Steel : production, processing, distribution, use, Vol. 106, No.25

E D I T O R I A L S T A F F E. L. S h an er Editor-in-Chiej E. C. K re u tz b e rg

E ditor A. J. H ain M anaging Editor

E. F. Ross Engineering Editor

Guy H ubbard Machinę T ool Editor

D. S. C adot A r t Editor A S S O C IA T E E D I T O R S

G. H. Manlove j. d, Ks’ox

W. G. Gude G. W. Birdsall

W. J. Campbell

N ew Voj7{

I. II. Such B. K. Prioe

L. E. liROWNE

Pittsburgh Chicago

U. L. Hartpokd }. ]•'. Powell

D etroit Washington

A. II. Al.lun |„ M. Lamm London

Vincunt Delport A S S I S T A N T E D I T O R S

A. R. Finley Jay DkEulis

I. C. Sullivant La Vernf. Nock G eorge U rban

N etu Yor/(

John H. Caldwell

B U S I N E S S S T A F F

G. O. Mays

Business. Manager C. II. Hailey A docrtising Seruice N ew Y o r/(...E. W. K re u tz b e rg

B. C. Snell P itts b u r g h...S. H. Jasper C h ic a g o...L. C. P e l o t t C le v e la n d... R. C. Jae NKF.

D. C. Kieff.r I. W. /.UBER Cirailatinn ii lanager

M A I N O F F I C E Penton Buildinj;, Clcvelaml

B R A N C H O F F 1 C E S N ew YorĄ... II0 East 42111I St.

Chicago... 520 North Michigan Avc.

P itts b u rg h... Koppcrs Btiildinu ... 6560 Cass Avc.

W ashington... National Press Building Cincinnati ... 1734 Carew Tower S<w Francisco... 1100 Norwood Avc.

Oal{hwd, Cali/., Tel. Glcncourt 7550 London ... Caxton House

Westminster, S.W. 1

pimJin ll ,ny.i lHK , TON Pum.1811 INO CO..

SIS®. 1 Ł|cvclnnd, Ohio. John A.

"n-*" Iloar,(l: E. I,. SHANER.

Pr« ■ resident, !■. G. S?■ 'f ^ Ieasurer^ O. O. Hteinbbacii. Secrctary.ays. Vlce rtAetml,eirłnrfnJ.t’it 1>Bure,luI of Clrculatlons: As.«o-

" ,C- B"rt N‘‘,l0n!‘l I>Ub-

X f eŁ erVJ ryr> M(,^ y • , SuDscrlption In the year i * ,C ub* - £ , exjco and Cnnnda. one

0 yeftr3 *6: huropean and forelgn Issues) ? ó c ° ne year SmRle coples (current at0 ^ ec,° n(! cla?s nia*ter at the i>ostomce ConvrIP?fio.m U» t.he £ ct ° r -Mnrch 3. 1879.

co p jr iu .t 1940 by t.*ip Penton Pi?bl!shlng Co

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V o lu m e 106 N o . 25

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READERS COMMENTS ...|PQUTECI fNIKl]

HIGHLIGHTING THIS ISSUE... , . : ...

NEWS

Armament News ... 21 26

Thousand Planes a Day “Simpic”, Says Ford; Ready for Contract .'. . . ^ « Canada lo Butld More Mumtions Plants; Adopts U. S.-Type Planes. 26 Steelworks Operations for Week... '

Lower Unemployment Tax Rate “Depends on Management” 28 Electroplaters Spur Progress; Recognize Meritorious Research ™ New Facihties lor Purdues Chemical, Metallurgical School

Obituaries ... ... oi Men of Industry ... ^ WINDOWS OF WASHINGTON ...

MIRRORS OF MOTORDOM...

EDITORIAL—Simplification Is Needed—Soon... 40 THE BUSINESS TREND... ĄI TECHNICAL

Complctes Huge Cranes for Grand Coulee Dam... <5- Preparation Protects Skin Against Chemical Irritations. . ... - ^ Power Drives

Electric-Tie Transmissions ....

... 4 / Materials Handling

Automatic Sorting of Rivets... _Q

Progress tn Steelmakjng

Uniform Heating of Steel Conducive to Lligh Quality rj New High-Carbon, High-Vanadium Tool Steel Announced 62 Improves Rapid Method for Determining Tin... fj2

Stani ping

Making Meter Parts ... g

Joining and Welding

Fabrication of Penstock and Pump Inlet Linings for Grand Coulee Dam 44 Welding for Enameling... gg Electronic Welder Used for Intricate Parts...

Finishing

Electro-Polishing Stainless Steel... 72 INDUSTRIAL EQUIPMENT ... -f;

HELPFUL LITERATURE ... . 8l MARKET REPORTS AND PRICES ...

BEHIND THE SCENES... . I00 CONSTRUCTION AND ENTERPRISE ... 10- INDEX TO ADYERTISERS ...

P R O D U C T I O N • P R O C E S S I N G • D I S T R I B U T I O N • U S E June 17, 1940

N O O B S O L E S C E N C E T O L E R A T E D H E R E

Z7T7 0 0 D,

PRODUCTION • PROCESSING • DISTRIBUTION • USE

H I G H L I G H T I N G

T H I S I S S U E

* M OM ENTUM g a th e re d ra p id ly la s t w eek be­

h in d th e d riv e to a u g m e n t th e su p p ly o f a r m a ­ m e n t to th e A llies an d to s tre n g th e n o u r own n a tio n a l defense. O rd ers a re b ein g placed by th e A llies (p. 21) in m uch la rg e r volum e an d fo r re ą u ire m e n ts m ore d iverse in c h a ra c te r. M ore b u sin ess also is being placed (p. 2 2) by th e a rm y a n d n avy. U n d e r th e im p a c t of th e se dem an d s th e steel p ro d u e tio n r a te la s t w eek (p. 27) m oved up 4 % p o in ts to 86 p e r ce n t o f cap acity . In d ic a tio n s th a t th e ex p a n d in g a rm a m e n t p ro ­ g ra m is lik ely soon to re v e a l s h o rta g e s in the su p p ly of c e rta in stee ls th ro w s in to s h a rp focus th e n e c e ssity (p. 40) fo r sim p lify in g e x istin g ste e l specifications.

M ore in d u s tr ia l le a d e rs hav e been enrolled by th e n a tio n a l d efense eom m ission. W a lte r S.

T ow er (p. 23) is th e liaiso n officer in ch a rg e of th e ste el in d u stry . R alp h E.

F la n d e rs a n d H o w ard W.

D u n b a r hav e been n am ed to th e m ach in ę tool c o -o rd in at- in g co m m ittee. . . L e ad ers in m o st k e y in d u s trie s feel e n tire confidence in the a b ility o f th o se in d u strie s to m eet all needs. T h is s ta te m e n t b y Mr. D u n b a r (p. 23) is ty p ic a l:

“T he m a c h in ę tool in d u s try is in a p o sitio n to tu r n o u t all th e m ach in es th e g o v e rn m e n t needs d e sp ite its p re s e n t h ig h r a te o f o p era tio n . All we w a n t to know is w h a t th e g o v ern m e n t w a n ts an d w hen it w a n ts it a n d th e m ach in ę tool in ­ d u s tr y will g e t th e m a ch in e s o u t.”

I n d u s t r y Can M e e t N eed s

C o n g ress p asse d th re e m a jo r p rep a re d n ess bills la s t w eek (p. 23) a n d s e n t th e m to th e P re s id e n t fo r s ig n a tu re . I t is a c tin g ra p id ly on o th e r re la te d m easu res. . . C an ad a is ad d in g fre s h speed to its a rm a m e n t p ro g ra m (p.

26) an d w ill cali on the U n ited S ta te s f o r m ore steel, a irp la n e e n g in es an d o th e r m a n u fa c tu re d goods.

