The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-02-17
.PIG IRON MARKET CONTINUES QUIET
Birmingham Sales Are for
 Small Lots Only
PRICES REMAINING FIRM
Record Consumption During the Next Four Months Is Predicted-Coke Is In Good Demand and
 Prices Are Stronger.

The Birmingham iron market is still very quiet. Prices remain unchanged but only sales of small lots are reported.
 Rogers, Brown & Co.'S Cincinnati re- l port of the current week followsi While business generally may be char acterlzed as quiet, several sections of the country have seen quite a little buying | interest during the last week. This Is l particularly true of Chicago and one or | two eastern points, Locally sales have been confined to small lots for immediate or nearby shipment The buyers continue to push for delivery of iron due on con- tracts and one and all report excellent prospects in every line. Careful inquiry among local consumers establishes the fact that practically all the iron received Is being melted at once and the prospect for record consumption during the next four months at least is assured. Prices continue firm. Some sales of low grade southern Iron have been made at con- sessions but the prices obtained have not established market There seems to be more interest on the part of buyers lp EhdIu dEdlHSl StflouS lIOuDitS III lne coal fields by taking on an extra supply of coke and Iron, and this has pressed matters with ovens and furnaces during the last few days
 The car situation, in the south partic- ularly, is far from satisfactory. in spite of the easy winter which has prevailed up to the present time. With the now predicted reasonable winter weather which we are going to get, this will probably be worse than ever.
 Coke Is in good demand and prices are stronger than a week ago.
 Matthew Addy & Co s Cincinnati report for the week, says:
 There is decidedly more interest in pig iron this week than there was last week and several very excellent sales have been made for delivery over the third quarter of the year, and in one or two cases through the entire half year. As a matter of actual fact, while there may be an accumulation in the south of some low grade iron yet the quantity is insig nificant, and there is in stock no good foundry iron worth mentioning. Furnaces at the present time have more orders for shipment this month than they can get off, even if they had a plentiful sup ply of cars. and the car situation has been daily growing worse. Most of the buying recently has been for forward delivery. Any kind of a buying movement calling for quick shipment would immediately develop the fact that there is a genuine scarcity of spot iron The amount of iron which the furnaces have free to sell for the first half of this year is inconsequen- tial. There is every reason to expect that consumption will continue at it's present record breaking pace. The machine shops. the special and general foundries are all crowded with orders, and they are go- ing to use iron to the extent of their capacity. As we view the market the only serious menace to the situation is the possibility of the failure of the crops, and this is too remote to really ue taken into consideration at the present time. If the country Is blessed with the same splendid crops this year that it has had in the past few seasons pig iron will remain at the head of the procession.
 Coke has greatly stiffened during the week. The accumulations at the ovens have been worked off, so that the super fiuty of coke which burdened the mar ket some time since has disappeared. Coke is now somewhat short supply. Prices are higher, and the outlook is decidedly more promising. There Is a very lively demand and the market has been active. Coke shippers, like pig iron shippers, are distressed because of the lack of cars. The fear of a strike among the coal mi- ners of course has materially contributed to the increased inquiry.