1152 THE COLLIERY GUARDIAN. June 7, 1918. for London and district is extremely heavy, and this business has to receive stricter preference than ever. Any decline in the minimum deliveries has to be made good as speedily as possible, in order that reserves may be accumu- lated. The orders for the South and West of England are far greater than can be met, and it is also becoming increasingly difficult to keep up supplies for essential work. Cobbles and nuts, as well as all kinds of small fuel for steam-raising purposes, are cleared day by day. They have to be supplemented by large lots of household. Country merchants are having their deliveries gradually curtailed, and they are being informed that they must enforce the importance of economy in consumption on their customers. There are no reserves at country stations or at the collieries. THE WELSH COAL AND IRON TRADES. Thursday, June 6. South Staffordshire, North Worcestershire and Warwickshire. Birmingham. COAL. No modification can be reported in the position this week. On the contrary, the stringency seems rather to be increasing, and a good deal of disquiet exists as to the future The system of priority certificates which has been introduced to a limited extent is doing something to ensure a distribution of the coal available in accordance with the urgency of the work, but this will have to be considerably extended if the best utilisation is to be made of the restricted output. Many manufacturers are short of hard coal; nuts are so scarce that merchants will hardly look at an order for delivery within a couple of months ; and the better class of slacks are almost equally difficult to obtain. The warm weather has quietened domestic consumers for the time being, with the exception of some over-anxious ones. Prices at pit. Monmouthshire, South Wales, &c. Newport. COAL. Great activity manifested itself in the coal market of this district during the present week. Almost all classes of coal have been in great request. The supply of best large steam coal has been insufficient to leave any surplus over for neutrals. Hence steamers have been kept waiting for cargoes. The arrival of tonnage has been much more satisfactory of late. There is a considerable arrear of gas coal supply to be made up, orders having been booked well ahead. House coal has been a little easier. There is still a good demand for patent fuel and coke. Smalls have found an improved market. Prices remain on the former schedule. Current L’st week's Last year’s Staffordshire (including Cannock Chase) :— prices. prices. prices. House coal, best deep ... 24/6 24/6 22/ Do. seconds deep 22/6 22/6 20/ Do. best shallow 21/6 21/6 19/ 18/ Do. seconds do. 20/6 20/6 Best hard 21/ 21/ 18/6 Forge coal 18/6 18/6 16/ Slack Warwickshire:— 13/6 13/6 11/6 House coal, best Ryder.. Do. hand-picked 21/6 21/6 19/ cobs 20/6 | 20/6 18/ Best hard spires 22/6 ; 22/6 20/ Forge (steam) ............. 18/6 18/6 16/ D.S. nuts (steam) 17/ 17/ 14/6 Small (do.) 17/ ! 17/ 14/6 Prices f.o.b. cash 30 days. Current L’st week’s Last year's Steam coals:— | prices. prices. prices. Best Black Vein large... 32/6 32/6 27/6-30/ Western-valleys, ordin’y 31/6 31/6 26/6-27/6 Best Eastern-valleys ... 31/6 31/6 25/ -26/ Secondary do. 30/6 30/6 21/ -22/ Best small coals 23/6 23/6 18/ -18/6 Secondary do : 22/6 22/6 13/ -15/6 Inferior do 20/6 20/6 7/ -11/ Screenings i 25/6 25/6 19/ -19/6 Through coals 29 .'6 29/6 21/ -22/ Best washed nuts...; 32/6 32/6 — Other sorts:— Best house coal, at pit .. 35/6 35/6 25/ -26/ Secondary do. do. ... 