Evening star., 1941-04-20
Vital Steel Plants
Feeling Sharp Pinch
OF Coal Shortage
At Leust IS Furnaces
Closed, Survey Shows;
Serious Delays Feared
By the Associated Press.

By the Associated Press.
NEW YORK, April ia short
supply of soft coal, occasioned by
the work stoppage in the mine
fields, has begun to make its pinch
felt acutely in the vital steel in.
dustry, a survey of important STEEL
producing districts today showed.
The country's steel mills, fort
night ago operating at virtually 100
per cent of capacity, may start next
week below 95, with the prospect
that the decline will 60 farther
even if efforts to get miners back
to work next week are successful,
steel men said.
At least Is of the country's 223
blast furnaces have been shut down
for lack of coke or will be by Mon
day
Many Furnaces Shut Down.
In addition, from several districts
came word of furnaces operating at
less than capacity, some as little as
so per cent, and of furnaces, listed
as down for repairs" which were
put through this three-week shut
down period before due because the
coke would have been lacking
shortly to continue them.
The acute shortage of coke ap-
peared unevenly distributed. In the
two largest steel-making areas.
Pittsburgh and Chicago, furnaces
were already shut down and more
seemed likely to follow. The Cleve-
land-Youngstown district also ap-
peared to be feeling the squeeze.
Buffalo, Baltimore and Birming-
| ham. however, were able to report
no shut-downs so far, as were a
number of smaller cities. At Buffalo.
| however, a big coke concern re-
ported it had less than three weeks
coal supply and at Birmingham,
while coke supplies were called
low" the coke ovens were said to
be operating on one-month back
log of coal
The giant United States Steel
Corp, biggest factor in the industry.
will have closed II furnaces by this
week end: Republic Steel, two, and
Sharon Steel and Pittsburgh Steel,
one each. Steel men say other COM
panies may join this list shortly.
The shut-downs of the United
States Steel furnaces has reduced
the pig iron capacity of Its prin-
cipal operating subsidiary Carnegie
Illinois Steel Corp. by 18 per cent
and Republics capacity has been cus
u per cent so far.
Bethlehem Steel Corp, the coun-
try's largest single defense con-
tractor. is reported to be well stocked
with soft coal and officials of In
land Steel and youngstown Sheet
e. Tube say they have experienced
no interruptions yet"
Widely reported we're efforts being
made in the mills to conserve the
use of pig iron in steel making so
as to take strain of the coke supply.
Scrap in Melt Increased.
In some mills, it was learned. tbs
proportion of the scrap steel in the
melt has been increased and in
other plants emergency supplies Of
cold pig iron. previously made up
and stored. have been substituted
for the molten iron from the blast
| furnaces.
| Neither of these methods promises
more than temporary relief, how
ever. steel men said. The steel scrap
supply. they pointed out, is already
tight" and use of cold pig iron,
which must be re-heated, Is slow
and inefficient.
Prediction that the steel plants
would be further adversely affected,
even if the coal strike were settled
and coal began to move TO the 5000
or so coke ovens now idle, was based
on several facts, steel men said.
Blast furnaces run at less than
capacity lose heat and. even if more
coke should become quickly avail
able. a process of re-heating which
takes from few days to two weeks
or more is necessary before they
can be brought back to capacity
production.
When a blast furnace is banked"
Temporarily shut down a similar
re-heating period is necessary to
get back to full production.
II the furnace is shut down for
more than few days 1t must be
blown out allowed to cool and
refined, often a nfonth-long job.