The New York herald. [volume] (New York, N.Y.) 1920-1924, 1920-10-21
NEW BUSINESS IN
STEEL DECREASES
Fresh Bookings Drop to Small
est in Many Weeks as
Buyers Hold Off.
CANCELLATIONS LARGE
Price Situation in Many Lines
Shows Continued Unsettle-
ment Is Result.
CANCELLATIONS LARGE

New business coming in to the steel
manufacturers during the last week was
the lightest in many weeks, and as a re.
suit there was a further tapering or of
plant operations. In addition to tn 1t
falling Off In new bookings there were
large volumes OF cancellations and sus-
pensions of business booked. Competition
has grown sharper and the price sit
uation in many lines shows more and
more unsettlement as a result OF those
conditions. Such are the outstanding
features Of the last week IN the iron and
steel industry. according to weekly re-
views
Further tapering or of new business
end plant operations more clearly has
marked the progress of the readjustment
movement in iron and steel.' says the
Iron Trade Revieio. Fresh bookings
are the lightest In many weeks. as
buyers are wholly Indifferent to offer
ings of tonnage which only a few weeks
lack would have been most attractive to
them. Added to this, cancellations and
suspensions have been large and still are
flowing in upon producers. More mill
capacity is being forced to suspend or
go on part time basis. Under these
conditions competition has grown
keener and prices in a number of lines
show increasing unsettlement- Re-
f]ecting the listlessness of the market.
some independent companies have mani
tested a willingness to reduce their
prices to the level being quoted by the
Steel Corporation, but have refrained
from doing so since they are convinced
this would not stimulate buying any at
this time. t Nth
''Renewed interest has been centred
upon the price policy Of the Steel Cor
poration with the appearance of wide
spread reports, as yet without official
weight, that important announcements
by the leading producers are near at
hand Some of these reports are to the
effect that an advance of 81 to SO a ton
in plates. shapes ~and bars. epplying'
from January I. may be adopted. At
Chicago a new price announcement on
steel bars for 1921 delivery is expected
to be made In few days by the Illinois
Steel Company. If the Steel Corpora
ton should advance its prices this would
go far toward closing the gap between
It's schedule and those of the independent
mills. which has been narrowed steadily
by competitive market conditions In re-
cent weeks"
The Iron Age says: THE movement
toward lower prices for pig. iron and
the products of Independent steel mills is
more rapid and there are more shut
downs and curtailments of production.
Signs now point to a decline in both pig
iron and steel ingot output in October.
though an increase was indicatd as the
month came in.
IAN Eastern steel company has Just
blown out four blast furnaces and at
an eastern Pennsylvania independent
steel plant operations are at 60 per
cent, as against so per cent only re-
Gently. In the central West several of
the smaller steel companies have cut
down output and the holding up of
shipments on high priced contracts is
more common. At Pittsburg a lead
ing independent company has a num-
Der of open hearth furnaces down and
is restricting rolling operations. particu-
larly In plates. A Chicago district plate
mill is still out of commission.
1.-THE most significant development Of
the week Is a break in coke. which APP
parently marks the end of the extreme
prices that have ruled for months. With
a decline OF So per ton in the week and
both blast furnace and foundry opera
tons on a diminishing trade, consider
able contract coke being released mean
while. buyers once more have something
to say in that market