The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1919-09-29
STEEL WAITS FOR
FINISH OF STRIKE
Interest in Labor Situation Is
Keeping Trades Attention
FROM Business.
OFFICES HAVE NO OFFERS
Customers Back Producers and
Cheerfully Submit to
Inconvenience.
OFFICES HAVE NO OFFERS
spec,a, Dsspaten to TIE SIM.

Special Despatch to TIE Sun.
PITTsBuRo. Sept. 2s.-with all interest
centred on the iron and steel strike.
hardly can It be said that there Is a steel
products market Sales offices have
nothing to offer and buyers are not maxi
ing any effort to purchase gratifying
feature OF last week for the sales offices
was the fact that many letters COM
mending the stand taker by the steel
NIT cheerfully to any Inconvenience
caused by the strike and assuring the
steel producers that they desired to see
the manufacturers go to the limit to
win out, were received from customers
And so while there Is practically no dis
cussion of market conditions or Of prices
IL Is generally understood that 1t would
not be good form for a purchaser to at
tempt to obtain a premium for any ma
terial available. Prices are quotabe
therefore at former levels. although II is
impossible to make purchases, irrespec-
tive OF price. There is practically no re-
arrangement IN the schedule of orders
by producers who have plants in various
sections, some affected more than others
by the strike. The buyer is fortunate
order chances to be scheduled for rolling
but If that condition be prolonged. there
must be probably some rearranging.
Although II had been thought at first
that in the event of important curtail-
roent In steel output because of a strike
many consuming Industries would be
able to operate fairly well for a time,
the latest analysis shows that there is
not much stock from which to draw.
Tor ,-al h.. ~
has been endeavoring to accumul tate
stocks. but it turns out that that effort
failed, having such heavy factory oper-
ations that It had to live from hand to
mouth 50 far as daily supplies were con-
cerned. which was out of the ordinary
as the automobile trade generally has
had heavy stocks to draw from. The
agricultural implement shops are no
better off and have practically no stocks.
AS to building operations. they depend
on current shipments most structural
steel being erected practically as fast as
received.
Ferromanganexe situation.
A quotation on English ferromang-
anese can be obtained generally from
some English producer and, so far as
can be learned, the quotation when
named at all is always 500 c. |. T.. the
price first named last August The ma
jority OF the English producers are out
of the market, but there has been always
one or two sellers, and those familiar
with the import situation express the
opinion that there will be always seller,
although one producer or another may
drop out OF the market and some other
producer come in. OF course there Is no
demand of any consequence for ferro-
manganese when the whole trade Is so
vitality interested in the iron and steel
strike, but the fact that there is an
English material available at the price
Is nevertheless of some interest
Scrap dealers have been in receipt of
suspensions from day to day and have
been somewhat surprised that the sus-
pensions did not all come when the strike
was called. Shipments on nearly all con- /
tracts with steel mills have been sus-
pended, which is not to be taken that the /,
steel mills cannot consume scrap and do |
not need 1t. A few Pittsburg distr' { |
mills are down entirely. but others are !
running fairly well. Inasmuch as II is a :
strike mostly OF hunky labor, the blast
furnaces are on the whole affected some I
what more than the steel mills. which, of |
course. indicates consumption of a larger
quantity of scrap in proportion to pig
iron, but at the same time common
labor cannot be employed in unloading
scrap when there is more pressing work
to be done. AS there is no scrap market. .
no break seems likely and prices are un- (
/
Coke Trade Much Disturbed.
Affairs in the coke trade are natu-
rally very much disturbed by the strike
which has had the effect of practically
Withdrawing the blast furnaces from the
consuming market. To meet the sudden
and sharp change in conditions the OPP
orators have no choice but the expedlent
used when very pronounced slump set
in early in tho year. Through reduc-
ing working time and otherwise slowing
down operations 1t is expected to pre-
vent overproduction and loading cars
without Immediate destinations. There
may be some difficulty. as in a mild
winter, in closely gauging production to |
lessened requirements. but operators will /
not hesitate to adopt the severest OF
strictest measures II conditions demand
that they be employed. A considerable /
volume of coke Is moving. but II is
going to new markets which have
smaller consumptive capacity than those ;
from which the shipments have been
diverted. Foundry coke is IN strong de-
mand, its consumption not being affected
by the strike. Production pToba bly, will .
grow larger as the region goes on a
working schedule which viii permit more
70 hour coke to be made For such
offerings of furnace coke as have been
made there has developed a tendency to |
shade last weeks price. but not beyond +,
25 cents a ton Foundry holds we'll to |
the range OF s6@6.5O. The lake move
ment continues to decrease. but the in
creased supply for the line trade prac-
t:cally is not felt and coal is substan-
TALLY as scarce as ever