The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-08-12
SOME BRITISH FACTS AND FIG.
URES ~ STEEL AND iron,

A recent return Of che British Board NJ
Trade, published by order of the House Of
Commons, has a special interest for Ameri-
can readers at this moment. 1t IL made nm
Of series of memoranda and statisical
tables showing -the production and con-
sumption of iron ore and pig iron and the
production of steel In the United Kingdom
and the principal foreign countries in each
year from 1890 TO 1901, so far us the particu-
lars can be stated
The countries included in the tables arc
the United Kingdom, Russia, Sweden
Germany Including Luxembourg, Belgium
France, Spain, Italy, Austria Hungary and
the United States These, be- ween them
during the three years ls99-l9Oi, produced
about 1000, 900 tons Of pig iron per annum.
while the total quantity annually produced
elsewhere il probably less than l.OOOOOO
tons. The United States, the United King
dom and Germany, in the order named
accounted for about three quarters Of
this estimated quantity of 40 900 900 tons
The most striking features Of this official
British return are the phenomenal and over
shadowing growth of the iron and steel in
dustries in the United States during tho
last five years under investigation. and the
extent to which steel has tended in recent
years to replace iron, as evidenced by the
great and ever-increasing proportion OF
pig iron used by us each year in its manu-
facture.
With regard to the production OF iron
ore, these tables show that whereas the
output of the world probably amounted In
1901 to between S5, 600 600 and 80 900 600 tons
the United States, Germany, the United
Kingdom and Spain, in the order named
accounted for about three-quarters Of this
total. While production rose in the United
States from "a ,Cs3 900 tons in 1900 to 2s.-
$40, 600 tons in 1901 in the United Kingdom
1t declined in the same period from IA
48l 600 tons to IL 271 600 tons.
Reverting to pig iron, we find that pro-
duction in the United Kingdom has steadily
shrunk from 0, 421 900 tons in 1899 to 900 900
tons in 1901. On the other hand, these tables
show that, although as late as 1905 the
United States produced only about S,25O, 900
tons her output in 1901, the latest date to
which these memoranda and tables are
carried, had risen to 13,474 900 tons Ger
many had meanwhile steadily increased
$500, 900 tons to 3, 1853 600 tons. The United
States, though producing in 1900 an amount
of pig iron only slightly in excess Of the
United Kingdom, had advanced by 1901
to an output almost equal to the product
of that country and Germany combined
Taking once more the tables for 1890 1901
we find that while Germany increased her
production by As per cent, the United
States increase was rs per cent for the
same period.
Of even greater Importance to us at this
moment is that part Of the return which
deals with the subject Of steel.
Here, taking the same years, 1909 1901,
and the same countries, with the exception
of Austria Hungary, for which no Stats
tics of steel production are available, We
find that In them all the production OF steel
has increased considerably faster than the
consumption OF pig iron. Again, the figures
exhibit the industrial advancement Of the
United States in an even more striking
way. They show that both In this coun-
try and in Germany a larger proportion
of pig iron consumed is converted into steel
than in the United Kingdom. Whereas.
for every 100 tons of pig iron consumed
for all purposes, the United Kingdom pro-
duced on an average in the three years under
consideration only sixty-three tons OF steel.
Germany produced seventy-five tons and
the United States eighty tons.
Moreover, from production Of lo,64o,ooo
tons of steel in 1899 the United States adj
vanced to an output Of l3,474,OOO tons in
l9Ol--a total that surpassed the combined
steel production of Germany 70 1914 900 tonsn
the United Kingdom (4,aOi 900 tons), Russia
France, Belgium, Sweden and Spain in that
same year.