The star-independent. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1904-1917, 1915-04-02
IN TWOWEEES Steel ORDERS
LARGEST Since war BEGAN
France Places Order for 100000 Tons
of Bars With the Lake Company
England Also After Some Great
Amounts

New York, April 2.-"The Iron
Age" says orders placed in the past
two weeks with steel works in this
country by European governments have
exceeded those in any fortnight since
the war began An important French
steel interest has just placed 100000
| tons of bars with a Lake steel works
through Central Western dealer and
specifications for $4,000 metric tons
of 2-in. and Sin. rounds applying on
this order are already in hand. Ne
gotiations are pending for $4,000 tons
additional. Deliveries are to be made
at the rate of $4,000 tons a month.
| That this country must furnish
large amounts of steel first and last to
France and England is daily more evil
dent and the urgency of the need will
relieve shipments on these contracts
from the uncertainties of ordinary
ocean transport, the governments them
selves providing vessels in some cases.
Export business both with belligerent
and neutral countries is larger than is
generally appreciated. AS partial
offset to the low railroad demand, its
effect on the effort to establish higher
prices in the domestic market is fac
tor to which consumers are giving
more attention.
Naturally specifications on 1.10c.
and 1.15c. contracts for plates, shapes
and bars have gone in in good volume
in the past week, in view of the ad-
vance by important producers to a
| 1.20e., Pittsburgh, basis for the second
quarter. The effect of this advance,
rs with the change to the 1.15c. basis
on March l, is to cause buyers to hold
off while the supply -and-demand test is
made. AT such time jobbers stocks
bought at 1.05e. and 1.10e. may be-
come active.
The efforts of the steel companies to
carry out the step process of advances
in plates, shapes and bars have held
many consumers down to short deliver
les, but shipments ON old contracts will
extend through April and May in some
cases and, in the case of bars, through
being considered here and there, most
ly in bars, and the Steel Corporation
has indicated that for that delivery it
will ask 1.25c. for bars as we'll as
plates and structural shapes.
In domestic business new buying in
most lines has been less than ship
ments, production of finished material
in March being the largest in months,
and an excess of shipments over orders
is indicated for the immediate future.
The call for steel bars for agrieul-
tural machinery has been better month
by month. In iron bars mills have had
difficulty accommodating specifications
for weeks run at time.
Recent buying of rails by the Erie
amounts to $1,000 tons, all placed at
Pittsburgh. Scarcely 1900 cars are up
for bids. Locomotives bought for ex-
port since the war started are about
250.
There are still prophecies of i'm
provement in structural demand, but
current contracts are only fraction
of capacity. A recent letting in the
East was at $32.50 for the steel
erected.
The volume of line pipe work is
again considerable. Recent contracts in
clude 80 miles of Sin. pipe for line
to Independence, Kansas; % miles of
Sin. pipe for the Dominion Natural
Gas Company, one-third being placed in
Canada and two-thirds at Pittsburgh;
20 miles of Gin. pipe for Oklahoma
and so miles of Gin. pipe taken in
the Wheeling district for q Western
oil line.
A number of automobile builders
have taken out all the special sheets
covered by their early contracts and
are placing new orders. Nearly 20 per
cent. of hot-sheet mill capacity has
been active lately.
Steel companies at Pittsburgh and
Youngstown have made round sales of
semi finished steel, largely sheet bars
but also a good percentage of forging
billets, ear repair work being partieu,
Ilarly active.
The whirlwind in Buffalo pig iron
has passed. From $4,000 to 400, 900
tons was swept up in about 10 days
Some sellers there have advanced
prices to $3.50 for No. X, second
quarter, and s1S for second half. In
other districts the Buffalo cuts have
led consumers to expect concessions
Il