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5_, BITURIN0US COAL
^rR Q rl WEEKLY REPORT OF SEOLUbltAL OUKVLTj
-11 i i i li i i -111 -11-111 i 1 -11 1 1 I (Q¿1 II II • I [I l i l i I I I II l i l i l í I 1 I I I II I I I I 1 |—1—|—|— —
4 II 18 25 e 9 16 £330 6 13 eOE74 111825 1 8 152229 5 12 19 2S 3 10 17 5131 7 14a E8 5 1219262 9 I6E330 6 )3 £0£7 6 13 E027
Apr May Ju n e Ju lv Auq. S ep t Oct Nov Dec. J a n . Feb. Harch
1925 1926
Estim ates of Production
( N e t T o n s ) B I T U M I N O U S
1924 1925
O c t. 24 ... 10,645,000 12,088,000 O c t. 31 ( a ) ... 12,480,000 N o v . 7 ( 6 ) ... 9,6 9 5 ,0 0 0 12,189,000 D a il y a v e r a g e ... 1,795,000 2,1 3 8 ,0 0 0 C a l. y r . to d a t e . . . . ..( c ) 401,88 9 ,0 0 0 431,562.000 D a il y a v . to d a t e . . 1,531,000 1,639,000
A N T H R A C I T E
O c t. 2 4 ... 1,927,000 13,000 O c t. 3 1 ... 1,444,000 18,000 N o v . 7 ... 1,592,000 2 8 ,0 0 0 C a l. y r . t o d a t e --- .. (c) 77,246,000 6 1 ,7 6 9 ,0 0 0
C O K E
O c t. 3 1 ... 150,000 2 61,000 N o v . -7i... 140,000 •j292,000 C a l . y r . to d a t e --- . . (c) 8 ,2 2 3 ,0 0 0 8 ,4 8 5 ,0 0 0 (a ) R e v is e d s in c e l a s t r e p o r t . (6) S u b je c t to re v is io n , (c) M in u s tw o d a y s ’ p r o d u c t io n to e q u a l
iz e n u m b e r o f d a y s in th e tw o y e a rs .
Production d the Market
B itum inous Coal Market Follows Even Pace;
Undertone Is Firm
D espite th e fa c t th a t production of bitum inous coal continues above th e twelve million-ton level th e m ark et re ta in s much stre n g th — a su rp risin g am ount in view of th e com paratively m ild w eather th u s f a r and th e te n dency to slum p th a t usually appears in th e wake of a sudden sp u rt such as th a t of a few weeks ago. The reaction seems to have been confined alm ost entirely to th e m a rk e t fo r an th ra c ite su b stitu tes, principally coke, w hich a few weeks ago was h ittin g only th e high spots, b u t w hich took such a sudden flop th a t some of th e top quotations have fallen $2@$2.50. Screened and p re p are d coals, w hich w ere next to coke in public preferen ce as hard-coal su b stitu tes, also have been g rad u ally easing off as th e demand fo r m ine-run has been g ain in g headw ay. A sudden fall in tem p eratu re, w hich would quickly stim u late domestic demand, m ight, of course, cause an o th er u p tu rn , though it is not likely t h a t recen t h ig h levels will ag ain be attained.
B usiness in steam g rades is fa irly good, m ost holders of co n tracts ta k in g full quotas, b u t w ith outp u t a t a h ig h level and th e sh arp edge m issing from dom estic call, due to m ild w eather, th e re is no difficulty in tak in g c a re of requirem en ts. F o u r m ines in eastern Ohio reopened la s t week and several others are said to be ready to resum e as soon as a favorable opportunity p re sen ts itself— w hen th a t will be, however, is some
w hat doubtful in view of th e closing of the lake season.
M ovement of coal th ro u g h th e C incinnati gatew ay fell off som ew hat la st week, 13,011 cars having passed th ro u g h , w hich, however, w as an increase of 302 cars over th e corresponding week a y ea r ago. The lake sea
son closed w ith a record-breaking ru n of 2,103 cars.
A n th ra c ite is v irtu ally out of the wholesale m ark et and re ta ile rs having h a rd coal are appoi'tioning it am ong re g u la r custom ers in sm all lots. A fte r holding sep a rate
•conferences w ith P re sid e n t Lewis of th e m in ers’ union
and M ajor Inglis, of th e o p erato rs’ scale com m ittee, Governor P in cho t is w orking on a plan to g e t th e m iners and producers to g eth er and b rin g about a settlem en t of the strike.