• • . I t a l y ’s e n tra n c e in to th e w a r (p. 24) closes th e M e d ite rra n e a n to A m e ric a n s h ip p in g and c u ts off o u r su p p ly of R u ssia n m an g a n ese ore, also iro n ore fro m M e d ite rra n e an p o rts. . . Ris-

A llo y Prices A d v a n c e

in g m a n g a n e se o re prices (p. 83) h av e b ro u g h t a $ 2 0 p e r to n ad v an ce on fe rro m a n g a n e se an d spieg eleisen is $4 to $10 h ig h e r. Silicon alloys a re up $5 to $10 a ton. S c ra p prices hav e m o u n te d f u r th e r.

P a u l J. M cK im m (p. 54) tells how to keep o u t o f tro u b le in th e so a k in g p it d e p a rtm e n t. H e also re v eals an im proved m eth o d (p. 62) fo r m a k in g ra p id tin d e te rm in a tio n . . .

R a p i d T in

, . . 62) a new h ig h carbon, high- A n a l y s i s v a n a d iu m tool steel w as used a t a speed o f 16 fe e t p e r m in ­ u tę w ith a 7 /1 6 -in ch d ep th o f c u t a n d a feed of 7 /1 6 -in c h . . . C. W. D ra k ę (p. 47) describes a m o to r w h ich d riv es its load th ro u g h a n “e lectric s h a f t.” “S y n c h ro tie ” tra n sm issio n s offer a m eans of ty in g m o vem ents to g e th e r a t tw o o r m o re p o in ts w ith o u t a n y m ec h an ic al connection w h a t- ever. T he p rin cip le h as m a n y p o te n tia l a p p lic a ­ tio n s . . . W ith a new so lu tio n (p. 7 4) steel can be co ated w ith co p p er w ith o u t th e use of c u rre n t.

G eorge R a lp h (p. 64) discloses m eth o d s th a t c u t die a n d o th e r costs in p ro d u c in g sta m p e d m e te r p a rts . . . S am T o u r (p. 72) sees new po- te n tia litie s f o r sta in le ss steel as a re s u lt o f new electro - p o lish in g p ro ced u re . . . A new electronic w eld er (p. 74) sim p- lifies jo in in g of th in sh eets an d in tric a te w o rk on tu rb in ę blades . . . Jo sep h C.

L ew is discusses m ethods f o r p ro p e r w eld in g of sh eets (p. 6 8) in p re p a ra tio n f o r p o rcelain e n a m ­ eling. He tells how d isto rtio n m a y be avoided by u sin g fix tu res of am ple h e a t c a p a c ity . . . M ech an ­ ical s o rtin g e ą u ip m e n t p e rm its a n a irp la n e m a n u ­ f a c tu r e r (p. 50) to sav e $12,500 y e a rly th ro u g h salv a g e of m a te ria ls . . . N o tab le field fa b ric a tin g setu p is th a t (p. 44) a t G ran d Coulee dam .

A v o id in g D is to r tio n

June 17, 1940

19

R Y E R S O N P R O D U C T S Include: B earn s, S tr u c tu r a ls , C h a n n e ls, A ngles, T e c s, Z ees, H o t R o lled B a rs , B a n d s a n d H o o p s , F lo o r P la te , ] k in d s l S h e e ts (o v er 25 k in d s ), A lloy a n d T o o l S te els, 1 l e a t 1 r e a tc d A llo y B a rs , S ta in le ss S te el, C o ld F in is h e d S h a ftin g , S tr ip S te el, F i a t ire , IM echanical T u b in g , B o ile r T u b e s a n d F iltin g s , W eld in g R o d , R iv e ts , B o lts , N u ts , W a sh e rs, C o n c re te R e in fo rc in g , B a b b itt. M e ta l a n d S o ld e r. W i 1° for błock L isi.

H o w t o S a v e M o n e y o n S t e e l

■. . , .* t r p n t p r in s p e iir iiif r denendable, u n i form

R educed shop labor costs . . . E lim ination of h e a t trea tin g failures, costly testing and re -lre a tin g . . . less clerical expense

— these are m oney-saving advantages regularly reported by m anufacturers who standardize on Ryerson Certified Steels.

Steel buyers know esaclly w hat th ey ’re getting when they order from R yerson. These uniform high ąu a lity steels arc m ade to close rangę specifications. T hey are free from h ard or soft spots and can be depended on for um iorm working and form ing ąualities. Spoilage, breakage, and irregularities arc practically elim inated. *

A special ąu a lity control plan on Alloy Steels assures uniform h e a t tre a tm e n t response. E n tire h eats are selected and com plete chemical and physical properties, and exacl lw«.t iro:.tin<T eliiiracterislics are sent with every order to

iruide the b ea t trea ter in securing dependable, uniform results. He does n o t have to test. He takes no chances.

Spoilage and re-treatin g arc elim inated and a sound, dependable job is assured.

R yerson Certified Steel stocks arc com plete and di- yersificd. Y ou can save tim e, troublc and money by con- ce n tratin g all steel reąuirem ents w ith this one dependable source of°supply. E v ery th in g from th e heaviest structural to the sm allest rivet— from m echanical tubing to welding rod is carried in slock for Im m ed iate S hipm ent. I f you < 0 n o t have the cu rren t R yerson Stock L ist we will glac y send you a copv. Joseph T . R yerson & Son, Inc. P lan ts at:

C h icag o , M ilw a u k e e , S t. L o u is, C in c in n a ti, Uet r oi t , C leveland, Buffalo, B oston, P hiladelphia, Jersey City.

A l l i e s B u y i n g M o r e S t e e l , M u n i t i o n s A r m s P r e s s u r e G a i n s M o m e n t a m i

S te e lw o r k s O p e r a tio n s a t 86 Per C e n t: R a w M a te r ia ł Prices S t r o n g e r

C o n tr a c ts f o r $327,000,000 W a rsh ip C o n s t r u c t i o n A w a r d e d in Week.

P u rc h a sin g T h ro u g h E x istin g F ed e ra l A g en cies “f o r P r e s e n t Congress R u s h e s All R o o s e v e lt A p p r o p r ia tio n M ea su res.

P r e s i d e n t C r e a t e s I n d u s t r i a l R e s e a r c h C o m m i t t e e .

M a c h in ę Tool I n d u s t r y “ No B o t t l e n e c k

Bi B U SIN ESS a p p a re n tly is experi- encing an e a rlie r stim u latio n th a n h ad been expected fro m the n atio n al defense p ro g ram . This w as reflected la st w eek in stee l produetion, secur­

ity m a rk e ts, a v a rie ty of m an u fac­

tu rin g operations, em ploym ent, re ­ ta il tra d e and o th e r indexes.

Steel o p era tio n s advanced 4% points to 86 p e r cent of capacity, up 2 2% points sińce th e flrst week in May. T he stock m a rk e t, w hich fo r sev e ral w eeks h ad been closely geared to E u ro p ea n w a r develop- m ents, began to refiect the increase in dom estic business and regained a la rg e p o rtion of re c e n t losses. Raw m a te ria ls prices stiffened as m an u ­ fa c tu re rs w ho can n o t hope to benefit fro m possible p rio rity allocations, because of th e type of goods they produce, m oved to p ro te c t them - selves on fu tu rę deliveries. Increased em ploym ent, especially in in d u strial centers, w as fe lt in re ta il tra d e gains.

A n o th er s tro n g fa c to r w as this co u n try 's d e te rm in a tio n to provide all possible m a te ria ł aid to the Allies. M ore a irp lan es, m unitions, and o th e r w a r m a te ria ł a re being re- leased by th e g o v ern m e n t fo r resale to B rita in and F ra n ce . T he Anglo- F ren c h p u rch asin g eom m ission is p ressin g fo r im m ediate delivery of all available m achinę guns, rifles, am m unition and o th e r m aterials.

The A llies continued to place heav y ord ers fo r steel, m unitions, an d tra n s p o r t eąu ip m en t w ith p riv a te m a n u fa c tu re rs. An o rd e r fo r 10,000 tru ck s w as rep o rted placed

la st weęk w ith two lead in g au to m o ­ bile m a n u fa c tu re rs by F ran ce. A sim ila r o rd e r fo r B ritish account is in negotiation.

