Mohave County miner and our mineral wealth., 1922-05-19
SHORTAGE FELT IN MATERIALS
 BY FACTORIES
Detroit Makers Hard Put To Get Men And Parts
 For New Cars; Supply Of Malleable Used Up.

Detroit, Mich., May IS. Especially Stocks of parts and materials of au- tomobile factories in the Detroit dis trict have already been depleted in many instances and in others are van ishing rapidly. It would seem now that the big battle of the moment is not to get business but to get material.
 The attempt to speed up deliveries of materials, parts and accessories are now being made by stock chasers for the various manufacturers. The spec ialized unit field in particular is hard hit, and car makers who are relying on this. field are making strenuous ef- forts to speed up deliveries. Body ma kers are also behind.
 Practically every plant is experienc- ing a shortage of malleable which can- not be replaced immediately. Time E is required for the proper treatment of basic metals before, the pasts can be, nade,from them and this shortage, is the most serious. -l Advertisements are being placed in the newspapers for skilled body workers and the demand is being fill ed all to slowly through this source This has resulted in much body work being sublet and farmed out. Many manufacturers have not the room for extensive body building operations. A veritable onslaught of orders has put the Timken Axle Company far behind and new equipment is being installed to meet the emergency. How ever, Timken expects to get caught up by the last of May. Continental has another plant that has been greatly inconvenienced by the lack of mater ials and minor parts.
 The body makers are keeping up with the demand only through the en- ployment of double shifts, and over time, although Fisher, in spite of an avalanche of orders, declares it is keeping pace without the necessity of resorting to this method. This com pany is planning to open its airplane body plant and to build an addition to it, and this will give it an additional one million feet of space. The" de- mand for enclosed cars is running ap- proximately 20 per cent greater than manufacturers had anticipated and this has retarded the shipments of finished cars, especially in the mediur, priced field. z. ~'
 A new feature of the present de. mand for the automobile is shown by the equipment orders of various rail- roads, 7500 automobile cars having been ordered by roads within the past few weeks. The big box cars used by the railroads for automobile ship ment are not now numerous enough to meet the need. The Southern Pacific has ordered 2000 cars, the Union Pa cific, 2500, the Michigan Central, 2O0C and the C.. B. & o., and the Pere Marquette, 500 each. The Southern Railway has asked for bids on SOC l of these cars and the M. K. & T. or 2000 of them. ..' '.'
 Reports from Milwaukee indicate that parts makers there did the greatest business last month. of any time in their history. Gains ovel April, 1920 have been from 25 to 100 per cent. Prospects that May will be just as good are indicated by the de- 'fmand so far this month. This is moi only for parts. used in passenger car. but also for trucks and tractors.
 Milwaukee foundries have been fore ed to advertise for skilled help, altht the statement is made unskilled work men are still plentiful.
 New nitrate beds, II feet below tn, surface and containing 20 to 40 pel cent of nitrate, have been discovered in Chile. The deposit covers distric