P roduction of bitum inous coal d u rin g th e week ended Nov. 7 is estim ated by th e B ureau of M ines a t 12,189,- 000 n et tons, com pared w ith 12,480,000 tons in th e preceding week. The decline is a ttrib u te d p a rtly to th e election holiday and p a rtly to th e observance of All Souls Day. A n th ra cite ou tp u t in th e week ended Nov. 7 totaled 28,000 n et tons, an increase of 10,000 tons over the previous week.
Coal A g e Index of spot prices of bitum inous coal on Nov. 16 stood a t 190, th e corresponding price being
$2.30, com pared w ith 185 and $2.24 on Nov. 9.
D um pings of coal a t Lake E rie p o rts d u rin g the week ended Nov. 15, according to the Ore & Coal E x change, w ere as follows: Cargo, 759,058 net to n s;
steam ship fuel, 44,738 tons— a to tal of 803,796 n et tons, compared w ith 842,813 tons in th e preceding week.
H am pton Roads dum pings d u rin g th e week ended Nov. 12 totaled 402,152 n et tons, a g a in s t 398,123 tons in th e previous week.
v
712 C O A L A G E VOL. 28, NO. 21
Quoted 1924 1925 1925 1925f M id w e st Quoted 1924 1925 1925
C o lu m b u s.... $4 .1 0 $4.8 5 $5.2 5 S 6 .0 0 ® $ 6 .5 0 Franklin, 111. lum p... . C h ic a g o .... . $3 .3 5 $3.25 $3 .2 5
* Gross tons, f.o.b. vessel, H am pton Roads.
t Advances over previous week shown in h e a v y ty p e ; declines in italic*.
No v e m b e r 19, 1925 C O A L A G E 713
C o a l Ab o I n d e x o f S p o t P r i c e s o f B it u m in o u s C o a l F .O .B . M in e s
, 1 9 2 5 --- , 1924
N o v . 16 N o v . D N o v . 2 N o v . 17 I n d e x ... 19 0 1S5 1S1 170 W e i g h t e d a v e r a g e p r i c e . . $ 2 .3 0 $ 2 .2 4 $¡¡.19 $ 2 .0 6
T h is d ia g r a m s h o w s th e r e l a t i v e , n o t th e a c t u a l, p r ic e s o n f o u r t e e n c o a ls , r e p r e s e n t a t i v e o f n e a r l y 90 p e r c e n t o f t h e b it u m in o u s o u t p u t o f t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s , w e i g h t e d fir s t w i t h r e s p e c t to th e p r o p o r tio n 's e a c h o f s l a c k , p r e p a r e d a n d r u n - o f - m i n e n o r m a ll y s h ip p e d , a n d , s e c o n d , w i t h r e s p e c t to th e t o n n a g e o f e a c h n o r m a ll y p r o d u c e d . T h e a v e r a g e t h u s o b t a in e d w a s c o m p a r e d w i t h th e a v e r a g e f o r t h e t w e l v e m o n t h s e n d e d J u n e , 1 9 1 4 , a s 1 0 0 , a f t e r t h e m a n n e r a d o p t e d in t h e r e p o r t o n “P r i c e s o f C o a l a n d C o k e ; 1 9 1 3 -1 9 1 8 ,” p u b lis h e d b y t h e G e o lo g ic a l S u r v e y a n d t h e W a r I n d u s t r i e s B o a r d .
The Mt. Olive field shows considerable activity. Railroad tonnage is good and domestic shows an increase, w ith a little steam moving slowly. Prices in this field advanced recently to $2.75 fo r St. Louis shipm ents and $3 for country shipm ents on domestic lump. Business in the Standard field is hand to m outh. Prices are ju s t about the cost of pro
duction. The demand is good fo r lump but there is no call fo r an ything else. W orking tim e is anywhere from three to five days a week. R ailroad tonnage is fa ir. The la te st rep o rts indicate th a t th ere is a possibility th a t the con
solidation of m ines in the F ifth and N inth districts has a chance now of going through, as some of the large oper
ators who held o u t in the beginning have recently indicated a w illingness to come in.
F airly seasonable w eather a t St. Louis means fairly good movem ent of domestic coal—not alone of high grade, but middle grade as well. A nthracite and smokeless show poorly, b u t coke continues to improve. Local wagonload steam is good and carload is fair. There is a fairly good movem ent of domestic to th e country, preferably middle grade. Country steam is quiet. St. Louis re tail coal prices are expected to advance between Nov. 15 and 20.