C onsensus in the in d u stry is th a t p re ssu re fo r steel will continue un- abated. P ossible fu rth e r rev erses to th e Allies, it is believed, will only in- ten sify dem and as th e U nited S ta te s speeds preparedness.

W hile it is recognized a period of re a d ju stm e n t would follow cancel- lation of certain foreign orders, it is pointed out th a t m ost, if not all, of th e orders could be adju sted ąuickly to dom estic needs.

Study Army, Navy Needs A t W ashington th e n atio n al de­

fense eom m ission is w o rk in g a t top speed to organize its plans. The eom m ission is ru sh in g an in d u strial survey of a rm y an d n avy needs.

W hen th is is com pleted, th e commis- sion will cali in d u stria l lead ers into conference on w ays and m eans to elim inate any bottlenecks discov- ered. Som e d a n g e r spots a lread y a re known, including a rm o r plate, m any chem ical products, alum inum and stra te g ie m aterials. N one is believed cause fo r alarm .

U ntil the eom m ission achieves m ore com plete organization, de­

fense p ro g ram p u rch asin g will be handled thro u g h existing agencies.

Use of these agencies will not nec- essarily slow the p ro g ram as w as evidenced la st week when contracts f-or construction of 2 2 ships to cost 5327,000,000 w ere aw arded w ithin a few h o u rs a fte r th e P resid en t had

signed the 1941 naval ap p ro p riatio n s act.

The defense eom m ission la st week continued to au g m en t its Staff from the top ra n k s of industry. W a lter S. Tow er, president, A m erican Iro n and Steel in stitu te, w as a notable appointee and will serv e as a liaison officer betw een th e steel in d u stry and the eom m ission.

E stab lish m en t of a new natio n al defense research com m ittee w ith Dr. V. Bush, of C arnegie institu te, as chairm an, w as announced by P resid en t Roosevelt. To include eig h t m em bers the research com ­ m ittee will su rv ey all the labora- tories in governm ent endowed in- stitu tio n s, colleges and industry, so th a t ev ery th in g p e rta in in g to nation­

al defense m ay be mobilized. The com m ittee will not go into aero- nautics, w here research will rem ain u n d er the n ational adyisory com ­ m ittee fo r aeronautics. T he P re s i­

dent said th e research com m ittee is being form ed w ith th e fu li ap- proval of m em bers o f the national defense eom m ission. He will con- fe r w ith eom m ission m em bers be­

fo re selecting o th er m em bers.

C ongress moved rapidly to ex- ecute its p a rt in th e arm a m e n t p ro ­ gram . T hree m a jo r prep ared n ess bills la st w eek w ere su b m itted to th e P resid en t fo r sig n atu re. These included the $1,821,853,000 a rm y ap­

p ro p riatio n bill w hich th e P resid en t alread y has signed, a $655,000,000 au th o rizatio n bill providing an 1 1 p e r cent expansion of the navy, and a $2,20 0,000,000 m e a su re to authorize a naval a ir force of 10,000 June 17, 1940

21

* •

planes, 16,000 pilots and a ir bases.

R esolution au th o rizin g the P re si­

dent to a c ą u ire m achinę tools and sim ila r equipm ent fo r defense pur- poses w ith o u t ad v ertisin g o r com- petitive bidding w as introduced in the sen ate.

The house, w ith only one day’s dis- cussion, approved th e new billion d o llar ta x bill and se n t it to the s e n ­ a te w here favorable action also is expected.

The se n ate adopted a bill em-

m CONTRACTS fo r 22 ships, total- in g $327,233,000, w ere aw arded la st w eek u n d e r the n avy’s 1941 fiscal v e a r p ro g ram . The aw ards, r e p o rt­

ed to be th e la rg e st tran sa c tio n of its kind in this c o u n try ’s history, followed closely the sig n in g of th e naval appi’opriations bill by P re si­

dent Roosevelt.

M ore th a n 75,000 to n s of steel will be re ą u ire d in the 2 2 vessels, in ad­

dition to a considerable tonnage fo r equipm ent.

The navy already h a s 66 w arsh ip s u n d er co nstruction in g overnm ent and p riv ate yards,

Of la st w eek’s aw ards, 13 vessels to cost an estim ated §262,909,000 will be b u ilt in governm ent yards.

T hese include: One 45,000-ton battle- ship to th e N ew Y ork y ard ; one 45,- OOO ton battle sh ip to the Philadelphia y ard ; tw o d estro y ers to th e Boston y ard ; tw o d estro y ers to the C harles­

ton, S. C., y a rd ; th ree su b m arin es to th e P o rtsm o u th , N. H., yard;

one su b m arin e ten d er to th e M are Islan d y ard in C alifornia; tw o sea- plane ten d e rs to th e N orfolk, Va., y a rd ; tw o seaplane ten d e rs to the B oston y a rd ; and one m ine sw eeper to th e N orfolk yard.

M any y a rd s soon will be placed on a 24-hour basis to accelsrate the building p rogram .

N ine A w arded P riv a te Y ards T he o th e r nine ships w ere aw arded to p riv a te builders, as follows:

Two 10,000-ton cru isers to N ew York Shipbuilding Corp., Cam den, N. J., a t $17,580,000 each; tw o d estro y ers to th e B ath Iro n W orks, B ath, Me., a t $4,898,000 each; tw o d estro y ers to F ed eral Shipbuilding Corp., K earny, N. J., a t $5,277,000 each;

th re e su b m arin es to E lectric B oat Co., G roton, Ccnn., a t $2,938,000 each.

A cting S ecretary of th e N avy Lew is C om pton who announced th e aw ard s sa id th e speedy action re- sulted from “th e co-operative effo rts”

of M r. K nudsen and the d ep artm en t.

pow ering th e P resid en t to prohibit ex p o rts of m achinery, tools, mili- ta ry eq uipm ent o r m unitions. A sim ila r bill previously had been passed by th e house.

Iro n and steel scrap exports would be prohibited in a m easu re introduced in th e house. Com m ent- ing on th e propo3al a t p ress confei- ence, Mr. Roosevelt said its purpose is to keep in th e U nitsd S tates those m a te ria ls needed in o u r defense program .

In cre ase in m erc h an t shipbuilding also w as re p o rte d la s t w eek by the A m erican B u reau of Shipping. U nder co nstruction on J u n e 1 w ere 295 vessels w ith a to ta l g ro ss to n n ag e of 1,516,185. T his com pares w ith 276 vessels, to ta lin g 1,349,385 g ro ss tons on M ay 1.

Gulf Shipbuilding Corp. is ex- pected to build fo u r cargo ships of 9600 tons each a t its Chickasaw , Ala., y ard s fo r th e W a term an Steam - ship Corp., Mobile, Ala. Approxi- m ately 25,600 tons of steel would be req u ired fo r hulls and su p erstru c - tu res.

ARMY TO BUY SCOUT CARS;

YORK BUILDS GUN CARRIAGES U nited S tates w a r d e p artm en t will open bids on 10 00 scout cars fo r th e a rm y a t th e Rock Island a rsen a ł on Ju n e 20. C ars will be lig h t and fa st 4-wheeled u n its for advanced g u a rd u se and are de- scribed ro u g h ly as a cross betw een an arm o red car and m otorcycle.

Yoi'k Safe & Lock Co., York, Pa., h as been aw arded a contract by the R ock Islan d a rsen ał fo r th e m a n u ­ fa c tu re of 350 c a rria g es fo r 37-mil- lim eter a n tita n k g u n s a t $2370 each.

Baldw in S o u th w ark diyision of Baldw in Locom otive W orks, P h il­

adelphia, is rep o rted to have re- ceived an o rd e r fo r tw o large presses from th e B ritish purchas- ing commission.

T he W illys-O verland p lan t a t T o­

ledo, it w as rep o rted la st w eek, m ay receive a $25,000,000 o rd er fo r shells, s h e ll' casings, lig h t arm o red cars and p a rts fo r bom bing planes.

W illys-O verland com m on stock is controlled by E m p ire S ecurities Inc., N ew Ycrk. A n o th er subsidiary, E m p ire O rdnance Corp., recently acquired a portion of th e Pencoyd, Pa., p ro p erties of C arnegie-Illinois Steel Corp.