33/3 33/3 22/ -23/6 Patent fuel 32/6 32/6 27/6-30/ Furnace coke 47/6 47/6 * Foundry coke 47/6 47/6 -* * Nominal. IRON. The ascertainment of the Midland Wages Board goes to show that production in the district is well maintained. The total of the seventeen firms whose selling prices regulate wages is for March and April only 711 tons below January and February, although the Easter holiday fell in April. Bars constitute the chief item, representing fully 70 per cent, of the whole, and the pressure on the mills continues on a heavy scale. The average net selling price of £15 13s. 7d. is an advance of Is. 4d. over the preceding two months, and does not carry an advance in wages, the total puddling rate remaining at 19s. 6d. The reduced maximum prices of .£15 5s. for gas strip and £11 10s. for puddled bars do not apply to the return, so that the figures for May and June ought to show a drop in price. The net average price of strip and hoops is given at £16 14s. Pig iron producers are worried as to how to keep up deliveries. Conditions are not at all favourable for foundry sorts. In addition to inferior fuel, ironstone of the right quality is not available in sufficient quantity, while labour is at times a problem of great difficulty. In the circumstances the claims of old customers only are entertained, and these are but partially satisfied. Nos. 1 and 2 are unobtainable. Forge iron is being turned out in greater abundance, but here, too, there is a shortage. Scrap, therefore, is in big demand, and its mobilisation is hampered by reason of labour and transport difficulties. Light cast scrap, which is unfettered by control, is rather dearer, making up to £5 7s. 6d., whilq £6 15s. to £6 17s. 6d. is quoted for the best marine scrap. Finished iron branches show little variation on the week. IRON. Little change is evident in the iron and steel trades of the district. The set-back by a week's idleness at Ebbw Vale steel works is being recovered both in the output at the establishment and the works which take its steel as* their initial material. As all the output is practically on Government account prices are purely nominal. The tin plate trade is showing some signs of an improvement, though almost all its operations are strictly controlled. Pitwood has arrived in fair quantities. The schedule price continues. Cardiff. COAL. Although the strikes which prevailed last week have been settled, the position remains very unsatisfactory and outputs have not been recovered. This is more pronounced in the eastern and western valleys of Monmouthshire, where the majority of the stoppages took place, and there is a marked degree of absenteeism in most of the collieries, although work has been resumed. There are two explana- tions, and probably the most reasonable one is this: When the sympathetic strikes were decided upon, many workmen, taking advantage of the fine weather, and realising the fact that they could not work whether they wanted to or not, thought this would be a good opportunity to take their summer holiday, and this undoubtedly has prevented the return of some hundreds of men to the pits. The other suggestion is that the men on returning to work have adopted a sullen attitude, and are not putting forth their best efforts. The result is that coal is scarce, and there is a shortage of supplies which makes market operations very difficult. Tonnage arrivals over the week- end were well maintained, but owing to the scarcity of export qualities of coal, delays are inevitable, and in some instances, especially in Monmouthshire, vessels have been diverted to other ports. Almost all the coal produced is requisitioned for Government and Allied requirements, and there is no “ free" coal for ordinary purposes. Whatever happens, supplies to the Admiralty and to France must be Cardiff prices f.o.b. (except where otherwise stated), plus 2s. 6d. per ton, except for shipments to France and Italy. maintained, and licences are being refused constantly. There is a good enquiry both for inland and export purposes, but the priority system is being rigidly carried out. Neutrals are offering figures largely in excess of the scheduled rates, but to no purpose, because the coal is not obtainable. The loading pressure is likely to last through- out