The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-05-09
SHARP ADVANCES IN
 P|G IRON PRICES Much Activity in Nearly All
 Centers OUTPUT UNDER DEMAND It Is Becoming Clearly Apparent That the American Supply Is Insufficient and the Foreign Market Is
 Being Looked To.
OUTPUT UNDER DEMAND

Cleveland. O., May s.-(special.) .)-The Iron Trade Review tomorrow will say; Sharp advances on quotations of pig iron, announced last week, have been followed by much activity in nearly all buying the central west have probably not been so numerous as in the preceding week, there was heavy inquiry, and the failure of buying was often due to inability of consumers to obtain the desired iron, even at recent high quotations.
 In the east the market is decidedly stronger than 1t was a week ago, the buying of basic being a prominent feat ure. Throughout the country 1t Is be- coming more clearly apparent that Ameri- can production for the last half of the demand, and many consumers are looking to foreign iron for relief.
 The only available stocks of any size in the world are in England. and they are being reduced rapidly. Prices of Middles- boro iron have passed IS shillings, and further advances are expected. The prices of foreign iron at tidewater Is 2.50@ 23 for small lots and $21 for large ton nages. For delivery at Cleveland the price has been advanced from $255O last week to s2e
 Our monthly statistics of pig iron pro- duction show an output of 2.1s1,SS5 tons for April, an increase of about 5000 tons over March.
 New York, May s-The Iron Age will say tomorrow:
 There has been a notable resumption of work on the part of the blast furnaces, a net gain of ten stacks being recorded in the monthly blast furnace statistics col lected. The result is that on May 1 there were in operation 323 anthracite and coke furnaces with weekly capacity of 523912 tons, which Is the record thus far for this country, and compares with 497, ,456 tons on April 1. The output for April, short month, was 2,21605S tons, or at the rate of 73,SS5 tons daily, com pared with 2,226457 tons in March, or H. S21 tons daily. Three large furnaces have gone in during the first few days of May, which will add about 5000 tons per week to the capacity. It Is noteworthy, however, that the increase In output and In ca pacity, is almost entirel ydue to the steel works furnaces. These made in April 1,446,77S tons, as compared with 1,424,SH tons in March, leaving 769,770 tons and S01 and 630 tons respectively for the mer- chant furnaces. This is an actual decline from 25,S60 tons daily in March to 23,659 daily in April.
 The foundry markets are frmer throughout the country. The makers gem orally have either withdrawn faoni- the market, notably in the south and in the central west and the districts along the lakes, or are confining sales to practi cally the last quarter. Much Is said also about the large sales during the last few which have brought about this condi- tion, but there has been unusual reticence all along as to details.
 At tidewater points and, to consider able distance into the interior, the ad- vance in the price of foreign Iron has had a sympathetic effect, the higher prices abroad being chiefly attributed to buying from Germany.
 There has been some movement in basic iron In the east, sales during the week aggregating between 35,00c and 40,0o0 tons, of which eastern Pennsylvania took about 30, 900 tons.
 Reports of the purchase by the leading interests of steel billets have been greatly exaggerated. They probably did not ex- ceed 10000 but still this is significant as refectlng the scarcity of steel in the cen- tral west.
 The railroads do not seem to be taking hold very vigorously in their purchases for delivery in 1908. So far as can be learned nothing has been closed so far Structural shapes have taken compara- lively little business during the past week.
 Agricultural implement makers have been buying bars more liberally.