New Britain herald., 1916-03-02
STEEL PRICES RISE
 AT FURIOUS PACE
More Concrete Will Be Used in
 Construction Work
The Iron Age says today:

The Iron Age says today:
 Steel prices are rushing up at a
 furious pace and in the past week
 conditions have grown more ex-
 cited. Manufacturers as we'll as buy
 CTS consider the present level dan-
 gerous, but some of them had the same view weeks ago. Now they gen of situation the end of which none can predict.
 It has been a week of heavy buy- 1 ing in many quarters, notably in pig iron and old material More than 100000 tons of steel-making pig iron has been closed and the Steel Corporation alone has bought 10O,- l 900 tons of steel scrap in the Pitts burgh and Chicago districts.
 It would be easier to name pro- | ducts which have not been advanced in the week than those which have been pushed up under buying in many cases more urgent than has yet 1 been seen. At Pittsburgh, Bessemer | iron is soc to 75c higher; basic iron, 1 25c to 50c heavy steel scrap, 75c; skelp, $2 light rails, $3; wire pro- 1 ducts, s2; black pipe, $2; galvanized pipe, s4; boiler tubes, S2; refined iron bars, s2; sheets, s3; to s5; cold rolled strip steel, s5 to $10; mer- chant steel, $3 to $4; shafting, $5; spikes, $2 to s3.
 No end is in sight to the advances and the volume of orders ahead of the mills is growing faster. Many buyers are afraid to contract at these prices, Ut most of them seem more of of ol in, the latter part of the year than of name.
 Railroads see that s30 open hearth rails are the cheapest product on the list and at least three systems have placed orders as far ahead as 1917, the total thus far for that delivery being about 70,00O tons.
 Shipyard buying is at a pace never before known, and already the lead ing steel interest has booked llo'- 900 tons of steel for 20 vessels that will be under construction m the second quarter of 1917, largely for foreign owners. On these contracts the basis was $2.50, Pittsburgh, for plates, $2.35 for shapes and $2.30 for bars.
 Similarly there is figuring long
 
 ings. The American Bridge company has taken the contract for a bridge for the Bessemer Se Lake Erie rail- road over the Allcghency river at Oal<mont, Pa, that will require 10,- 900 to 12,0OO tons and will be a year in building. A bridge at Steubenville, Ohio, for the LaBelle Iron Works will take 5000 tons. A ridge over the Ohio river at Louisville, Ky, just let, calls for 5000 tons. In the East fully 1000 tons in structural con- tracts has been let this week and nearly as much is about to be closed. Quick decisions have been made on some work to avoid higher prices.
 At the same time no week has brought out more cases of under takings postponed on account of high prices and the unwillingness of mills to make definite promises of deliver ies. A good many plans are being changed so that more concrete be used in bridge and other work.
 New rail orders include ,000 tons for the Southern railway, of which 3O,OOO tons goes to Ens1ey; 5000 tons for the Wheeling Lake Erie $500 tons for the B. &t o. and 3,20O tons for the C., H. & D. The Russian rail contracts went to three mills, and the total is about 6O,OO0 tons It is understood boats have actually been bought to insure delivery of these rails.
 Pittsburgh reports the offering of 1O0,0 tons of bars for shells, which mills have been unable to consider. Considerable foreign requirements have come up for large squares and blooms for forging. But efforts of foreign buyers have lately concen- trated on barb wire for the second half, and 5O,000 to 10o,0 tons is before the mills. The wire sltua- ton, after repeated advances, the last one Feb. 29, bringing nails to $40, is tightening to point ind1- eating shortages in some lines.
 Activity in stecl-making pig iron, along with heavy buying of steel scrap, shows the larger steel cont panies' need of outside material. One Pittsburgh interest bought 35,000 tons of basic and 35, 900 tons Is under inquiry in that market Cincinnati sales of basic amounted to 60,000 tons and a large block is pending there. An Indiana steel company bought 20,000 tons and in Eastern Pennsylvania 12,00O tons was taken, while Buffalo reports a good sized basic sale. The price has gone back to SIS at Valley furnace after the recent easing off, and sellers are asking $1S.25 and higher. In east ern Pennsylvania a sale of 5000 tons was made at S19.50 at furnace.
 The whole pig-iron market is more active and prices are higher, after some recent irregularities, particu- larly in foundry iron.
 WILLIAMS ANn ROE NrIPUx