New Britain herald., 1916-01-28
ENORMOUS DEMAND
 FOR MACHINE TOOLS
Steel Trade Still Moving in Direc-
 ton Of Higher Prices
Especial to the Herald.)

Especial to the Herad> e. New York, Jan. 2S.-The Iron Age yesterday said
 The scale of earnings of the United States Steel corporation, learned through the announcement of Tues day afternoon, puts the stamp of defniteness on the high level of pros perity of the steel trade as a whole. With prices half again and in some cases twice as high as they were a year ago and a volume of fbusiness two and two and one-half times as great as in late 1914, we are still m owing in the direction of higher prices. The incessant demand for material booked and the repeated efforts to find takers for the large volumes for export give some indica- t1ons of the promise of 1916.
 There are clouds on the horizon but as yet not portentous Ocean freight charges twice the seaboard cost of material are making it in creasingly difficult to close for de- sirable export business. High prices are checking new projects, though as yet these total to a moderate vol ume only and may mean merely de- ferred consideration in some cases. New buying is one the whole not heavy, but this causes the mills no concern with their bewildering piles of orders for months ahead. Labor shortage in different lines is factor of uncertainty.
 Set By Embargoes.
 The intermittent embargoes are backing up on mill operations, and Io livery promises augmented on this account, is a deterrent, in addition to high prices in holding back busi- ness.
 The price advances are largely due to buyers themselves, who are enxi- ous to have mill positions beyond their present protection, but the mills still resist opening books for much in the third quarter or for anything in the fourth q''arter. Meanwhile second quarter rollings are clearly getting forced into the third quarter, SO it is perhaps not surprising that consumers are willing to commit themselves even for deliveries into 1917, with tbe price a secondary consideration.
 Railroads Buying Dull.
 
 expected in the immediate future. Earnings Of railroad must be swel1ed to the levels of ten years ago, it is held, before their pet bridge jobs and cars in quantities will be con- s:dered. Raw material prices going into these products are high but suf- ticient competition exists so that the high prices of the finished bridge work of 1906, for example, have not yet been reached. It is to be re- membered that haulage of freight fer export now a feature, is not done at domestic rates.
 Our London cable announces the looked for fixing of prices on steel products, but British steel makers are not willing to sell at the prices and export business is practically suspended. Tool steel is included. Steel plates are put at $54.75 per ton, beams at about s54 and sheet bars at $57.15.
 S55 Per Ton.
 Wire rods have been sold here for export at about $55 per ton, Pitts burgh, and some business has been done in barb wire at $5 to $10 over domestic prices.
 A recent export sale of SO,0OO tt xes of bright plate was done at better than $375, Pittsburgh, and s4 lin plate is regarded as an early possibility. Blue annealed sheets are s3 per ton higher and now prac- tically on parity with black sheets.
 Want Machine Tools.
 An enormous demand for machine tools from abroad is developing. There is one inquiry from Russia fer no less than 3265 machines l Domestic demand is becoming strong and some buyers are arranging for 1917 needs
 Wages to Lake Superior iron-ore miners are to be advanced very gen. orally on Feb. 1 an average of 10 1 per cent. This is in addition to the 1 recent restoration of the 10 per cent. 1 cut made at the time of the depres- ; sion of something over a year ago.
 The rail business of the week l came from the Central West. In l addition to the 30,O tons of the St. 1 Paul placed with the Steel Corpora tion, independent rail makers have received $500 tons from the same road Some ,000 tons were bought 1 by three other roads. Owing to and higher steel prices. light 1 rails have been advanced $3.36 per ton. Besides the nearly 70.000 tons or rails for Russia and Italy, delayed in closing partly by the difficulty of l securing steamer space at satisfact- ory charges, upward of 14,000 tons of track accessories for Russia is in ciuded
 NOT TO SOLICIT FUNDS.