Show ACUTE SCARCITY OF STEEL No Reserve and Great Demand for Various Purposes New York Sept 12 Tho Iron Age will say tomorrow Tho The statistics of the production bf of C pig iron for the month clearly cle shows why such eagerness to secure steel st steel el making irons developed during August The pro proto production of the steel companies qed to gross tons during the month as compared with tons in July and the record rel ord of tons in March The output of ot the th stocks belonging to the thel steel company therefore showed a ade deficit de cit Ir In I August of oC tons The pro production production bf of f the merchant furnaces was only tons tom less Jess in August than it was In InI I July Jul the figures being tons for forthe forI forthe I the month as compared with tons ton in ln August It Is quite evident that the pressure pres Is chiefly on the steel making irons of which too there is ab absolutely absolutely no stock worth mentioning to act as a reserve The number of active furnaces is in increasing Increasing increasing creasing and relief is promised but it can hardly be he e expected that it can come this month The steel scarcity Is acute Chicago o has bought tons of ot axle billets in n eastern Pennsylvania the forerunner it is believed beHoved of ot further transactions of a like Illee character In Pittsburg the supply of ot steel Is very ery short The next heavy purchasing movement seems destined to develop in steel cars It is stated that there thoro th re now in the tle i market inquiries for ears which would give the mills a heavy additional t tonnage The foreign markets are strong The German advanced prices on billets five i shillings per ton on Aug 23 There Thore are I 1 lage Jage inquiries in this market for rails rans 1 for South America Mexico and Canada Canaan 1 but American mills are quite unable to consider the business |