E m p ire O rdnance expects to m a n ­ u fa c tu re a n tia irc ra ft guns fo r the Allies and fo r th e U nited States.

E q u ip m e n t fo r necessary retooling is being installed.

P ro p e rty acquired from Carnegie- Illinois ccm prises a 14%-acre tra c t w ith 100 x 340-foot m achinę shop and 83 x 173-foot assem bly shop, a black sm ith shop, Office building, re s ta u ra n t and sto ra g e yard. No p a rt of th e steel p lan t located in low er M erion tow nship across the Schuylkill riv e r is included.

U nited S ta tes Steel Corp. la st w eek announced it is reselling to the Allies a t no profit $37,600,000 w orth o f m unitions, equipm ent and o rd ­ nance w hich it p u rch ased from the U nited S ta te s governm ent. T ra n s ­ action will be handled th ro u g h U nit­

ed S tate s Steel E x p o rt Co., a su b ­ sidiary. T he co rp o ratio n 's announce- m ent:

"T he U nited S tates Steel Corp.

confirm ed th e prelim in ary announce- m en t recently m ade from W ash in g ­ to n as to the conclusion of negotia- tions w ith the U nited S ta te s gov- ę rn m en t fo r th e p u rch ase by the U nited S tates Steel E x p o rt Co., a su b sid iary of the U nited S tates Steel Corp., of various su rp lu s m unitions, eq u ip m en t and o rdnance supplies now held by th e U nited S tates w ar d ep artm en t.

“T he neg o tiatio n s fo r this p u r­

chase w ere initiated a few days ago by th e U nited S tate s w a r d e p a rt­

m ent. T he p u rch ase price of the ar- ticles so p u rch ased is $37,600,000, re p resen tin g th e p re ssn t value there- of as detei'm ined by the U nited S tates w a r dep artm en t.

“T h ese articles are being resold fo rth w ith by th e U nited S tates Steel E x p o rt Co. to the A nglo-French pur- ch asin g b oard a t th e ex act cost th e reo f to the U nited S tates Steel E x p o rt Co.

“I t is contem plated th a t a p a rt o r all of th e p u rc h a se price to be paid by th e U nited S ta te3 Steel Ex- p o rt Co. to th e U nited S ta te s govern- m en t will be paid th ro u g h the sub- se q u e n t delivery to th e U nited S tates w ar d e p a rtm e n t of new m unitions and ordnance supplies of a c h aracter needed fo r th e n atio n al defense p ro ­ g ram and to be specified by ^ the U nited S tate s w a r d e p a rtm e n t.”

H M uscoda No. 5 lim estone mine of T en n essee Coal, Iro n and Rail- ro ad Co., B irm ingham , Ala., has been aw arded th e 1939 “Sentinels of S afety ” tro p h y in th e nonm etal- lic group of m ines by b u reau of m ines, U nited S tates d e p a rtm e n t of in terio r. M ine operated 167,712 man- h o u rs in 1939 w ith o u t a disabling in ju ry . A w ard m a rk s th e th ird tim e th e m ine has received th e trophy.

B R evere C opper & B rass Inc. will close its m ills J u n e 29 to provide a vacation fo r em ployes on an ho u rly basis. O perations w ill resu m e Ju ly 8. Offices and w areh o u ses will rem ain open.

2 2

W a r s liip s , T a k in g

T o n s « ( S te e l, T o p W e e k ’s © r d e r s

/■TEEL

T o w e r A p p o i n t e d t o S t e t t i n i u s

S t a f f a s S t e e l C o n t a c t O f f i c c r

■ W A LTER S. TOW ER, president, A m erican Iro n and Steel institute,' h as been appointed to the national defense com m ission’s staff u nder E. R. S te ttin iu s Jr., fo rm e r United S tates Steel Corp. chairm an, and now in ch arg e of ra w m ateria ls p ro ­ curem ent.

Mr. T ow er will serv e as liaison of­

ficer betw een th e steel in d u stry and the defense com m ission.

R alph E. F lan d ers, president, Jones & L am son M achinę Co., Springfield, Vt., and H ow ard W.

D unbar, g en erał m an ag er, m achinę division, N orton Co., W orcester, Mass., have been nam ed m em bers of the m achinę tool co-ordinating com m ittee, headed by Mr. K nudsen of the com m ission.

C harles E. Adam s, chairm an of the board, A ir R eduction Co., New York, and R obert T. Stevens, a di­

re c to r of th e F ed eral R eserve B ank o f N ew York, and president, J. P.

Stevens & Co. Inc., New York, w ere appointed to th e sta ff of Mr. S tet­

tinius. Mr. A dam s will be senior a d m in istra tiv e a s s is ta n t and Mr.

Stevens will have c h arg e of tex- tiles.

O ther ap p o in tm en ts to Mr. Stet-

■ “TH E N A T IO N S m achinę tool in d u stry is no bottleneck in th e fed­

eral defense p ro g ra m . T h a t should be m ade absolutely elear,” declared H ow ard W. D unbar, g en erał m an ­ ager, m achinę division, The N orton Co., W orcester, Mass., and a m em ­ ber of the m achinę tool co-ordinat­

ing com m ittee headed by Mr. K nud­

sen.

"The in d u stry is in a position to tu rn out all th e m achines the goy­

ern m en t needs d esp ite its p resent high ra te of o p eratio n s,” said Mr.

D unbar. “T here'll have to be som e increase in m anpow er, b u t very little in physical p lan t expansion.

“AU w e w an t to know is w h at the goyernm ent w an ts and w hen it w ants it and th e m achinę tool in­

d u stry will get th e m achines out.”

In p re p ara tio n fo r its p a rt in the defense p ro g ram , th e N orton Co.

has leased th e In d u stria l building a t the W o rcester fa ir gro u n d s and will conyert it into an assem bly p lan t

tin iu s’ staff include J. D. E ast, U nit­

ed S tates Steel Corp.; W. L. Finger, a ssista n t to the generał m anager, R ubber M an u factu rers Corp.; and T. B. McCabe, president, Scott P a p er Co., Chester, Pa.

W illiam C. Bower, vice president, N ew York C entral railroad, will as- sist Mr. S tettin iu s in studies involv- ing raw m aterials procurem ent.

M arion B. Folsom , tre a su re r, E a st­

m an Kodak Co., R ochester, N. Y., has been appointed a se n io r adm in- istra tiv e assistan t. Blackw ell Sm ith, a m em ber of the law firm of W right,”

Gordon, Z achry & P arlin , New York, has been appointed legał ad- yisor.

GEORGE S. ROSE A P PO IN T E D S T E E L IN ST IT U T E SECRETA RY

G eorge S. Rose has been ap p o in t­

ed se cretary of th e A m erican Iron an d Steel institu te. A fter graduat- ing from P ennsylyania S ta te college in 1923 he becam e associated in m e t­

allurgical, production and sales ca- pacities w ith A lan Wood Steel Co., C rucible Steel Co. of A m erica, and A m erican Steel & W ire Co. F o r six y ears he has been a m em ber of the in stitu te staff.

fo r the m achinę diyision. The com ­ pany contem plates no new construc­

tion.

Mr. D unbar, fo rm er president of the N ational M achinę Tool Build­

e rs’ association, outlined th e m achinę tool in d u stry ’s situation.

“O rdinarily th e in d u stry will do an an n u al yolum e of about $160,- 000,000. At p resen t th e yolum e is

$350,000,000. On top of this the goyernm ent is ask in g us to produce

$200,000,000 m ore of eąuipm ent.

“We can do it and do it efficiently and rapidly. I don’t say we could do m uch m ore, but we can handle the p ro g ram as it is outlined.”

Mr. D u n b ar said his com pany's production a t p resen t is double the h ighest ra te of any preyious period.

The m anagem ent last week a u th o r­

ized a fu rth e r 25 p er cent increase in operations to be effected by in­

ereasing personnel on two night shifts.

