December 1, 1916.

THE COLLIERY GUARDIAN.

1067

Northumberland, Durham and Cleveland.

Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

COAL.

During last week 96,079 tons of coal and 5,806 tons of
coke were despatched from Tyne Dock, an increase of 6,208
tons of coal and 1,868 tons of coke when compared with
the shipments for the corresponding week of last year.
The Dunston clearances amounted to 31,240 tons of coal
and 9,473 tons of coke, a decrease of 9,6G9 tons of coal
and an increase of 2,826 tons of coke. Thus the shipments
from these two places totalled. 144,598 tons of coal and
coke, a decrease of 3,191 tons when compared with those
for the previous week and an increase of 1,293 tons when
compared with those for the corresponding week of last
year. Tonnage supplies were fairly plentiful in the middle
of last week, but gradually tapered off as the week
declined. It was hoped that the week-end would witness a
big influx of shipping, but the hope did not crystallise in
fact, and business this week has, thus far, been much
hampered for want of adequate transport facilities.
Despite this fact, the tone of the prompt market has been
rather brighter since the week commenced. Supplies of
coal are rather heavy at the time of writing, but collieries
have needed to make very small concessions to purchasers
because the prospects for next month's business are
relatively very good. F.o.b. quotations for prompt ship-
ment have varied as follow on the week:—Best Blyth
steams are stronger; Tynes,ditto; gas bests, 2s. 6d. cheaper;
Northumbrian unscreened bunkers, weaker; and gas coke,
Is. advanced. Other descriptions of fuel are unaltered. A
feature of the market this week has been the heavy coke
sales for next year’s delivery. Patent oven coke has been
sold in large quantities for such delivery at from 38s. 6d. to
40s. per ton, and quantities of best beehive foundry coke for
shipment to France over the early months of next year at
from 40s. to 42s. 6d. per ton. The North-Eastern Railway
Company is stated to have concluded its negotiations for
the supply of about 500,000 tons of locomotive coal for the
northern division over next year at from 16s. 3d. to 17s. per
ton delivered into wagons at the colliery sidings, figures on
a par with those agreed upon for similar business a year
ago? Contrary to earlier fears, it would seem that no
portion of the Scandinavian coal contracts offering recently
have “ gone over to the enemy.” The contract to supply
the Norwegian State Railways with 18,000 tons of nest
steams over December has been secured by local merchants
at from 29s. 6d. to 30s. per ton f o.b. for D.C.B. qualities.
That in relation to 18,000 tons of similar coal for December
delivery to the Danish State Railways is reported to have
been allotted as follows :—6,000 tons D.C.B., at 30s. per
ton f.o.b.; 7,000 tons Scottish (Black Rig Navigation), at
about 27s.; and 5,000 tons Yorkshires, at a price not locally
known. Following upon the recent arrangement with the
Northumberland collieries, the Admiralty has now arranged
with Durham collieries to pay an advance of 2s. 6d. per ton
on all coal hereafter requisitioned by that authority.

Prices f.o.b. for prompt shipment.			
Steam coals :—	Current prices.	|L'st week's 1 prices.	Last year's | prices.
Best, Blyths (D.C.B.) ...	30/	i 28/ -30/	■	20/
Do. Tynes (Bowers,&c.)	28/ -30/	i 27/6-30/ 25/ -27/6	‘ 19/6-20/
Secondary, Blyths 		25/ -27/6		! 17/ ■
Do. Tynes (Hastings or West Hartleys) ...	25/ -27/6	J 25/ -27/6  20/ -22/6	j  ■ 17/ -17/6
Unscreened 		20/ -22/6		i 15/6-16/  ' 10/6-11/
Small, Blyths 			20/	20/ 17/6	
Do. Tynes	j	17/6		10/ -10/6
Do. specials		21/	21/	12'6-13/
Other sorts: —  Smithies		20/	20/	17/ -18/
Best gas coals (New  Pelton or Holmside) j	27/6	27/6-30/	19/6
Secondary gas coals  (Pelaw Main or similar) j	19/ -21/	19/ -21/ ’	17/ -17/6
Special gas coals 	j	27/6-30/	27/6-30/	21/
Unscreened bunkers, |  Durhams j	18/ -20/	18/ -20/	16/9-18/
Do.	do.  N or thumbrians,	18/ -20/ i	19/ -20/	16/6
Coking coals		19/ -20/ |	19/ -20/	17/6-18,6
Do.	smalls 		18/	;  30/ -32/6 '	18/	17/6
House coals 			30/ -32/6  38/ -42/6	21/
Coke, foundry 		38/ -42/6 !		34/ -36/ 34/ 27/ -30/
Do. blast-furnace		34/ -36/ : 33/ -35/ j	34/ -36/	
Do. gas 	!		32/ —34/ :	

MidcHesbrough-on-Tees.

