May 4, 1917. THE COLLIERY GUARDIAN 859 coast haematite iron shows marked upward tendency, sellers claiming that export prices are much below what the position demands, but quotations are unaltered, and traders express much doubt as to whether advance would be sanctioned by the authorities. Nos. 1, 2 and 3 are 122s. 6d. for home use, 137s. 6d. for shipment to France, and 142s. 6d. for export to Italy. Manufacturers of finished iron and steel are reported still steadily increasing their output, and quotations are very stiff. Cumberland. Maryport. COAL. The coal industry in this locality continues firm and brisk. The clamour for all classes of fuel is, if anything, keener, and the demand in the home market promises to become bigger. There has been a welcome change in the weather during the last few days, and landsale is probably not so pressing as it was, but coal for shipping and the local works is so firm that there is still a shortage, and some consumers are finding it extremely difficult to secure sufficient to satisfy their more immediate needs. The con- tinued activity in the iron and steel trade is responsible for the increased liveliness on home account, and the collieries are as busy as they can possibly be in meeting require- ments for home consumption. The needs of consumers on work of national importance are, of course, a first considera- • tion, and they are at present receiving fairly adequate supplies, but the collieries are so pressed with orders in this branch that very little outside business can be dealt with, and the amount of coal available for the Irish market is likely to be exceedingly limited during the next two or three months. The local works are absorbing an enormous amount of coal. Nearly all home consumers are needing increased supplies. The industries in West Cumberland are making a very heavy call on the supplies of industrial fuel. Local coke makers are taking all the small coal that can be raised, but requirements for the coke ovens are now so heavy that, without the importation of large quantities of coking fuel from the east coast, it would be impossible to keep the whole of the by-product plants in Cumberland in full operation. With the return of warmer weather there will no doubt be a considerable falling off in landsale account, but all the coal that is released will be needed in other branches. The pits are very fully employed, and there has been a fairly good output this week. Best house coal is steady, and some of the depots are still busy, but new business is not now coming in quite so freely. Gas coal is very firm, but very little is going out of the district, and the only stocks being sent away are on contract for consumers in the country. Slacks, smalls and all sorts for industrial purposes are in keen request, and locomotive fuels in very strong demand, the railways taking as jmueh coal as they can get in the district, but there is not enough to go round, and some consumers are still receiving the bulk of their supplies from Scotland and other outside districts. There is no change to report in connection with the cross-Channel trade. The demand for all varieties of fuel for export is well maintained, but the collieries are still unable to deal with more than 50 per cent, of the business being offered from Ireland. No contracts are being entered into with Irish merchants, and a good many export consumers are getting as much as they can from Scotland or the east coast. Very little coal is now being shipped from Silloth, and the tonnage of Cumber- land coal exported from local ports is probably lower than it has been since the outbreak of war. During the week 11 vessels have sailed from Maryport with coals for Irish ports, and the shipments have amounted to 2,560 tons, compared with 2,335 tons at the corresponding period of last year, or a decrease of 670 tons compared with last week. The largest cargoes were for Belfast, Bangor, Newry and Carrickfergus. The shipments for the month have been 12,080 tons, compared with 12,785 tons for March and 12,730 tons this time last year. The imports this week also included a good cargo of pitwood from Dumfries for the local collieries. Coke makers are working at high pressure, and the entire output of coke from the Cumberland by-product