New Britain herald., 1916-09-07
HEAVY BUYING IN
 PEG IRON MARKET
Demand Growing Monthly and
 Mills Are Rushed to Limit
The Iron Age says today:


 That pig iron output in August fell below that of July, indicates the handicaps under which the industry is trying to meet the present unpar- alleled demands upon it. Last months total was 3,2O3,713 tons, or lO3,346 tons a day, against 3,224,5 ,513 tons in July, or 104,O17 tons a day. Heat and humidity enumerated the effect of a slight increase in active furnaces. September should show some gain as 32O furnaces were in blast at the Opening of the month, With a daily capacity of 104,5O2 tons as against 316 furnaces on Aug. l, representing a capacity of 103, 624 tons a day.
 The height of the buying movem ent in pig iron so far as concerns the Gen. tral West, seems to have been passed last week. Following the marked ac- tivity in basic iron, foundries came in- to the market and a good many 5000 to 6,0OO-tOn sales were made Per- haps 50,00O tons was taken up by such buyers. At Chicago the buying of foundry iron for the first half has been relatively less than in other dis tricts
 Southern iron, which has long been weaker than Northern grades, is at last putting on a better front. While $14 for No. is still possible on two or three brands, $14,50, Birmingham, is more commonly the price for this years delivery, while for next year $14.5O to $15 has been the range of recent contracts.
 On both export and domestic ac- count buying of steel keeps up on a scale showing that hopes of lower prices have been put aside indefinite ly. For the Allies the taking up of large lots of shell steel discards fur ther accents the scarcity of the forms of steel for which they have been securing the market lately. Two Central Western steel companies have disposed of about 100, ,000 tons of such material and the supply is now about cleaned up.
 The July exports of iron and steel reported in tons were 496,00O, tons, against 527, ,000 tons in June and 540,- 900 tons at the highest rate, which was in May. It is not to be conclud- ed from these figures that the high point has been reached in the war boom, but the export movement will be closely watched for signs of the turn. Steel works order books do not show it.
 The placing with a Western maker of 4,000 small gondalo-type cars is the only tangible outcome thus far of the long negotiations for rolling stock for Russia. Many more cars are needed, but the deal has taken devious road.
 Further sales of ship steel have been made to Japan, including 10000 tons of plates. Canada is buying steadily in the market, the weeks orders in cluding 1000 tons of structural steel placed at Chicago.
 The railroads find a surprisingly l small amount of steel in some of their | lines available for the first half of 1 next year. Related inquiries have 1 come out in Chicago, showing that | spikes, bolts and angle bars from 1 usual sources will not be available be- fore the last quarter of 1917 and that | tie-plates are sold up to the second ! quarter of next year.
 Bar contracts for the first half of { next year are rapidly taking up the | remaining capacity, and users of high | carbon bars have been actively cover- | ing their needs.
 Another record in iron-ore ship l ments from Lake Superior was made | in August at 9,S5O,0O0 tons. The | total to Sept. 1 was 39,215, 900 tons l Allowing that the grain movement will 1 reduce ore shipments in September l and October below the seasons aver age thus far, and reckoning only 1 5,000,00O tons for November there is l still a prospect that the total will ex-, ceed 62,0O0,oC0 tons.