New Britain herald., 1916-05-04
LABOR TROUBLES
 HURT STEEL TRADE
Steel Consumption and Output
 Gut Down by Strikes
The Iron Age says today:

Labor troubles have been rampant this week in portions of the steel and metal working trades. These and the strikes previously under way have cut down steel consumption some what, and in a less degree the output of mills. At Pittsburgh the rioting originated outside of steel plants and the temporary shutdowns of the latter were precautionary. Iron and steel manufa cturers were forehanded ir advancing wages and the May out breaks have affected them less than was feared.
 The metal working industry, now inured to strikes, has only taken on certain number of new ones. At Cincinnati fraction Of the machin ists went out At Pittsburgh and closed shop are demanded
 Throughout the iron and steel in dustries the explosive nature of the Ia bOr situation is recognized and it's possibilities of interruption in the coming summer are a factor in all forecasts.
 April pig-iron production fell off enough to show the strain blast fur races are under to keep near a 4O,- 00O O000-ton rate. The total for the 30 days was 3,227.76S tons, or 107- 592 tons a day, against 3,337, ,691 tons in March, or 107,66 tons @ day. Poor working of a number of furnaces tells the story of thinning Things that must soon be renewed.
 A few stacks have blown in but based on the smaller performance of April the 322 furnaces in blast May 1 are rated at only 1O9,07 tons a day, against 1OS.459 tons day for the 316 furnaces active on April 1.
 No Relief in Sight
 No relief from the pressure upon the mills is in sight, but new buying is less and the question at what prices future contracts should be made is exercising certain large interests, buyers of war steel in particular.
 Some options on renewals of muni tions contracts-the making of finish ed shells-that ran to May 1 have not been exercised, but as makers are behind on deliveries there is as yet no slackening in such work. More war steel is to be bought and more shell contracts are to be placed, but sellers want more than agents of for eign buyers have yet offered.
 Rail requirements for 1917 were quite generally covered in the buying that ended with April, and some or ders got on the books that the mak- CTS were disposed to put off. Of these 25,0OO tons was for the Erie, 1S,- 900 tons for the Norfolk & Western, and 10000 tons for the Bessemer & Lake Erie. The c. & o. and the South ern railway also added to their first
 
 taken in the week.
 Canada is in the market for 30,000 tons of rails. Her mills have been crowded with war steel. yet the Pere MarQuettes order for 15,000 tons of rails was taken by Algoma.
 Some prices are probably near the top. but advances keep on coming. Wire nails were put at $2.50 May 1, up $2 a ton. Barb wire advanced $2, but plain and galvanized wire, S4. Wire at $2.45 is now only 1 a ton less than nails, while commonly $3 lower.
 Pipe mills have made new prices on oil country goods that are $4 to $6 a ton higher. Bar iron is up $2 ton at Pittsburgh; splice bars $3 to $5 a ton, or to 2c., Pittsburgh.
 Pig iron is Quieter in some mar kets but the weeks buying has shown fair totals in other quarters South ern iron is less firm than Northern, and sales at $15.50 Birmingham, have been made for the first half of 1917. At St Louis 15. 900 tons of basic was bought from Chicago and 15. .000 tons more is pending. A western Pennsyl- yania steel company has taken 25.- 900 to 30.000 tons of Bessemer at
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