ovens, which are all in full operation, is being taken by smelters at Millom and West Cumberland. Business is still fairly brisk in the chemical industry, and all the plants in this district are very heavily engaged? Prices of all sorts are firm, but unaltered. Best Cumber- land coal at the pits is obtainable 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. at Maryport, with best washed nuts at 17s. 6d. per ton. Bunkers are in strong demand at from 21s. 6d. to 30s. per ton. Works fuel is 20s. per ton, and best gas coal is 20s. per ton, with washed nuts at 19s. per ton delivered in the district. ■ At Maryport, best house coal delivered is quoted at from 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. Other current prices are as follow :— which are at present in blast cannot produce sufficient iron to meet needs, and even when more are lighted it is probable that there will still be a scarcity of metal. Prices remain at the maximum fixed by the Government, and Bessemer mixed numbers are again quoted at 127s. 6d. per ton. Special iron is 140s. per ton, and semi-special iron is quoted at 135s. per ton f.o.t. . Ferro-manganese is rather firmer, and there have been one or two good shipments lately. Quotations for both export and home markets are unchanged. Nearly all the make of Bessemer iron is needed for con- sumption in the district, and the whole of the production of special iron is going to consumers engaged on work for the Government, whilst a substantial tonnage is also being consigned to important users in other consuming areas, where it is most urgently needed. The steel industry is tremendously brisk, and all the plants at both Workington and Barrow are working at their fullest capacity. Billets are in strong request, but other commercial sorts are still rather quiet. Steel rails, heavy sections, are quoted at from £10 17s. 6d. to <£11 10s. per ton, with light sections from £14 to £14 10s. per ton. Billets are £12 per ton, heavy tram rails £14 per ton, ship plates £11 10s. per ton, and boiler plates are quoted at £12 10s. per ton. Engineers are very busy, and most of the shops in this district are actively engaged on work for the Government. The iron ore industry is in a very prosperous condition. All the mines are regularly em- ployed, and production is steadily increasing, but it is still impossible to raise sufficient metal to satisfy the wants of all consumers to the full. There has been no alteration in prices. Best Hodbarrow ore is 38s. per ton ; ordinary grades are from 21s. to 30s. per ton; and better sorts are quoted at from 31s. 6d. to 36s. 6d. per ton net at the mines. The imports of foreign iron ore at Maryport dock for April have amounted to 12,000 tons. The exports have included 2,400 tons of steel billets and 2,000 tons of ferro- manganese. -----—<>■. South-West Lancashire. COAL. If the pressure relaxes for household coal it is only in a very small degree, as apparently the consumers’ stocks are all exhausted, and there is not a sufficiency of coal or carting power to do otherwise than provide for immediate use. Requirements for ordinary bunkering purposes are fairly steady in view of the scarcity of shipping tonnage. Government requirements continue heavy and shipments to France are increasing. Available supplies are only about equal to the demand, and prices of Lancashire steam coals are firm at 24s. 6d. to 25s. 6d. f.o.b., or higher in special cases. The coastwise and cross-channel trade is in much the same category as the inland household demand. Merchants are wanting coal, but the difficulty is to get suit- able tonnage promptly and the necessary fuel. The stress of demand for slack and small fuel, particularly nuts, for all sorts of steam raising purposes does not abate, and it is with the utmost difficulty that the needs of manufacturers are adequately met. The tonnage required is constantly on the increase, and some of the large works whose tenders are coming out, particularly electricity works, show an abnormally increased estimate, which will be with difficulty found. Similarly, in the case of gas fuel requirements, the estimates for the coming year in many cases show a large increase of tonnage, due to the difficulty of obtaining oil, or in the price of it, and the