H eav y T o n n a g e M oves fr o m K en tu ck y
Movement from K entucky continues very heavy, it being reported th a t some coal is moving to Canada and east as f a r as Buffalo, and a lot is going into m arkets th a t fo r
m erly handled a good deal of smokeless coal, which has been passed up on account of the p resen t prices. Relatively w arm w eather in Louisville has caused a slump in local demand fo r both steam and domestic sizes. R iver move
m ent south from w estern K entucky is g ettin g under w ay again a fte r a long shutdown due to low w ater.
In w estern Kentucky fine screenings (pea and slack) is being sold a t 65@85c., w ith n u t and slack a t 90c.@ ?l. N ot
much n u t and slack is offered, however, as m ost operators screen for nut, and buyers prefer fine screenings for use in autom atic stokers.
Quotations as high as $4.50 a ton are heard on best grades of specialty eastern K entucky 4-in. block coals, but
$3.25@$3.75 catches most of the movement.
R ural movement over K entucky and nearby states has been picking up somewhat, b u t the la rg e r city retailers are not taking to higher prices very well.
Car shortage is more pronounced and distribution worse, a g re a t deal of the trouble in eastern Kentucky being due to cars being held under load a t lake ports.
AH L ines F irm in N orthw est
Dock operators a t D uluth-Superior have been putting through substantial sales of both anthracite and bituminous coal, but w arm er w eather has caused a slackening as com
pared w ith the la tte r half of October. M arkets are firm in all lines of anthracite and bituminous coal and dealers show no disposition to tak e advantage of any shortages of supplies. A nthracite dock prices are: Egg, $13.20; n u t and stove, $13.60; pea, $11.05; buckwheat, $6.50.
Demand fo r Pocahontas (as a substitute fo r anthracite) is the heaviest in the experience of the trad e here, but prepared sizes are still $8.50@$9 and other lines of bitum i
nous coals are unchanged.
Industrial buying is steadily gaining over M innesota and northern W isconsin, iron-m ining companies on the Minne
sota ranges having increased orders fo r m ine-run and screenings.
Domestic orders fo r anthracite have been on such a heavy scale th a t it is now figured th a t the exhaustion stage in all sizes will be reached by about Feb. 1.
L ast m onth’s shipm ents from the docks were the highest in several years—31,685 cars—as cortipared w ith 24,032 cars during the preceding month and 26,418 cars during October la st year. The docks received from Lake E rie ports 1,242,816 tons of bituminous but no anthracite during Octo
ber. Total receipts of so ft coal to Nov. 1 were 7,688,638 tons, an increase of 1,425,975 tons over the same period la st year. A nthracite receipts w ere 786,848 tons, a de
crease of 390,423 tons from la st year. Bituminous stocks on the docks are now placed a t 5,450,000 tons, of which approxi
m ately 2,000,000 belongs to the railroads.
Twenty-nine cargoes of coal w ere unloaded a t the docks la st week and thirteen, including one of anthracite screen
ings to be used by a Superior company in m aking briquets, were reported en route.
Coal demand in Milwaukee has slackened due to milder weather. A nthracite v irtually is out of the m arket, and in consequence consumers who can burn bitum inous coal are tu rn in g to the b e tte r grades, which are firm in price and looking upward. There is a strong demand fo r coke, and prices are advancing. Local dealers now g e t $15 fo r range coke, $14 fo r the n u t size, and $12 for pea. No anthracite has been received since Sept. 15, b u t cargoes of bitum inous coal are coming in as usual. Receipts fo r the season of 1925 to Nov. 13 to ta l 3,305,001 tons— 488,234 tons of an thracite and 2,816,767 tons of bitum inous coal.
A touch of Indian sum m er has slowed down the demand fo r coal in various directions in the Twin Cities, b u t a fa ir tonnage is moving, both a t re ta il and in the steam trade.
I t is not a t all certain th a t th ere will be any g re a t shortage of hard coal, fo r the trend to o ther fuels has been pro
nounced. Prices are holding steady and fa irly firm on all grades. Smokeless is holding th e advance recently made.
All-rail coals are stable, w ith southern Illinois lump firm a t $3.25; Indiana, $3@$3.25; central Illinois, $2.75@$3;
western Kentucky, $2@$2.15.