COAL.

Quietness continues to characterise the coal market.
Tonnage is still short of requirements, but there is indica-
tion that this will be remedied in the near future. The
market is in need of prompt trade, so far as best Durham
gas coal is concerned, fewer merchants are in a position to
sell, and producers are disposing at about 26s. Other
descriptions of Durham coal are freely offered by middlemen,
and secondary gas coal may be put at 19s. There is an
abundant supply of bunker coal, the values of which are
not maintained. Ordinary Durhams run from 17s. 6d. to
18s.; and best sorts are quoted 19s. to 19s. 6d. There is a
somewhat better outlet for Durham steam coal, and sales
are reported at 27s. to 27s. 6d. Coking coal continues to
be well taken up. Smalls are quoted 18s. to 18s. 6d., and
unscreened kinds vary from 18s. to 20s. Coke shows little
change. Best foundry qualities run from 35s. to 42s. 6d.,
patent coke is in the neighbourhood of 34s., and
gas coke is round about 36s. Demand for local use
keeps heavy, and qualities needed fully maintain their
value. Average blastfurnace coke remains at 28s. at
the ovens, and 30s. 6d. at the ovens is still quoted for
qualities low in phosphorus.

IRON.

Messrs. Bolckow, Vaughan and Co. have arranged to put
an extra furnace into blast for Cleveland pig iron. This
will increase the number of furnaces blowing in this
district to 74, of which 29 will be running on Cleveland
pig, 31 on haematite, and 14 on special kinds of iron.
Demand for Cleveland pig is not quite so heavy as it has
been. Home consumers generally have completed their
arrangements for supplies to the end of the year, and are
consequently not very keen to buy just at present, but a

few contracts for spring delivery are understood to have
been made. Makers, however, are by no means anxious to
commit themselves to any extent beyond the end of the
year. Buying for Scotland shows some falling off, but a
renewal o£ demand from that quarter is looked for. The
Allies are still prepared to place considerable orders, and
neutral countries are anxious to purchase, but beyond sales
of small odd lots for Scandinavia under very exceptional
circumstances, licences for exports to neutrals are not
obtainable. For home consumption No. 3 Cleveland pig
iron is 87s. 6d., and that figure also rules for No. 4 foundry,
and for No. 4 forge, whilst No. 1 is 91s. 6d. For shipment
to the Allies No. 3 is 98s.; No. 4 foundry, 96s. 6d.; No. 4
forge, 95s. 6d.; and No. 1 102s. 6d.; and for export to
neutrals the minimum rates named are 105s. for No. 3,
and 110s. for No. 1. As regards the east coast haematite
branch the situation shows improvement. Consumers are
all well placed, and there is a fair quantity of iron avail-
able for shipment. Hardly any iron is purchasable for
early delivery, but running contracts meet needs, and
negotiations for sales over periods next year are reported.
Mixed Nos. stand at 122s. 6d. for home use, 137s. 6d. for
shipment to France, and 142s. 6d. for export to Italy.
Imports of foreign ore to Middlesbrough promise to be on a
very satisfactory scale. Manufacturers of finished iron and
steel continue very busily employed chiefly on Government
work, and the production of mercantile shipbuilding
material, and quotations all round are very strong.

Cumberland.

Maryport.

COAL.