anxiety of the gas manager to carbonise as much coal as possible so as to produce the maximum weight of coke, the price of gas coke having been forced up over the last three or four years to an unprecedented figure. Prices at pit (except where otherwise stated). easier, owing to the warmer weather, but the pressure on the collieries for supplies is as strong as ever. Loaded wagons are running better to London. The bulk of the supplies are in private trucks. Additional contracts with London merchants and factors have been fixed Up, subject to the power of the Coal Controller to cancel in the public interest. Reports from the south of London still indicate a great scarcity, some depots being quite without coal, but there is rather more coal available north of the river. Coastwise freights remain in the neighbourhood of 20s. 6d. to 21s., Hull to London, and correspondingly dearer to the south coast, and there is practically nothing doing. A few cargoes of medium quality Silkstone house coal are reported sold at Hull this week at 21s. f.o.b. West Riding merchants are mainly occupied by trying to make arrangements for future supplies. The retail trade is rather quieter, the chief demand being for the cheaper qualities. There is very great scarcity of best coal. The position as to gas coal shows some improvement, as present consumption is less and stocks of coal at the works are now showing a tendency to increase rather than the other way. There is, however, still a call for spot parcels, particularly for works in London and the south, and to some extent the eastern counties. Contracts are being renewed along, generally speaking, exactly the same lines as last year, both as regards tonnage and prices. The better qualities of manu- facturing slacks are scarce, but there is a little more freedom in small steam slacks. Nuts are unprocurable, except for Government w’orks. Coking slacks are as scarce as ever, and the demand for washed furnace coke continues beyond the ability of makers to satisfy it. Current pit prices. House coal Prices at pit (London) : Haigh Moor selected ... Wallsend & London best Silkstone best ....... Do. house .......... House nuts ........... Prices f.o.b. Hull:— Haigh Moor best....... Silkstone best ...... Do. house .......... Other qualities....... Gas coal:— Prices at pit: Screened gas coal.... Gas nuts.............. Unscreened gas coal ... Other sorts:— Prices at pit: Washed nuts........... Large double-screened engine nuts .......... Small nuts........... Rough unscreened engine coal........... Best rough slacks..... Small do. ........... Coking smalls ........ Coke:— Price at ovens: Furnace coke ......... Current prices. 20/ -21/ 19/ -20/ 19/ -20/ 17/ -18/ 16/ -17/ 23/. -24/ 22/ -23/ 20/ -21/ 19/ -20/ 16/ -17/ 15/6-16/6 15/ -16/ 17/ -18/ 16/ -17/ 15/ -16/ 15/ -16/ 14/ —15/ 12/ -13/ 12/6-13/6 25/8 L’st week’s (Last year’s prices. prices. 20/ -21/ 20/ -21/ 19/ -20/ 19/ -20/ 19/ -20/ 19/ -20/ 17/ -18/ 17/ -18/ 16/ -17/ 16/ -17/ 23/ -24/ 22/ -23/ 22/ -23/ 21/ -22/ 20/ -21/ j 19/ -20/ 19/ -20/ 18/ -19/ 16/ -17/ 16/ -17/ 15/6-16/6 15/6-16/6 15/ -16/ 14/6-15/6 17/ -18/ 17/ -17/6 16/ -17/ 15/ -16/ 15/ -16/ 14/ -15/ 15/ -16/ 14/ -15/ 14/ -15/ 13/ -14/ 12/ -13/ 11 /—12/ 12/6-13/6 11/6-12/6 25/8 24/ -25/ 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/ -22/ 25/6 19/ -20/ 24/6 18/ 23/ upwds. 18/ 24/6-25/6 16/ 15/ 14/ L’stweek’slLastyear’s prices. prices. 21/ -22/ 20/9 25/6 I abt. 24/6 19/ -20/ i 19/ 24/6 23/ 18/ 23/ upwds 18/ 24/ -25/6 16/ 17/ 22/ upwds 17/6-18/ 24f -25/ 16/ 15/ 15/3 14/ 14/6 upwds South Lancashire and Cheshire. BestCumberl’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/ 12/6 19/ 19/6 17/6 25/ 30/ , 21/6 25/ 19/3 18/3 IRON. COAL. The Manchester Coal Exchange was fairly well attended on Tuesday, the attendance mostly consisting of buyers. There is little change to report in the coal market, the supply still being short of the demand. Shipments are principally on contract account. Very few quotations are being made for open sale. Engine fuel is, like other qualities, short of the call. Prices generally are as below:— Prices at pit (except where otherwise stated). Barnsley. COAL. Although the warmer weather has decreased the demand for house coal, the collieries are still hard