Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1940-11-06
Removal OF Politics
Likely 10 Intensity
Defense Drive
Steel Mills Expected
To Muintoin Fast
Pace for Months
BY the Associated Press.

! NEW YORK, Nov. 6-Iron Age
said IN its weekly review today:
The outcome of the presidential
| election will have no immediate
effect on steel business except per-
haps to intensity defense efforts
now that politics has been removed
from peoples minds.
Seldom has a presidential cleo
ton passed with so little question
as to the trend of business volume
| and production. Tine outlook for
| many months to come-perhaps
| throughout 1871 at leaSt-is for
maximum activity in steel and re-
lated lines.
Buying of steel during the first
week of November has not slackened
from the active pace of October,
| in which there were substantial
gains over September, nor has steel
production shown the slightest sign
of hating. Although the industry
rate is estimated as unchanged from
/ last weeks figure of SO per cent.
the. trend seems to be still slightly
/ upward.
Price Average Steady.
only IN steel scrap prices has
the upward trend been checked
and that appears to be an artificial
situation created by fear of what
Washington might do in the event
of a runaway market. For the
fourth consecutive week the Iron
Age composite Of steel scrap prices
is unchanged at $2067.
The iron and steel industry has
become more acutely conscious OF
the price situation as result Of the
various conferences that have been
held in Washington by the Ma
tional Defense Advisory Commission
with particular relation to scrap and
pig iron.
mo other pig iron producer has
followed the advances of $3.50 and
81 a ton announced by the Pitts
/ bprgh Coke & Iron Co., and it does
not appear likely that any will do
so at present. Unless costs get out
| of hand, the outlook is for I'M
changed prices for the first quarter
on steel products and pig iron.
Meanwhile, pig iron consumers
who do not have regular sources of
supply are finding it difficult to
obtain iron. Merchant furnaces not
now in blast might find it difficult
| to obtain sufficient coke with which
to operate unless additional ovens
are lighted in the Connellsville bee
hive field. where 5000 of a possible
5000 ovens are IN production
/ Probably not more than 500 or 600
of the unlighted ovens could be put
in service.
All-Time Record Set.
Production of pig iron in october
was at an all-time peak. The
months total was 4,445 ,96l net tons,
the daily rate 143,418 tons The
previous high record was 4,365 1852
net tons in May, 1929.
The upward trend of orders and
| production during the past month
has been without the aid of gains IN
export orders. The British, though
now inquiring for steel in somewhat
larger volume, have not been buying
as heavily as in last July and August
A good deal of unshipped tonnage
remains on mill books; nevertheless
exports to the United Kingdom in
/ September were down, though they
represented about three-fifths of the
months total of 965 ,444 gross tons
/ The total was a IT per cent decline
from the 1.046084 gross tons shipped
| in August, which was an all-time
peak. In nine months of this year
our iron and steel exports have been
5,489 951 gross tons, or three and a
half times the January September
| 1899, total Scrap exports were off
about 100000 tons in September,
falling to 25,603 gross tons, and the
nine months scrap total was 2,419,-
1888 tons.
1 Railroad purchases are becoming
of greater importance in total steel
/ tonnage.
Tin plate, long in the doldrums
because of heavy inventories and a
reduced food pack this year, is in
greater demand as some users be-
come apprehensive over next years
supplies"