New Britain herald., 1917-01-04
Steel and Pig . Iron Markets

New York, Jan. 4.-The Iron Age says today: +
 The new year opens with the pres sure upon steel works and blast fur naces in no degree relaxed and with a notably large inquiry for ship plates, 150,000 tons being now before Eastern mills.
 At the same time the difficulties of production and of moving mill pro- ducts have grown more acute, cur- tailment of output amounting in some cases to 25 per cent. Many more blast furnaces have had to bank in the past week, after precarious operation in most of December. Gen. tral Western furnacemen are meeting in Cleveland this week to discuss measures of relief
 When every ton of output Is needed, the industry Is entering on @ perioh Of Increasingly uncertain deliveries. All the railroad buying of cars and loco- motives in recent months will give no relief for the winter, for war work found a hold last year in car and loco- motive plants when railroad buying was backward.
 Highly significant of the expansion in the demands upon our steel works in the year are the statistics of new steel capacity provided in 1916. A total of 103 open-hearth furnaces conn., pleted in twelve months added 4,205,- 900 tons a year to the country's capa- city; yet prices advanced more rapidly in the second half than in the first half of the year. Beyond all prece- dent is the amount of new steel capa- city under construction at the begin ming of 1917 From a total of 72 open-hearth furnaces, II converters for dup1exing and two purely Besse- mer steel plants now building or pro- jected, an annual output of 5,016,0o0 tons a year is expected. The showing starts an interesting speculation as to the relation of steel supply and de- mand when war buying stops.
 While only five new blast furnaces with s00,o00 tons yearly capacity were added in 1916, there are now 25 under constru1ion with a capacity of 4,100,- 900 tons a year.
 Pig-iron production for the s1 days of December fell considerably below that for November with one day less. Photographed returns from practically every furnace show 3,171,0S7 tons for December or 1O2,293 tons day, against 3,311,S11 tons in November, or 110,394 tons a day.
 So many furnaces were banked on January 1 that the capacity active on that day is not a criterion of January production. Our statistics show 311 furnaces active at the opening of the month with capacity of 101,975 tons day, against 322 furnaces December 1 with capacity of 1os.127 tons day.
 We estimate the production of pig iron in 1916 at 3e.45o.0oo tons, put ting charcoal iron at 100000 tons. The previous high year was 1913. with 30,9e6,152 tons. and the 1915 produc- ton was 29,916,213 tons
 Next to- shipyard inquiry, exports lead in the current market. France has placed 30,000 tons of barb wire to be shipped early this year. and de- tails have just been settled of spike and track bolt contracts for several hundred miles of railroad for France. The Italian state railways want 10000 tons of squares and rounds in soft steel. Little headway has been made on the shell steel recently sought by England, France and Italy,
 Further rail buying for 1918 has come to light, including 55,000 tons for the Southern Pacific, to be rolled at Ensley and 6,OOO tons TOT the Cn1- cago & Alton Frog and switch manu- factures have taken 10000 tons for 1918.
 In the quietest week the pig-iron market has seen in many months the sale of 25,OO0 tons of Bessemer iron to Italy at $35.50 at Valley furnace stands out prominently. An Eastern recent purchase of basic iron amounted to 900 tons and an other Eastern steel company has bought 5000 tons of ferromanganese for delivery in the next three months.
 In the movement of prices the chief feature of the week has been an ad- vance of $4 a ton in iron and steel pipe, black and galvanized. applying also to oil well supplies and line pipe.