Evening star., 1942-06-27
.WPB Establishes New
High Priority Ratings
On Vital Materials
Plan Permits Greater
FIexibiIity in Handling
Urgent War Orders

The War Production Board to-
day created a new series of high
preference ratings to permit greater
f1exibility in the assignment Of pri-
critics to urge war orders.
Provision was made for rerating
war orders. The move, it was stated,
will permit use of top ratings for a
balanced program of urgent war ma
terials without disturbing the stand
ing of other war and essential ci-
william orders.
The move was designed. it was
explained, to weed out orders which
we're given preference ratings but
are regarded as not so essential now
This would be done through re-rat-
ing other orders, thus pushing orders
not regarded so highly further
down the preference list.
The new ratings, designated as
AAA, AL, AA-2, etc, will take
preference over Ala ratings. The
order abolished the AA rating here
totore the highest, which could only
be issued by special authorization of
the director of industry opera tions.
All outstanding AA ratings are au-
tomatically changed to AA-2.
Special Form Prescribed.
New high ratings may be assigned
either directly by the director of
industry operations or by cficers
OF war agencies authorized to issue
reratines. A special form is pre-
scribed for use where the war agency
rerates deliveries of materials to
be made directly to it.
In an important amendment to
priority regulations WPB altered
the provision dealing with displace-
ment OF rated orders by new orders
bearing a higher rating. A pro-
ducer has not been required up to
now to divert material already
proceSsed to fill an order rated A-lO
or higher which was within Is days
OF completion. even when he re-
ceived an order with a higher rating
unless the new rating was AA.
Now, however. the provision ap-
plies only where the rating of the
original order is higher than Az
1 Such an order within IS DAYS of
| completion may be displaced only
by an order bearing an AAA rating
or by specific direction from the di-
! rector of industry operations.
This amendment it was explained.
will make much more difficult de-
livery Of materials to establish
ments with low preference ratings
Test for Rerating Given.
With respect to rerating. sepa-
| rate form is provided for the manu-
facturer whose deliveries to war
agency have been rerated. so that
he may rerate related deliveries
made to him. The test for deter
mining what deliveries may be re-
rated by manufacturer is sub
stantlally the same as that for de-
termlning to what deliveries an
original rating may be applied or
extended. Priority regulations re-
Gently were amended TO provide a
uniform standard in this respect.
A manufacturer. it was stated
may apply or extend the rerating to
material which will be delivered by
him on rerated order. or physically
incorporated in material so deliv-
cred, or to restore inventories to a
practicable working minimum when
material has been taken from in
ventory to fill rerated order
New ratings may also be used BY
small companies for certain operat-
ing supplies which will be consumed
in filling the rated order. up to 10
per cent Of cost of the materials to
be processed, provided not more than
25 per cent of the cost of materials
to be processed are metals in the
forms listed in Priorities Regula-
ton II.
Companies operating under the
production requirements plan are
specifically authorized to apply or
extend the higher ratings to rerate
deliveries to themselves. They may
not, however, use the ratings to OBJ
. tain greater quantities of materials
than they are authorized to receive
on their PRP certificate.