The Birmingham age-herald., 1923-04-29
Existing Charge On Furnace To Foundry Movements Will
 Drop Under Arrangement Starting April 30-Pipe And Machine Shops To Benefit
COMMODITY RATES TO BE GONE OVER BY CARRIERS
ReaIignment Ordered By July
 1 By Interstate Commerce Commission Means Lower Figures For Birmingham On
 Steel Products From Outside

Pipe shops. machine shops, foun- dries and other consumers of pig Niron in the Birmingham district will Save s1o,ooo month in freight bills on raw material moving from the blast furnaces to their plants under concession made by the carriers of the district, it is estimated.
 Effective April 30, the existing charge of a minimum of $15 pIH' car on pig iron moving from furnace to foundry will be eliminated and as substitute for this the railroads will charge according to tonnage. The saving will amount to an average of $5 per car. The average charge the new arrangement will be Sl0 car instead of $15.
 Car Capacity New Base.
 Under the new order the charge will be based on the capacity of the car, which the shipper will be al- lowed to load per rate capacity plus 10 per cent additional. Under this ruling 6o,o00- pound car load will stand the shipper that much less than an SO,000-pound car load.
 The minimum charge of $15 car was established during the federal railroad administration in 1918, and has existed since that time, entailing penalty of $1e,000 a month paid by the shippers. The difference to one large consumer will be $1,000 a month. Under the present order the shipper would pay as much for a 6o,000-pound car as for an s0,000- |, pound car, and so on. and he would pay $15 for the car irrespective of tonnage.
 The new order was voluntarily is- sued by the railroads following a conference with rallroad executives at Savannah. held recently, Birming- ham melters, especially pipe interests. succeeded in securing the new order following their representation of the injustice being worked.
 To Talk Rate Reslisnment R H n
 Commencing May the fourth sec tion committee of the southeastern railroads will hear southern shippers with regard to the realignment of commodity rates to and from southern points. The interstate commerce commission has ordered the carriers to have this realignment in effect by July 1. The carriers have proposed q schedule of realigned rates and the shippers will confer with the com mittee with regard to them and make suggestions of their own.
 Iron and steel products will be taken up May l. agricultural imple- ments and farm wagons May 3, canned goods May r and furniture May 3. Grain and grain products will have hearing later.
 The general proposition is to so re- align the present rates that points in between shall not be charged more on the short hauls than is charged on the long hauls. when the shorter Is included in the long. Birmingham, under this order, Is scheduled to get lower rates than now on iron and steel products from the north. To equalize matters, the railroads pro- pose raising the long haul rates.
 O O O
 Proposed Rates.
 cents from Pittsburg to Birmingham is proposed by the railroads to be re- duced to 5s cents. Present rate from Youngstown of 60 cents Is proposed to be reduced to 50 cents.
 Present rate to Mobile from Pitts burg of 51ta cents Is proposed to be increased to 67 cents. The same present rates apply to New Orleans and Pensacola and the same increase is proposed.
 Birmingham iobbers will reap the northern points. However, 1t is at the same time proposed to increase rates from Birmingham. The rate from Birmingham to Nashville of 13 cents on cast pipe is proposed to be increased to AZ cents and the rate to Mobile Is proposed to be increased from 27 to S9 cents. The rate on rails and track material from Bir- mingham to Nashville is ptJposed to be increased from 12.6 to 19 cents. It is believed that the result of the conference will be to have the re- alignment referred finally to the in- m q