The Bridgeport evening farmer. [volume] (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1866-1917, 1916-04-04


as the increases in the last two months
of 1915 Gross earnings of 473 rail-
roads for January aggregated 267 mill
lion. dollars compared with 220 mill
lion dollars in January. 1915, the per-
centage of gain, which partial returns
as recorded in our last report show
ed as over 20 per cent, now being
21.3 per cent. Net earnings during
January were 10 million dollars COM
pared with 81 million dollars in Jam
uary of last year, a gain of So per cent.
The opening month of theSyear show
ed losses in railroad earnings in both
1914 and 1915, but the gains recorded
above more than make up for losses
in the previous two years. Partial
reports of gross earnings in February
ash ow a total of Sc million dollars COM
pared with 55 million dollars in Feb
ruary, 1915, the gain being 20 per
cent.
Orders placed during February for
railroad cars tota1ed IL. 836 ears COM
pared with 30,327 in January and A.
255 in February. 1915. OF the cars
freight and 10 were passenger cars.
Rails ordered during February totaled
125 thousand tons compared with 241
thousand tons in January and $50
thousand tons in February of last
yea Industrial concerns and street
during February, and the rail mill ca
pacity of the country is now booked
up TO the end of October. I4ocono-
tives ordered in February numbered
463 compared with 258 in January and
only At purchased in February of last
year. Of the locomotives ordered
in February. 238 are for foreign ac-
count
The idle car statement this month
net SH nf "a RS
on March 1st, compared with a, net
surplus on February LIST of 20,299s and
ia net surplus on March LIST, 1915, of
321, 951. The total car shortage on
March >1st was the largest reported
for this period in any year since 1907.
The total shortage consists largely of
box cars, which are. wanted especially
west and northwest of Chicago.
Anthracite coal shipments in Feb
ruary totaled $500 thousand tons
compared with 1880 thousand tons in
February of last year AN increase of
/, 346 thousand tons. All the roads
reporting show increases in anthracite
shipments over February of last year
Stocks of anthracite coal at Underwater
shipping ports February 29th were
416 thousand tons compared with 414
thousand on January 31st-
Pig iron production in February
aggregated 3,087 thousand tons COM
pared with 3,f89 thousand tons in
January and 1875 thousand tons in
February of. last year. The decrease
in February pig iron output is due to
the short month, the daily production
|, having been well over LOG thousand
tons compared with less than 103
Thousand tons in January. There
were 312 furnaces in blast on March
1st with a capacity of nearly 108
thousand tons of pig iron per day
compared with 306 furnaces in-bIast a
month previous with a, daily capacity
of los thousand tons.
The untitled tonnage of the steel
corporation made a new high record
on February 29th, standing at that
time at $3.50 thousand tons compared
with 1928 thousand tons a month
previous and 4,345 thousand tons a
year previous. The former record
point of 8,490 thousand tons was
reached on December 81, 1906.
Shipments of coke from the Con-
ne1lsvi11e district in the four weeks,
ending with February 26th, totaled
! 47,417 cars compared with shipments
of 28,463 cars for the entire month
| of February last year. Production
of coke in the four weeks reached a
total of 1.73s thousand tons compared
with 1,o53 thousand tons in February,