The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-04-10
Produce 2,763,563 Tons in
Past Month
UNDERESTIMATE NEEDS
March Specifications Exceed Ship
ments of Mill Products-Recent
Floods Give Strength
to Market

| New York, April 9-(Special)- iron
production In March was 2,76356S tons,
or s91S7 tons a day. against 2,5s63s5 tons
in the % days of February, or 92,369 tons
diva. on April 1 the daily capacity
of the 29S active furnaces was S9s15 tons,
against 93,0S6 tons a day for 1903 fur
naces one month previous.
| The amount of steel ordered to take
care of bridge repairs and other work due
| to the floods has been overestimated and
| II is now evident that it will be spread
over a larger per cent than was at first
thought.
| Generally specifications in March ex-
oeeded shipments of mill products and
the net result of the floods has been to
| give strength to the market.
The widely published buying of 6o,000
boxes of Welsh tin plate by the Stand
ard Oil company is chiefly significant of
the difficulty of getting early shipment
tin plates at home. AS the purchase is
for export, with the drawback, the tariff
! is not q factor.
Free cotton ties will not come in time
for this years crop; but in any event for
| eign production Is not heavy. Thus far
| domestic hoop mills have had too profit
able a busines in other lines to ac-
cumulate the usual stock of cotton ties.
| In the central west though the floods
| shortened pig iron output, prices show
weakness and buyers are not hurrying
| to buy for the last half.
| Cleveland. O., April 9.-(Special)-
The Iron Trade Review tomorrow will
say "A softening of pig iron prices
| in spite of heavy sales, the revision of
the metal schedule of the tariff and
the temporary embarrassment of busi-
ness in Ohio and western Pennsylva-
mia as the result of recent floods, are
the factors of Importance in the week 3
iron and steel trade developments.
The recent loss of tonnage due to
the idleness of many merchant blast
furnaces contrary to expectation has
not had a steadying effect on the pig
iron market and concessions in prices
are reported from all the leading pro-
ducing centers. Eastern iron and steel
makers are manifesting considerable
interest in the revision of the tariff.
While the blast furnaces and steel
works have made wonderful recovery
from the effects of the recent high wa
ter, smaller industries are experience
ing considerable difficulty in the re-
adjustment of their affairs
The number of blast furnaces banked
or blown out during the recent floods
in the central west was 63. The rap
idity with which operations were re-
sumed is indicated by the activity of
AZ of these stacks on April / and a
number of others has since been added
to the active list. But for the floods
the production of pig iron in March
would have exceeded 100000 tons,
surprising all previous records. The
output of coke and anthracite pig iron
was 2,761.672 tons, as compared with
2,57S,670 tons in February A gain of
$1,000 tons. The production in Janu-
ary was 2.7s7,S00 tons, showing de-
cline in March of 26,12S tons.
The average daily production In
March was S9,0s6 tons, compared with
92,095 tons in February, a loss of 3009
tons. This decline was recorded largely
by the steel works or nom merchant
furnaces, the production of non- mer-
chant furnaces in March was at the rate
of 61,S63 tons, compared with 64.5S7
tons in February; merchant iron was
produced att the rate of 26,457 tons.
against 26,7S2 tons in February. Steel
works furnace production was 1,917,750
| tons and the merchant furnace output
was S20,1S2 tons.
| The number of active stacks on
March 81 was 279 against 3O6 the last
day of February. net loss of 81. Large
purchases of pig iron have been quiet
ily negotiated by consumers in the Buff
falo district and in the east at conces-
sions of 25 to so cents a ton. Bessemer
has declined to $3.50, Pittsburg, al
though no sales involving large tom
nages have been reported. A central
| Pennsylvania steel marker has taken
10000 tons of basis from an Ohio fur
mace; Buffalo reports aggregate sales
of more than $4,000 tons, and a New
Jersey foundry has inquired for $4,000
Itons.