The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1906-03-31
LOCAL IRON TRADE
IS STILL INACTIVE
Advance in the Freight Rate is
Being Felt
OLD RATE IS ASKED FOR
Cincinnati Reports Are Roseate-Re-
ports From All Quarters Indicate
an Enlarged Consumption Dur
ing Remainder of the Year.
OLD RATE IS ASKED FOR

The Birmingham iron market has been
dull this week. Large furnace operators
say that the recent advance of % cents
in freight rates is working against them
and they are asking the railroad COM
panies to drop back to the old rate.
Rogers, Brown & Co.'S Cincinnati re-
port for the current week follows:
The leading feature of the iron mar
ket during the past week has been the
The makers of malleable castings have
apparently decided that the time has ar
rived to cover their requirements for the
second and third quarters and some round
lots have been purchased and other deals
of magnitude are pending
The general attitude of foundry iron
consumers was well expressed by one of
the most important in the central dis
trict. who said that If he could be as
sured that prices were at the bottom or IL
other large buyers were covering, he
would at once place heavy orders. He
hadn't enough to supply himself for the
second quarter and wanted deliveries an
ticipated. but couldn't decide to place
new contract
The situation is such as to give con-
fidence to the producer for he looks out
on a bare iron yard and on his desk
are hurry-up instructions for shipments.
His tonnage of untitled orders is grad
ually decreasing, but he knows that the
time is rapidly approaching when a buy
ing movement must begin.
Reports from all quarters indicate an
enlarged consumption during the remand
err of the year. Users of pig iron don't
want the price to go lower but If there
is any chance of fall they want to be
in when 1t strikes bottom Experience
has shown that very few get in at that
point and most business is done on the
rebound, and history seems likely to re-
peat itself
Quotations are being maintained, ex-
cepting in a few instances where for good
reasons certain lots of iron have been
forced on the market.
Coke has been somewhat excited and
higher, principally on account of inquiry
from those accommodating stock to tide
over d DOSSlDle emergency.
Matthew Addy and eompany's Cincin-
natl report says;
Inquiry this week has been greater
than for some time past. The most strik-
ing thing about these inquiries is that
they come from large concerns, and as
rule are for considerable quantities.
Among others an extensive electric COM
pany is In the market for 1900 tons,
pipe works Is inqulring for 5000 TONS and
so on down the line to half a dozen 500
ton lots If all the inquiry that is now
on foot develops into real business we
shall have a genuine buying movement
of fine proportions.
OF course 1t stands to reason that we
must be approaching the end of the
closed season. Buyers at times can stay
out of the market as they have been
doing, for a long time, but they cannot
stay out indefinitely. However, as a mat
ter of fact sellers really have no COM
plant, because while the market has
been quiet since November, order books
have been filed, and shipments have
been going forward at a wonderful rate.