Bisbee daily review., 1906-05-05
GROWING EXPORT TRADE.
Iron and Steel Expectations of United States Greatly Ex-
 ceed lmportationS.
STATISTICS COMPILED BY THE GOVERNMENT.


 United States have increased tenfold since 1870, fivefold since 1890, and practically one-third since 1900, while for the first eight months of the cur rent fiscal year they are practiclly six times as much as importations of like commodities during the same period. Figures just compiled by the Depart ment of Commerce and Labor through its bureau of statistics show that ex- ports of iron and steel manufactures increased from nine million dollars in the eight months ending with Feb ruary, 1870, to 6S millions in the cor responding months of 1904 and 102 millions in the same months of the present year. Imports of iron and steel manufactures decreased mean time from 21 millions in the eight months ending with February 1870, to 19 millions in the first eight months of the fiscal year, 1904, and IS millions in the corresponding pe- riod of 1906.
 It is only within the last ten or twelve years that exports of iron and steel manufactures have exceeded i'm ports of like commodities, this change in the relative position of such i'm ports and exports having been about coincident with the great expansion of pig iron production since 1890. The production of pig iron in the United States in 1870 was 1,665,179 tons, or little more than the annual average for several preceding years; subse- quent to 1870 the annual output fluct- uated between one million and four million tons until 1886, when the to- tai was 5,202,703 tons, and in 1905, practically g million tons. Thus the growth in domestic production of pig iron in the period from 1870 to 1890 was about TIP million tons. and in the period from 1890 to 1905, 13 3-4 millions, the last fifteen years having therefore shown a gain almost double that of the preceding twenty years. The production of steel has also in- creased rapidly. In 1870 only z6S. .T50 tc ns of steel were produced in the United tates; in 1889 the total had grown to 1-4 million tons; in 1890, 4 1-2 millions; in 1900, 10 millions; .Ed for 1904 the latest available year, II million tons. Meantime the value of the product of the iron and steel in. dustry in the United States. which in 1870 was POT million dollars, increas- ed to 29T millions in 1880, 479 mil lions in 1890, and S3G millions in 1900 Not only has enlarged domestic pro duction of iron and steel manufactures reduced importations of the foreign product, but it has been followed by increased eXportations. In the calen der year 1870 our exports of iron and steel aggregated IS million dollars | i,, 1Q2n ir lions; in 1890, 27 millions; in 1900 1 l30 millions and in 1895, 143 millions The effect of domestic production up
 on imports and exports is shown by 1 a comparison of the statistics of each
 of these. factors at parallel dates. Ir i 1870, for example, when domestic. pig i iron production was less that 2 mil i lion tons, iron and steel imports werS i 37 million dollars in value and eX 1 ports of like commodities only IS nil 1 lions, or about one-half as much a: imports. In 1893, when pig iron pro l duction was seven million tons, eX ports of iron and steel manufacture: l first exceeded imports of like pro | ducts, the former having been in that fyear a little more and the latter ( ! .. 1905 when domestic pig iron produc
 tiOn reached the. unprecedented tota
 of g million tons, imports fell to z million dollars, while exports rose tt
 143 millions, the highest point eve i touched in any calender year.
 Summarizing the results of thI
 above analysis, pig iron increased fl
 twenty-five years from 4 million ton.
 in 1880 to g millions in 1905, exports | of iron and steel manufactures grew i from 64 millions to 26 millions of dol
 lars In other words, domestic pig l iron production was in 1905 six time: as great as a quarter of century ago
 exports of iron and steel manufacture were nine times as great, while i'm
 ports thereof were less than one-hal1
 as great as those Of 1SS0.-Iron Trade I paH