Evening star., 1939-12-13
Metal I-Working Firms
Worried Mostly by
Output Problems
New Orders Continue
To Pile Up Huge
BockIogs
Special Dispatch to The Star.

Special Dispatch to The Star.
NEW YORK, Dec. 13.-Flush with
orders, both domestic and foreign
the Woodworking industry's CHIEF
worry today is production and not
sales, according to Burnham Fin
ney in today's issue of American
Machinist.
Already booked ahead many
months and in some instances a
year or longer, bookings are still
impressively large and give promise
Of a further widening of activities
Almost all plants are becoming
exceedingly busy as the overflow
from one company fills the shop of
another with work for weeks ahead
Federal Government contracts have
contributed notably to business ta-
ken the last two weeks.
Faster Rate Sought.
"The principal task of machine
tool builders Is figuring out ways
and means of squeezing out larger
production. A few plant additions
have been erected. but the industry
mostly is relying on increasing out
put by farming out the manufac-
ture of complete machines as we'll
as Of parts and subassemblies and
by installing more machinery bought
several months ago.
"Companies are running at least
two shifts and In many cases three
shifts, but are having no luck yet
in making dent In huge backlogs.
Long deliveries are interfering with
new sales Many buyers, both do
mestic and foreign, are reluctant to
place orders when they cannot get
the machines for 7 to 10 months.
Some companies are sold out
until next October. French buying
has been unusually heavy. A grow
ing reluctance to take business from
Soviet Russia is noted. Though ex-
port commitments have been i'm
portant United States customers
have bought machine tools in large
numbers. That has been especially
true of aircraft makers and of the
Army and Navy for arsenals and
navy yards. Ford has been an &C
tive purchaser of equipment the last
few weeks. Japan is buying up
used machine tools at a high rate
and expects to ship them out of the
country before the present trade
treaty expires next month.
Most steel mills are about sold
to full capacity on fat-rolled steel
for the first quarter but still have
available considerable tonnage in
heavy products, particularly struc-
tural items. Announcement of un-
changed prices next quarter failed to
bring any relaxation in pressure for
rush deliveries. Meanwhile mill op-
erations continue above 80 per cent.
Plane Business Scars.
"Airplane makers will do a total
business of about s300OO0,0OO this
year. With jammed order books, they
are expanding activities as fast as
possible and by next spring will
have around 10000 men on their
pay rolls. Production is changing
so fast from day to day that no one
in the industry can make even a
reasonably accurate guess about
the number of planes now being
turned out. The limiting production
factor today is not so much man.
power, though there are shortages
of skilled men here and there, but a
shortage of certain types of engines
and subassembGes.
Work for the Navy and for the
Maritime Commission is keeping
private shipyards and navy yards
fully engaged. There is scarcely a
shipWay in the country today
which is not occupied. The Navy now
has 81 ships being constructed, and
the Maritime Commission has 100
cargo ships building or under con-
tract. Yards devoted chiefly to re-
pair and overhaul of ships are
rushed, and at least one company
is considering sizable expenditures
for rehabilitation of plant equip
ment.
Chicago &, Northwestern Is
spending 100000 for improvements
to locomotive shops, has called more
men back to work for repairs on
cars and locomotives. Baldwin has
made an initial investment of over
100000 to build % Diesel electric
switching locomotives of 1000 and
600 horsepower Electro Motive
Corp. and the Baltimore & Ohio are
testing new 2,700-horsepower Die
sci electric locomotive for heavy
freight service. Railroad car build
ing operations are expanding as
companies get into production on
recent orders. Car orders lately,
however. have fallen precipitately