M achinę tool builders—like m any

o th e r m a n u fa c tu re rs—a re aw aitin g detaiłs of th e defense p ro g ram . The g o y ern m en t has outlined in generał te rm s w h at it is going to need fro m the m achinę tool in d u stry an d de­

tails a re in process of being w orked out.

“F o r instance,” said Mr. D unbar,

‘th e g oyernm ent has indicated it will w an t $30,000,000 w orth of g rin d in g m achines and $40,000,000 w o rth of lathes and so forth, b u t it h a s n ’t broken th ese figures down into ty p es and ą u a n titie s w anted. As soon as this is done the in d u stry can go to work.

"E ach p lan t will m a n u fa c tu re the eąu ip m en t it n orm ally produces.”

A nother facto r to be stra ig h te n e d out, according to Mr. D unbar, is the m a tte r of o rd er p riority. The g oyernm ent w an ts to do as little as possible to in te rfe re w ith ord ers from E ng lan d and F rance. T hese orders and those fo r th e U nited S ta te s goyernm ent a re expected to get p rio rity , w hile th e norm al sources, and ord ers fro m R ussia and Ja p an , will hay e to ta k e th eir chances on deliyery.

A f u r th e r breakdow n fo r p rio rity of orders w ithin the p ro g ram fo r this c o u n try ’s defense is likely. Some eąuipm ent will be needed fo r specific purposes ą u ick er th a n fo r o th er lines. F o r exam ple, m achines need­

ed fo r ayiation in d u stry m ay be giv- en p rio rity over m achines designed fo r goyern m en t arsen als o r navy yards.

CONGRESS SEN D S T H R E E D E F E N S E BILLS TO P R E S ID E N T

W A S H IN G T O N C ongressional action w as com ­ pleted la st w eek on th re e m a jo r prep ared n ess bills, ineluding th e $1,- 821,853,222 a rm y ap p ro p riatio n bill.

A $655,000,000 a u th o rizatio n bill fo r th e expansion of th e navy by 1 1 p e r cent and a $2,20 0,000,000 m easu re to au th o rize a naval a ir force of 10 ,000 planes ineluding 16,000 pilots and a chain of bases, w ere approved. T he bills w ere s e n t to the W hite H ouse fo r the P re s id e n fs sig n a tu re . L a te r Mr. Roosevelt announced he had signed the a rm y ap p ro p riatio n s bill, Senate jo in t resolution 274 w as in­

troduced la st week by S en ato r W alsh, M assachusetts, chairm an, naval affairs com m ittee, dealing w ith acquisition of m achinę tools and o th e r sim ila r eąuipm ent. The jo in t resolution has been re fe rred to th e sen ate naval affairs com m ittee and is expected to be favorably rep o rted soon.

I t p ro y id es: “T h at th e P re sid en t is authorized, th ro u g h th e se c re ta ry of w a r o r th e se c re ta ry of the navy, to e n te r into contracts, w ith o r w ith ­ o u t ad y ertisin g o r com petitive bid- ding, fo r th e acąuisition of m achinę

(Please turn to P age 32) M a c h i n ę T o o l I n d u s t r y P r e p a r e d

F o r A l l N e e d s , S a y s D u n b a r

June 17, 1940

23

M a n g a n e s e O r e S h i p m e n t s T o

U n i t e d S t a t e s I n t e r r u p t e d

■ MQST of this c o u n try ’s im p o rts from the M ed iterran ean and B ałkan countKies have been foodstuffs and tobacco and th e ir cessation is not expected to create an y g re a t haid- ships here. Some chrom e ore has been im ported fro m T u rk ey . Mer- cu ry h as been obtained from Spain and Italy .

M ore serio u s is th e closing of the M ed iterran ean to im p o rts of m a n g a ­ nese o re fro m R ussia, o u r leading supplier. S hipm ents fro m India have been going aro u n d the Cape of Good H ope fo r th e p a st several weeks, b u t little h as arriv ed in this co u n try as G reat B ritain has been tig h te n in g th e lines on h e r own su p ­ ply. S outh A frican m anganese ore is still available here, b u t its continu- ance is doubtful. G re a te r depend- ence on Cuban, S outh A m erican and dom estic ore w as fo recast by leading im p o rte rs la s t week. F o r details of

the ore m a rk e t see page 1 0 2. W H A T ITA LY ’S EN TR A N C E M EA N S TO U. S. TRADE

I ta ly ’s en t rance into the w ar and th e co n seąu e n t extension of the U nited S tates n e u tra lity act to in ­ clude th e M ed iterran ean closed to A m erican sh ip p in g an im p o rta n t m a­

ch in ery an d autom otive m a rk e t and a lesser iron and stee l m a rk et.

T o tal tra d e w ith Ita ly and the o th er c o u n t r i e s affected has a m ounted to $315,000,000 annually.

E x p o rts to th a t a re a have exceeded im p o rts by about $10,000,000. The M ed iterran ean and B ałkan countries have ta k e n ab o u t 5 p e r cent of U nited S ta te s ’ to tal ex p o rts and have supplied 7 p e r cent of o u r im ports.

L a s t y e a r th e U nited S ta te s ex- p o rte d to th ese co u n trie s: $14,200,- 000 w o rth of m achinery; $10,900,000 w o rth of autom otive e ąu ip m en t;

$2,000,000 of electrical eąuipm ent.

Second la rg e st (to Ja p a n ) im ­ p o rte r of iron an d steel scrap from the U nited S tates, Italy h as tak en 2 252,279 g ro ss tons in the p ast seven years. L a st y e a r’s 425,89o tons w ere 70 p e r cen t of the co u n try s im p o rt reąu ire m en ts. In th e first th re e m onths th is year, Ita ly pur- chased 129,586 tons of A m erican scrap. An o rd e r fo r 250,000 tons placed sey eral w eeks ago is not ex- pected to be delivered.

O th er iron and ste el im p o rts by Ita ly hęive not been larg e. M ost im p o rtan t h a v e been pig iron, ferro- alloys and sheets an d tin p late. In 1939 pig iron sh ip m en ts w ere 5240 tons; in 1938, 6672 tons; in 1937, 10,003 tons, and in 1936, 105 tons.

Ita ly b o u g h t 2479 tons of sheets and tin p late here in 1938; 11,994 tons in 1937; an d 1668 to n s in 1936.

U nited S tates exports of o th er fin­

ished steel products to Ita ly have been negligible.

M achinery and autom obile exports have ran g ed fro m ab o u t $5,000,000 to n early $8,000,000 d u rin g th e p a st sev eral years. M etalw orking and a g ric u ltu ra l m achinery have been th e leading classifieations purchased, alth o u g h oil well drilling an d re- fining eąu ip m en t, business m achines and a ire ra ft have been in consider­

able dem and.

Affeets T rad e W ith 11 O ther N ations T otal sh ip m en ts to Ita ly la st y e a r w ere $58,864,000, ju s t u n d e r 2 per cent of all o u r exports. S ixty p er cent of th e ex p o rts to Ita ly w ere cotton, petro leu m and iron and steel products. Im p o rts from Italy am ounted to $39,922,000, m ainly food and tex tile products.

U nited S tates tra d e w ith 11 o th er countries will be affected directly by w a r in th e M editerranean. Sales to them la st y e a r totaled $5 5,000,000 and im p o rts from th em ab o u t $70,-

000,000. A tra d e analysis fo r 1939:

C ountry: E x p o rts Im p o rts Y ugoslavia ■ • $2,978,000 $5,503,000 Greece - ■ • 6,390,000 22,358,000 T u rk ey ... 8,313,000 19,831,000 S y ria ... 3,061,000 2,950,000 P alestin e - • - * 7,646,000 639,000 E g y p t ... 13,980,000 7,023,000 T unisia ... 1,029,000 764,000 A lgeria ... 2,055,000 2,029,000 H u n g a ry . . . . 2,695,000 4,222,931 B u ł g a r i a ... 1,150,000 2,S15,469 R u m an ia . • ■ • 6,233,000 2,386,000 A la rg e s h a re of th e purchases by these countries in th e U nited S ta te s hav e been m achinery and autom obiles. F o r exam ple, in 1939, P alestin e b o u g h t $4,567,875 w o rth of m ach in ery here, m ore th a n h alf h er to tal im ports. E g y p t im ported $4,- 212,000 of U nited S tates m achinery;

G reece took $2,000,000 w o rth ; T u r­

key, $1,970,000; R um ania, $1,958,000.

