Evening star., 1934-01-10
DEMAND SHR|NKS
At STEEL PLANTS
Output, Kept at Same Level,
Helps to RepIenish Mill
Stocks.
Nv the Associated Press

BY the Associated Press.
NEW YORK, January 1o.-Steel de-
mand has fallen off materially since
the close Of 1893. The recession was
not unexpected, since the December
rate of ingot output showed q CONTRA
seasonal gain Of 23 per cent over No
yember.
Current production, at 81 per cent,
reflects no decline from the rate Of a
week ago, but operations are being sus-
tanned, in part, by the replenishments
Of mill stocks of raw and semi-flnished
steel and hence do not fully measure
the shrinkage in consumer demand"
says the Iron Age.
How long it will take the trade to
digest inventories built up in December
is difficult to estimate. 1t Is possible
that a further decline In output will
occur before improvement sets in again,
although such a development may be
forestalled by an expansion in the de-
mand for sheets, strip and other prod
ucts on which contract prices did not
advance on January /.
Auto Releases Mount.
"a gain in automotive releases Of fiat
rolled steel already is having sustain
ing influence on operations in the
Cleveland-Lorain district, where g.
point loss in production is expected to
be recovered before the week end. At
Pittsburgh a growth in miscellaneous
orders for steel has raised the operat-
ing rate point to % per cent.
The rise in small bookings, besides
rejecting increased demand for sheets
and strip, suggests that expansion Of
inv n npn6nnhar mi
versally practiced. Certain companies
chose to close the year In the orthodox
manner so far as stocks are concerned.
Others were deferred from accumulat-
ing material either because of inability
to borrow or difficulty in forecasting
their precise requirements.
Aside from these favorable in
fiuences, maturing public works prof.
ects are giving increasing support to
the steel industry. Fabricating awards
for the week, at 28,900 tons. are the
largest since the middle of November.
Whatever the immediate course Of
steel output may prove to be, a marked
rise is looked for before the END of the
first quarter. BY that time, it Is be-
lieved, the industry will feel the COM
bined effect of accommodating automo-
tive and railroad demands.
Car Plants Delayed.
"The full force of automotive demand
for steel will not be felt until Feb
ruary, since difficulties in connection
with front-end construction have fur
ther delayed production on new models.
January output of cars, originally esti-
mated at 100000, may not exceed
125,O0o units.
THE favorable character of the long
er-range outlook in steel is mirrored by
scrap prices, which remain strong. The
Iron Age composite for heavy melting
steel has risen from s11.33 to S1l.58
ton, the seventh consecutive advance
since it reached a second-half low Of
1888 in November 1888
"A possible augury of revival of the
capital goods market is seen in the con-
tinued activity in machine tools. Fol-
lowing closely recent large purchases
by the Citroen, Peugeot and Buick
Motor companies large new inquiries
have been issued by the Buick Co.
1.-The Iron Age composite prices for
finished steel and pig iron are un-
changed at 2028 cents a pound and
$500 ton. respectively"