New Britain herald., 1917-04-26
Steel and Pig
 Iron Markets

 The Iron Age says:
 Steel manufacturers will meet on Thursday to arrange for distributing throughout the industry very consid- erable government orders for vessels, navy yard and ordnance steel which were largely put in the hands of the United States Steel corporation. The Government is expected to place early contracts tor fully 30o,0 tons of plates,, shapes and bars, and the amount it will want this year ex- ceeds the first estimates, being now put at 100000 tons. Already govern ment business taken at Pittsburgh amounts to 100000 tons of plates.
 Limitations that the government will be asked by the Allies to aid them in securing special concessions on steel and copper are cropping up more frequently. The British gov ernment's copper contract expires in 60 days and the question of the still unused amount of the 100000 gross tons bought for the first half Is cut ting ga undue figure in the current market. All indications today are strongly against the extension of such low prices as our government has se- cured on steel and copper to any of the European governments.
 Manufacturing consumers are not yet facing hardship because of the preference to Allies and the govern ment in deliveries: but some of them are moving in the matter of their 1918 needs. Independent steel makers as a rule refuse to entertain such busi- ness, and where protection is given it is without any assurance as to price. Belief Is that fresh foreign buying facilitated by the big government loan now authorized, will come soon under the direction of Great Britain, probably even for the railroad materi- all desired by Russia. France, with a new credit, will also be in the market. As an example, that country wants 21,O00 tons more of 19-lb rails to lay 700 miles of portable track. A 4000- ton order for the same purpose was recently placed at Cleveland. Though domestic buying has not been free in the past week. there is no halt in the upward movement of finished steel prices. One of the large structural mills with a good record in deliveries has raised its minimum $5 per ton, so that shapes that can be had in 8 few months are scarce at 4c, Pittsburgh. and as high as 6c is paid. Each case Is a special one. The range of steel bars for any shipment seems now to be 3.5c to 4c. Pittsburgh Plates range we'll beyond Sc as 8 mini mum. Several independent wire in- terests now ask the $6 advance of last week.
 About 100000 tons of rails have been sold under conditions of mill conveniences, or delivery in 1919, l. 3O.OO0 tons having been booked for the East. At Chicago the Union Pa cific has asked for 30,000 tons for 1918 and the Illinois Central for 60, 900 tons for 1918-19. The Pennsyl- vannia railroad has bought 15,0O0 tons of steel at Pittsburgh for 1000 cars it is to build in it's own shops.
 An example of the concessions sought on the score of Government needs is the proposal of a committee of agricultural implement makers to secure lower prices or at least accel- erated deliveries of bars, in encourage ment of the larger crop movement.
 Semi finished steel goes up easily. A sale of 2,0O0 tons of sheet bars puts that market at $50. and openhearth biliets have brought as much.
 More concern is felt as to ferro- manganese. Great Britains shipments are lessening and efforts of some inde- pendent steel companies to bring more manganese ores from Brazil have had little success. Domestic fer romanganese has sold up to $45O.
 Canada has suddenly embargoed shipments of steel turnings to this country, though some contracts be- tween our steel works and Canadian munitions works call for the return of the crop ends and borings. The early starting up of the government electric steel plant at Toronto which was de- signed to convert turnings may explain the new order.
 Tin-plate workers are taking advan- tage of war demand to strike for the unionizing of one plant, and other like strikes are threatened.
 The halt in the pig-iron rise was short-lived. Eastern and Pittsburgh markets have been quiet, but Cleve- land, Cincinnati Chicago and St. Louis all report a week of good sales, large ly for delivery in the first half of 1918. Prices for such delivery are coming closer to those for this year. Resale iron continues to figure in Eastern transactions, but with little effect on the march of prizes.
 Railroads and iron-ore shippers find the problem. of moving this years output of Lake ores much more dif1- cult than that of 1916 and there Is al- ready the specter of an ore shortage. Similar alarmist talk through the whole season last year resulted in getting down all the ore needed.