A g ric u ltu ra l im plem ents com prise bulk of U nited S tates sales to these M ed iterran ean and B ałkan countries, followed by autom otive, petroleum , roadbuilding and m in in g an d ąu arry - ing m achinery in the o rd er nam ed.

Iro n and steel ex p o rts to these countries w ere relativ ely m odest.

L eading cu sto m er la s t y e a r was Greece w ith 9439 tons, including scrap and alloys. In second place w as R um ania w ith 6228 tons, fol­

lowed by Y ugoslavia w ith 2500 tons, T u rk ey w ith 1166 to n s and E g y p t w ith 1140 tons.

M E E T I N G S

FU T U R Ę FO R COAL W IL L BE C O N FE R E N C E TO PIĆ

E F u e l en g in eerin g division of Ap- pałachian Coals Inc., C incinnati, will sp o n so r its tw enty-sixth fuel engi­

n eerin g conference a t the S horeham hotel, W ashington, Ju n e 21. Ad- dresses a t m orning and aftern o o n sessions, a luncheon an d dinner, will be keyed to th e them e, “W hat th e F u tu rę Holds fo r Coal and Its U tilization." A ssistan t S ecretary of W ar, Louis D. Johnson will speak a t th e d in n er on “N ational D efense an d In d u stry .”

AG RICU LTU RA L E N G IN E E R S TO DISCUSS M ETALS ON FARM S

A m erican Society of A g ricu ltu ral E n g in e ers will conduct its thirty- fo u rth an n u a l m eetin g a t P e n n sy l­

yania S ta te college, S ta te College, Pa., Ju n e 17-20. S everal item s for discussions a re of in te re s t to the ste e l and m etalw o rk in g industries.

To be considered by the farm s tru c tu re s division will be: “P ro g ­ ress in F o rm u la tin g C onstruction S ta n d ard s and Specifications for F a rm B uildings,” by G. B. H anson,

chairm an, com m ittee on specifica­

tions fo r building m a terials; “E ngi­

neering P roblem s in P refab ricated S tru c tu ra l F a rm E ą u ip m e n t,” by D. H. Malcom, chairm an, com m ittee on p re fa b ric atin g s tru c tu ra l farm eąu ip m en t; “P ro g re ss R ep o rt on F ence T estin g P ro ject,” by J. W.

Crofoot, re p re :e n ta tiv e on A.S.T.M.

com m ittee A-5 on corrosion of iron and steel; “Co-operation of In d u stry and G oyernm ent in A dvancem ent of R u ra l H ousing and F a rm B uilding,”

by Dr. M. L. W ilson, director of ex- tension, U nited S tates d ep artm en t of ag ricu ltu re.

Dr. Jo h n Lee C oulter, consulting econom ist, W ashington will speak on “The Econom ics of F a rm Ma­

chinery.” P o w er and m achinery division lists the follow ing papers:

“Flow Lines in F o rg in g s fo r F arm M achines,” by J. R oberts, instruc- to r in a g ric u ltu ra l engineering, K ansas S ta te college; “Role of N ick­

el in P roduction of F a rm Tools,” by H. L. Geigei', deyelopm ent and re­

search diyision, In te rn a tio n a l N ick­

el Co. Inc.; “F a rm M achinery De­

sig n —A C ritical A ppreciation of A m erican M ethods,” by W ilhelm Vutz, en g in eerin g d ep artm en t, New Id ea Inc.

.fT E E L 24

T l t o u s a n d P l a n e s a D a r “ S i m p l e ”

S a j s F o r d : R e a d y l o r C o n t r a c t

D E T R O IT

■ T H R E E w eeks ago in these pages it w as sta te d th a t a “fairly com­

p lete upheaval in p re se n t concepts o f w h a t a n airp lan e is and how m uch it is to cost . . . is only a m a t­

te r o f w eeks.” L a st w eek a t th e F o rd a irp o rt cam e the first inklings of confirm ation of this report.

H en ry Ford, in com pany w ith the p u rch asin g and production brains of his v ast R ouge plant, A. M. Wi- bel and C. E. Sorenson, climbed over a P-40 type p u rs u it piane of the lat- est design, se n t by th e w a r d e p a rt­

m en t fo r inspection. A fte r a pre- lim in ary exam ination, th e la tte r two, w ith Edsel Ford, le ft fo r W ashing­

ton to confer w ith G eorge Ja c k ­ son Mead. a ire ra ft engine au th o rity now in seryice of the governm ent.

A t th e a irp o rt H e n ry F o rd re fe rred to the production of 10 0 0 planes a day as a “sim p le” m a tte r; in W ash­

ington, young F o rd sta te d his com­

p any w as read y to sw ing into m ass p roduction as soon as the govern- m ent aw arded it contracts.

The F o rd s revealed th a t fo r five m o n th s th e com pany has been w ork­

ing on a new 10 0 0-horsepow er en­

gine, considerably sim plified over p resen t engine designs.

Given a standardized design, the F ord plant would have no difficulty in rolling o u t 1000 such m otors a day, w ithout even seriously in terfer- ing w ith c a r production. A few ehanges in fu selag e construction, such as the use of w elding instead of se ttin g by hand th o u san d s of rivets, would ad ap t w ings and fuse- lages to assem bly lines. T he F ord officials suggested th a t in m any re- spects the production of an air­

plane is a sim p ler m a tte r th a n tu m - ing out an autom obile.

These w ere om inous w ords fo r the natio n ’s established a ire ra ft builders. If Ford is g ettin g set to go on airplanes—and a t th is stag e every indication points to the fact th a t such a developm ent is in the m aking—look fo r piane costs to go tum bling, ju s t as autom obile costs w ent tum bling w ith th e Model T.

S eyeral decades hence h isto rian s m ay look a t pictures of H enry F ord peering beneath the cowling of the P-40 and say: “T here w as the b irth

O s .

of the la te s t g re a t £evoluffoti in tra n sp o rta tio n .”

No credit is ta k en fro m th e-fn an y invaluable contributionsv'to a ire ra ft m an u factu re w hich -present buijders hav e pioneered. D ouglas, JSoeing, Consolidated, North''’ A m criean 'ghd o th e rs have done anVl!. £fre dorng com- m endable w o rk in ftf^hercyice of aviation. B ut w hen it 'Someslto' m ass o u tp u t o f flying pow er, th e j^ w o u ld not be in the p ic tu re 'with Kord, if he proceeds as indicated.

To show w hy costs o f presenj; air- • planes a re high, in au to m o tiy e sense, consider th e case of one larg e m a n u fa c tu re r buying an alloy Steel screw used only fo r assem bly p u r­

poses and not in th e finished plalij.

I t is stip u la te d th a t these screw s m u st be of S.A.E. 2330 steel, giyen a 10 p er cent m agnaftux inspection, and they m u st even be centerless ground to rem oye the “bulge” in th e top th read re su ltin g from rolling th e threads. As a re su lt of this careful control and inspection the screw s cost the b uyer around $4 5 p er thousand, com pared w ith sim ­ ila r screw s used by the au to indus­

try costing $3.50 p e r thousand.

H ow eyer, it is alm o st dangerous to talk ab o u t au tom otiye practice to a ire ra ft buyers, som e of whom fra n k ly re fe r to autom obile pro­

duction m en as “b u tch ers.”

R eports concerning low cost of G erm an planes a re h eard freąu en t- ly. It is said on good a u th o rity th a t larg e num bers o f N azi c ra ft do not even c a rry in stru m en ts, th e pilots being reąu ired to keep in fo rm atio n by sig h tin g on a są u a d ro n lead er and m aneu v erin g larg ely “by the se a t of th e ir p a n ts.”

