New Britain herald., 1917-11-22
Steel and Pig
Iron Markets
The Iron Age says:

11ASoL Wal COIAOAIlOAS, NALN GIL
creasing handicap from fuel scarcity
and transportation failures, and tho
limitation of output due to the con-
flicting purposes Of those in authority
from whom steel makers now take
their orders. Bankings Of blast fur
naces from coke shortages keep up
| and at Youngstown steel output at
| some plants has been cut nearly so
per cent.
1t is two months since price fix
| ing began and the market results are
scarcely appreciable apart from como
progress in the pig iron trade, which
has shown itself more anaenable to
| control than the finished material
lines.
Dislocations in rolling mill opera
! tons are more marked. While these
! have been commonly laid to irregu-
lar gas coal and coke supply, there is
! increasing evidence Of the shifting Of
| consumption and in some lines its re-
| duction and the embargoes on exports
have left some mills with occasional
gaps which selling forces are trying
! to fill.
: A feature of the week has been the
wide and prompt acceptance by the
warehouses; Of prices which represent
q drop Of $40 to $40 per ton in many
products and as much as $50 per ton
| in sheets and $40 in plates. Being on
! a Pittsburgh basis the new jobbinS
| schedules carry considerable freight
additions for very large part Of the
! tonnage involved.
! While a good amount of finished
steel for use on government contracts
is sold currently, little business is
coming out for rolled material for
other purposes. Plate inquiries in
c!ude one for 10000 tons Of 3-16 in.
! plates cut in 3O-in. squares for the
government: Plate prices quoted by
certain mills able to make early ship
1nent continued higher than the gov
eminent basis. but are approaching it,
one Central Western mill now quoting
| cents as against 6 cents recently.
On the governments orders for L.
| 500. 900 tons of shell steel now being
allotted, shipments are to be COM
| pleted by June Is. Half the amount
| will be for Gin. shells alone. There
are yet to come large acquisitions for
Great Britain and France.
Labor supply has improved in spots,
but the problem will be made more
serious by the second draft. It is
| plain that dilution of skilled labor
| must begin soon, particularly under
| the urgent call OF the government for
| thousands Of mechanics for service in
France At Pittsburgh as high as
! $3S5 is offered for common labor on
| 10-hour day.
The flow Of structural steel orders
| related to the war program is swelling
| so fast that meeting of fabricators
! is to be held in Pittsburgh on Tues
| day. A very large part Of the ILL.,
! 600 tons of bridge and building work
pu. under contract in October, repre-
| senting 61.5 per cent of capacity, was
! directly and indirectly for the govern
nont a later item is the placing with
! a Canadian ia bricator, because it has
n good working staff, of $4,000 tons
OF ship work as part of a total of 4o.-
| 600 tons monthly for ten months to
be delivered at Philadelphia.
New price fixing includes a Sc. basis
for lisht rails 25-lb. and heavier. The
new basis Of 3.50c. for bar iron is a
mill price and not fob. Pittsburgh,
as with steel bars. It's maintenance
alongside 2.90c for steel Is problem
atical.
Sheets have sold more freely to the
general trade than any other finished
product since official prices came in.
The mills are we'll filed for this year.
and some good sales have been made
for the first quarter. The government
is placing orders Nor 10000 tons.
The original embargo order Of the
War Industries Board cutting off en-
tirely shipments Of chrome steel for
the manufacturers of pleasure auto
mobiles. has been modified pending
the report of tho automobile indus
tries committee as to the minimum
amount the industry should be al
lowed. The War Industries Board
wants cut of 20 per cent of present
consumption, but may permit a
gradual reduction.
Philadelphia has led again in pig
iron buying total of $4,000 tons Of
basic iron being taken by several
steel companies. The Steel Corpora
ton has bought 5000 tons of basic
iron in that market in the past fort
night. AT Cleveland a 5,0OO-ton sale
of basic is reported and the buyer
seeks 10000 tons additional for the
second quarter of next year. At
Pittsburgh steel companies whose
blast furnace output is curtailed by
lack of coke are trying to buy iron
but with little success
Buying of foundry iron is going OH
in a careful way for the first half Of
1918. Sales Of Southern grades, with
the freight of 81 added to the $33
furnace basis. are naturally limited to
meters who must have them in their
mixtures. Deliveries Of pig iron are
not up to contract schedule and this
causes some buying by foundries
whose contracts are at lower than
government prices.
There was fear in October that
enough Lake Superior ore would not
be brought down to carry the industry
through to the arrival Of new ore in
the season of 1913. But the Novem-
Der movement has been greater than