Evening star., 1941-04-23
Steel Manufacturers
Plan individual Pleas
To Raise Prices
No Concerted Effort
To Obtuin Relief From
'Pegeine' Expected
hx the Associated Press.

BY the Associated Press.
NEW YORK. April 23.-The
magazine Iron Age said today that
steel manufacturers, studying the
increased cost OF production due
to wage increases, would make in
dividual requests for permission
to raise prices of certain products.
steel companies" said the maga-
zine, probably will make no con-
certed effort to obtain relief from
Price Administrator Henderson's
order of April II pegging steel prices
at the March 81 level. Nor is there
any indication that any company
will contest the legality of the price
ceiling by court action or by openly
defying the order.
When the price administrator
order was Unexpectedly issued last
week some of the major steel COM
panies were making studies to de-
termine the price advance neces-
sary TO compensate in part for the
recent wage increase. It was ap-
parently the intention of the lead
ing producer to absorb half of the
wage increase and put moderate
price increases into effiect that
would offset the other half and the
increased costs caused by liberali-
zation of vacation allowances.
Scrap Control Is Handicap.
Studies of the effect of the wage
increase on costs and earnings are
being made by all companies and
in due time the results will be pre-
sented to the ONCE of Price Ad-
ministration with requests for re-
lief. 1t does not seem likely that
a horizontal price increase will be
advocated. but that situations which
exist in certain products will be
the basis for an appeal for per-
mission to make price adjust
mentS.
Pig iron prices were not in
cluded in the steel order. but action
NAV still be taken to freeze these.
Meanwhile Government control
of iron and steel scrap prices, which
has been in effect for three weeks,
is not working smoothly. A par
ticular hardship is being caused to
foundrieS.
Greatly complicating its other
problems is the loss of production
of coke. pig iron and steel by the
steel industry as a result OF the
continuance of the bitumlnous coal
strike. Whether the miners go
back TO work this week or not, fur
ther production losses are inevitable,
as it will take some time TO get back
to the 100 per cent operation that
prevailed in March. Ten or more
blast furnaces have been banked OF
blown out while others are operat-
ing on reduced blast.
Steeimaking Cwtailed.
The loss of pig iron has brought
curtailment of steelmaking. The in
duStry rate is down 2l2 points this
week to 96 per cent. which compared
with the 100 per cent rate of March
means a loss this week of more than
81 600 tons of ingots and about
3s 900 tons of finished steel at a
time when every ton OF steel is
urgently needed There was loss
of points to 90 per cent in the
Chicago district and one of 4 points
to 95 per cent at Pittsburgh.
An effect of the curtailment OF
steel production is to increase un-
filled tonnage at the mills. A fur
ther increase is occurring because
of the continued receipt of new busi-
ness in a volume exceeding ship
ments. Foundries may face short
age of pig iron as a result of loss
of blast furnace output. Continuous
sheet mills, forced to roll ship plates
will have a smaller output of sheets
and strip. With the award of 184
additional ships, plate requirement.
will increase Tin plate business Il
expanding rapidly, which forces ar
additional burden on these mills.
TT is the opinion of the stee
trade that the 20 per cent curtail'
ment in automobile production start.
ing in August will not be of mucf
help unless it is apportioned on 6
monthly basis. Direct and indirect
defense business is estimated by
some mills at as high as 80 pei
cent of their total incoming orders
Scrap composite unchanged al
$1s.17."