In stru m e n ta tio n is a costly item in a ire ra ft, tak in g tim e and m oney to install and calibrate. Consider- able sim plification m ay be possible on this score, p a rtic u la rly in fight- ing planes w here th e h azard s of destruction a re high.

S ay s C a r b id e T o o ls H e lp E n g la n d D o u b le O u t p u t

0 G reat increase in use of cem ented Carbide tools in G reat B ritain for m achining sh ell fo rg in g s and w ar m a terials is rep o rted by A rth u r H.

A lexander, now in this co u n try rep- re se n tin g George H. A lexander M a­

chinery Ltd., B irm ingham , England, K ennam etal licensee.

W here th e re w as a delay in obtain- ing additional m a n u fa c tu rin g facili­

ties to m ake w a r goods, production on existing m achines in som e in­

stances w as inereased as m uch as 10 0 per cent by tooling w ith carbide tools, said Mr. A lexander.

The com pany has com pleted plans fo r the erection of two additional p lan ts in E ngland fo r m aking c a r­

bide tools.

25

Birth of N e w Era in T ransportation?

D e tr o it N e w s P h o to

■ W h e n H e n ry F o rd lo o k e d o v e r th e C u rtis s P-40 p u rs u it p ia n e s e n t to D etroit a s t w e e k b y th e w a r d e p a r tm e n t lo r h is in s p e c tio n , w ith a v ie w to. m a s s p r o ­ d u c tio n , F o rd r e it e r a t e d h is s ta te m e n t h e c o u ld b u ild 1000 p l a n e s a d a y . S on d s e l s a i d th a t i n ^ a n e m e r g e n c y h is c o m p a n y m ig h t p r o d u c e 5000 a d a y . lth th e F o rd s n s i h g to th e c h a lle n g e . o b s e r v e r s w e re re m a r k in g th e in c id e n t m ig h t m a r k th e b e g in n in g of " a n o th e r re v o lu tio n in tr a n s p o r ta tio n ." S ta n d in g o n w m g a n d p e e r in g in to c o ck p it, left to rig h t a re : E d se l; C h a r le s E. S o re n s o n , t o r d p r o d u c tio n m a n a g e r ; M a jo r P a u l K em m er, W rig h t F ie ld . D a y to n . O., a n d

H e n ry F o rd June 17, 1940

/T E E L C a n a d a T o B u i l d

P l a n t s : A d o p t s U .

TO R O N TO , ONT.

■ CANADA, a tte m p tin g to speed f u r th e r its w a r m a terie l produetion w ill s t a r t im m ed iately to co n stru et tw o m unitions p la n ts to cost $2 0,000,- 000. One w ill produce nitrocellulose an d will be a jo in t u n d e rta k in g by F ra n c e and C anada. T he o th e r will be a shell filling p la n t sponsored by G re a t B rita in and C anada. C o n tract f o r co n stru ctio n of th e shell filling p la n t h a s been a w ard ed to C anadian C ar & F o u n d ry Co. L td., M ontreal.

T hese a re in addition to tw o ex- plosives p la n ts n e a rin g com pletion.

A dditions to expand capacity of ex istin g p la n ts have been speeded up and o th ers a re being pi ojected by a v a rie ty of com panies th ro u g h o u t th e dom inion.

W ith G reat B rita in p ractica lly d o se d to C anada as a source fo r a ir ­ p lan e engines and p a rts, C anadian com panies a re p la n n in g to m a n u fa c ­ tu r e U nited S tates-type planes. Im ­ p o rt duties on engines and p a its fro m th e U nited S tates, as w ell as fire-brick fo r b la s t furn ace s, m ay be elim inated, according to re p o rts fro m O ttaw a.

B r it is h - ty p e a ir e r a f t produetion bv C an ad ian A ssociated A ire ra ft Ltd., com posed of six com panies w ith assem b ly p la n ts a t M alton, Ont., an d n e a r M ontreal, is p ra c tic a l­

ly a t a s ta n d still as re s u lt of inabil- ity to o b tain engines an d p a rts fro m E n g lan d . A ssociated A ire ra ft h a s a backlog of betw een $40,000,000 and

$50,000,000. O rders on h a n d include 80 H am p d en bom bers to cost about

$10,000,000 and 130 S tirlin g s, la rg e 4-engined ships, to cost betw een $30,- 000,000 and $40,000,000. Am erican- ty p e p lan es m ay be su b stitu te d fot these.

M o r e M u n i t i o n s

S . - T y p e P l a n e s

to r vehicles. The chassis and en ­ gines will be produced by F o rd M otor Co. of C an ad a L td., W indsor, Ont., and G eneral M otors P ro d u cts of C an ad a Ltd., O shaw a, Ont.

T his is in addition to th e $13,600,- 000 o rd e r placed la s t M arch and w hich w ill be com pleted th is m onth.

The C an ad ian autom obile in d u stry a lre a d y is g e a re d to produce 60,000 pieces of m echanized m ilita ry eąuip­

m e n t p e r y ear, and th is produetion can be s u b sta n tia lly increased.

A uto P la n ts M ake C arrie rs A lthough it is n o t possible fo r the C an ad ian autom obile in d u stry to m a n u fa c tu re ta n k s o r h eav y arm - ored fighting eąu ip m en t a t p resent, th e produetion of gun c a rrie rs, tru c k s and o th e r vehicles is possible on a la rg e scalę. Since A pril 1, near- ly 7000 pieces of m otorized eą u ip ­ m e n t fo r th e C a n ad ian arm ed forces hav e been m a n u fa c tu red and deliv- ered by F o rd M otor Co. of C anada, and G eneral M otors P ro d u cts of C anada.

D e p a rtm e n t of m unitions and su p ­ ply la s t w eek placed co n tra c ts w ith to ta l value of $11,872,710. M ost im ­ p o rta n t item s w ere fo r m echanical tr a n s p o r t and a ir e r a ft supplies.

T hree U nited S ta te s com panies par-

ticip ated in o rd ers of th e w eek. F o l­

low ing a re th e la rg e r co n tra c ts:

M echanical tra n s p o r t—F o rd Mo­

to r Co. of C an ad a L td., $4,648,437;

G eneral M otors P ro d u cts of C anada,

$4,440,294; P ie rre T h ib au lt, P ierre- ville, Que., $5184; S cythes & Co.

Ltd., M ontreal, $19,563; C an ad ian N a tio n a l R ailw ay Co., M ontreal,

$10,300; T he Thew Shovel Co., L orain, O., $20,313.

A ire ra ft supplies—C an ad ian P r a t t

& W h itn ey A ire ra ft Ltd., L ongueuil, Que., $564,891; W a lte r K idde & Co., M ontreal, $48,130; N oorduyn Avia- tion L td., M ontreal, $47,403; C an a­

dian V ickers, L td., M ontreal, $31,585;

L a F ra n c e F ire E n g in e & F o am ite Co. Ltd., T oronto, $85,308; P y re n e M fg. Co. L td., T oronto, $46,950;

W ells A ir H a rb o u r, V ancouver, B. C.,

$7112.

M achinery, tools—S tan ley Tool Co.

of C an ad a Ltd., R oxton Pond, Que.,

$12,200; B u ild ers’ S ales L td., O ttaw a,

$10,398.

O rdnance—A uto O rdnance Corp., N ew York, $35,462; C olt P a te n t F ire A rm s Co., H a rtfo rd , Conn., $45,331;

A ccessories M fg. L td., M ontreal,

$7008; B ritish a ir m in istry , $47,034;

B ritish w a r office, $13,670.

Of th e to ta l value of c o n tracts placed by th e d e p a rtm e n t of m uni­

tions and supply an d its predecessors sińce Ju ly 14 last, less th a n 3 p e r cent w as placed in th e U nited S tates.

Of th e to ta l c o n tra c ts a m o u n tin g to over $193,000,000 placed to th e end of A pril, $5,500,000 w ere placed in th e U nited S tates.

