Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-01-21
IN STEEL
DEMANDREPORTED
Weekly Review Says Sea-
sonaI Buying Is Subnor-
NAL, However.
D. tha Aasoolataa Praaa.

~AAN%NSNe&NNS
NEW YORK, January ai.-Iron and
steel demand continues to gain, but Of q
slow pace, Iron Age viii say tomorrow
In it, weekly review Of the industry,
Inventory replenishment has failed
to bring In as much business as was
expected" the review says, land sea-
sonal requirements are not only sub
normal, but tardy IN maturing. Gradual
Improvement q reported Ia the opera
lions Of various lines Of manufacture
consuming iron and steel, but the up
turn TO date has been too small to war
rant much OF m expansion Of their raw
material supplies, In the construction
f1elo there has been o further piling UP
OF prospective tonnage, much Of it pub
lie work, but the placing Of actual con-
tracts Is proceeding slowly. Railroad
equipment programs are being post
poned, and rail specification, ordinarily
heavy at this season, are tagging at
Chicago, although In good volume in the
South. Tin plate releases are support
ing so per cent min operation, but the
rate Of further Improvement In output
y IN doubt since recent specifications
are predominantly for spring shipment.
Gradual Recovery Seen.
Virtually all market DEVELOPMENTS
point TO q gradual, rather than . rapid
recovery In iron and steel business,
WHISTLER that recovery proves 70 be cy-
cIic& or merely seasonal.
steel ingot production for the coun-
try at large now averages about 50 per
ago. Several steel works blast furnaces
that were banked In December have
been put back into service, among them
one in the Chicago district and one In
the valleys. Five openshearth furnaces
have been placed IN operation at Ensley,
Ala, raising steel output in the South
1880.
'The iron and steel trade has derived
more encouragement from the diversity
Of outlets showing a pickup in activity
than from the extent of that improve
ment or the amount OF tonnage It Tep-
reSents. Makers Of road-making ma
chinery, farm equipment, washing ma
chimes, electrical PefrigeratorS, and gen.
eral machinery are among those in
creaStng their operations. A survey Of
large group Of metal working plants in
Cleveland disclosed that 80 per cent Of
their normal working forces are now
employed, although many Of them are
zone Of the most heartenins develop
mentS OF the week, because Of its bear
ing on manufacturing activity in gen.
eral, was . noticeable improvement in
machine tool sales, particularly at New
York, Cleveland and Milwaukee. Some
OF the orders placed were against in
quirteS on which action had been de-
layed Tor several months, while others
came out or q clear Sky,
Among the larger outlets for iron
and steel, the automobile Industry con-
tinueS TO show moderate Improvement
IN operations. Production OF motor
vehicles IN the United States and Can
ade IN January will probably total at
least $4,000 units. With most manu-
facturerS regulating their schedules in
close conformity with retail sales, the
outlook for succeeding months is in
doubt, although the common expecta-
ton Is Tor q gradual upSwing, reaching
peak in May"
New Projects.
New projects requiring structural steel
this week total about $4,000 tons, the
largest since the last week Of December
Awards Of fabricated structural steel,
however, are the smallest since the final
week or December, totaling only 1900
tons.
The IRON Age composite prices on
fnished STEEL pig iron and steel scrap
was unchanged this week. Finished
steel u 2.I42 cents . pound, pig iron
$3.50 . gross ton and steel scrap
s1l.SS . gross ton.