Evening star., 1941-03-23
Runaway Threatened
As Staples Stage
New Upturn
Business Week Reports
Speculation q Factor
In Latest BIowoff
p ecial Dispatch to The Star.

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NEW YORK, March 22.-Another
upsurge in commodity prices, repeat
edly threatening to get out of hand,
has coincided with the upsurge in
our war-defense effort, according to
an article in today's issue of Busi-
ness Week. In the latest blowoff.
1t is stated, public speculation has
taken a hand, along with largely
increased industrial and consumer
demand.
The analysis shows that spectac-
ular advances have been recorded
in a long list Of import commodities
like rubber, silk, cocoa, coffee. pep
per, sugar-and lots of items of
which MANY of us never hear. For
example, ilmenite. which is impor-
tant in the manufacture of titanium
pigments, Is now commanding
freight rate of we'll over $40 a ton
for shipments from India. Not so
long ago it was $40 to S12 a ton.
Sugar, which used to be brought
from the Philippines at $3.50 to 81
a ton, recently has had to pay freight
rates around $50 From Cuba the
freight on sugar was only about 13
cents hundredweight few months
ago and it is now around so cents.
Prices Highly Volatile.
The sharp rise in ocean freight
rates has contributed very impor-
family to the advance, says the mag
azine. Import commodities have
been highly volatile ever since ten
sion in the Far East began to rise
some time ago. Shipping rates from
the Orient to American ports at once
started to go up.
Shortly the squeeze in freight
space and rates began to be felt on
shipments from South America and
the Caribbean. And shipping prior
tiles are rapidly being added to the
more direct price control regula-
tions applicable to domestic situa-
tions.
This ocean freight jam caught the
commodity markets at a critical
time, it is pointed out. The steadily
expanding boom in industry had
frightened the supply situation in
many raw materials to the snap
ping point. Larger consumer in
come was having a substantial effect
on commodities in which there had
been every appearance of ample sup
ply. Talk of Federal efforts further
to improve price levels of farm prod
uce acted to prevent offerings in
customary volume. Prospects of
largely increased aid to Britain
under the lease-lend program-cov-
ering foods as we'll as war materials
had caught the public imagination.
Future Needs Covered.
Given this combination of cir
cumstances," says Business Week.
"the situation necessarily was packed
with dynamite. With sugar prices
soaring, you can't expect to prevent
a housewife from going out and buy
ing up bag or two by assuring her
that there's no real shortage. With
rubber consumption at or very close
to capacity-well above everything
ever seen before-it's pretty hard to
talk a manufacturer out of cover
ing his requirements as far ahead as
possible. With the stage all set for
a killing, it's pretty hard to keep the
spectators from getting aboard for
the ride"
This situation is not merely a mat
ter OF ship rates, however. Hides,
wheat, cotton, fats and oils. wool
and many other commodities in
which the United States is wholly
or largely sufficient have had
good gains,
Once more the spotlight has been
thrown on Tightening Government
controls as Washington seems hard
put to restrain prices without re-
sort to more drastic methods. There
are many who, having studied the
unfolding of Government price con-
trolls, view the price advances with
mlsgivings," Business Week states.
They point to priorities in items like
aluminium, magnesium and nickel,
They note that all the zip has gone
out OF the copper market (although
copper still admittedly is Tight since
the Government began to release
Latin American metal to the manu-
featuring trade. There is the OBJ
Ject lesson, too, in the dip hides took
at the start of this week after an
ofnclal Washington criticism"