the whole of June, and in some quarters it is believed that the arrears will not be overtaken throughout the entire summer. The shortage not only applies to large steams, but to smalls as well, and even where banking was resorted to some months ago the stocks are being rapidly depleted, so far as the labour can be found. A rationing scheme for home consumption has been foreshadowed, but nothing definite has been issued, and whatever restrictions are imposed will depend in great measure on the needs of France. Until these are satisfied it is not likely that much coal will be released either for neutrals or for inland purposes beyond those which are intimately associated with the prosecution of the war. Patent fuel makers are busy, and order books are well filled. With the additional amount of tonnage now available shipments are heavier than for some time past, and outputs are being maintained at a high level. Coke is in good demand, and supplies are on the short side, owing to the scarcity of coking smalls. All prices are in accordance with the Controller's schedule. Pitwood comes forward in fair quantities, and the quotation remains at the maximum of 65s. per ton ex ship. IRON. The strike at Ebbw Vale has been settled, and all the works are again operating at maximum pressure. The demand continues very strong, and outputs in all cases are requisitioned for Government purposes. Iron ore sup- plies are well maintained, and blast furnaces are producing increasing quantities of raw material for the various works. Rail and bar mills are busy, and supplies to the tin-plate mills are up to the average. In the tin-plate trade there has been a further decline in the price of block tin, which is now quoted at £345 for cash and three months. The market is very firm, and Bessemer standard cokes range from 32s. to 33s. per box, with other grades in proportion. Only in the case of makers whose order books are not well supplied are these prices shaded. Receipts from works last week were 28,475 boxes, whilst shipments only amounted to 11,278 boxes, leaving stocks in docks warehouses and vans at 99,541 boxes, compared with 82,344 boxes the preceding week and 118,654 boxes a year ago. In the galvanised sheet trade there is no change, most of the mills being engaged in the manufacture of black plate and painted sheets, for which there is a steady demand. In the spelter trade there is a slight shortage of ores, and some of the furnaces have been stopped in consequence, but otherwise everything is satisfactory. The price remains at £54 per ton. Scrap metals are scarce and unaltered. Swansea. COAL. During the past week the trade of the port was quiet There was little activity in either the coal or patent fuel trades. The shipments together amounted to 68,940 tons. A capital attendance assembled on 'Change, and the anthracite coal market exhibited a stong tone. Best qualities were very firm, whilst enquiries for lower grades are satisfactory. Machine-made descriptions were well stemmed. There was a better demand for rubbly culm, but duff was slow. In steam coals all descriptions were heavily stemmed, and there was little free coal. Llanelly. COAL. The general position of the market maintains the improvement recorded during the past few weeks. Collieries are working much more regularly, and there is an improved enquiry to report for practically all qualities. Steam coals continue very firm and the better qualities are scarce. Large and through grades are well booked up, and spare parcels are difficult to obtain. Smalls are also a better market. Bituminous coals are strong. Anthracite coals are moving freely and the demand for large kinds is well maintained. Cobbles and nuts are also in request, and stocks on hand are not heavy. Nuts and beans are scarce, and buyers are finding it difficult to secure anything like good supplies of spare quantities. Culm and duff are both