The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-11-08
HEAVY BUYING OF ORE IS THE FEATURE Remarkable Era of Furnace
 Building Under Way CAPACITY OF 6,55O,OOO TONS Pig Iron Market Is Unsettled, With Little Doing In the Central West
 and Little Is Available.
 Much Building.
CAPACITY OF 6,55O,OOO TONS

Cleveland. O.. November 7.-(Special)- The Iron Trade Review tomorrow will say:
 The principal event of the week has been the heavy buying of iron ore at an unexpectedly high price. Sales began about two weeks ago, with the under standing that the advance was to be 75 cents on Bessemer grades and 50 cents on non -Bessemer, but it has developed that the guaranteed iron output has been so reduced as to make the actual prices an advance of 90 cents on Bessemer and 60 cents on non -Bessemer grades, the quota tions being as follows:
 Old range Bessemer $515; Mesabi Bes- semer, $4S0; old range non-Bessemer, s43O and Mesabi non-Bessemer, s41o
 These prices are the highest in the his tory of the trade, with the exception of old range Bessemer, for which $5.50 was asked in 1900.
 Remarkable Era of Building.
 The United States has entered upon a period of what promises to be a time of the most extensive construction of blast furnaces and open hearth steel plants in it's history. The only year whose pros perity is comparable with that of 1906. is 1902, and while the actual number of plants being built is not so large as 1t was in the midsummer of 1902, the new construction authorized and certain 10 be carried out, unless there should be totally unexpected slump, will exceed that of 1902, the increase being largest in mak- T .ff, ;,.ny, In nj 1902 there were 34 blast furnaces under construction with an estimated annual capacity of 4.300000 tons.
 The total addition to the blast furnace capacity, including enlargement of exist ing plants. all expected to be available before the end of 1904, was estimated at 4sOO0OO tons year. There are now under construction in the United States twenty one stacks with a total annual capacity of s10OOO tons Seven furnaces have been recently completed with capacity of 96S,- 900 tons The building of twenty-seven new furnaces having an annual capacity of 29i5000 tons have been authorized. There are also three old furnaces Tn Pennsylvania and one in Michigan long idle, with a capacity Of 3l5,0o0 tons, whlch are soon to be blown in. This makes grand total capacity of 6,550,0OO tons for furnaces completed, under construction and authorized, the total number being 59. The estimated cost Is S50,0O,ooo. There are 9S new open hearth steel plants with an estimated annual capacity of 2,ip,ooO tons. Their cost will be about $1,oOO,0OO.
 Future Tonnage at Advanced Prices.
 New York. November 1.-The Iron Age tomorrow will say:
 Advices from Cleveland show that some of the ore interests have opened their or entered very considerable tonnage at advanced prices- The position of furnace managers who must now contract for ore for consumption up to the spring of 1908, is not an enviable one.
 The pig iron market is unsettled with little doing in the central west, and there is little available. On the coast and the territory tributary to it, foreign pig iron Is playing an increasing role. The English trade papers talk of purchases of war; rants for American account aggregating 25NOO0 tons This, of course, Is very much exaggerated. So far as we can learn ship ment so far arranged during the whole of this movement will foot up to about 1T O00 tons. some of which has arrived and is afoat and the balance is to come forward during the next two months This is certainly not an alarming quantity, and must be regarded as welcome relief to embarrassed smelters.
 All our plants are being driven at top notch speed, which is reflected in the Oc-