The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1912-07-25
ENGINE ORDERS ARE
MORE NUMEROUS
Roads Purchase Equipment
for Repair Shops
PIG IRON IS STRONG
New Business in Most Finished Steel
Products Is Considerably Under
Rate of Shipment From Mills.
Light Rails Advance

New York, July 24-(special.)-"rh
Iron Age" will say tomorrow: New bus
mess in most finished steel products is
considerably under the rate of shipment
from the mills. steel manufacturers,
however, are perhaps less interested in
the actual rate at which orders are COM
ing in for future delivery than in the
very serious problem of meeting salts
factorily the demands for better deliver
les on contracts previously booked.
Some of the prompt delivery business
now coming to plate mills in eastern
Pennsylvania represents cancellations of
orders previously placed with other pro-
ducers. Premiums for plates. structural
shapes and steel bars are being obtained
for prompt delivery in the Chicago mar
ket, steel bars commanding as high as
50 per ton above the regular price.
Cleveland adyices state that premiums
of So per ton on steel Bars and 81 to s.
on plates are being obtained there for
quick shipment.
early future from interests depending
upon railroad buying. Car and locomotive
orders are more numerous. An interest
ing development In this contraction is
the manner in which railroad companies
are purchasing machinery equipment for
their repair shops. The promise of larger
traffic over the railroads this fall is thus
making itself felt in various directions.
The wire manufacturers have advanced
their prices 81 per ton, mating the new
rate on plain wire s1.45 per 100 pounds,
Pittsburg. and wire nails $1.65 per key
The makers of steel skelp have advanced
their prices 81 per ton.
Light rails have been advanced sc per
100 pounds and IL pounds up and 41ac
on and 10 pounds. 1T would not be sur
prising IL another advance of 81 per ton
should be made within the next two
weeks on steel bars.
The pig iron situation Is strong The
western demand is much more pronounced.
No. foundry has been marked up Zoe
per ton in the Mahoning and Shenanga
valleys and an early advance Is ex-
pected in Bessemer. The products of
foundry pig iron In the east are also en-
deayoring to get an advance of 25c.
Cleveland, O., July Especially 1.-The
Iron Trade Review tomorrow will say:
Constantly increasing difficulties in OBJ
tanning satisfactory deliveries of all prod
ucts and marked tendency toward higher
prices are features of the weeks devel-
opments in the iron and steel trade.
The growing scarcity of labor Is a
fact Of great concern which not only
involves production and subsequent cur
tailed shipments, but also operating costs
that already have been increased
Wage increases for common labor are
more widespread but despite these in
ducements working forces have not been
increased. Wire products were advanced
81 ton and as the trade was notified
in advance of the pending increase In
prices, a large tonnage of fabricating
iron for the third quarter and last half
shipment was placed with mills.
New tonnage In many lines, notably
steel and iron bars, shapes and plates
show no diminution and large consumers
are being forced to pay warehouse prices
for material for early delivery.
One of the leading steel manufacturers
has notified it's sales force to accept no
further orders without submitting speci-
fications to the home office. On such
products as shapes and plates shipments
cannot be promised in less than four
months and mills are displaying little in
terest in large volumes of structural or
ders that are pending.
In the east one large interest booked
approximately 5000 tons last week. which
is practically twice the capacity of its
mills. Western requirements for early
shipment are steadily flowing to eastern
works
Large orders for steel cars and loco
motives are being placed by railroads
and tonnage OF shapes and plates involved
will further increase congestion or mills.
Among rail orders PLACED were 10000 tons
by Canadian Northern; 10000 to 5000 tons
by Canadian Pacific and LaSale Elec-
trio has closed for 5000 tons with Illinois
Steel company Southern New England
railroads are in the market for 10000 tons,
Light rails are active and have again
advanced