D o m i n i o n Rtish.es S u b C h a s e r C o n s t r u c t io n

To S ta rt T a n k M ass Proiluction A ssociated A ire ra ft w as organized la te in 1938 an d includes C anadian C a r & F o u n d ry Co., F a irc h ild A ir­

e r a f t Ltd., and C an a d ia n V ickers Ltd., M o n trea l; N a tio n a l Steel C ar Corp., H am ilto n , Ont.; O tta w a C ar &

A ire ra ft L td., O ttaw a; and F leet A ire ra ft L td., F o r t E rie, Ont.

C a n ad a soon w ill s t a r t la rg e scalę ta n k produetion. An o rd e r fo r th ree h u n d red 40-ton ta n k s c a rry in g 4-inch a rm o r p late h a s been aw ard e d by th e B ritish governm ent. Steel fo r th e ir co n stru ctio n is n o t av ailab le in C a n ad a and w ill be im ported, p re ­ su m ab ly fro m th e U nited S tates.

D e p a rtm e n t of m unitions and su p ­ ply, O ttaw a, h a s aw ard e d c o n tracts to th e v alu e of $13,000,000 fo r con­

stru c tio n of new ty p e m ilita ry m o­

ll

m o v in g d o w n th e lin e in a M o n tre a l s h ip y a r d . N EA P h o to

26

S te e l C o r p . S h ip m e n t s U p 19.4 P e r C e n t i n M a y

■ U nited S ta te s S teel Corp. finished steel sh ip m en ts in M ay w ere 1,084,- 057 n et tons, a n increase of 176,153 net tons, 19.4 p e r cent, over 907,904 tons shipped in A pril and 288,368 tons g r e a te r th a n M ay ship m en ts last year. F o r five m o n th s ended M ay 31 sh ip m en ts totaled 5,078,714 tons, com pared w ith 4,030,842 tons in th e first five m onths of 1939.

(Inter-company shipments not included) Net Tons

1940 1939 1938 1937

Jan. 1,145,592 870,866 570,264 1,268 403 Feb. 1,009,250 747,427 522,395 1 25^ 845 March 931,905 845,108 627,047 1.563113 April 907,904 771,752 550.551 1,485,2.31 May .1.084,057 795,689 509,811 1,443 477

•J11!10 ... 807,562 524,994 1,405,078 J.uly ... 745,364 484,611 1,315,353

^ u«... „ 885,636 615,521 1,225,907 ... 1,086,683 635,645 1,161,113

” ... 1,345,855 730,312 875,972

£ ov... 1,406,205 749,328 648,727 Dec... 1,443,969 765,868 539,553

T otal, by

“ °nths ... 11,752.116 7,286,347 14.184,772 Adjustment . . ‘44,865 t29,159 *87,106 Total ... 11,707,251 7,315,506 14,097,666

tln c re a s e . ‘ Decrease.

R e p u b lic S te e l B lo w s I n 1000-Ton B la s t F u r n a c e B R epublic Steel Corp. la st T ues­

day blew in its recen tly enlarged blast fu rn a c e in Cleyeland. Com- pletion of the w ork on this furnace, begun la st M arch to increase capaci­

ty from 550 tons, gives the com ­ pany tw o 1000-ton fu rn aces in Cleye­

land. The new fu rn a c e is 105 feet high.

The com pany also has com pleted an expansion p ro g ram a t its Birm ­ ingham , Ala., b last fu rn ac es which has inereased capacity 35,000 tons a year.

N o r t h C a lif o r n ia S c r a p I n s t i t u t e C h a p t e r F o r m e d K E stab lish m en t of a Pacific coast diyision o f th e In s titu te of Scrap Iron & Steel Inc. will be considered a t th e in s titu te ’s m id y ear m eeting a t Buffalo, Ju ly 22-23, according to Edwin C. B arrin g er, executive sec­

retary .

Pacific coast chapter, which here- tofore included all of th e C alifornia m em bership, has been divided into N o rth ern and S o u th ern C alifornia chapters. T em p o rary officers elected for the n o rth e rn c h a p te r a re as follows: P resident, M arshall Shapiro, C alifornia S crap Iro n Co., O akland;

vice president, P h il Scheibner, A s­

sociated Iro n & M etal C o, O akland;

secretary -treasu rer, H en ry Purdy, Hyman-M ichaels Co„ San Francisco.

Tem porary officers of the Southern

Feb.i i i Mar.

■i i i ,i Apr.

rTr _{T r f -}AIav

V

W

" e a e s n s s

■ ^h ■ l i i r i i i

P R O D U C T I O N . . . , . p

? i ™ ° RKS operations ]ast week adyanced 4% points to 86 p er cent

D etroit—Up 20 points to. , - * --- 95 per cent, w ith 24 of 26 open h e a rth s in production.

C incinnati—Rose 6 points to 76 p er cent as m ills seek to com plete low- priced sheet deliyeries this m onth.

Buffalo—Gained 6 points to 90 per cent, one additional open h e a rth be­

ing lighted.

Youngstow n, o. — Adyanced 3 points to 70 p e r cent as th ree open

c h a p te r wei’e announced in St e e l, J u n e 10, p.35.

Until the executive com m ittee of these chap ters a rs elected, P. W.

Keen, Biddle T rade bureau, Los An­

geles, se c retary of the Southern chapter, will act as liaison between C alifornia m em bers and in stitu te h e a d ą u arters.

G e a r S a le s i n M a y In c r e a s e 3.9 P e r C e n t H G ear sales in May were 3.9 per cent above A pril this y e a r and 43 p e r cent over May, 1939, according to A m erican G ear M an u factu rers association, W ilkinsburg, Pa. Sales fo r five m onths this y e a r w ere 33 p er cent g re a te r th a n fo r the sam e period in 1939. C om parative index figures follow:

1940 1939

J a n u a r y ... 123 91 F e b ru a ry ... n 6 J,6 M a rch ... i i4 104 APi'il ... 128 88 M ay ... 133 93

■ A llegheny Ludlum Steel Corp.

recently rolled a 29-gage Silicon steel sheet 64 x 64 inches a t its Brack- enridge, Pa. plant. The com pany rep o rts this is the la rg e st Silicon sheet ever rolled.

h e a rth s w ere added. T h ree besse- m ers and 63 open h e a rth s a re in seryice. F o r this w eek th e schedule indicates 2 points higher.

B irm ingham , A la— Inereased 3 points to 88 p er cent, w ith 2 1 open h e a rth s in production.

Chicago—Up 5% points to 91% p er cent, to second h ig h est ra te of the year. F u r th e r sm ali gains a re in prospect.

C entral e a ste rn se a b o a n i—Added 3 points, to 76 p er cent, w ith fu rth e r rise probable th is week.

N ew E ng lan d —U nchanged a t 66 p e r cent.

P ittsb u rg h — N et increase of 1 point to 81 p e r cent resu lted fro m seyeral mili changes.

W heeling—R esum ption of an idle piane and increases a t actiye plan ts mEide th e ra te 90 p e r cent, up 1 1 points.

Cleyeland—Steady a t 82 p er cent as m ills pu sh production.

St. L ouis—E n larg ed o u tp u t 12 points to 68 p er cent, 16 of 28 open h e a rth s being actiye.

D is t r ic t S te e l R a te s

P e re e n ta g e of In g o t C a p a c ity E n g ag ed In L eatiln g D istric ts

W eek s a m e

ended w eek

J u n e 15 C h an g e 1939 1938 P itts b u r g h . . . 81 + 1 40 2 3 3 C hicag o ... 91.5 + 5.5 49.5 22 E a s te rn P a ... 76 + 3 37 26 Y ou n g sto w n . . 70 + 3 52 27 W h eelin g ... 90 + 1 1 73 35 C l e v e l a n d ... 82 N one 55 5 31 B uffalo ... 90 + 6 44 28 B irm in g h a m . . 88 + 3 71 58 N ew E n g la n d .. 66 N one 40 25 C in c in n a ti --- 76 + 6 73 28 S t. L o u i s ... 68 -1-12 42 39 3 D et r ° i t ... 95 + 2 0 57 21 A v e rag e ... 86 + 4.5 52^5 27~

June 17, 1940

27