New Britain herald., 1917-03-01
Steel and Pig
 Iron Markets
The Iron Age says:

The Iron Age says: Pig iron continues to hold the spot 1 light. The squirt which the car con gestion gave to prompt delivery buy
 ing two and three weeks ago was ac. 1 centuated in the past week by still higher: and more widely divergent
 prices. Dependent largely on the present unusual situation, prices are sooner or later expected to come more
 nearly in line with contract levels.
 Interference with contract shipments l has affected steel-making as we'll as foundry iron.
 With every day that much nearer the final removal of the snow bar rier and with the improvement noted
 In car movements. industry is again | looking forward. although rail ship ping questions are still the greatest ! concern. Destruction of shipping by submarines has not yet been a factor. That stocks at seacoast terminals
 may ultimately check operations at I mills is regarded as so remote as not yet to warrant consideration.
 What is noteworthy in the inter- national situation is an inflow of in- quiries which shows no diminution. Coupled with a heavy domestic de- ~-~ SAAS plants of consumers, some strength
 is given to the talk of still higher prices for finished steel.
 Buying for the governments pre- paredness needs goes on slowly, wait ing largely the disposition of the appropriation bills now before con-
 grees. It is practically established that the. Midvale Steel & Ordnance
 company will provide facilities for
 making 16-inch navy guns. and prob
 ably $2.000,000 will be expended for the additional equipment.
 Some fresh sidelights on the do-
 mestic situation may be briefly sum-
 marized: Numbers of blast furnaces
 have sold their entire output into Oc-
 tober. Pig-iron contracts are report ed,. covering shipments extending into the first half of 1918. It appears that some 25O.O 900 tons of steel bars for the agricultural implement manufac- |.turers have been closed for the last
 half. Fully 3O0.O00 tons of plates. it
 is estimated, could be sold on do-
 mestic account for delivery through 191S F;air-sized lots of boiler tubes
 for use few months hence have sold
 at 20 per. cent. above going prices, which represent. themselves unusual.
 ly high profits.
 Good-sized quantities of wire and wire nails have been sold at B per
 ton above present general levels, and
 an advance of at least this amount
 is expected before the end of the
 week. Steel bars for delivery in a
 few months are difficult to get at less
 than 3.5Oc.. Pittsburgh basis; struc-
 tural material is also somewhat
 stronger and there Is talk of even higher prices for ordinary tank plates than 5c, per lb. Tho notable devel- opment of the Westinghouse interests at Essington. Pa., calls for the largest list of machine tools appearing in years.
 semi-fnished steel shows some signs of easing. Prices for prompt shipment billets are we'll sustained, pacity coming into operations as the year progresses is perhaps the oc- casion for the expectation of a re- vision on deferred delivery purchases. The canning trade is cutting down its contracts for the last half. partly, 1t is stated, because tin plate is so high, but the tin-plate demand makes this no factor.
 For export. 15.OO0 tons of shell steel billets has been sold by one mill for delivery after June. at no less than cents per pound. A leading open-hearth interest, in addition to 200, 900 tons now under contract. has taken 5000 tons for the last quarter. as has another steel producer. these billets, it is understood, going for $85 at the mill Besides 150.000 base boxes of tin plate for Italy, fully that much is wanted by China. Of the Russian barb wire inquiry. which has not yet been wholly closed, N3O,O0O tons is desired as soon as. possible, 4 while 75,o0O tons will be taken in the latter part of the year. Another pig iron inquiry has come from Italy, for 3O.O00 tons for March June delivery.
 "A price of cents for six months shipment extending through the first ouarterSof 1918 has been accepted in the sale of 25.000 tons of ship plates by one mill in the last two weeks. Japan has bought 13.000 tons from an Eastern mill at slightly under cents for the first half of 1918 and nego- tiations are under way for 10000 tons at cents for the second quar- ter of next year. Japan's present ur- satisfied inquiries amount to some 50,O0o tons. In addition to the five 15,OOO-ton boats placed with the Bethlehem Steel company by the Gun ard line, three 7.6O0-ton freighters are to be built for the same owners at Tacoma yard.