The New York herald., 1922-10-01
SEE LARGE STEEL
BUSINESS IN 1928
Many Producers Optimistic,
but Some Refrain From
Making Predictions.
lTPUT LIMITED BY FUEL
lTPUT LIMITED BY FUEL
Buying for Early Deliveries Is
Expected to Continue
Through Autumn.
specIal pispaleh 70 Tnp suN.


Special Dispatch TO THE Sun.
PlTTsBUnoH, Sept. 30.-Opinions as to
the future course of the steel market
have been made clear in the past week.
Tho common expectation now, is that
buying for early deliveries will continue
through autumn, with further yielding
In delivery premiums, and that late in
the year the market will undergo such
readjustment as is necessary to provide
trading basis satisfactory to buyers
and sellers alike.
Whether present basis prices-those
ruling for late delivery--will decline
will depend upon general business con-
ditions at the time. In many quarters
it seeps to be taken as foreign con-
clusion that there will be large volume
Of steel business to be done for 1928,
but this opinion Is not universal Some
observers insist 1t is altogether too
tearly to make definite predictions.
= Steel production continues to be
.Dimited by fuel supplies, and is no
longer increasing to any extent. Mill
operations average So per cent of
capacity or not much under that figure,
against so per cent. at the end of
August and between 20 and as per cent.
in June.
There is no definite promise Of i'm
proved facilities for production at any
time this year. At many mills, ship
lnent OF steel is restricted by scarcity
of cars. At not few mills some steel
has accumulated, but the accumulations
are small and they are going to be kept
within bounds.
Wire Prices Advanced.
The United States Steel Corporation
is no longer credited with selling any
merchant bars at 1.90c., Pittsburgh,
its minimum apparently being 2.00c.
On the other hand, some independents,
formerly asking 2.15c. or 2.25c.,
have come down 70 this price. The
wire subsidiary of III, Steel Corporation
has advanced prices Sc a ton, following
the recent increase and has made the
nail price $2.70, against the $275 quo
tation of the Independents. II sheets
the corporation will not increase its
obligations until 1t opens books for first
quarter.
Inquiries for plates are subsiding. due
tc the absence of tank negotiations.
Outside of few minor tonnages for one
purpose or another which always are
before the trade, the market Is inactive.
One or two large inquiries are before
fabricators. including one from the
Wheeling Steel Corporation The Ameri-
can Bridge Company will fabricate ap-
proximately $500 tons of plates for
twenty steel barges for the American
Steel and Wire Company, ordered some
time ago. Inquiries for plates from
boiler shops have likewise dropped off.
and the plate tonnage involved in recent
locomotive orders is relatively small.
While one or two makers in Ohio are
understood to be endeavoring to obtain
250c., Pittsburgh, on plates, the market
here cannot be quoted above 2.00c. to
225c., base Pittsburgh.
Present demand for merchant steel
bars is heavier than perhaps for other
forms of finished steel, such as plates
and shapes. Inquiries before the trade
aro fairly numerous. and mills are
committed heavily to a variety of
customers in various manufacturing
lines. Producers still have consider
able difficulty in making shipments
specifications cannot be executed, and
operations are considerably delayed be-
cause cars cannot be had to transport
the material. Merchant steel bars are
quoted at 1.90c to 2.25, base Pitts
burgh. although a more representative
range perhaps would be 2.00c to 2.25c,
since the 1.90c level is the figure of
tho Carnegie Steel Company for de-
livery to regular customers at mills
convenience. Refined iron is quoted
at 260c, but demand Is light.
Sheets I'm all grades are as popular
ms ever and consumers are fast turn
int al
orders by furnishing specifications.
Among those to take this action was
an automobile parts maker who fur;
nlshed specifications on 1000 tons, his
entire contracted tonnage. Sheet mills
face Increasing difficulty in obtaining
steel and the transportation of finished
sheets is hampered badly by car short
age. Steel mills cannot get open top
cars to make sheet bar deliveries be-
cause practically all such rolling stock
IS being used for the transportation OF
coal
The American Sheet and Tin Plate
Company, however, was able to operate
T3 per cent. OF it's sheet mills last week
jn spite of the low rate of sheet bar
delivery from its steel mill connection.
Because slab mills have been unable TO
operate except intermittently, the blue
annealed sheet situation is particularly
tense. Additional orders have had TO
be turned down. One Mahoning valley
interest now is obtaining 2.s5c. on this
grade, against the leading interests
figure of 2.50c., base Pittsburgh. .
Independent producers likewise re-
port that 5.25c. Is easily obtainable on
full finished automobile sheets. that
figure being s11 n ton over the 4.70c.
price OF the leading interest The lat
ters prices on black and galvanized
sheets are 335c and 4.35c., respectively,
while tho independents are quoting
575c. and 4.75c., respectively, and are
getting the prices easily.
While n higher price level for tin
plate is In the making, say So base
box OF 100 pounds. Si.75 stIll continues
the market quotation. IL is pointed out
that with $40 tin bars tin plate cannot
he produced TO sell at profit at s4T5,
and independent makers are strongly ad-
vocating general advance to tie S5
level Specifications continue to come
in. although new buying is somewhat
limited. Occasionally an order is
placed for several thousand base boxes.
and as many as $4,000 boxes are in
volved In a number of individual orders
booked. particularly for exporting oil.
Tin Plate Operations 90 II. G..
Specifications coming to the Ameri-
can Sheet e. Tin Plate Company enable
II to maintain its operating schedule of
SIS per cent, which possibly could be
Increased II Its steel supply was larger.