moving very slowly, and stocks in hand are still heavy. There is a good inland demand for both anthracite and steam qualities, but delays in the execution of orders are frequent. Prices f.o.b. Forest.of Dean. Lydney. COAL. The conditions governing the house coal branch of the trade at the present time are becoming increasingly diffi- cult. With an unprecedented demand, despite the warm weather and a declining output, the position becomes intensely complicated and the allocations have to be enforced with greater severity than ever. All the pits are working at full pressure, but the quantity produced falls far short of the requirements of buyers. The same position obtains in the steam coal trade, where all the collieries are inundated with orders, many of them long overdue. Prices at pithead. House coals:— Block Forest Rubble Nuts Rough slack ......... Steam coal:— Large ................. Small ... .......... Large ... Current L’st week’s Last year's prices. prices. prices. <24/ 26/ 26/ S 23/ 1 23/3 (.21/6 15/6 15/6 13/ 22/6-23/6 22/6-23/6 20/ -21/ 18/ -19/ 18/ -19/ 16/ Prices 2s. extra f.o.b. Lydney or Sharpness. Middlesbrough Iron and Steel Shipments.—Official re- turns show that during the month of May 31,599 tons of pig iron were shipped from the Port of Middlesbrough, which, though 4,252 tons less than in April, is above the clearances for any other month of the current year. The total shipments of pig iron, manufactured iron and steel last month amounted to 39,343 tons, as compared with 42,042 tons in April, 35,574 tons in March, 37,518 tons in February, and 51,718 tons in January. Current Steam coals:— prices. Best Admiralty steam coals 35/6 Superior seconds . 34/ Seconds 33/3 Ordinary 32/6 Steam smalls No. 1 24/ Do. 2 23/6 Do. 3 23/ Do. 4 22/6 Do. 5 22/ Do. 6 21/6 ’ Do. ‘ 7 21/ Do. 8 20/6 Best dry coals 32/6 Ordinary drys 31/ Best washed nuts 32/6 Seconds 31/ Best washed peas......... 30/ Seconds 29/ Monmouthshire— i Black Veins 32/6 Western-valleys ! 31/6 Eastern-valley s 31/6 Inferior do | 30/6 Bituminous coals:— ! Best house coals (at pit) ■ ■ 35/6 Second qualities (at pit) 33/3 No. 3 Rhondda— Bituminous large 33/3 Small 28/6 No. 2 Rhondda— Large 29/6 Thr ough-and-thr ough 1 24'6-26/ Small | 19/6-21/6 Best patent fuel ■ 32/6 Seconds j 32/6 Special foundry coke 50/ Ordinary do. | 50/ Furnace coke 50/ Pitwood (ex-ship) 65/ L’st week’s prices. Last year’s prices. 35/6 * 34/ * 33/ 29/ -30/ 32/6 28/ -29/ 24/ 1 23'6 j 15/ -17/ 23/ 7 22/6 j 14/ -15/ 22/ ) 21/6 ) 12/ -14/ 21/ 1 20/6 ) 8/6-10/ 32/6 29/ -30/ 31/ 27/ -28/ 32/6 24/ -25/ 31/ 23/ -24/ 30/ 23/ -24/ 29/ 22/ —23/ 32/6 29/ -30/ 31/6 29/ -30/ 31/6 28/ -29/ 30/6 27/ -28/ 35/6 25/6-26/6 33/3 23/6-24/6 33/3 27/ -27/6 28/6 18/ -19/ 29/6 24/6-26/ I 19/6-21'6 32/6 ' 32/6 50/ 50/ j 50/ 65/ 24/6-25/6 18/ -19/ 13/ -14/ 29/ -30/ 28/ -29/ 47/6-50/ 47/6-50/ 47/6-50/ 75/ Current prices. L’st week's Last year’s prices. prices. Best malting anthracite... 30/ 30/ 24/6-25/6 Seconds 29/ 29/ 21/6-23/ Thirds 27/6 27/6 Red Vein large 25/6 25/6 18/ -19/ Machine-made cobbles 42/6 42/6 32/6-35/ Seconds 41/ 41/ Thirds 39/ 39/ Red Vein cobbles 36/ 36/ Machine-made nuts 42/6 42/6 Seconds 41/ 41/ — Thirds I 39/ 39/ Red Vein nuts 36/ 36/ Machine - broken beans (best) 35/ 35/ 28/9-29/9 Seconds 34/ 34/ Thirds 33/ 33/ Red Vein beans 31/ 31/ Peas (all qualities) 20/ 20/ 20/6-22/ Rubbly culm 13/ 13/ 10/6-11/6 Red Vein culm 11/ 11/ Breakers duff 8/ 8/ Billy duff 6/6 6/6 5/3- 5/6 Steam:— Best large steam 30/ 30/ 25/6-26/6 Seconds 27/ 27/ Cargo through 23/6 23/6 18/6-21/6 Seconds 22/ 22/ Bunkers through 23/6 23/6 — Smalls 19/ 19/ 9/6-13/ Second smalls 17/ 17/ Bituminous:— Bituminous through ... 27/ 27/ — Smalls... 24/ 24/ 17/6-19/ Gas through 23/6 23/6 — Gas smalls 21/ 21/ — * Nominal, The death, after a long illness, is announced of Mr. J. P. Spencer, fitter of the Seghill Colliery of Messrs. Jos. Laycock and Company, Newcastle.