The Cordova daily times., 1922-02-10
STEEL MARKET IS DOMINATED BY BUYERS

| CTS recognize that this is a buyers market. Railroad executives know it. i Other steel consumers are alive to the situation. | At the same time the margin of profit is so small that steel pro- | ducers hesitate to make the plunge in prices Yet, to secure business in sufficient amount to yield specifi- cations that will keep plants oper- ating 50 per cent of capacity some | inducements must be made to con- sumers.
 1 Producers and consumers are a unit in demanding lower freight rates. The carriers are not averse to lower tariff if operating expenses can be reduced in proportion to the proposed rate cut.
 1 Lower railroad operating expenses can be brought about only by a low CT wage scale and by reduction in prices for supplies, especially coal. 1 Granted lower freight rates, lower l production costs of steel and Of manufactured products would result. Lower selling prices would follow re- duced cost of output; at least mak- ! CTS would be placed in better po- I sition to grant concessions demandad by consumers.
 Thus, in the last analysis. the present as well as the future of bus- | mess in iron and steel Is dependent l upon labor. This means organized labor, because the unions are more strongly entrenched on the rail lines and in the coal mines than in other ! industries.
 All of the trouble experienced now and impending could be avoided if is held, would accept their share of the burden of readjustment in trade and industry.
 ! Subsidiaries of the Steel Corpora tion continue to fare better than competitors. but even the former are failing to maintain operation sched- nles Last weeks output of steel fell below 46 per cent of capacity, and the average of operations since January i was less than 45 per cent against 49 per cent in December. Independent steel companies are not getting the share of current bus mess which their productive capacity would seem to indicate they should erations of 30 per cent of capacity in January and 31 per cent average in December These percentages indicate that independent mills as a whole are falling about 5000 tons a day below the Steel Corporation's s output
 It is not surprising under these circumstances that independent mills find it necessary to attract buyers through, special inducements. The avenue chosen is through disregard 1 of the Pittsburgh passing system. More mills at Buffalo and Cleveland, as we'll as at Chicago and even in eastern Pennsylvania, are endeavor- ing to protect themselves in their natural territory against Pittsburgh competition by quoting prices f. 0. b. their own mills, not f. 0. b. Pitts burgh.
 Railroad buying in January was disappointing Fabricated structural steel orders, also, have not fulfilled expectations. Oil companies orders have fallen off One encouraging feature is the buying of wire pro- ducts by Western jobbers and deal CTS who serve the agricultural in- | dustry Stocks of wire products in hands of Western jobbers are low. the lowest in several years. One 1 jobber is borrowing from another while awaiting mill shipments to fill orders. The bulk of this busi- ness is going to the largest interest Export wire orders are satisfactory The larger orders, however, are at the expense of price, as is to be ex- pected in a buyers market.