New Britain herald., 1916-09-15
DELIVERY PROBLEM
 HITS STEEL TRADE
New Dealings Taking Secondary
 Place With Big Mills
The Iron Age says today:

Producers and consumers of steel are so beset with delivery problems 1 that for the time new transactions are taking a secondary place. The operation of mills Is more satisfactory under September conditions and some | headWay against accumulated orders should be made In the next six weeks 1 The outstanding fact in the present congestion is the small impression made upon it by the years additions to steel-making capacity. A canvass shows that about 2,700,000 tons of in | gots a year is represented in new i open-hearth furnaces started up since Jan 1. and about 5O0,00 tons more will be in operation before the close of the year. This is an per cent. increase on the 100000, ,0OO-ton rate of steel production at the beginnin g of 1916, or less than the normal gain. There is little promise of any pro- nounced change in the relation of sup ply and demand from new capacity before the middle of next year, if then.
 New contracting for steel to be de- IVered in the first half of 1917 is not noteworthy, yet good many con- sumers have not covered for that pe- rlod. In the case of plates a good deal of business for the third quarter of next year is already booked and plate inquiry is intending. Just now 75,OO0 tons is before eastern mills in the effort of individual users to preempt a place on the books in view of the heavy demands the government will make with it's navy program. A Maine shipyard is in the market for 10000 tons and Japan, with all her buying of ship steel still wants 6,100 tOns
 In the export market the shipping of greatly needed material is getting precedence over new buying. But Russia has just bought 13,0OO tons more of barb wire for shipment this year and on 7,5OO of tle Russian cars that have been under inquiry for months there is some better chance of early action.
 Tn rolled steel, prices hold all the strength that has developed from the situation as to semi-finished material. While plates for forward delivery can be had at Sc, from 4c to 45c is done on prompt material; but universal plates for early delivery are available
 
 plates. Tn hard bars some competi- tion is seen, sales being made as low as 2.40c, delivered at Cleveland
 Another advance has come in wrought pipe-s2 ton on black butt weld, $4 on black lap weld and $4 on steel and iron boiler tubes, eff fective Sept '. Oil country material was advanced similarly. Galvanized pipe is not changed.
 Much interest attaches to the basis for sheet-bar contracts covering the last quarter of the year. For the third quarter $37 to $40 was paid, but it is probable an advance of at least $3 a ton will be made. Very little steel in the form of billets or sheet bars is to be had for early de- livery at less than $45, and producers are more and more under the neces- sity of conserving their steel for their own finishing departments.
 Pig-iron buying, which was less viz Orous in some districts last week, has developed more activity in others, particularly at Pittsburgh and Chi cago. The strengthening in Southern iron is more pronounced, and in the middle west this has caused a stronger market for northern irons. With the exception of Chicago, where southern and northern makers have been competing sharply, Ala bama iron has come up to a s145O basis. Aggressive selling at Chicago brought local iron to SIS for No. 9 Tn northern Ohio, however, No. iron has advanced to $1S.5O at Valley fur mace.
 At Pittsburgh a large foundry in terest bought 25,000 tons of which two thirds went to the south On deliveries in the next six months southern iron in this case was sold as high as $14.50 and northern up to $18.50 at furnace.
 Basic pig iron is at last making some response to the conditions in steel. While 20,000-ton sale was made at Youngstown last week at the long standing SIS price, a 1O,OOO-ton transaction is reported at s1S.5O and producers are disposed to hold for this price. An eastern Pennsylvania steel company bought 18,0O0 tons of basic and 5000 tons was taken in New Eng land. An Iowa steel company has closed for ,0O0 tons ..I ..