For some weeks the situation in the Cumberland coal
industry has been one of great difficulty. The stormy
weather has caused a certain amount of dislocation in the
Irish shipping trade, and it has been no easy matter for
the collieries to maintain anything like a satisfactory
output. This week there has been a welcome change for
the better. The coal is going away from the dock sidings
more freely, and the coasting vessels are now arriving and
sailing more regularly. Business on all accounts is there-
fore as brisk as it can possibly be under the circumstances.
The demand for fuel is undiminished, and local and Irish
customers are clamouring for supplies. In the home
market there is a phenomenal demand for all classes of
fuel, and on landsale and local manufacturing account the
collieries have at present considerably more business on
hand than they can cope with for some weeks. Smalls are
not quite so scarce as they were, and the local by-product
ovens are now receiving adequate and regular supplies,
while the firms engaged on Government work are able to
secure almost as much coal as they need. Requirements
continue to increase on all accounts, and one or two of the
pits are so heavily booked locally that they will be unable
to send any coal to the docks for some time. Supplies for
the export trade are therefore likely to dwindle still further
before the end of the year. House coal is tremendously
brisk, and householders have already commenced to put in
stocks for Christmas. Business is coming in freely, and
some of the depots have booked sufficient orders to keep
them busy till the end of the year. Locomotive fuels for
the local railways are in steady request all over the
country, but as stocks are scarce consumers are only able
to secure sufficient to satisfy their more immediate require-
ments. Gas coal is in firm request, with the exception
of shipping, the only consignments being sent away at
present are on contract. With regard to works fuel the
position is unchanged. Nearly all local consumers are
taking increased stocks, and the iron ore mines, the iron
and steel works, and other public works are making a heavy
call on the supplies of manufacturing fuel. All the pits in
the county are working six days a week, but production,
more particularly in the western portion of the coal field, is
scarcely as large as it might be. A much bigger output
could be secured if the men could be prevailed upon to
attend more regularly during the first two days of the
week. The cross-Channel trade is very busy, and the
demand for all varieties for the Irish market is well
maintained. There is, however, not enough to go round, '
and the majority of consumers are still having to go short.
This week some good consignments have been shipped to
Belfast, Carrickfergus, Londonderry, Coleraine and Larne.
During the week 13 vessels have sailed from Maryport with
coals for Irish ports, and the shipments have amounted to
3,070 tons, compared with 3,075 tons at the corresponding
period of last year, or an increase of 1,490 tons compared
with the previous week. The by-product coke industry is
very brisk, and all the Cumberland ovens are in full blast.
The entire output is going to the blastfurnaces in West
Cumberland. The local by-products trade is as busy as
ever, and all the plants in this locality are working at their

Current quotations :

Best Cumberl’nd coal at pit Best washed nuts at pit... Buckhill best coal „  Do. double-scrned washed nuts at pit 	  Oughterside best coal at pit 	  Oughterside best washed nuts at pit	  St. Helens (Siddick) best coal at pit	  St. Helens best house nuts at pit 		  Best dry small at pit 	  Best steam nuts „ 	  BestCumberl'nd coal, f.o.b. Best washed nuts, f.o.b. ... Best bunkers (coastwise)  Do. (for foreign-going steamers) 	  Bunkers (mixed nuts and steam coal) (coastwise) Do. (foreign) 	  Best coal for gasworks ... Best washed nuts for gas- works 		Current prices. 23/4 21/3 22/6 21/  22/6  21/  22/6  21/ 12/6 19/ 19/6 17/6 25/  30/  21/6 25/ 20/  19/	L’st week’s prices.  23/4 21/3 22/6  21/  22/6  21/  22/6  21/ 12/6 19/ 19/6 17/6 25/  30/  21/6 25/ 20/  19/	Last year’s prices. 23/4 21/3 22/6  21/  22/6  21/  22/6  21/ 12/ 19/ 19/6 17/6 19/  19/  17/ -17/6 17/ -17/6 20/  19/

fullest capacity. Prices of all sorts are firm, but unchanged.
Best sorts at the pit are quoted at from 22s. 6d. to 23s. 4d.
per ton, with best washed nuts at from 20s. lOd. to 21s. 3d.
per ton. Best shipping coal is 19s. 6d. per ton f.o.b. Mary-
port, with best washed nuts at 17s. 6d. per ton. Best gas
coal is 20s. per ton, with washed nuts 19s. per ton delivered
in the district. Bunkers are in very keen demand at from
21s. 6d. to 22s. 6d. per ton. At Maryport best coal delivered
is quoted at Is. 5|d. to Is. 6d. per cwt, or from 27s. 6d. to
28s. 4d. per ton. At Workington best house coal delivered
is from Is. 3d. to Is. 4d. per cwt., or from 24s. 2d. to 25s. lOd.
per ton.

IRON.

