Evening star., 1938-04-13
STEEL INDUSTRY
HOPES FOR GAIN
Activity Here Watched for
Expansion of Works.
Production Falls.
BY the Associated Press.

NEW YORK, April 13-Iron Age
said today in its weekly review of the
steel industry:
Developments at Washington, par
ticularly in relation to loans to rail-
roads for equipment and other pur-
chases and renewed spending for
public works projects, have raised the
hopes Of the steel industry that i'm
provement in business will come later
in this quarter, but the near-term out
look is clouded by indications that
point downward.
"Steel ingot production for the
country as a whole is off at least a
half point from last week to 80 per
cent capacity, sharp declines having
occurred in few districts; steel sales
are no more than holding their own
as compared with March and in some
instances are smaller in total volume,
and steel scrap prices, no longer sup
ported by important export buying,
have dropped in several leading dis
trlctS.
Scrap Composite Declines.
THE Iron Age scrap composite has
declined to $l258, which is below the
lowest level of either 1887 or 1886 and
back to the quotation of late October,
1885. The International Scrap Cartel,
meeting in Paris, decided to make no
further foreign purchases at this time,
which points to the possibility of
further price declines here, particu-
larly on the Atlantic Seaboard, where
export sales have been a considerable
factor in supporting prices.
although sales and production Of
automobiles have risen, the improve
ment has not gone far enough to make
any appreciable difference in new re-
quirements of steel. A steady increase
in motor car output would, of course.
hasten the placing of larger steel
orders, but no great amount of buying
is expected until 1899 models are in
production the latter half of the year.
Meanwhile, some automobile manu-
facturers have apparently deferred
the carrying out of large tooling and
die programs, which for the industry
as whole were recently estimated at
fully s65,00O,000.
Like the automobile industry, the
railroads continue to stay out of the
steel market, except for a few pur-
chases of rails. The program set in
motion by President Roosevelt for
temporary relief to the carriers through
loan fund of S3OO0Oo.OO0 or more
offers promise of eventual railroad
buying, but not much aid for the steel
mills is expected before summer.
Public Works Relied Upon.
Without the support of public
projects the heavy steel construction
industry would have comparatively
little work before it. Lettings of about
$4,000 tons of fabricated structural
steel in the week were largely of a
public character
Steel ingot production has gained
one point at Pittsburgh, but has lost
as much at Chicago, While in the
Wheeling -Weirton area it has dropped
in the Cleveland-Lorain district from
25 per cent to l8 per cent Fluctua-
tlons elsewhere are of lesser con-
sequence.
Great Britain reports that steel
export buying is at the lowest point
since 1926. There has also been a
sharp decline here. In England a
flood of continental pig iron, received
prior to the raising of the duties, has
resulted in the shutting down of some
blast furnaces. The number operating
now, 1l8, is the lowest in a year."