The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-07-25
PUTTING 'ON SPEED AT NEW CAR PLANT, INCREASING FORCE.
Rail Mill Continues Normal 0peratlonS-IngalIs Build
 ing Bridge for the
 Philippines
By R. F. JOHNSTON

operations at the new car works of the Chickasaw Shipbuilding and Car company at Fairfield are speed ing up.
 AdditionaA men are being taken on and production pace is greater. The plant began operations July 13 with initial orders for 900 cars on a daily capacity of 15 to 20 cars. More speed is installed as forces become accustomed to the machinery and thus make room for larger opera tions.
 The Tennessee company will con tinue the operation of four blast fur naces on basic iron at Ensley this week. The rail mill will continue rolling rails at normal capacity,
 The plate mill at Fairfield will not run this week, but there will be some work in the mills at Bessemer.
 Altogether operations of the Ten nessee company this week will be approximately the same IS during the past several weeks, with the excep- ton of reduced pace in rolling mill departments.
 Gulf States Steel
 The Gulf States Steel company Will put it's bar mill on a ffve-day turn this week. That is about dou- ble the scope of operations of the past few weeks and is understood to be due to greater influx of new orders. It is known that orders re- celved recently have been larger than in the same period of the pre- vious month
 The Corners Weymann Steel com pany will resume this week at it's Woodlawn hoop and tie mill on steel hoops. The mill will run on a single day turn. This plant has been down fer several weeks after a short turn of about two weeks
 The Ingalls, Iron Works, steel fabri- cators, is on full turn and employing a 1ull force of men. Among other contracts it is building several steel bridges for provinces in the Philip pines, with additional export busi- ness under consideration. The com pany is also furnishing steel for of flee and industrial buildings and turning out a variety of structural steel products.
 On Full Turn
 The National Cast Iron Pipe com pany is on practically full turn in it's high pressure pipe shops at Tar rant City In addition to the order for 1000 tons from Akron, O., it was awarded 100 tons for Evansville, Ind. The United States Cast Iron Pipe company was awarded 40 tons by Ft Wayne, 200 by Forest Park, Mich, and 150 by Dubuque. Detroit and Akron contemplate early let tings of large tonnage. The Bir- min gham base on large sizes on &C., tual business is around $40.
 Emory Pipe company has gone on a five-day turn at it's sanitary pipe shops after recently resuming there. The sanitary pipe continues to re- spond to the structural activity, but the business is not sufficient to keep all shops going, owing to the dou- bling of capacity incident to new shops being built last year. The base price remains at $40.
 Coke is ranging in price from SC to s65o. A fair business is going in standard foundry coke, with specifi- cations for prompt shipment.
 Lower Export Rates
 Lower export freight rates on pipe and pig iron to the coast at Mobile went into effect on July IS. The new rates are as follows: Pig iron, s2.75 instead of $4.13; Pipe, $5.13 in- stead of s4.60. The new rates are the same as the rates on iron and pipe when shipped to Mobile for movement to the Pacific coast.
 Furnace operators do not report much progress in their request of the railroads for lower. rates on as- sembIing raw materials and lower 1,ip of fer fro to petitive territory. Assembling rates have gone up continuously since 1916 and reached the high point last Au- gust. The rate on ore, which years ago was .121a cents. went to 17% cents, and then in 1918 to 221a cents, and next to 50 cents. It is now 6212 cents, which is five times what it was before the several increases were piled on one another.
 Brick Plants
 Fire brick plants are operating at fair capacity with prospect of continuously improving business ow- ing to structural actioty in Alabama and adjacent states. John w. Sibley reports brick building operations in New, Orleans and Memphis and in other places where Birmingham brick is a standard.
 Industrial experts express them selves with trifle more optimism than in some time, passing the better feeling on the liquidation that has taken place in prices and wages Base of understanding between buyer and seller In the industrials seems nearer one of mutual acceptance than it has yet been.
 With the blowing out of the stack of the Alabama company at Gadsden during the week only one merchant iron stack in Alabama is active, that of the Woodward Iron company The only other active stacks are the four of the Tennessee company on basic for company use.