The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-02-26
4 BLAST FURNACES
BLOWN IN NPAST WEEK
Steel Corporations Active
Capacity 81 Per Cent
FOR CARS
Order of 5000 Kegs of Spikes Placed
at Cleyeland-Developm in
Most Finished Lines Have
Been Meagre

New York, February 25-(Speeia1) }
The Iron Age will say tomorrow: Re
ports from the large steel companies
emphasize the good rate of specifi-
cations more than that of strictly new
orders. Chicago notes an appreciable
lull in new business in steel products,
as well as pig iron. At Pittsburg re-
cent conditions are practically un-
changed both as to mill operations and
| new bookings
The extent to which manufacturing
consumers have caught step with the
rolling mills Is a matter on which steel
makers are seeking light in determin
ing how far the restocking movement
of recent weeks will have the back
ing of expanding industry. The COM
Ing month may make this clearer.
Foundries have shown practically no
increase in their melt of iron and ma
chinery lines there has been no real
movement thus far
Last week the Steel corporation blew
in four blast furnaces. It's active steel
ingot capacity this week is so per
cent. Late additions to the Illinois
Central's rail orders bring the total
up $500 tons. divided between the
Ensley and Chicago district mills The
Great Northern and the Buffalo, Roch-
ester and Pittsburg have each placed
5000 tons
Developments in most finished lines
have been meagre. The mills are quite
4ral1 ga11 C.,.
an order comes up that is eagerly COM
peted for as in to be expected with exist
ing slack in capacity. The eastern pig
iron market is interested in recent offer
ings of foundry iron from the Dominion
Iron and Steel companies furnaces at
sydney Nova Scotia. Arrangements
have been made to bring in this iron at
Philadelphia for distributing through the
east,
Cleveland O., February 25-(special)
The Iron Trade Review tomorrow will
say: Unusual franlSness and cooperation
on the part of many high iron dealers
and producers in the central west have
resulted IT. the conviction that higher
prices on high iron are justified and de-
manded by present conditions. 1t has
been found that the order books on fur
naces carry very large tonnages that
etocks in furnace yards are low and that
large part of the tonnage has been sold
at less than cost. Hence the determina-
ton of furnace men to take a stand fol
reasonable prices.
The upward tendency is not, however,
confined to the central west. but is al
most as pronounced in eastern territory
where there has been snarp advances in
quotations for during the last half of the
year. In eastern territory Buffalo iron
for last half has been sold at Sl4 furnace
for No. X. large buyer in eastern ter
ritory is about to close for 10000 tons of
mixed grades for last half delivery. The
Tata Iron and Steel company of India is
endeavoring to dispose cf from 10000 to
20,000 tons of off iron in this country
But nothing definite has developed in
the negota tions
limited tonnage of India iron deliv-
cred at San Francisco about a year ago
was on a basis about equivalent to the
price at which domestic iron was selling
ON the coast
The placing of orders by railroads has
not developed rapidly and probably will
not as long as the rate question remains
unsettled. There is however more activ-
ity in some directions, and new inquiries
for cars aggregate about 5000, of which
$500 are for the New York Central. The
Illinois Central railway. which recently
ordered 1850 tons of rails, principally for
the Central Railroad of New Jersey, has
increased its rail order to 67,0O0 tons.
An order for 5000 kegs or spikes was
placed at Cleveland by leading railroad,
and follows a similar order placed a few
weeks ago. The American Bridge COM
pany will probably obtain $1,000 tons or
more from the general contractors for
third tracking the elevated lines in New
York of the Illinois Central railroad
Twenty-Five thousand went to the Illinois
Steel company; 10000 to the Tennessee
company, and the remainder to indepen-
dent mills. The Great Northern has pur-
chased 1900 tons of rails, of which 5000
tons went to the Illinois Steel company
and the remainder was traded between
two Independent companies.
The Buffalo, Rochester and Pittsburg
has ordered 5000 tons from the Carnegie
Steel company, and has awarded some ad-
ditional tonnage to independents.
The Steel corporation has taken
49, co tons of rails for South Amer
lean railroads. Inquiries for structural
material now pending in the east, in
cluding 10000 tons for subway and
elevated work and from $4,000 to 30,-
coo tons for miscellaneous, of which the
largest is the Widener building, Phil
adelphia, which will require about
5000 tons. The Norfolk and Western
is considering the building of 5000 cars
in its own shops, which will require
at least $4,000 tons of steel. The navy
department will soon call for bids on
5000 tons of steel for a transport and
supply boat to be built in the Phil
Gdelphia and Baltimore navy yards. 1t
is expected that about 5000 tons of
steel for four tank boats recently re-
ported having been awarded to a
Philadelphia shipyard will probably go
to a Pittsburg mill. The Standard Oil
company is inquiring for 900 tons of
plate at Cleveland and is reported to
be in the market for considerable more
material of various kinds
The dangers of speculative buying
and too rapid advance of prices are
strikingly illustrated in the case of
scrap, which has slumped suddenly in
Pittsburg, Chicago and other leading
centers. Dealers who found themselves
short when the market began to ad-
vance paid fancy prices and contrib
uted to the present generalization.
Railroads of Chicago have thrown upon
the market a large but by no means
unprecedented tonnage of old material
ND HATT A MEMRED