S outhw est O u tp u t S till B eh in d O rders
The im petus given the coal m ark et in the Southw est by the early arriv al of freezing w eather has carried it briskly through a week of m oderate tem perature. K ansas mines sta rte d la st week two weeks behind on deliveries of lump, two days were lost fo r A rm istice Day and pay day, and the week ended w ith no dim inution of unfilled orders. Oper
ators rep o rt from th ree days’ to a week’s accum ulation of orders fo r K ansas n u t. The supply of screenings is about equal to the demand. There have been no changes in prices. While some operators quote as low as $2.25 on screenings on larg e contracts, $2.35 is the prevailing price.
The demand fo r Colorado domestic coal continues to
in-714 C O A L A G E Vol. 28, N o. 21 crease since cold w eather set in. A g re a t m any operators
are booking orders now fo r December delivery, which is quite a co n trast w ith this tim e a y ear ago. L abor sh o rt
age is a disquieting development, b u t i t is hoped th a t this will be remedied when the su g a r beet industry cam paign is over, which will release a g re a t m any employees who will go back to the coal mines again. There has been no change in prices on Colorado coal during the la st week. Raton and Dawson, (N.M.) mines, which produce about 90 p er cent of New Mexico coal, announce these new quotations: 6-in. lump,
$4.25; fancy egg, $4.25; fancy nut, $3.75; fancy pea, $3.25.
U ta h mines are w orking about tw o-thirds of full-tim e capacity. There is a slig h t shortage of cars, b u t the situ a tion so f a r is n o t such as to hinder th e filling of orders.
G enerally the la rg e r sizes are the stronger. Demand fo r coal fo r heating purposes is stronger now th a t cooler w eather has se t in. Mines and sm elters are the b ig g est industrial custom ers, b u t th ere is a good demand fo r steam coal, due to heavy traffic on the railroads. S u g ar factories are in the m idst of a heavy cam paign, and they a re provid
ing a good outlet fo r slack. Prices rem ain steady and the labor situation is excellent.
C in cinn ati M arket R etain s S tren gth
Since the recent price sp u rt th ere has been a lull a t Cin
cinnati, b u t the m ark et is in as stro n g a position as it w as a week ago, perh ap s stro n g er fo r despite w arm er w eather, th e closing of shipm ents to the lakes and a promise of 100 p er cent car supply to the Louisville & N ashville fields of south
eastern K entucky th e re have been no drastic breaks in prices. There have been recessions, b u t only where the demand has m oderated.
Due to a blockade a t the lakes the movement has slowed up, only 13,011 cars being reported by th e Am erican R ail
w ay Association as passing through the Cincinnati g a te w ays la st week, a decrease of 1,964 as compared w ith the w eek previous, but 302 m ore th an in the corresponding week of la st year. Of these, 2,103 cars were routed to th e lakes, a decrease of 770 cars from the previous week b u t a record movement fo r the closing of the season.
M ost of the high-volatile demand la st week was fo r block (4-in. and 6-in.) sizings. M iller’s Creek, Coal Rivers, Elk- horns, the Jellicoes and the like were firm around $4@
$4.50. W est V irginia offerings range between $3 and $3.50.
The H azard price of $3.25@$3.50 held and H arlans about the same. The make of egg seemed a little more th an the m ark et would digest, so from a top of $3 these sizings fell to $2.65@$2.75 and w ith a slackened demand fo r mine-run and slack the form er reverted to its old position and screen
ings down to a $1.25 average.
There has not been much ad ju stm en t in smokeless, lump still ran g in g $5@$6, w ith contract ta k e rs g ettin g the b etter of the argum ent. Mine-run, which had stiffened a bit, has again struck a dead level of $2.50. Screenings are said to have sold up to $2.25, b u t considering volume sales the general m arket has n o t gone beyond the $2 level.
Heavy rains have given the riv er a good running stage, and a plentiful supply is coming down fo r those engaged in this trade. Cincinnati retailers are still fencing w ith the m arket w ith a spread of $9.50@$10.50 on smokeless lump,
$6.50@$7 on m ine-run, $6.50@7 on bitum inous lump and
$4.50@$5 on slack.
W arm er w eather a t Columbus has caused a slig h t hesi
tancy in the domestic trad e, although the new prices an nounced Nov. 1 are generally m aintained. R etail prices, which jum ped several weeks ago, are still firm and little cutting is reported. Because of the big jum p in smokeless
§08-
HQ6-
*04-0.2
-fl TT
WEEKLY PRODUCTION OF
" ANTHRACITE - COAL YEARS
FRO M R EPO R TS OF TH E G EO LO G ICA L S U R V E Y
4 ,,18« 2 n l6„ 30i 1J^ 7 H 25 8 22 5 19 3 17 31 14 28 12 26 9 23 6 20 6 20 II 25 9 23 6 20 4 IS I 15 29 12 26 10 24 7 21 5 19 2 16 30 13 27 13 27
Anr. May June July Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. J a n . Feb. March
1925 I9Z6
there is a b etter demand fo r splints, as the difference is
$2.50 to $2.75 p er ton.
