Evening star., 1941-05-04
Industry 10 Set
New Highs With
Strikes Ended
Soft Cool and Ford
Settlements Boost
Factory Activity
BY FRANK MacMILLEN.
The Stars Special News Service.

NEW YORK, May "a year of the
swiftest rise in history in the physi-
cal out turn of Americas factories
ended today with the promise Of
further new records.
Spurred by the ending of the
stoppage in the soft coal mines,
and of resumption of full produc-
ton at Ford Motors after a strike,
whirring wheels in mills and on
the rails did more this week to
make and haul the goods of war
and peace than at any similar time
in the history of the United States.
A year ago the Associated Press
index of industrial activity lit con-
tainS factors for automobile produc-
ton, steel mill activity, cotton goods
manufacture, electric power produc-
ton, home building and freight
haulage) stood at 936 per cent of
the average for 1929-30. the lowest
since war flared abroad.
That was in the week just before
the German hordes swept into the
Lowlands, when American business
and markets were begged down in
the uncertainty of fast-moving in
ternational events.
Today, with billions of dollars
spent or on tap for arms at home
and British aid abroad, the figure
stands at 1885 per cent of the 1929
80 average.
Many Records Broken.
Goods are coming from the fac
tories a little less rapidly than when
work stoppages put crimp in the
production curve a few weeks ago,
but no month Of May in the his
tory Of the country ever started with
such huge quantities of materials
pouring out of the factories.
The pace would be even faster if
all the blast furnaces which had
been shut down for lack of coke as a
result Of the coal difficulties were
back in production.
But to mine and haul coal, turn
it into coke in the bee hive ovens
and make it into steel at full ca
pacity may take another two to four
weeks.
Steel men are divided today as to
what the rate of production was to
be in the country's mills this week
but many of them believed a further
reduction from last weeks 94.3 per
cent of capacity was still in the
ofing as depleted coke bins were
scraped while new supplies were
awaited. However, it was classed
as "anybody's guess and a quick
recovery in finished steel is possible.
A month ago mills were running at
full speed.
How far the coal shortage had
cut into the defense driven pro-
ductlon program of the country ap-
peared still uncertain, beyond the
general knowledge that the slow
down had been considerable.
An authority on the steel business
estimated that had production con-
tinued at the peak pace of a month
ago some 100000 tons more steel
would have come from the mills.
Dig StTlke Loss seen.
This loSs-Whlch cannot be made
up by a subsequent speed up. since
the mills were already at capacity
Is a real factor in the defense pro-
gram, steel men contended.
The direct fall in steel production
is enough to make some 7,1OO of the
20-ton tanks of the type on which
the Army last week took its first de-
lveries from Chrysler Corp. and its
own arsenal.
A steel expert. however, estimated
that the equivalent of 100000 tons
or more had been lost through the
showdown which is nearing an end.
He based his contention on the
| fact that steelmakers had cut sharp
ly into reserve stocks of scrap metal
and pig iron to offset as far as pos
sible the smaller supplies of new pig
iron. In this way, he said, the out
put of finished steel had been main
tanned at the expense of reserves,
which were, in present circum-
stances, almost irreplaceable.
Automobiles rolled off the assem-.
bly, line at clip not equaled since
mid-March as the Ford plants went
on a six-day week to make up for
the Today stoppage in April.
The industry turned out l30,6l0
cars, in contrast to l08.165 in the
preceding week. while Ford was still
moving slowly and about $4,000 when
! the strife ,1-os In, f,,ll crr.irr