New Britain herald., 1916-07-13
HEAVY STEEL BUYING
 BY FOREIGN GOVTS.
RuSSia'S Orders for Rails Are Con.
 Sidered As Spectacular
The Iron Age says today:


 New foreign buying both for war l and peace uses continues to be the niainstay of the steel market. In only 1 one direction has domestic demand | made itself felt in the past week; that 1 vas in the placing of orders for the l first half of 1917 by a portion of the 1 agricultural implement manufactur- CTS. Of this business the Steel Cor rOration took S0,000 tons at 2.35c., Pittsburg, for bars, and 2.60c. for small shapes For bars this is O.15c. below what most mills have held out for on such contracts.
 The buying of the Allied countries is heavy, and promises to be for months. Russia's tonnages are spec tacular Her much announced rail orders, as now rounded up, represent fully 365, ,000 tons, and more rails are wanted In fact, the question is how much our mills can guarantee to de- liver by the middle of 1917. Lacka- wanna, Cambria, and Bethlehem mills share these orders with the Steel Corporation. The French gov ernment asks for 20,000 tons addi- tional rails. Great Britain, after put ting 50,00O tons on the Steel Corpora tion's books in the pat three months, still seeks more, and with Canadian mills trying to buy rail blooms on this side, it is a question how much they can take of the 30,000-tOn inquiry that has just come from the Canadian Pacific. The Russian rails were high priced but the $52 widely published includes spikes and splice bars.
 The other striking feature in export trade is 5000 tons of barb wire for Russia, just closed by the Steel Cor poration. This has long hung over the market The Allies are still trying to place 100000 tons of barb wire, in addition to a round lot wanted for Italy.
 In exports apart from war Is an ln- uuiry for 3O,OOO tons of small bars. Indicating that the shell-steel orders have not given out, Pittsburgh was asked Wednesday to take 70,000 tons of rounds for Great Britain, but mills there cannot make the deliveries wanted. Canadian buyers are in the market for shell fOrgings for the second quarter of 1917.
 Indications are that the July output Of the mills will fall below the June rate, as the Fourth of July shutdown stretched out to forty-eight hours, a1l some cases, and hot weather is now cutting down production. These fac tors are offsetting some of the new steel capacity scheduled to come in from time to time.
 Prices have had little testing apart from the agricultural bar trade. In Bessemer billets there have been sales at $40, Pittsburg, indicating some easing up, though for open hearth SAP is paid. Third quarter Bcssemer bars have sold at 2.5Oc. and there is some structural steel to be had at close to that figure. On plain wire the leading producer has advanced it's price from $2.45 to $2.65, or S4 ton, but other sellers have not followed as yet.
 The plate market, after some ire gularity lately, is tightening, and 3.5c. and 4c. sales are common. Three vessels just placed with Pacific coast wards call for 10000 tons. There is scme sounding of the plate market here by British interests in view of their governments willingness to per init some collier and refrigerator boat construction.
 An export order out of the beaten track is for 1000 tons of line pipe for Borneo. At home Oklahoma oil in terests have closed for 200 miles of Sin. pipe, deliveries to start in August, and in another case 40 miles of 12 in pipe has been taken.
 Due to the marked decline in shelter, some readjustment is looked for in galvanized wire and pipe pro- ducts. as has already been seen in sheets.
 Tn special steel work, inquiry for 5000 tons of nickel steel from auto mobile manufacturers and the sale of two 1,OO0-ton lots of electric steel billets for export are of interest
 No little comment has been made on the offering of 3O0,OO0 boxes of tin plate by Pittsburgh dealers It is understood that an Ohio mill, inactive for some time, will produce this material; it may also roll sheets.
 May exports of iron and steel, which were 54O,0O tons, or more than 1OO,- 900 tons beyond the previous record evidently represent a partial cleaning up from the long New York embargo.