Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-01-26
j. S. STEEL REPORT
CHEERS INDUSTRY
Present Year Should Be Ban
ner One for Trade-Other
Firms Do Well.

Especial Dispatch to The Star.

WEktCAdA 4tleHdAtn 10 Inc SlAF.
NEW YORK, January 26-Steel
business is sc larger proportions
today than a year ago and there has
been decided Improvement in steel
centers since the turn Of the year
Production is on a firmer basis and
steel men see no reason why the i'm
prOvement should not he maintained
This feeling was strengthened today
By the earnings statement of the
United States Steel Corporation.
The years earnings of the leading in
terests, S199, 004, TAI, or $17.96 a share,
Exceeded all expectations, but the most
satisfactory part of the report was
the showing for the fourth quarter
of 1926, which amounted to $3.50 ,525
and showed remarkable small recess
sion even in December, a VIGOROUSLY
Bad month. There seems little doubt
that the big company can readily
nJ1intaln the I per cent dividend
rate on the $40,000,000 new shares
10 be issued in April as Wen as on
the present issue outstanding.
Other Concerns DO Well.
The outlook was also frightened by
4 the gain in earnings reported by the
Inland Steel Co., and Jones & Laugh
lin. These are two of the most inn
portant Independents, the former
representing the industry in the Mid
west and the latter in the Pittsburgh
district. The net income of the first
showed a gain of $2,277,9l9 and the lat
ter of 1914, 800
Production for the Pittsburgh dis
|trict as whole is between 20 and so
per cent of capacity. Carnegie Steel
has added blast furnace to it's active
nd ton,
The company this week sent q tow of
2 steel barges to New Orleans carry
lng a huge cargo for distribution
throughout the South and West A
break IN the price of automobile
sheets has been one of the outstand-
ing features of the industry recently,
since slow business in this line forced
some plants to go 81 a ton lower. The
range now is considered to be Ais to
AIS cents. Price shading is also in
evidence in other sheet grades.
Pipe Mills Are Active.
Pipe Mills are gradually cutting
down their untitled orders and plants
|are rounding out their stocks. Opera
|tiOns are still on a fairly large scale,
however. Tin plate continues strong.
Prospects for a great canning season
have helped materially. For example,
the American Can Co. is just com
pleting it's new plant at Sacramento,
which viii have a capacity of 100000
cans day
Railroad buying has helped the
plate market. This buying has been
beneficial not only to Eastern makers
hut to the intermountain and Pacific
Coast mills.
The Youngstown Sheet and Tube
Co. viii spend $10,000,000 in the near
future in mortoriZing its Campbell
plant, according to James A. Campbell,
president. This will be in addition to
the $4,000. 900 Improvement appropria
ton recently authorized. Steel opera
fions in northern Ohio have increased
m nearly all departments except
sheets. Reports are in circulation of
for merger of smaller
steel companies having an aggregate
of about 100 mills.
Mentioned i'm Merger Talk.
Among the companies mentioned
are the Mansfield Sheet and Tin Plate
Co, Newton Steel Co., Mahoning Val
ley Steel Co, Falcon Steel Co, Thomas
Sheet Steel Co., Superior Sheet Steel
Co., Ashtahula Steel Co., Sharon Steel
Hoop Co. and Waddell Steel Co. A
arrangement, it is under
stood, provides for the purchase of
sheet bars from Youngstown Sheet
and Tube, Republic Steel and Cor
rigan- Mckinney Steel.
Eastern blast furnaces, which have
had to bear the brunt of the competi-
tion from foreign-made iron, are great
ly encouraged by the orders recently
placed by the United States Corpora
ton with Eastern iron makers for de-
livery in New England. They hope
and expect the policy will continue.