Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1922-12-31
STEEL INDUSTRY BUSY,
BUT NOT PROSPEROUS
Consumers. and Not Produc-
crs, Benefited During
the Last Year.


the Last Year.
Output 80 FER GENT HErrEI,
+ Tonnage Greatest in Ncnr, bu,
Many Disturbing Factors Urcurrcd
In \rnr-Strikc in Nununion Mines
Was Felt.
PITTSBURGH. Dee. 3O-Thc rec
, ord OF steel III 1872 makes a better
showing for the consumers OF steel
ana for trade In general than it does
Tor tn" Stcel-pr"ducing industry IL
self. The tonnage oC steel produce, Il
was more than 10 per cent greater
than III 1912 or 1918. by far the two
greatest tonnaI" years before the
war. As population had Increased
less than Is per cent and exports
We're smaller. the Indicated consump-
ton per capita was equal 10 the best
prc-war record.
tn. steel producing industry itself
WAS not rcspondinEly prosperous.
From the producers standpoint the
pI'aSdutcSt aspect OF the year is from
The viewpoint of ono year aco. when
after year "t unprecedented de-
crease in steel demand the hopes and
expectations entertained FOR the new
year were OF very modest proportions
Tho steel production had been ~ per
cent under that OF tho record year,
1917. and 80 per cent under that OF:
l:2". Perhaps tho circumstances Of
the time were confusing. The low
point in production had fallen at the
middle Of July. 1921. and for four
months there had been Improvement
IN output. winding MP with sharp
decrease in December.
Prospects Icnr AGO.
Al tho time 1t looked as If that i'm
provemcnt measured almost all that
could he expected Of steel. except by
tn" development, OF much more favor
able underlying conditious-a great
increase i'll the willingness Of men to
work and in their efficiency and AN
Improvement IN conditions abroad
creating good export movement. II
required indeed. some courage To pre-
dict that the volume OF steel trade
activity would bc much greater in
1922 than Il had been in 1921.
Now. however. We have the record
OF 1872 producing about - per cent
more steel than 1921. The production
q: steel ingo;s has been nearly. If not
quite. 3i.0oo.oo0 gross tons. against
l?.22i.oN tons n 1921. iu.SSl.3S2 tons
in 1920, trim" over 3O,noou00 tons in
both 1912 and 1918. and 22.6@i43l
IN 1905. which Was a very great steel
year in It's time. with full operation
OF all the existing steel making ca
pacity throughout tho year.
In passing. IL may bc remarked
that II IS striking commentary on
The viciS>!tud-S Of demand that.therc
Mas no year between 1906 and 1916 that
gave the steel industry "A demand sut-
nc!cNt Ia enable II to operate at 100
per cent as IL did in those two Years.
and = striking commentary on the
/ transports ton. labor. and other ,rou-
hlcS v" have had since 1915 that
there has been no time at which the
steel industry was physically able u
operate at capacity
An Exceptional Ycnr.
Usually al the end uf a year a fair
/ appraisal OF the years results and
/ "t its anGury Tor the future can be
made The present time is cxcep-
/ tional in this respect. II is i'nposs!-
/ hlc To- assign to tho years cousump-
tlrn all I'll" steel that has been made
/ in tho year We know that the in
duStrics "i the United states were no,
less than onc-half as active IN 1921
as in 1920 or that they were - per
cent more actiy" in 1922 than IN 1921
II tn" production IL steel wore The
measure OF industrial activity that
would be the cas- 4, Tho .nd nr
1870 there were stocks of steel ,r,
81 manufactures or s,ecl wbil. in
1921 there was not merely unuidat.or
If surplus stocks-,ncr. was drastic
liquidation Of normal stocks In 1922.
there was REIMBURSEMENT of s,ochs
| That much We know. but there * ,of,
q doubt as to whether or not ,b.ra
has been accumulation of cx,r, s,n,.l,
either becaus. buvcrs r;,d d,,. ,r.,,
stool At pric.s thai could no, he ,i,,n.
Heated or hocau.o ,hov wnro ,or,f,,,-
ing themselves agajns, ,po,hcr c,,,1
strike
TEo obscrv,r n.r,, a., ..,,
count of ms f.r,n- ~ y,nci,s ,,o,,,,,
hc cnryirrna h,,n,,, ,,,a,.1,
d,r,,t 40, ~" - "'' .'t, .,
~ NV '"I'S"inp'ioh OF steel
Now. n'"i'iiE "il',
,c,i,y,,. ar" go go 'no"S' u !al
,ha ny, - -, 80! '"F "ppr"Nim atsly