The New York herald., 1922-12-24
STEEL PRICES HOLD
UP WITH SHIPMENTS
Orders for Freight Cars Being
Negotiated to Add to
Long List.
BIG TIN PLATE DEMAND
Requests for Coke for DOmes-
tic Use Gives q Boost to
Quotations.
BIG TIN PLATE DEMAND

/
month as In October and November.
Several interests. particularly Steel Cor
poration subsidiaries, have been running
better, while few independents have
curtailed production slightly. There will
be many closings of finishing depart
ments over the holidays. and some steel
producing units will shut down also. Pig
iron production will continue, as the av-
erage steel interest is anxious to ac-
cumulate fair pig iron stock for emer-
gencies.
There is a fair volume of steel busI-
ness in the market OF various sorts, in
cludng several lots Of plates. An un-
usually large number of freight cars
are under negotiation. Less than half
of the freight cars ordered thus far this
year, about $4,000, have been built
1 The automobile industry is also lined
up for heavy production. while agricul-
tural implement factories have been in
creasing their schedules.
/ A coal strike April 1 is certainly a
| pt sSibility, and some observers consider
II probability. There is also the vari-
alton of there being no union strike, but
a non-union one.
Steel prices hold up quite we'll and
do not seem to be under particular
! PiSosuIe. leduiIlS fuanuIdCLuTerS are
committed to n price OF 2.00c on bars,
shapes and plates for first quarter. al
though there will be mo hesitancy In
meeting price competition If such should
| develop.
Sheared plates for tanks occasionally
| are required by fabricators in this dis
trict. A boiler and tank manufacturer
at Youngstown recently was the sue
cessful bidder on small lot of tanks.
taking about 1000 tons of plates and
Ia understood to have closed on that
tonnage in the Valley. While some pro-
| ducers have a 2.00c. minimum on plates.
base Pittsburgh. others shade that by 81
or So ton.
All grades of sheets are in demand.
automobile, electrical. black, galvanized
! and blue annealed, in spite of the i'm
proved shipments. Makers expect tina {
by the end of the month most of the
large stocks piled up will have been
disposed of.
4 December's business with tho Ameri-
can Sheet and Tin Plate Company
promises to exceed November's. book
ings by 5000 to $4,000 tons. and with
only half so large an increase in Janu-
ary over December it will be back to
normal basis. Specifications and con
tracts continue heavy. and with output
into and beyond March fully obligated
the specifications in hand involve ap-
proximately 70 per cent. of the obligated
tonnage. Steel receipts from its con-
sttuent interest the Carnegie Steel
Company. have been growing large lots
being received this week.
The leading sheet interest Is operating
at rate of about IS per cent. of
| capacity. maintaining a lead of 10 to
- points over the independents, whose
| bookings of late have been falling off
The leading interests prices are con-
sidered firmly representative OF the
market levels here, as follows: Blue
annealed. 250c.; black, 3.35c: galvanized.
4.35c., and automobile sheets. 4.70c. Some
| independents are able to get as high
as 260c. for blue annealed. and some
are talking of advancing the price on
| galvanized sheets 81 to 50 ton.
There Is q steady and satisfactory
demand In tubular goods as while single
sales are small they are rather heavy in
| the aggregate. Oil country goods are
| reasonably quiet. A few small orders
] drift in from distant fields in the South
or West for casing. drive pipe. &C.. while
! jobbers continue to order small lots for
| repair purposes. Large purchases OF
/ line pipe are contemplated after New
| Years. Pipe mills are operating on an
average of S5 to 90 per cent, with cer-
tain plants running full. The card dis
counts of october / 9 remain firm.
Tin plate specifications have been
coming i'm to the leading interest and
the independents quite readily in the last
two or three weeks, tonnage receipts
this week having been heavy. These arc
for late January and early February
shipment. Some new orders have been
coming from unexpected sources involv-
ing up TO $4,000 base boxes at a time.
Most of the specifications are coming
! from food container manufacturers. pro-
Gucers of general line cans likewise fur
rishing a fairly large number. Only oc-
casionally do oil can requirements come
through. Some negotiations arc in prog
ress for export tin plate. but prices
| available abroad mitigate against Amer
| lean makers engaging largely in the
t-ade at present. Welsh tin plate, how
ever. is advancing, making possible the
firming up of export prices on American
tin plate.
Tin mill operations are at about rs
per cent. of capacity, equally divided
between the leading interest and the
independents. Production plate is still
quoted at S4.75 a base box of 100 pounds,
! Pittsburgh. with some independents still
making efforts TO advance the price to
| $4.S5.
There Is a light movement in the local
scrap market, orders rarely exceeding
one TO two thousand tons at a time.
| Heavy melting steel remains quotable at
4 $40 10 s2O.5O. Heavy breakable cast
| has gone up so cents TO $1e, and cast
| iron borings have advanced in like meas
ure to $17.ap. Steel axles have not
gone above s21, and frequently are
/ lower.
The pig iron market has been rela-
| lively quiet since the recent buying
movement in foundry iron. All produc-
ers of foundry iron. having effected large
| first quarter sales at s25. Valley. are
/ now quoting SEC. which has been tho
market right along i'm small prompt lots
Bessemer Is off so cents. Basic Is quot
able as formerly, but is rather soft at
| the figure.
The market now stands as follows \
! Bessemer. $3.50: basic. S2J foundry.
| S26. These prices are {. o. b. Valley
! furnaces. freight TO Pittsburgh being
ls1.77.
| A new power appeared in the coke
market late last week and Immediately
( took control, this being a suddenly de-
veloped demand from the East for coke
| for domestic use as substitute for an
thracite. Orders were placed freely and
for tonnages that seemed large by COM
parison with the lots bought by furnaces
when they merely want-a little extra
| coke TO eke out their receipts on con-
| tract. This advanced the market si.50
| on an average, and spot furnace coke Is
now quotable at So TO $3.50. while the
unotation on spot foundry coke Is $3.50