New Britain herald., 1917-02-01
Steel and Pig
 Iron Markets
The iron age says:

11lo 1IOI age says.
 Still beset by traffic troubles, the steel trade has had one of the quiet est weeks in many, though January ends with even more assurance of full operations far into the year than existed at it's opening.
 That the United States Steel. Cor poration, with all the construction of traffic late in the year and the short age of coke, earned $106,O0O,OOO in the last quarter of 1916, or far more than in the previous three months, indicates the advance the steel com panies have made into their higher priced orders. But even so, consid- erable shipments are still going out at close to 2c basis for heavier pro- ducts; hence larger earnings are yet to come.
 Though the Pittsburgh & Lake en- bargo on Pittsburgh Youngstown shipments came off January 31, Pitts burgh district shippers look for no great clearing up of the railroad situ- ation before April. Coke supply is alternately better and worse, and pig iron producers who must go into the market and pay s9 for coke to keep running. though they have contracts for coke at $4, are far from being sat isf1ed with that particular phase of prosperity.
 In the Pittsburgh district some mills are believed to have shipped more product in the past fortnight than they booked in new business, but generally the cutting down of ship ments has caused a slight gain in thrilled orders in January. At Chica- go consumers of the heavier forms of rolled steel have crowded the mills with specifications and emergency orders, so that even in the absence of large new contracts the accumulation on the books has increased.
 In the Central West there is some easing up of the pressure on sheet and bar mills. Some sheet mills that have been quoting the top of the mar ket for prompt shipment are now talk ing such business at $5 lower. On heavier products, however, prices on both early and later shipments are firm if not higher
 The desire of foreign buyers to get all the steel possible from this coun- try is seen here and there in the ac- ceptance of more steel with upper limits in phosphorus and sulphur. In a recent inquiry for 10000 tons of 4 14 inch rounds 0.07 was allowed on phosphorus and sulphur.
 Italy's inquiries for barb wire, steel bars and ship plates continue, but ocean freights are a distinctly limit ing factor in all export trade.
 Pittsburg reports of the postpone ment of some large rolling-mill and steel-works equipment work, includ- ing a plate mill, are the first definite developments in that direction. It is not that the proposed constructor has been bandoned, but that lower prices on equipment are awaited.
 January has been unusual in loco motive orders, the total being above 600 At 16,000 the months car or ders fell nearly one-third below those of January, 1916. The Pennsylvania railroads program calls for 2,1oo freight cars and 225 locomotives to be built at Altoona.
 In pig iron the tendency is still toward stiffer prices due in part to founderies being forced into the mar ket because of shortages on contract shipments. Hahoning and Sherman go Valley furnaces are now generally on a s32 basis for No. iron. Prompt Southern iron is $24, Birmingham, while for the second half it can be had at $23
 With a predicted shortage of Bes- semer ores, very definite figures being put out in some quarters, the effort to get 100000 tons of Bessemer pig iron for export at $35, seaboard, has made no great progress. Sales of 1000 and 1,500 tons have been made at $35 at Valley furnaces A sale of 16,OO0 tons of basic iron in the Central West is reported at $50, de- livered.