The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-10-13
STRUCTURAL STEEL
. CONTRACTS GROWING
81 Per Cent. Of Capacity Of
Country. or $4,000 Tons,
Is the Report.

TIE ereiary Of the Bridge Builders
.oA Structural Society reports that dur
i., ,ne month Of September contracts
.,,,sd for structural steel amounted to
=. or cent. of the entire capacity Of
A.. bridge and structural shops Of the
,,,ntry. This indicates that tho Sep
,.uher sales aggregated a little over
az 400 tons, as the total rated capacity
:, .hs shops is $4,000 ons per month.
pro,,minary estimates Of actual sales
,,,or,ed we're $4,000 tons. Tho differ
~ a., $4,000 tons IL made up of the
,.,imated sales of bridge shops which
40 no, report TO the society o are
N,n,ifed with tho American Bridge
cofnuary. Tho latter company. II Will
no remembered, is the structural and
,shrlcsriug subsidiary OF the United
states Steel Corporation and makes no
S,r.t reports to the Bridge Builders
society.
IN August sales Of steel to be used
I, the building VI bridges. commercial
oalldtngs and manufacturing plant ex'
,snsioss we're estimated at SIS per cent.
n no total capf ity. Thus there was
. decrease in September Of 10 per cent.
a. compared with the preceding month.
The prospect Is, however. that during
the curreii month a new high record
viii be established because Of the award
NC OF large contracts for subway and
,leyatel track extensions in New York
and Philadelphia. Optimism was the
dominant note AZ the Bridge Builders
Society meeting held at Harrisburg. Pa.
las, F-lday. when il vas shown that I'M
Mt .Rl.r4 .HtN th. hr-nIS nj tho At,
ters exceeded $4,000 tons, equivalent
- four months capacity Of the shops
represented. ON the Same basis IL liz
Indicated that untitled contracts carried
hv all the fabricating companies to-day
AMOUNT 10 about 7.S.0Q0 tons, with other
large tonnages being quietly developed.
An explanation of why the American
Bridge Company bid relatively low upon
the various sections Of elevated railroad
extension work In Brooklyn last Satur-
DAY is found In the general understand
ing among fabricators that the inquir-
les put out by the New York Municipal
Railways Corporation were merely to
test the position of the structural shops.
II was believed that no contracts would
he placed at this time unless an es-
Ncially low price was developed. Com
s~equently most u the competitors are
supposed not to have named their mini
mum prices. On the other hand the
American Bridge Company made quota
ions 80 attractive as to insure the
awarding Of contracts at this time.
The Bethlehem Steel Company. now
engaged principally In the manufacture
Of ordnance and other war munitions for
the allied European Governments. Is re-
ported 10 have placed additional con-
tracts for plant extension with the Nc
Clln,ic Marshall Company callirH for
between 5,Ooo and 5000 tons OF steel.
This makes the total steel ordered for
such improvements about II 900 tons. as
similar contracts previously reported
called for 6.i00 tons. The McClintic
company Is said TO have sublet $500 tons
Of this work to the Hay Foundry and
Iron WORKS.
The high prices prevailing for copper
a. result Of the heavy contracts placed
FOR war munitions has stimulated output
Il the mines, smel,ers and refiners even
20 a greater extent than had previously
been supposed. During the current
month thr output of both blister and re-
fined copper will probably be $4,000 ions,
not ii,noO,OUo pounds. IA Inadvertently
STATED yesterday. This IL equivalent to
about 16s coo. 900 pounds. Previous TO
August this year the maximum produc-
ton was in August, 1912. when the Cop
per Producers Association reported an
OUTPUT Of li5.62s,521 pounds. equivalent
70 4 little over $1,000 tons
The surplus stocks of refined copper
bed IN this country to-day are estimated
a. l;o,onp,ooo pounds, which Is 10000
eov pounds less than the surplus held
on the first OF this year, according to
the United States Government report An
Interesting fact Is that there has been a
steady gain in the surplus since May.
when Stocks were at the lowest point OF
record. Even to-day the surplus Is less
Than one months production, but the
output II being steadily increased.