Show SHIPPING IN IRON the importation of iron and steel which has characterized the past year no signs of abatement the value of iron and steel imports in the month of starch as shown by the figures of the treasury bureau of statistics amounted to over against about in march of last year and for the nine months ending with march amounted to over against lesa than in the cor responding months of last year curiously all of the more important articles or classes ot articles so imported are those ot which the united states is a large producer the united states is now by far the largest pig iron producer of the world having last year produced more of this article than the united kingdom and germany combined lier production having practically doubled since 1807 yet the importations of iron and steel during the fiscal year which is to end with next month will be double in value those of 1807 and four times those of 1899 tho three classes of articles blitch show the largest increase are fig iron steel rails and ingols ingots blooms arid bil lets of steel pig iron chows an increase from tona in nine months of last year to in the ame months of this year or nearly ten times as much this year as last despite the fact that the production is increasing in in gots blooms bars etc the is still more rapid the total importation of the nine months of last year being pounds and in the nine months of this year pounds in steel of which the united slates baa in the past not only supplied her own wants dut exported largely tho percentage of increase is still larger the imports of the nine months of last year having been but tons while choso of this year for the same months were tons or nearly 30 times as much the value of the pig iron imported in the first nine months of this fiscal year is against in tab same months of last tear that of ingols ingots billets cilc against last year and of steel rails against last |