The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-07-03
LARGE DEMAND FOR
PIG IRON DEVELOPS
Important Buyers Prices
Reached at Last
NO GENERAL TRADE
Tempting Prices Named on Southern
Iron-Curtailment of Pig Iron
Production an Important
Factor

Age will say tomorrow: The springlhS
up of demand for pig iron in large volume
than has developed at one time in sew
eral months has marked the past week.
indicating that in the belief of some I'M
portant buyers prices had at last reached
an attractive level. On southern iron.
in particular tempting prices were named
by one of two interests. $40 at Birming-
ham for No. having been the basis on
several large lots, but it Is asserted that
those who sold at $40 have now With
drawn that price and are holding for
$1,000
Northern sellers in districts in which
southern iron is most largely sold have
further lowered their prices in the past
week with a resulting increase In busi-
ness. The buying movement is by no
means general. but it is broadening as
the gap grows less between recent prices
and tine low level of one year ago.
The extent to which the curtaiment
of pig iron production will go is an i'm
poitant factor. Partial statistics for June
indicate that a number of additional fur
naces have blown out, in view of the
discouraging outlook.
| In a number of finished lines the abil-
| ity of the mills to make prompter de-
| liyeries shows in an easing UP of demand
upon warehouses and prices for store
material have been reduced 81 to SO ton.
| Thus far, however, there has been no
weakening in the contract prices of bars,
| plates and structural steel. The imple-
ment makers appear to have given up
any idea of breaking the price of bars,
and additional contracts have come in
| from this source. At the same time buy
ers do not forget that revsions of such
contracts have regularly accompanied any
decline in the market.
| An eastern mill took the $500 tons of
plates required for two government coll
Hers at lao cents Pittsburg, against a
| bid of 1.42ls by Pittsburg mills.
| Wrought pipe has been one of the most
| active products on the list. One interest
has taken contracts for 155 miles of S-inch
| and A miles of 12-inch pipe for oil lines
Cleveland, July 2.-(Special)-Th Iron
| Trade Review tomorrow will say:
| The first half of the year has made a
! remarkable record for production and con-
| sumption and very little new buying. A
I.year ago the second half of the year
opened under highly favorable conditions
| with general confidence in continued pros
perity Specifying against contracts ex.
| piring July !, continued at a tremendous
rate up to the very last minute of that
day.
| Advances in leading finished products
had just been announced.
Conditions have of course changed, and
| there has been no rush to specify during
the past few days. There is, however nc
| Indication of decreased consumption, and
I4l.1
new business will develop satisfactorily
during the last half of the year.
| The outlook for high iron is better in
most sections on account of increased de-
mand but prices are still very low. In
the south the extremely low quotations
recently made have disappeared and
prices are on a firmer basis with consid-
erable iron being sold as high as $11 in
eastern territory following the buying of
| from 900 to 5000 tons by the General
| Electric there has been more activity, and
about 81, 900 tons are now pending in the
New York district
| Bids on the government GOLFERS Kan
awha and Maumee developed considerable
competition, in which the eastern mills
had a distinct advantage, owing to the
fact that their freight rate is about IS
less to Mare Island Call than is that OF
the Pittsburg mills. The Worth Bros. Co..
Coatesville is the low bidder on $500
tons of plates, on which 1t bid 1.40c
Coatesville, on $500 tons and asked extra
additional 1000 tons. On the 1900 tons of
structural shapes the Carnegie Steel COM
pany and the Jones & Mclaughlin COM
pany each bid 45c Pittsburg. Eastern
PENNSYLVANIA mills are now quoting 1.50c
Pittsburg, for either eastern or western
| shipment
| The Ford Motor company. Detroit,
will build an addition to its Detroit
plant which will call for about $4,000
| tons of steel, the contract for 3400 tons
| of which has been awarded to the Nc
Clintic Marshall Kain Co.
Owing to the receivership the prop
| osition of Cleveland city officials in
regard to the site for the Union sta
ton 1t is expected that drawing of
plans for this monumental structure
will soon be started. Bids will be
opened July II on section one of the
Welland canal improvement which will
require about 5000 tons of reinforcing
bars and structural material.
Following the action of the Illinois
Steel company in reducing its ware
house price of shapes. plates and bar
50 per ton, the jobbers in Cleveland
and Cincinnati took similar action Th
reduction on plates and shapes in tn
Cleveland market was SO per ton. Tht
jobbers feel as they are not now com.
PEELED to pay premiums which they did
pay for a time For prompt delivery
they can afford to make some price
concessions to buyers The jobbing bus
mess in most sections has continued
very active.
Nearly all of the iron rolling mills
have closed down for the two weeks
July rest and some steel mills will
also be idle during that period. There
is only moderate demand for bar iron
Some agricultural implement manufac-
turers in the east and also in the Chi
cago district are contracting for steel
bars, in some cases for six months and
other cases for year.
/ In spite of the recent declines in
price of old material. still further
prices are being quoted. Railroads are
having considerable difficulty in NOV
| ing their accumulations. Railroads are
buying bolts freely and as is usual in
the case of large buyers, are obtain
| ing concessions in prices. Recent or
ders include 100000 bolts for the
Chesapeake and Ohio, while the Vir-
ginian and Norfolk and Southern rail-
| roads and Seaboard Air Line are ask