New Britain herald., 1919-09-13
PIG IRON AND
 STEEL MARKETS
The Iron Age says:

The Iron Age says:
 While the talk of a strike of iron and steel plant workers is still a disturbing factor, mill operations arc proceeding and selling is going on as though the labor agitation were | of another continent Neither stress to produce by the mills nor struggle to get finished material by the con- Sumers IS conspicuous. If anything, Slackening from the active negotia- tions of the last three months de- scribes the situation at the moment, matter of no apparent significance. The trade is not taking very seri- 1 ously the conference of union officials at Washington. It regards it as a setback that, following the publica- 1 ton of the appeal 10 the president ] made by President Gompers of the Am merican Federation of Labor t.e | reply of the president was not given regarding the efforts requested of l him to make Steel Corporation off cials parties to the meeting. It is not I reassuring to learn that for the Oc- l tober labor conference of employers employed and the public, the selec- ton Of the representatives of the pub lie is largely, if not wholly, in the hands of the secretary of labor. Not much headway is being made
 against the bookings piled up in l sheets, wire, pipe, steel bars and other lines in which demand has long been outstanding. Shortage of cars rivals scarcity of skilled help and of com- ! mon labor in checking output The ingot production of the coun- try in August, based on the statistics of the American Iron and Steel In stitute. shows an increase of nearly 5 1-2 per cent over July. The aver age daily output of 121, ,O36 tons a day corresponds to an annual rate of 37,392,000 tons. Including the lean
 months of the year, the total pro- duction of 1919 should total 37,000,- 900 tons.
 The delays in railroad buying have caused some shutdowns. Possibly as much as 500,O00 tons of rails repre- sents the need to keep the roads in the condition under which they were to be turned back to their owners, yet the placing of contracts on which prices were submitted weeks ago is delayed. The unemployment problem is apparently the least of the worries of the railroad administration. A rather definite break has taken place in plates. Some of the larger mills have evidently decided not to leave all the more attractive inquiries to mills which have been taking do- mestic as well as export business at 2.50c, Pittsburgh, and while 2.65c is still tic quotation with leading mak- CTS. large offerings may be covered with no great difficulty at the lower l figure back to 2.48c Pittsburgh. Sales of malleable and foundry pig l iron for delivery in the first half of next year made to date in the Chicago district amount to about 100000 tons. Most of these transa ctions have been l at somewhat higher prices than rul- ing for this year.
 1 The answer of the United States 1 Steel Corporation and subsidiaries in the case involving the Pittsburgh l passing point before the Federal Trade 1 Commission challenges the jurisdic- l ton of the commission to fix prices. l An interesting feature of the answer
 is tho statement that iron and steel
 arc sold generally to the manufac- l turers of agricultural implements l without regard to the Pittsburgh base. l Structural steel husin ess looks bet | ter Awards of sizea ble projects total 21 ,OOO tons, including 1000 tons for l the government hangarS at Lake | hurst N. J. The Carnegie Steel Co.
 will supply the 25,500 tons of plates,
 shapes and bars for the two battle
 1 ships to be built at the Brooklyn 1 Navy Yard; on this the plates go at 2.50c.
 l Some steel bar business has been 1 taken at 2.50c., which is an indication l of how much deferred are deliveries
 l at the 2.35c basis.
 1 Forging blooms have also brought $3 above the ruling market.