The star-independent. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1904-1917, 1915-05-07
MUCH Confidence SHOWN
IN Steel TRADE OUTLOOK
Foreign Orders to Make May and
June Heavy In Export Business
Average Operation in Mills Nearly
Seventy-five Per cent.

New York, May 1.-THE Iron
Age'' says that with little change in
the rate of new buying at home, the
steel trade has entered May with more
grounds for confidence in the outlook
than existed one month ago. In the
main this is due to the very heavy
foreign business distributed here in
April and the further large volume on
which Negotiations are now being
closed. To this is now added the be-
lated promise of freer buying of rail
road equipment.
Knowing that much more steel for
export will be turned out at their mills
in May and June than in March and
April, steel makers have been little dis
! posed to add to their bookings by
price concessions. Hence with many of
them April did not equal March in
new orders or shipments. War and
other export business becomes thus the
| pivotal factor at time when hesita'
tion might have developed in purely
domestic situation.
| Bids are asked, or are about to be
asked, on $4,000 cars, in addition to
the $4,000 for the Pennsylvania rail
road. Being chiefly for western roads
the expected buying of these ears has
helped the Chicago market, which has
long Jagged, being out of the zone of
export operations. The Pennsylvania
rail order it is now stated, will be for
1873, 900 tons, of which $4,000 tons is
for the lines west. The Rock Island
will probably buy 10000 tons 1T once.
At Pittsburgh. 500 tons will be rolled
for the Pittsburgh and Lake Erie.
Steel works operations are now aver
aging nearer to IS than to 20 per
cent. The Steel Corporation sched
ules for this week are at 1875 per cent
of ingot capacity. Foreign orders may
bring this up slightly as the month ad
vances. The statement of untitled or
show much change. At Chicago the
leading producer had net gain in
April of $4,000 tons.
The pig iron statistics for April
show that steel companies increased
their output by 2,S00 tons day and
merchant furnaces by 1900 tons day
bringing the latter up to the highest
point since July, 1914. The total pro-
duction in April was 2,116,4 494 tons
or 70,550 tons day, against 2,063,-
S34 tons in March, or 66,575 tons a
day. With 1875 furnaces in blast May
l or four more than on April /, the ac-
tive capacity was ,3S5 tons day, a
gain of 1900 tons day.
The pig iron market of late, for the
first time in many months, has indi-
Gated the state of the whole industry.
Buying has broadened, and it is signi.
ficant that 100000 tons of speculative
iron has been taken. Buyers of this
iron, of which about 1875, 900 tons was
from Buffalo furnaces, will hold it for
a substantial advance. In Alabama
April sales of fully 100000 tons, in.
cludiny speculative lots, stiffened the
market and 1915 and $40 are now
asking prices for the second half. Pre-,
ceding the advance some sales of No
iron were made at 1925, and to-day
$3.50 iron is still to be had for the
second quarter.
Chicago pig iron sales have been
quite heavy and all Central Western
markets have been fairly active. AT
Chicago the S12 so price on northern
iron has been for some time the sign
of weak market, but $13 is now
general. In Northern Ohio as low as
$12!25 at furnace for No. 2 foundry
has come out in the past week.
In finished material, the bar market
is of chief interest for the frmness
impaired by the large buying of shrap-
mel steel, just as agricultural bar con.
tracts are coming up. 1t is believed
that 1.20c will be the basis of these
implement contracts for the last six
months of the year and some mills are
averse to selling for twelve months.
An advance in steel tubing was
made this week, amounting to 81 on
merchant pipe and boiler tubes and 81
on line pipe in the case of the leading
producer. Some independent makers
have not advanced line pipe. In iron
pipe and boiler tubes 50 advance
has also been made by most producers
and on galvanized iron pipe one inter
est has put up its prices 81 ton.