The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-06-10
IRON COAL ANDSTEEL
WEEKS REVIEW OF MINERAL DIS-
 TRICT CONDITIONS.
Pig Production Is Improving and More Furnaces are Blowing in-The Railroads are Giving
 Good Service,

Quotations for iron to be delivered during the fourth quarter of this year are now placed at $21.50 per ton, No. ? foundry, while sales continue to be made for delivery during the first three months Of the coming year at $18.50 per ton, No. foundry basis. If there Is any spot iron being sold right now nothing is being said about 1t.
 The furnace companies in this terri tory do not appear to be entirely up to contracts in delivery, though every effort is being made to get the product out as promptly as possible.
 The railroads throughout the Southern territory are giving good service. There is no accumulated iron on the yards and what few stacks of the prod uct to be seen belongs to some con- sumer and awaits instructions as to when it should be delivered. The lit tie quiet spell noted is said to be but breathing spell.
 Absolutely no apprehension is felt as to the mart and the belief is strong that before long now there will be a better demand than before. The fact that the production is. be ginning to i'm prove Is an incident of considerable in- terest.
 The Tennessee Coal, Iron and Rail- road Company has blown in a furnace at Ensley, and the new furnace of the Alabama Consolidated Coal and Iron Company at Gadsden is in blast at last. These two furnaces will add something like $50 tons of iron to the daily out put in this district. The Sloss- She cid Steel and Iron Company has blown out furnace in the Sheffield district for repairs, but it is announced that the Iron maker will be out but twenty or thirty days as only the top part of the lining In .he furnace is to be worked on, The Sloss- Sheffield Company will blow m the two furnaces which have been under repairs for several months, before July 10th, one of them, in fact, to be ready for the torch within the next two weeks The Woodward Iron Company will have It's third furnace in condition for operation again before the end of July. Some of the furnaces now in blast. those which have not been out of blast for two and three years are said to be in need of repair work. and 1t is not improbable that some of them will soon be giving away The furnaces going into blast now have all been thoroughly repaired and en- larged. The Tennessee Company fur mace will make considerable more iron than 1t did before the repairs were made. The new furnace of the Ala bama Consolidated Company is one of the most modernly equipped iron mak CTS in the South. The Philadelphia furnace or the -SneIHel0 steel ana Iron Company will be able to manu- facture from fifty to one hundred tons more iron every twenty-four hours when 1t Is started up agains than 1t did before. A skip hoist has been added to this furnace and other work that will make @ showing has been done about it. According to President J. C. Mahen of.the ss-Sheffield Com pany. $172,000 has been spent on this .H F. AaAA a new furnace. The No. furnace of the Sloss- Sheffield Company. located at North Birmingham. Is being refined and otherwise improved.
 The transportation facilities in this section of the country, as have been stated before, are sufficient to handle all the business that the iron manufac- turers and kindred industries can give them. There is no complaint heard now as to cars with which to move the production.
 All regular customers and consum- CTS who have been buying off and on in this territory are being cared for in their needs for iron to be delivered on time. While some of the furnace com panies still have their sales agents laying off, all communications in re- gards to the product are being an- swered promptly. Every provision has been made for a larger production than was estimated or figured on some time ago and no more orders are being taken for future delivery beyond a reasonable amount figured on the make heretofore.
 In some quarters in this district there Is talk of short ore supply. The SIoss- Sheffield Steel and Iron Com pany will put the new ore washer in the Russellville fields in operation this week. This washer will have daily capacity of something like 700 tons of ore. The Tennessee Coal, Iron and Railroad Company has contracts with ore mining companies for ore and are urging deliveries right along. As to coal and coke there is no shortness in supply. Some of the larger coke man ufacturers in this district have been accommodating coke and when the time comes when the demand is much great CT than 1t is now every need will be met.
 In steel there Is no change in condi- tions in this district. The plants of the Tennessee Company and the South ern Steel Company are both working steadily and the output Is good. Every ton of steel being manufactured ap- pears to be in demand. Steel rail is being shipped from Ensley as fast as 1t is being manufactured. Reports of additional sales for delivery during next year again gives encouragement. The Frisco purchase of 10000 tons of steol rail for delivery adds to the in- teresting gossip that has been going on for some time and indications point to enough sales soon to be announced to care for the probable make for the coming year The new steel plant of the Tennessee Company will hardly be ready for operation until next year. Then there will have to be some change made in the handling of pig iron. The Tennessee and Republic companies to- gether will either have to retire from the open market with their foundry iron or other arrangements will have to be made to secure iron when the new steel plant Is In full operation Both companies now sell much foundry iron on the open market With the present steel plant in operation and the new one too, much iron will be needed
 While no definite statement will be made as to the disposition of the pro- ducts turned out, the Southern Steel Company Is said to be well supplied with orders for rod. wire and nails and the shipments going out from the plant at Ensley are numerous and of con siderable size. Texas is still taking large quantities of steel wire and nails. while some rod is being shipped to foreign countries. Cast iron pipe is in active demand. The plants In the Blrmingham district are all busy and railroad cars are being loaded just as quickly as laboreTs can do the work The pipe Is going out in all directions and good prices prevail for the same