| Show IRON TRADE REVIVAL new york dec IS 18 so great has been ilie the revival in the iron and steel trade of the united states it was said by au authorities thorl today that with virtually every blast furnace and steel mill in the country working night and day to capacity the demand for iron steel and steel products cannot be satisfied and it is today almost impossible to buy for immediate delivery pig iron scrap or ingots ingols in sizeable quantities at any industrial plant in the country the revival began about the first of last july has been coming on rapidly with a deluge of orders since the middle of august and may not yet have reached its ag high mark within these three months the price of pig iron long regarded as the barometer of trade has increased approximately 35 per cent and that of steel and steel products except steel rails lias has gone up about 1 15 5 per cent at the present time the demand for pig iron and for the various lines of steel is in excess of the producing capacity of the furnaces and mills of the united states reads a statement isred by judge elbert H gary chairman of the united states steel corporation the manufacturers are unable to make deliveries entirely satisfactory to the purchasers with respect to a large majority of the different kinds of finished steel there is nothing to indicate that there will be a decrease in the demand for any of these products for some time while prices price received are still low they have been and are increasing and apparently will go higher so that fair and reasonable profits may be expected of course these very satisfactory conditions are more or less aff affected acted by the war business so called yet it is undoubtedly true that there is a better feeling throughout the general iron and steel trade than has been experienced for some years pas past experts who have followed the rising fortunes of iron and steel within the past twelve months asserted today that the volume of business both domestic and foreign at present is more than double what it was a year ago and that there are today men employed at iron and steel plants throughout the united states who were not on the pay rolls a year ago this is about 50 per cent increase the fires have been lighted in nearly every blast furnace in the united states in the case of the steel corporation the last remaining idle furnace at columbus 0 is now being put into operation to find a parallel for the greater activity in the iron and steel trade it was said today it was necessary to go back eight years year s to the middle of 1907 steel and steel products are rolling out or of the today at the rate of tons a year it is conservatively estimated and iron is b eing manufactured at the rate of tons prices have increased somewhat slowly to be every in indication it is said but there seems di cation that further rises are on the way at the present time it is estimated there are employed in the pro producing duping end of the industry approximately men |