The steam tra d e is quiet and ra th e r spotty. Buying is m ostly from hand to m outh, although a tendency to increase reserves is noticeable as to utilities, iron and steel plants and la rg e r m anufacturing plants. While car shortage is ap p earin g in certain places, still this is not serious yet.
Production in the southern Ohio field ranges around 30 to 35 per cent of capacity w ith m any larg e m ines in condition to resum e w ork im m ediately when m ark et conditions w arran t.
In eastern Ohio th ere has been a decided let-up in domes
tic orders. Pocahontas and other W est V irginia and eastern Kentucky lum p sizes have weakened 25c. to 50c. p er ton f.o.b., Pocahontas lump being quoted a t $5.50@$5.75 and the others $3.25@$3.50 f.o.b. mine.
Inquiries and orders from steam consumers also have been com paratively light, but despite this .-market situation eastern Ohio production during the week ended Nov. 7 was the larg e st of any week in the present calendar year. A to ta l of 332,000 tons was mined or 23,000 tons over the preceding week and 21,000 tons over the corresponding week a y ear ago. This la rg e r production is alm ost entirely moving in the late-season lake trade.
E astern D em a n d D isa p p ears fr o m P ittsb u rg h The P ittsb u rg h district coal m a rk e t seems quiet since th e recent and b rief bulge in dem and from the E ast, chiefly fo r egg coal. F o r a few days egg coal brought $4.50@$5;
even $5.25, according to some accounts. Now it is about
$3, while 3-in. lump is now irrg u la r a t $3.25@$3.75.
The general demand fo r local domestic consumption and fo r railroad and in d u strial use has decreased little if a t all.
In the la st few days slack has advanced sharply to $1.30
@$1.40 fo r steam , a g ain st $1.15@$1.25 form erly, while gas slack is quotable a t $1.40@$1.50. The upw ard reaction is attrib u ted p a rtly to ending of the bulge in lump demand.
The stra ig h t bitum inous m ark et a t Buffalo is quiet. Sizes a re doing som ething, b u t slack is slow of sale and the trade is w ondering w h at will be done w ith the coal th a t is now going to the lakes. Shipping to the lakes will be over in two weeks or so and then it is fo r these mines to sh u t down or divide the rem aining trad e w ith the other mines. Quota
tions are: $1.60@$1.75 fo r F airm o n t lump, $1.40@$1.50 fo r m ine-run and $1.26@$1.40 fo r slack; $2.25@$2.50 fo r Youghiogheny gas lump, $2@$2.25 fo r P ittsb u rg h and No.
8 steam lump, $1.30@$1.60 fo r slack; $1.75@$2 fo r Alle
gheny Valley m ine-run. Some Youghiogheny special sizes ru n up as high as $4, m ostly fo r house use, and some special P ittsb u rg h sizes are $1 or so up fo r the same trade.
N ew E n g la n d T rad e O nly F air
In the New England m ark et the demand fo r steam coal continues light. In some directions quotations are slightly firmer, b u t th e spot m ark et in general varies from day to day according to the pressure shippers are under to move coal. The relatively few larg e buyers who en ter the m arket from tim e to tim e have now accum ulated w inter stocks for the n u s t p a rt, and from now on th e spot m ark et will be restricted to purchasers of sm aller tonnages.
The H am pton Roads agencies "have ample supplies avail
able fo r dumping. About the usual clearances are being applied on contracts, and those factors who take coal for distribution inland are accepting liberal consignments.
There is no special push fo r coal; neither is there any indi
cation th a t shippers are likely to be seriously pressed fo r orders. Of course a considerable tonnage of low volatile is being moved in prepared sizes; a modicum is finding its w ay from the Pocahontas and New River districts all-rail to New England, but the g re a t bulk is moving along the line and to the w est in usual channels.
Quotations on lump and egg from the smokeless fields still range $5@$7.50 p er net ton a t the mines, though a few venturesom e sales agents quote $8. No heavy tonnage is being arranged fo r on the higher prices, b u t some pro
ducers of higher grade low volatile in central Pennsylvania
ducers of higher grade low volatile in central Pennsylvania