The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-06-07
P|G IRON OUTPUT
 FOR MAY SHOWS "A
 PER CENT INCREASE
Upward Stride of Industry In Evidence-StrOng De- mand for Iron With
 Active Export Trade

The Alabama production of pig iron in the month of May is the largest since oc- tober, 1918.
 The output was 212,246 tons, compared with 137.169 tons in May. 1919. an increase of 75.077 tons, or 54 per cent.
 The total Alabama production for the first five months of the year is 99ots' tons, compared with 5,597 tons in the same period of 1919. This is an increase for this year of 16o393 tons. or 20 per cent.
 The output of the country at large re- covered to an extent from the low recoru of April, but Alabama had no low rec ord to recover from. Its April record was 42000 tons in excess of April, 1919. The o4 per cent increase of production in May merely marks the persistent upWard stride of the industry in Alabama all this year.
 HIGHEST POINT REACHED
 A still higher point will probably ne reached in June, because the three addi- tional staci.s going in during May op- erated only during a portion of that month, but they will count for every day this month and the Gulf States steel IS to blow in it's idle stack.
 The contrast between twenty-seVcn active stacks at this time this year and fifteen active ones at this time last year is the most pronounced feature CT the iron trade.
 At this time last year the iron market, following the fiasco of the Redfield price conference, had become well nlsn stagnant and prices went as low as S2ooo with cost of production at the hlghese war levels. Many furnaces. shut down.
 There was not a great deal of recovery until early fall, when the price arose to $27.5O The year closed with S3S market and the new year opened with one around $40 That maintained until a few weeks ago when the SAP base became firmly es- tablished and is practically the uniform price for Birmingham iron f. o, b. fur mace now
 The present price is regarded as satls- factory Furnaces are well sold up at that figure for the remainder of the year there are little or no stocks on hanu and the vista is one of strong demand both at home and abroad for some time to come
 The export business has been rather ac- tive the past three weeks owing to the domestic car congestion. Birmingham makers felt more like catering to the exT port trade under difficult transportanon conditions in the competitive domestic field, because shipping room has peei' offering freely at southern ports and pug iron is moved more easily to theH oNSi the short intervening haul.
 BOOKED FOR EXPORT
 Sweden, Italy and Holland, as well as England and Scotland have participated in the buying movement. Perhaps zo' 900 tons have been booked for export.
 That Alabama furnaces are constantly being improved and adding to their pro ductive capacity is evidenced in the May, 1920, production of 212,0o0 tons with twenty-six active stacks compared with the 2l5.0oo tons of October, 191S with thirty active stacks.
 All steel works are operating at near capacity and the same is true of pipe ships and the large machine plants ana structural steel works. COMPARATIVE FIGURES Conditions point to continuance Of the excellent state of the iron and steel trades for several months to come The Alabama iron output for the first five months of 1920 and 1919, compared was as follows: