New-York tribune., 1909-02-25
DENY CUT IN STEEL
U. S. CORPORATION SAYS
IT HIS NO NEW FIGURES.
No Buying Reported, Although
There Is Strenuous Competition
tO Get Fresh Business.

- ra,,, quotations on finished steel products
He added that no official quotations since the an
youncaroent of an Open market for steel had peei'
made Iv the steel corporation The reports hau II
that steel sbapes and plates had been reduced 80
ton and steel bars 81 ton. which would nave peei
lower than any prices for the same products tha'
have yet been quoted by any of the Independent
manufacturers.
Although steel manufacturers continue to report
that there has been buying Of steel notwith-
standing the low quotations that now prevail II Is
understood that the steel corporation and the
large Independent companies are making ueineH
7ous efforts To secure business and are sending OUT
every available salesman they can get III NUM-
for orders These men have instructions IL IS saIo'
10 underbid the small concerns which starred the
price cutting in violation of the gentlemen ;
agreement' entered into last June. and II IS be-
leved special effort will be made by the big con
Germs to put small Independents out OF busl-
ness
! officers of the Carnegie Steel Company said that
there was no truth in the report from P1ttsburg
that the corporation had shaded prices on order
for 1900 of 100 pound steel rails received from
+ the Pittsburg & Lake Erie RAILROAD They ADDED
that the price OF standard steel rails was still SS
a ton and that the Carnegie company would not
sell st any reduction from that price. The large
independent manufacturers who make standard
steel rails yesterday that they were main
tanning the price at that figure
Rumors that the steel companies would cut the
price of rails provided the railroads granted lower
freight rates were said in authoritative quarters
yesterday to be without foundation. railroad
| men who were interviewed the subject char
acterized the reports ridiculous The president
of large Eastern railroad said that the rail
| roads not looking for any reduction In the
price rails they believed that under the
new specifications agreed upon between the rail-
roads and the steel companies the present price
was fair and that cut might result in
the companies turning out inferior article
The railroads, added. could not afford to take
| anv chances of this. the damage which might
] fer ilD Ia
gain might be made through buying rails at a
lower price.
While number Of prominent railroad men
agreed with this view of the matter others said
that they would hold back their rail contracts
until they were thoroughly convinced that there
would be reductions in the price of rails,
Both The Iron Age" and The Iron Trade Re
view in their issues to-day. while taking a
servative view Of the situation say that the
action of the steel corporation in declaring for an
open market has thrown the entire trade into con-
fusion, and that no one seems to know eXacuy
where he is The Iron Age which IN It's
issue last week pretty accurately forecast present
conditions in the trade. says in part:
The complete reversal Of the selling policy OF the
confusion, and buyers and sellers have been cropping
in the dark Each interest is endeavorlng 20 fnd
must be met and whether ii is wise to take part
in the struggle. Small mills are even now with
Each constituent company of the Steel Corpora;
circumstances surrounding it justify.
\ : IL which to base any
opinion concerning the effect of the price reductions
/ IN stimulating business There have been no sales
os go ar eitea t Por @ "I. Ii a. is1r9anfs on
recent contracts. a preliminary step in number
of instances has been the demand for cancellation
I 1t may be well warn the trade that IT may take
some weeks before the shirmshinS among puye[,S
II is tonnage that is wanted by the mills, and the
prices viii be made to bring it out s-..,,. -i,,
among some Of the leading Interests so mat the the
! of T,rffG lg
used used O' i'''s wal S'''''' NO ,'''
| One point IN connection with the developments OF
! the last week which cannot he too strongly in
| sisted on is that the decline in prices Of finished
| hon and steel has discounted any posslble eHect
! of reduction in the duties of iron apd steel on
ue saie even ~ Lie SlSCin4 49,, ~ E,,-onaa1
in two two. ''''''''
| finished lines in which cooperation has had its
/ sway and the crude material, pig iron. in which
| part of the metal made Is bought and sold. In
use is COO tons wing $1,000 tons only to
merchant furnaces, which therefore represented
pbopUs ard mill iron which is directly affected by
the recent events in the steel market. Since II is
| almost entirely consumed by the small. independent
steel works and pudding mills It % would y suffer inc thd
large companies which make their own iron, 1 The
be Stimulated by the Inevitable Increase in general
p 70 IN icae for Lake ORES for the coming
! season The sellers of lake ores are few in NUM-
! her and are powerful. though united. and II
! remains 10 be seen whether and to what extent
theT Will back up their steel producing customers
directly or Indirectly. by readIustment OF prices
| Some Of them making pig iron. ana can meet
! the market without making any concession 10 out
| side ore buyers But there would probably develop
| from any concession made on ore prices to outside
| steel merchant furnaces a general lowering OF
! rrces on ore, and 1t is .this contingency WhlcE
might lead to weakness in foundry iron after the
! seasons ore prices had been fixed
| 1.-THE Iron Trade Review says:
Although the declaration Of the open market in
! the spirit OF cooperation developed during the
/ Afteen months campaign the maintaining OF
prices still potent factor, ana Whle II Is ptop
abie that bottom quotations have not been reached
! there Is "A tendency among the leading interests
! To cooperate. This is shown by the fact that
! many companies naming about the same prices
hat a general agreement NOT 20 aDaIl-
/ don extras for rolling other than base sizes
! Present confusion is probably due as much 70 the
tendency To abandon PittSburR as the Sole DaSlflS
| noint as it is to changes in prices The time non
! rIus to other parts of the country, is
/ doomed because the relatively decreased I'M
I portance of Pittsburg as a manufacturing centrt
! Mills will more more take advantage OF their
location in making prices but II seems proDabie
that the Chicago and Eastern quotations VIII 10 a
| large extent be based Pttsburg prices with a
part of the freight from Plttsoure added. D'ilng
! The last few days many mills have made quotations
AT their own plants, but more definite poncy VIII
| probably be adopted early date
Very little business has developed since price
reductions made. hut specifications are coming
} in more freely. The prices on hnished material
show reductions follows: Bars. hoops ana
hands 81 a tom plates and shapes, So; sheets - TO
4. wire 81: steel pipe 81 81: boiler tubes. - TO
so and wrought iron pipe. & to 81 Price conces-
eions on tin plate not expected 10 be heavy
Quotations billets and sheet bars nave not yet
been announced ,, -
The read5ustment OF laDof COSTS - IeSeiueu a.
fuaz al