There has been little or no change in the condition of the
Cumberland and North Lancashire haematite iron trade
since last week. Business is still very brisk, and there is
marked activity all over the district in both the iron and
steel industries. In other districts, it is stated, the situa-
tion is not now quite so stringent. In this locality,
however, the boom in haematite iron continues, and every-
thing points to the fact that, busy as the various industries
are at present, it is possible they will be very much busier
during the next few months, when more furnaces are
lighted, when the improvements and developments which
are at present in progress are completed, and when the
steel works can secure all the iron they need. The demand
for metal continues on a very heavy scale, and Bessemer,
special and semi-special iron is in very keen request on
both local and general home account. Smelters are doing
their utmost to secure as large an output as possible, and
the whole of the production is going into immediate use.
No additional furnaces have yet been lighted, but there is
every reason to believe that within the next few weeks
there will be a substantial increase in production, both in
Cumberland and the Furness area. Makers are so well sold
forward that only a very small margin of the business now
offering can be accepted. The demand is still far in
excess of the supply, and while the lighting of additional
furnaces will no doubt afford a certain amount of relief to
the situation, the needs of consumers are so large that
it is not anticipated that it will be possible, while the
war lasts at any rate, to fully satisfy all requirements.
With such a clamour for iron, prices are easily maintained
at the Government maximum, and Bessemer mixed numbers
are again quoted at 127s. 6d. per ton f.o.t., with special
iron at 140s. per ton and semi-special iron at i 35s. 6d. per
ton f.o.t. Warrants at cash are unchanged at 115s. per
ton. The number of furnaces in blast at present from
Maryport to Carnforth is 29. One of the furnaces is on
speigel, and another is engaged on ferro-manganese, and
the remainder are on Bessemer, special and semi-special
iron. Nearly all the output is now required for Govern-
ment work. All the make of Bessemer is going into
consumption at the steel wTorks, and while consignments of
special iron are being sent to where it is most urgently
needed, a very large proportion is still being consigned to
users in Scotland and the Midlands. The steel trade is
tremendously brisk, and all the mills are in full swing. No
rails are being rolled, but both Barrow and Workington
are steadily increasing their output of special work for the
Government. It cannot have escaped notice, however, that
a large proportion of the new orders for steel rails are at
present going to the United States. Steel rails, light
sections are from .£12 to <£12 10s. per ton, and heavy
sections are quoted at from <£10 17s. 6d. to <£11 10s. per
ton. Billets are in firm demand at £12 per ton. The
engineering trade is very brisk, and all the shops in this
neighbourhood are busily employed. There is no new
feature in connection with the Cumberland iron ore
industry. There is a keen demand for iron ore, and all the
mills from Cleator Moor to Millom are as busy as they can
possibly be in dealing with the requirements of local
smelters. The bulk of the production is going to the blast-
furnaces in Cumberland and the Furness district. At
present very little ore is going out of the district. Prices
of all varieties are unchanged. Best sorts are still quoted
at 38s. per ton, good ordinrry grades are from 21s. to 30s.
per ton, and better sorts are from 31s. to 36s. 6d. per ton
net at the mines. During the last week or two some very
large consignments of Spanish ore have been arriving at
the Cumberland ports. At Maryport last week the imports
of foreign iron ore amounted to 13,400 tons.

South-West Lancashire.

COAL.

There is no departure from recent reports respecting the
inland household trade. The demand is steadily main-
tained. and the output barely adequate to it. Forges also,
and users of large screened coal for manufacturing purposes,
continue to take full supplies. It cannot be said that
shipping shows any improvement. The scarcity of tonnage
is of course the chief difficulty, a fairly considerable
quantity of coal being held up on account of the late or
non-arrival of steamers. Government shipments are heavy,
but contract quantities for general bunkering are not being
taken, and outside enquiry is less even than it was. Quota-
tions for Lancashire steam coals rule say from 22s. 9d. to
23s. 6d. f.o.b. with a slightly easier tendency. In the coast-
wise trade there is not more than the average shipments
for the time of the year, boats being difficult to get, and
probably the merchant is reasonably well supplied. The
demand for slack improves as the season gets on, and there
is almost an absence of fuel standing even in the commoner
qualities, and the buyer appears very anxious to renew
outgoing contracts and for substantial periods.

Prices at pit (except where otherwise stated).

House coal:—

Best .................

Do. (f.o.b. Garston, net)
Medium................

Do. (f.o.b. Garston, net)
Kitchen...............

Do. (f.o.b. Garston, net)
Screened forge coal.....

Best scrnd. steam coal f.o.b.
Best slack .............

Secondary slack ........

Common do...............

Current
prices.
21/
25/6
19/ -20/
24/6
18/
24/ upwds.

18/
22/9-23/6

16/
15/6
14/6

L'stweek’slLast year’s
prices, j prices.
21/	1	20'9

25/6	22/6-23/

19/ -20/ i 19/

24/6	!	20/ -21/

18/	;	16/9-17/

24/ upwdsJ 19/

18/	16 -17/

23/ -23/6 18/9-19/6

16/	14'6

15/6	12/6

14/6	11/ -11/6