The New York herald., 1921-10-16
TIN PLATE LEADING
INSTEEL BUSINESS
Most Lines Await Revival in
General Trade-Spurt in
Sheets Praeedes Advance.

Special Despatch 10 4I2-s New YORK HERALD.
PITTSBURGH. Oct. 15.--The steel mar
ket is in virtually a stationary condi-
tion both as to volume and as to prices
Steel ineot production averaged 81 per
cent. of capacity in July. while August
showed good gain with 80 per cent.
average. Then came September with a
81 per cent. average. and the rate now
Is "a or 35 per cent, with no definite
trend. The recovery from the extreme
depression of June and July seems now
to have gone as far as Is warranted by
credit and business conditions generally.
No important change In steel conditions
is to be expected until fundamental con-
ditions improve by an increase In gen
eral Industrial activity, by large con-
struction jobs being undertaken more
freely and by the railroads coming into
the market. Such broadening In steel
demand continues to be expected for the
early spring.
The general average of finished steel
prices is substantially unchanged. Some
shading has developed in tubular goods
since the reduced lists of September l6
were put out, while on the other hand
several independent sheet manufacture
ers are advancing their prices S. a
LOIi, IL DelIlS only u IIiOHlu SliCe tle idSl
advance which was So ton.
The local pig iron market has con-
tinued quiet. A sale Of 500 tons of
standard bessemer iron Is reported at
the old price of $40 valley. Two or
three small lots of basic iron have peen
sold, but by furnaces some distance from
the valley. and part of the freight adj
vantage of these furnaces is undcrstt cd
to have been given away. Foundry con-
tinues to move in small lots at the old
price. The market remains quotable as
follows: Bessemer, s2O basic s19.25 to
SEQ; foundry s21. These prices are
(. o. b. furnace, freight to Pittsburgh
being $780,
Progress of the advance In coke prices
was arrested In the last week by two in
fluences, the blowing in of ovens at
rate slightly greater than was warranted
by the blowing In Of blast furnaces and
the postponement by several furnace in
terests OF their expected assumptions
There has been no actual decline in mar
ket prices of coke to speak of in the last
week. AS to contract furnace coke. the
condition a week ago was that there
were few sellers at $3.50 and many
more at s3.75, but the record Of the mar
ket is that part of the demand has been
satisfied by sales at S3.40 and $3.50. Spot
furnace coke of excellent quality sold
this week at 1885, and 1t is reported that
some odd lots of sub-standard grades can
be picked up at less than that figure
Small lots for miscellaneous consump-
tion outside OF blast furnaces have gone
at 1885 to $3.50. Coke is now quotable
as follows: Spot furnace, $3.35 $3.50;
contract furnace. s3.40@$3.50: spot
foundry. s4.50@s4.75.
Already the reported increase of SIS
tnp N Shaafc da To J,ty
Independent producers. had the effect of
driving in fairly large tonnages at the
old levels. Prices are 2.50c. for blue an
nealed. &c. for black and 4c. for
galvanized, Pittsburgh base, while the
new prices announced are arse. 3.25c.
and 4.25c. respectively for these COM
modties. While sheet operations are
slightly reduced in the Ohio territory.
due mostly to slackening automobile
demand. the American Sheet and Tin
Plate Company Is operating 92 or 93 per
cent. of Its sheet mill equipment, fur>
ther advance from last week Demand
for It's products is we'll diversified, and
the jobber demand from the South con-
tinues particularly heavy. Full finished
No. % gauge automobile sheets continue
to be quoted at 4.35c., base Pittsburgh
Since the recent advance on machine
carriage and lag bolts of approximately
per cent. and a reduction Of SO to $5 a
ton on nuts inquiries have been slightly
more numerous. The lowest prices on
nuts take into effect all recent conces-
Bons and are below quotations Of some
producers now. Operations arc as spas
modic as ever some plants running on
alternative weeks and others two or three
Hays week.
Some little interest is manifest in de-
hveries of rivets over the remainder Of
The last quarter While spot prices are
240c. and 2.50c. on structural and boiler
rivets respectively, contract prices are
2.50c. and 2.60c., although prices are
being quoted only until the end Of the
year. Users In the Buffalo district are
particularly active as buyers.
Specifications for shipment Of tin plate
In December for use in packing of dry
materials. such as cocoa, baking powder,
&c, are becoming more numerous. Some
Of the shipments scheduled for Decem-
ber would be accepted earlier by the
purchasers IL II were possible for the
mills to make them before that time.
While individual orders do not involve
much tonnage, as a rule. In the aggre-
gate the tonnage Is large and operations
continue on fairly heavy scale.