The Wheeling intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1903-1961, 1922-07-27
IRON REVIEW

New York. July 26.-The Iron Age.
In its weekly summary OF the iron
and steel trades. tomorrow Will say:
Tn sweeping orders of the Interstate
Commerce Commission. effective tues
day night. establishing priorities IN al!
railroad traffic and in fuel distriDu-
ton, have thrown the steel trade into
a condition OF utmost uncertainty.
Under the war pr!oritics Of four years
ago. steel as one OF the chief war ne
cessities was high on the priority Nst,
but the order just issued requires that
the iron and steel and allied industries
walt for coal until the more essentia!
consuming lines have been supplied.
An Immediate effect, assuming that
coal begins 10 move at once TO tho pre-
ferred classes, would probably be to
take I'D most OF the soft coal output,
estimated at 100000 tons this week
leaving steel and other industries 10
depend 20 a large extent upon their
stocks. These represent In most cases
not more than so days supply.
While recently the insuffic!ency OF
TRANSFORMATION and the lack OF coal have
affected steel production more than
ronsumption, It Is new TO be expected
that actual requirements of steel con-
sumers will decrease along with tho
cutting off OF shipments from mills
An unknown factor, IN the absence or
actal experience under the retonlnk
scheme, Is the extent to which the coal
output OF steel company mines wi!l Dc
taken for distribution among preferred
consumers
1t il not to be overlooked that ship
ncnts Of food other preferred commool-
ties as named on the Commerce COM
missioner's list are fully provided Tor
In the present movement Of freiGht'
and that therefore the effect of the
pr!oritles in fuel distribution are the
chief OF the now factors introduced IN
10 the situation.
Before the announcement or tha new
order. which comes az this review r.
written the slowing down IN blast
furnace and steel works operations was
more noticeable than in the third week
of July. western Pennsylvania. Johns
town. and the MahoninC and ShannaGo
valleys had the most marked curtail-
mcnt The Pittsburgh district was
nearly up to Its operation Of the pre-
ceedinE week.
In the week ending July 90. four ad-
ditional blast furnaces were banked IN
the last. including one bethlehem anu
one Sparrows Point, one At SharpS-
Vile. Pa. and one ut LcotOnia, Ohio.
At best the outlook il for such
railroad congestion az will affect the
entire industry for weeks To come.
Coke prices have advanced rapidly
and Cannellsvillc foundry has been
sold at from $3.50 to $l5. an advance
Of S45n to s. within a week. Quota
tions on furnace coke are almost, II not
fully. az high. Coal, which sold at $3.50
on April ! and at $3.50 under the agree
mont with Secretary Hoover Is now
selling at IS TO 81 and the Hoover
schedule has been abandoned. although
coal companies are making deliveries
al low prices on contracts. Consider
! able imports OF British coal have been
arranged for and there arc some neEo-
| littons for British coke.
Due TO the Increasing scarcity %
coke, there is Il decided upward ten
| dency in pig iron prices. with much ir-
| regularity. Advances range from soc
on Alabama iron to ms much as So in
/ some Northern cCntcrS on Foundry and
mallcahle grades.
Railroad equipment business is still
! noteworthy. Not only have several
| large car repair inquiries been put be-
| fore the trade. involving upward OF
$500 cars. but 5000 steel cars have been
bought. taking probably $4,000 tons %
steel. and the locomotive orders OF the
| week aggregate more than 100.