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Show STEEL COMPANIES SWAMPED WITH VORK New York. May 6. The railroad equipment shops were overwhelmed with orders for cars and locomotives last week, and In turn tho steol mills benefited fro maddltlonal heavy contracts con-tracts for finished steel products. With the opening of May tho railroads rail-roads placQd orders for 23,000 cars and 1C5 locomotives. Since April t contracts have exceeded 46,000 cars and 500 locomotives, calling for about 500,000 tons of steel bars, plates and shapes. Similar ocnlracts are on the point of being closed which will require re-quire about 400,000 tons or steel Tho principal orders la6t week wore givon by the Harriman interests, tho St. Louis & San Francisco and Canadian Pacific Bystems. Rail contracts aggregated nearly 200,000 tons, including 30.000 for the St, Louis & San Francisco, 36,000 for the Wabash. 65,000 for another west-, ern trunk line, 40,000 for the Grank' Trunk Pacific and 15,000 for the Canadian Pacini. Since April 1, rail contracts have exceeded -400,000 tons. All tho steol companies are operating operat-ing as close to full capacity as possible. pos-sible. The steel corporation has 94i per cent of capacity active and produced pro-duced 340.000 tons of steel Ingots during dur-ing the last week of April. New or- ur& uwrinK iue samo uluo averages 60,000 tons dally, exccodlng shipments about 17,000 tons a day. Shipments during the first aggregated 2.S00.O00 tons. The second quarter shipments will be heavier and a larger roveuue will bo derived, because of the more remunerative prices prevailing. Many small orders for , fabricated steel to be used In commercial buildings build-ings came out during the last few dayB of April bo that orders for the month exceeded 100,000. Merchant sales of pig iron in April aggregated one million tons. |