Evening star., 1933-09-13
STEEL OPERATIONS
CONTINUE DECLINE
Only Buffalo District Shows
Increase in Ingot Output
During Week.
BY the Associated Press.

oy the ASSOClaleC fIeSS.
NEW YORK, September 13.-With
the steel trade still wrestling with
the details Of filing prices and standard
izing market practices under its new
code, mill bookings and operations con-
tinue to decline. The national average
Of ingot output has fallen four points
from As to Al per cent. Further losses
were reported in the valleys, in the
Cleveland-Lorain district, in Eastern
Pennsylvania, in the Wheeling area and
at Chicago. Only the Buffalo district
showed an increase, its rate rising from
Al to A per cent. While perplexities
growing out of new code prices and
regulations have undoubtedly played
their part in checking buying, there are
increasing evidences that consumption
itself is diminishing, says the Iron Age
AS the automobile industry ap-
proaches the time when it will bring
out its new models, the need for sup
port from the heavy industries becomes
more pressing. Government aid con-
Struction projects are slow in maturing
although pressure from Washington has
fastened the taking Of bids on 10000
tons of steel for the Tri-Borough Bridge
New York, and $4,000 tons of cast iron
segments for the Midtown Hudson
River Tunnel, New York
Railroad Buying Slow.
Railroad buying remains at a low
ebb and for that reason proposals of
the Government to help finance expen-
ditures for the carriers are Of timely in
terest to the steel trade. The announce
ment that rail purchases would be
financed only on condition that prices
be reduced was, however, regarded as
nf vr-ifh tha irif of he
recovery program. Rails are a high
quality product, necessarily so because
human safety depends upon their
soundness, and yet are now being quot
ed at 81 80 gross ton below the aver
age price of all other finished steel
commodities as measured by the Iron
Age steel composite Moreover, mill
costs are steadily rising, in the case of
certain producers having gone up 81 to
So ton since the middle of the year
Yet in the face of these facts the steel
industry would undoubtedly go a long
way to insure the success of the pres
ent national effort for recovery. If
enough rail tonnage we're offered under
Government auspices. it Is entirely pos
sible that mills would agree to reduc-
ton in price. keeping in mind, of course,
that their costs are closely related to
volume.
New business in steel has been very
light, except in certain products on
which advances have been announced
for the fourth quarter. In connection
With these lines buyers are Fastening
to specify against their third quarter
contracts. Advances for the fourth
quarter announced during the week in
clude increases of 50 ton on hot
rolled sheets. hot-rolled strip and alloy
steel bars, So ton on fender stock and
cold-rolled strip. 81 a ton on billet
light rails and s6 ton on rail-steel
light rails.
Consumers Protest.
New code extras have not yet been
officially adopted, since notifications are
still being made. Some of the changes in
selling terms Professionally adopted
have raised a storm Of protest among
consumers. Buyers in the Chicago dis
trict are particularly strong in their
opposition to the stipulation that all-rail
freight rates be charged on all ship
ments except to South Atlantic, Gulf
and Pacific ports.
AN incidental result of the adop-
ton Of the steel code is that the Steel
Corporation untitled tonnage reports in
future will not reflect bookings beyond
the succeeding quarter.
Scrap markets are weak throughout
the country. A decline of Is cents a ton
at Pittsburgh and rs cents ton at Phila-
oelphia has reduced the Iron Age scrap
composite from $11.75 to $11.42 a gross
ton. The pig iron and finished steel
composites are unchanged at $16.71 q
gross ton and 1879 cents a pound"