Evening star., 1936-07-23
STEEL FACES BEST
SUMMER IN YEARS.
Demand for All Products
and Price Firmness Seen
for August.
By the Associated Press.

Tor August.
BY the Associated Press.
NEW YORK, June 23.-"A strong
contra seasonal demand for nearly all
products, coupled with the greater
firmness in prices than has been in
evidence since the period Of the N. r.
A. code. gives the steel industry assur-
ance of the most satisfactory Mid
summer operations in years." Iron
Age says today in its weekly review.
while the current high rate of
production, which this week the Iron
Age estimates at II per cent, is reduc-
ing the heavy backlogs that were
partly built up during june" the re-
view says. 1.-The well-sustained July
demand is raising high hopes that
August output will fall only moder-
ately below that of this month. Pur-
chases by automobile manufacturers
for 1887 models are counted upon next
month to take up some Of the slack
that will result from completion of
orders that were booked prior to the
July price advance.
THE increase of two percentage
points in the steel ingot rate this week
is accounted for partly by resumption
of production at the Portsmouth,
Ohio. works of the Wheeling Steel
Corp, which was affected by labor
troubles, and the starting up of the
National Tube Co. plant at Lorain,
Ohio, after a short period for vaca-
tions and repairs. Some individual
units of the industry are operating at
well over 80 per cent.
Faster Deliveries Urged.
"A striking feature of the present
steel situation is the pressure that is
being brought to bear on mills to speed
up deliveries, which applies even on
steel bought at lower prices in June
with the understanding that ship
ments would be made at the conven-
ience of the mills. The insistence
upon quicker shipments and the will
ingness of buyers to place new ton
mage without quibbling as to price
convinces the steel trade that nearly
all of the current steel output is going
into immediate consumption, while
the widespread character Of the buy
ing indicates that general business
possibly has proceeded farther in the
recovery cycle than had been gen.
orally believed.
July bookings with q few compa-
nies are equal to those Of June at this
date, while others have done fully so
per cent or more of their June totals,
and that month was the best Of the
year by wide margin for all steel
companies.
THE placing of heavy tonnages of
plates. structural shapes, bars and
sheets for identified construction prof.
ect, on which protection at second
quarter prices expires July 81, &C
counts in large measure for the salts
factory July orders and the rolling of
this material will help to sustain mill
schedules during August and Septem-
Der. Structural steel lettings in the
week totaled about 20,500 tons, while
specific projects requiring plates re-
suited in l2,700 tons of business, of
which l2.100 tons is for a water pipe
line at Birmingham. New construc-
ton jobs on which bids are being
taken amount to 46,S50 tons, includ-
ing 10000 tons for a Federal building
in San Francisco.
More Orders Booked.
"A Delaware River shipyard has
booked two tankers for the Texas Co.,
which, with eight ordered last week
by the Standard Transportation Co.,
Standard Oil interest, will provide
about 10000 tons of plates, shapes
and bars for the mills.
Railroad equipment prospects in
clude 400 hopper cars for the Wabash
and the rebuilding of 1000 hopper
cars for the Pittsburgh g. Lake Erie.
The rate at which some railroads are
scrapping obsolete cars indicates 0
further revival in car buying In the
not distant future
The only price change on steel
products reduces the delivered price
of cold-flnished steel bars in Detroit
and elsewhere in Eastern Michigan
by a reduction of 81 a ton in the
arbitrary freight rate allowance. Else
where there is no change. Makers
of steel bars have set up q definition
Of a concrete bar distributor that is
expected to contribute toward greater
stability in that class of trade.
Heavy movement of iron ore down
the Lakes. which is now expected to
total 100000 or 100000 tons
during the season. indicates an ex-
pectation by the steel companies of
good Fall and Winter business.
Steel scrap at Pittsburgh Is as cents
. ton higher. resulting In q further
slight advance in the Iron Age COM
posite to $13.25 o ton"