels Of values Will be
maintained. One consumer offered to
buy this week several thousand tons Of
steel for deliveries running to next au-
tun1n If the mill representative would
guarantee prices. This the prospective
seller, Of course declined to do, and
the transaction still hangs fire. There
are many like 1t. Consumers expect
they will need at least as much metal
as last year, probably more, but they
are slow in covering.
Meanwhile prices are firm, with up
ward tendencies. Iron bars have adj
vanced. Universal plates are so far
oversold that early shipments COM
mand premiums of Sc or IS per ton.
Pipe is strong and active. A little more
life is appearing in structural material.
Pig iron.
The week in pig iron Is the counter
part Of it's predecessor. A 500-ton in
quiry is a rarity; a 50O-ton order Gre
etes talk. There may have been one
or two Of the latter, but that is about
the limit Business is confined to car
load lots. There are enough Of these to
give the semblance Of activity to the
market. No free iron is reaching Chi
cago, which cannot be sold immediate
ly, and for spot iron car numbers are
readily negotiable, the buyer often
waiting till the car arrives.
The congestion of freight at junction
points with Southern roads, noted last
week. is undated and these junction
points continue dumping>> points. be-
cause of the dearth of Northern cars
for transportation. There is iron, billed
to Chicago, that has been on the road
from sixty to ninety days and the buy
er does not know where 1t is. 1t is
mainly this slowness of transportation
that is occasioning the excellent In
curry for spot iron. But even where
the railroads are giving fairly good
service, the furnacemen are sometimes
backward in shipping the metal.
Prices Are Steady.
There is no variation in prices The
ordinary quotation for Southern prod
uct Is $3.50, Birmingham, for No. 2
foundry, or $22.85, Chicago. Some
spot business is going at so cents high
er, and the buyers still say they are
getting a shade off the quotation. The
coke supply is generally unimproved.
The local situation is perhaps not quite
so gaunt, but this is because of great
exertion on the part of users in get
ting coke moved. Even stimulus seems
70 have but temporary effect. There
is still some idleness Of furnace ca
pacity because Of the lack of coke. The
furnaces OF the large producer in this
district, idle last week, have been par
TALLY resumed. Quotations: