Evening star., 1941-06-18
Steel Industry Sees
Further Tightening
In Supply Situation
Volume Of New Buying
Said to Be Maintained
In Face of Restrictions
Nv the Associated Press.

BY the Associated Press.
NEW YORK, June 18-An ever
tightening supply situation in the
steel industry was sketched by Iron
Age today in its weekly review Of the
industry.
1t said in part:
Withstanding the increasing
number of Government restrictions
which make it almost impossible for
civilian consumers to obtain steel in
the quantities and for the deliveries
desired. the volume of new buying
has not fallen off appreciably. At
Pittsburgh, in fact, there has been
an increase of from to Is per cent
over a month ago, though at Chicago
orders are off fully 20 per cent from
the previous week.
"In all steel selling centers the
volume of orders which take prefer
ence ratings is unquestionably in
creasing, thereby adding to the
growing restrictions on shipments to
those engaged in civilian manufac-
ture.
Further Stringency Seen.
"A further expansion of Govern
ment projects will create new de-
mandS for structural steel, relnforc-
ing bars and other products. Large
orders for shells, forgings, cases,
primers and fuses are to be bid on
soon. and further expansion OF plants
is being considered by aircraft parts
makers, machine tool builders and
other industries. Additional steel
will be required for the forthcoming
cantonment program. Orders for
the British will pile in on top of all
other growing defense requirements.
Several important steps which
were taken at Washington in the
past week tend to emphasize the
stringent situation in which many
non-defense industries will soon find
themselves if they have not already
been seriously affected. A sugges-
tion of the War Department that
o. P. M request the automobile
industry to curtail output so per
cent instead of the 20 per cent pre-
viously agreed upon may be more or
less superfluous because the revamp-
ing of continuous sheet-Strlp mills
so they can turn out larger lots of
plates for ships and cars will in it
self automatically curtail the guam
tity Of sheets and strip available to
the automobile, refrigerator and
other large sheet-using industries.
The Division of Priorities last week
told 13 steel companies TO curtail
production of sheet and strip steel
for non-defense purposes and use
the capacity for plates. Blanket
preference ratings were issued to "a
shipbuilders.
Fencing Is Defense Item.
"Orders from Washington tighten
the situation with respect to zinc
and copper, which are brought
under full priority, while aluminium
scrap has been placed in the same
category.
One of the galvanized steel products
which will be sharply hit by priority
control of zine is fencing, which
incidentally is becoming a more i'm
portant defense item. the War De-
partment having taken steps to
spend $685., 400 fr chain link, un-
climable fences at 95 critical areas
in the United States.
This week the O. P. M. is eX-
pected to allocate about 100000 tons
of steel for the building of freight
cars. A large gas line from
Oklahoma to Chicago on which
work had been stopped after 10000
tons of steel had been shipped,
may be revived with a priority rat
ing.
The growing shortage of scrap
has now reached point where the
ef1icient melting of steel has been
affected in some districts.
Unless methods are speedily found
to increase the supply of scrap, a
critical situation may develop with
In the next several weeks"
The Iron Age scrap composite
price remains unchanged at $1917.