Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-10-22
INCREASED STEEL
PURCHASES NOTED
Railroad Buying Is Factor in
Improvement of Market
Says Review.

ny the Associated Press.
NEW YORK, october 22.-Increased
railroad buying, heavy awards of
structural steel and scattered gains in
steel production are favorable develop
ments in an iron and steel market
in which pronounced conservatism re-
mains the dominant note, Iron Age
will say tomorrow in its weekly review
of the industry
Rail orders total II 900 TONS" the
review states, Including $4,000 tons
bought by the Union Pacific, 10000
tons by the Atlantic Coast Line and
10000 tons by the Boston & Maine.
The Chicago g. Northwestern is ex-
pected to close for 10000 tons before
the end of the week, while the Erie is
preparing to buy 10000 tons.
Equipment Demand Improves.
"Concomitant with the current rail-
buying movement is a revival OF IN
terest in railroad equipment, demand
for which has been at a low ebb for
several months. The Baltimore 81 ONO
has undertaken the construction OF
1000 freight cars and several other
roads are preparing to build or repair
rolling stock in their own shops: Inc
Illinois Central, which earlier in the
wear put out an inquiry Tor 2,5UO
cars, is revising the specifications Ior
this equipment, evidently with the in
tention of asking for new figures. from
car builders The Santa Fe also Is
expected to enter the market for cars.
"Fabricated steel awards at 48,OOO
tons. are the largest since mlo-July,
and the large amount OF pending Work
indicates that steel plants can con-
tinue to count on good support from
heavy building operations.
and steel trade than betterment In ran.
road buying or the maintenance OF
Structural steel demand are evidences
that consumption is humping rock bot
tom New buying of finished steel Is
restricted, but shipments against COLI
tracts are holding up rather Wen: IN
fact, pressure for deliveries Is eucd %
to indicate that steel users are mall-
tanning unusually low inventories.
Output Advances.
"Uith the decline in demand as meas,
,,red nv Shipping orders, checked, steer
OUTPUT shows signs OF stabllzlng: nv
Chicago where railroad demand 10 ca
important factor, ingot output mas az
var1ced from SIS to 81 per cent OF capa-
s;t,r end there have also been slight
yai,,s at Buffalo and in the Pittsburgh
district. but these increases were more
than offset by losses elsewhere, raw
steel output for the country at large Is
Estimated at So per cent, compared
with SIS per cent a week ago.
saTin plate demand and automoone
production continue to show seasonal
curtailment. ,,,+,,-,,
IN general demand so long as business
sentiment remains as conservative as al
v,racaT1t
"The current attitude of buyers is not
unusual in view of recent declines IN
nrices Downward readjustmentS IN pig
iron and steel are In diminishing num-
her but scrap continues to show pro-
no,inced weakness. Heavy melting
GRADE is of % cents ton at PITTSBURGH
and St. Louis and so cents ton at
Chicago and Detroit"
New Projects.
New structural steel projects Tor the
week were $4,000 tons smaller than nor
NAL.
: weakness in heavy melting scrap. at
hoth Pittsburgh and Chicago has
brought a further decline In tne IRON
Age composite scrap price to S1Z.of
ton. the lowest level since FEBRUARY,
1922. Composite prices for nnlShed
steel and pig iron are unchanged at
2I25 cents a pound for the former ana
1888 a ton for the latter Compared
with a year ago, heavy melting steel Is
down SITS and pig iron 5000 gross
ton and finished steel Is down s4.o0
n net ton