The sun., 1919-01-26
STEEL MILLSRUN
At TOPIC. CAPACITY
pig Iron Men Say They Will
Not Make More Rcduc-
lions i'm Prices.
SCRAP SITUATION CLEARS
Demand for Regular Soft
steel Bil!cts Reported
Coke Yields Ground.
SCRAP SITUATION CLEARS
Stecidi neSpdtch 10 TVS suN.

PlTTSRl -'-N IdlT cSlln3le
Q, steel mill operations in point OF ton
mage is between 60 and 20 per cent. OF
capscity No mills are entirely closed.
With scarcely an exception there Is pro-
duc,lon ali along the line at well known
widely varying rates. plate and sheet
nils operating at the best, while lowest
,onnages are found at rail and struc-
tural mills.
Bookings Of new business are light,
but tending to show little increase from
week to week. All producers admit that
current bookings are insufficient to main
tain operations at present rates. the
mills depending chiefly upon old orders
OF which there is fair tonnage.
Various estimates are made by differ
ent producers as to the length of time
,helr backlog business will carry them
some estimates running up to four or
Ave months at the rate at which such
business is being filled. Many mills
have negotiations with customers who
desire TO have prices reduced or con-
t.ac:s cancelled. There IS no general
system, every case being treated OH its
merits.
The pls iron market continues to be
maintained, and furnaces insist that for
the present at least they will make no
further concession. feeling that the So
reduction made represented a good elice
of the price, especially as there has been
no particular reduction In the cost OF pro-
ducton. Shipments against old con-
tracts are decreasing somewhat. but
still represent approximately the total
q pig iron produced.
One furnace in the Sheaargo Valley
t,ew out last week on account of de-
creased requirements on the part of its
customers. The meeting OF merchant fur
nacemen from all over tho country. held
in Pittsburg last week. resulted in the
utilization OF opinion that the pig iron
market is Likely TO decline from time to
time, prices being too high, but no defin-
rs predictions as TO when the next de-
cline will take place are attempted. The
,iz iron market remains Quotable as fol-
lows: Bessemer. s32.2o; basic, $50: NO.
foundry. $3i malleabl $3.50; forge,
$50 These prices are {. o. b., valley fur
naced freight 10 Pittsourg being *.4o.
some soft Steel Billet Demand.
There has been some demand for reg
ular soft steel In billet FORM standard
hi'!e.s and small billets. but there Is nm
absence of inquiry for shee: bars. SO
far regular prices have dominated, s4i
Tor sheet bars and small biilets and
$3.50 for standard billets, but the
market has been subjected to no serious
,sst. as buyers have not made bids.
Consumers would probably want to do
some negotiating before paying regular
prices, as there Ia always a chance Of
obtaining a cut price
As rule consumers who want steel
make an effort TO use descriptions OF
high carbon steel that readily can be
Asd. There is discard steel as we'll as
considerable tonnage o. regular shell!
steel. all OF good quality in its way.
some she'll steei offered In billet form
has passed British Government regular
Inspection.
Prices cannot be quoted closely on
that material. as there are so many de-
s--iptions. and sellers hardly know
what 10 ask for It, while buyers are in
doubt as to what bids they should make.
Some OF the steel will eventually have
20 be used as scrap. for which there is
70 clearly defined market. Some Of 1t
would make good forging steel. and II
the consumer could use II to advantage
= might bring $40 TO. $50 as forging
s'eel, the regulation price for which Is
still higher, SIS in billet form, repre-
scnt'ng the 81 reduction from the Gov
A-rr7a.t price OF $50. II is said here
hat one maker is quoting forging bill
,s.s at s5l. made to specification.
The scrap market has not reached the
cuo,able stage as yet but the situation
IS clearing a little every week. The
cort!nued absence Of buying by consum-
e-s, or even of making bids. is a feature
% growing Importance, suggesting
4 5uhs as to whether they will be buy
ers for some time to come, and this tend.
strongly to dlscredit the theory put forth
~ some quarters that the large scrap
dealers have been in a campaign TO bear
Inc market to load UP at low prices and
.hH1 engineer an advance.
obviously the dealers have little oc-
rasr1a TO believe that consumers will buy
~ore freely within the next few months.
ard there is hanging over the situation
great deal Of useless war material
T,,.a will have TO be sold and consumed.
The United states Government has Of
tered practically nothing for sale thus
"a ard while the Canadian and British
governments have appeared as sellers
even they have been as cautious as they
could be In Offering material and at the
same time actually trying to sell 1t.
Consumers Are Not bidding.
While consumers are not buying It
''1s' not be supposed that they are maxi
~ low bids or talking bearishly. They
-" making no bids at all, and as rule
s,s !nd!sposed 10 encourage the belief
Tat scrap values are low. There Is
BONE policy in this. as the small reduc-
''',.' they hayo made Oh their finished
rr.lIcts do not make a favorable COM
'.r.oT with heavy declines in scrap,
c'' II their important raw materials.
NrT that the coke market has yielded
z from the Government limits, where
T. TODD So rigdly for 10 months. there
T. go "uiation as TO how rapidly and how
't~ 2 Will decline. Among coke opera
'n-s g is claimed that there will be no
''...rjm'nate competition, but that de-
'.r' will be small and separated by
."7' de:ahle intervals of time. Among
."-'a"e men predictions are made that -
Nr, %" reached in the near future. Some
oI''atJTs observe that It Is an advantage
Pa g." market FOR coke to be quoted
q. somewhat under the Government