pressed to give anything like the tonnage of fuel required. A large number of orders are on hand, and such is the position still that few collieries can entertain the idea of new business. Contracts are being renewed without difficulty, but there is little change in the list of clients. The demand in other respects is unaltered, and a shortage in supply exists all round. The enquiry on export account has been of a more active character, but there has been little improvement in the actual tonnage dealt with in this direction. Better values are offering for the neutral markets, but collieries are unable to benefit this at the moment. There is still no difficulty in disposing of the output of large steams, owing to the enormous consumption for home purposes, though a good bulk is being utilised instead of steam nuts, which are so largely taken by the munition and other engineering concerns. Little of this grade of fuel is available for ordinary users, but fairly regular supplies of larger fuel come to hand in their stead. Small steam fuel is none too freely offered, and there is yet no improvement in the quantity of slacks suitable for coke manufacture, the augmentation of the supply of which is continuously pressed for. Though the ovens are con- stantly at work, the difficulty is not met, but more could be done if the supply of raw material was larger. Quotations remain largely of a nominal description, about as follow:— Prices at pit. The situation in the haematite pig iron trade in Cumber- land and the Furness district is unchanged.. All the plants are working at top pressure. The call for iron, for both local and outside users, is unprecedented. The furnaces House coal:— Best ............... Medium.............. Common.............. Furnace coal.......... Bunker (f.o.b. Partington) Best slack ........... Common slack ......... Current prices. 22/ -23/ 19/6-21/ 18/ -18/6 17/6-18/ 25/ -26/ 16/ upwds 14/6 upwds L’st week’s prices. 22/ -23/ 19/6-21/ 18/ —18/6 17/6-18/ 25/ -26/ 16/ upwds 14/6 upwds Last year’s prices. 21/ -22/ 19/ -20/3 17/6-18/ 17/ -18/ abt. 22/ 15/6 upwds 14/ upwds IRON. There is nothing new to report and no change in prices to be recorded. The iron and steel works are all fully employed. Wagon builders are also extremely busy. Ordinary foundries continue slack. The heavy engineers are full of work, and their iron founders are working at full pressure. Current L’st week’s Last year’s House coals:— prices. prices. prices. Best Silkstono 20/ -22/ 20/ -22/ 20/ -22/ Best Barnsley softs 18/6-19/ 18/6-19/ 18/6 Secondary do 17/ -17/6 17/ -17/6 16/6-17/6 Best house nuts 16/ -17/ 16/ -17/ 16/ -17/ Secondary do 15/6-16/ 15/6-16/ 15/6-16/ Steam coals:— Best hard coals 17/6-18/6 17/6-18'6 17/6-18/ Secondary do 16/6-17/6 16/6-17/6 16/6-17/ Best washed nuts 16/3-16/6 16/3-16/6 16/3-16/6 Secondary do 15/6-16/3 15/6-16/3 15/9-16/3 Best slack 12/6-13/ 12/6-13/ 12/6-13/ Secondary do 10/6-11/ 10/6-11/ 10/6-11/ Gas coals:— Screened gas coals 16/6-17/6 16/6-17/6 16/6-17/6 Unscreened do 15/6-16/6 15/6-16/ 15/6-16/ Gas nuts. 16/ 16/ '16/ Furnace coke 25/8 25/8 25/ Yorkshire and Derbyshire. Leeds. COAL. The conditions of the market show very little change from week to week. The demand continues on a heavy scale, and supplies are very limited. The output of the pits is fairly satisfactory; the supply of wagons is greater than a few weeks ago, and there are better reports about the miners turning up to work. London traders were well represented among a large attendance at Tuesday’s market. It was reported that the position in London was a little Hull. COAL. The spirit of activity in the Humber coal trade was not long-lived, and business again is on quiet lines. Shipments have been up to the average if not above it, thanks to tonnage coming more readily to hand, but the want of “free” vessels continues to be very much felt, and to this extent, of course, export business is hampered. A report that the Norwegian Government has received favourable terms with regard to the coal supply encourages the hope that business will be resumed in this direction on a larger scale than of late. There is a good demand from most neutral quarters which is capable of satisfaction notwith- standing the extraordinary freight rates that neutral