September 17, 1915. THE COLLIERY GUARDIAN. 579 excessive and colliery quotations can be readily discounted. Altogether, the trend of the market is towards a lower level of prices. Gas coals are freely offered at less money. Households remain steady, but coking unscreened and smalls are now cheaper. All classes of bunker coals also continue to offer freely, and can be secured at a discount from previous quotations. Coke is unaltered. The War Office has accepted tenders for 90,000 tons of steams for Woolwich, &c., shipment September to March, on the basis of current values. Local merchants have secured a contract to supply the La Rochelle Gas Works with 20,000 tons of Wear special gas, delivery January to June, at 36s. c.i.f. La Rochelle. Apart from above, there is very little forward business to report. Quotations are approximate, as follow :— Prices f.o.b. Sunderland.. Gas coals:— Special Wear gas coals Secondary do. House coals:— Best house coals Ordinary do Other sorts:— Lambton screened South Hetton do Lambton unscreened ... South Hetton do Do. treble nuts Coking coals unscreened Do. smalls Smithies Peas and nuts Best bunkers Ordinary bunkers Coke:— Foundry coke Blast-furnace coke (did. Teesside furnaces) ... Gas coke Current prices. 20/ 16/6-16/9 20/ 18/ 22/ 22/ 16/ 16/ 17/ 16/ 15/6 16/ 18/ 16/9-17/ 15/6 28/ 25/ 27/ L’st week’s prices. 20/6 17/6 20/ ' 18/ 21/ 20/ 16/6 16/6 17/6 17/ 16/ 16/6 18/6 17/ 15/6-15/9 28/6 25/ 27/ ’t 4. Last year s prices. The outward freight market is strong in all directions, with very little tonnage offering. Recent charters concluded comprise :—London, 8s. 6d.; Calais, 18s.; Dunkirk, 18s.; Havre, 16s. 6d.; Rouen, 19s. 3d.; Bordeaux, 23s. 6d. ; Bayonne, 23s.; St. Nazaire, 20s.; Genoa, 33s. 6d.; Naples, 35s.; Oran, 26s. 6d.; Algiers, 27s.; Philippeville, 32s. 6d.; Barcelona, 28s.; Marseilles, 33s.; and Las Palmas, 22s. Middlesbrough-on-Tees. COAL. Shortage of tonnage continues to handicap the fuel trade. Colliery quotations are largely nominal, and buyers have done business at below them in consideration for ready tonnage. Best Durham gas coal may be put at 19s., and second quality at 16s. 6d., whilst for special Wear up to as much as 22s. is named. Household coal keeps steady and firm. There is a good deal of coking coal on offer, and prices vary from 16s. to 16s. 6d. for both unscreened and smalls, but quotations are by no means strictly adhered to. Bunker coal is rather easy. Ordinary Durhams are put at 15s. f.o.b., bests 16s. 6d., and specials 19s. Coke quotations show little change. There are persistent rumours that the new coke ovens at the Redcar Iron Works are to be put into operation shortly, but enquiries fail to elicit official confirmation of the reports. The iron works are idle, and the starting of the coke ovens would put about 1,000 tons of coke extra per week on the market. Demand for coke for local consumption is only moderate, but enquiries for export are on a very good scale. Average blastfurnace Durham kinds are in the neighbourhood of 25s. delivered at Tees side works. Best foundry coke for shipment ranges from 32s. 6d. to 35s. f.o.b. Gashouse coke is quoted 27s. 6d. to 30s. IRON. Shipments of pig iron from the port of Middlesbrough are very disappointing. To date this month they are officially returned at only 13,431 tons, as compared with 13,378 tons to the same date last month, and 22,704 tons for the corre- sponding part of September last year. Deliveries to Scotland are very small. Shipments have ceased, and since the advance in railway rates customers north of the Tweed have been taking only very moderate supplies over land. Pig iron quotations are steady and firm, and the opinion prevails that good military news would have a very stimu- lating effect on the market, and would bring in buyers. No. 3 g.m.b. Cleveland pig has been sold rather freely by merchants at 65s. 6d., and that is the general market quota- tion. Makers show more disposition to meet the situation, and some of them are understood to have sold the ruling quality at round about the foregoing quotation. No. 4 foundry is 65s., No. 4 forge 64s. 6d., and mottled and white iron each 64s. No. 1 Cleveland is less scarce than it has been, owing-to the fact that none has been sold of late, ordinary customers refusing to pay the price demanded. Supply, however, is still only small, and sellers’ reduced quotations do not meet the views of buyers, with the result that business continues at a stand- still, consumers contenting themselves with the use of No. 3 in place of the superior quality. Sellers do not name below 69s. 6d. for No. 1. There is a firmer feeling in east coast haematite pig, and sales to hotne and foreign customers are anticipated. The minimum quotation for Nos. 1, 2 and 3 is 95s. 6d. Foreign ore business is still idle, solely due to unsuccessful efforts of buyers to persuade sellers to contract ahead. Consumers are keener than ever to make arrange- ments for supplies to the end of the year, but with prospects of great scarcity of suitable tonnage, and higher freights, sellers wiil not commit themselves on forward account. Market rates are based on 27s. ex-ship Tees for rubio of 50 per cent, quality. Freights Bilbao-Middlesbrough are 12s. 3d. Imports of foreign ore to the Tees to date this month amount to 93,533 tons. Government work continues to keep manufacturers of finished iron and steel very busy, so much so that little heed is taken of ordinary commercial enquiries. Recent advances are fully maintained. The following are among the principal market quotations:— Common iron bars, <£11 10s.; best bars, <£11 17s. 6d.; best best bars, <£12 5s.; iron ship plates, <£10; iron ship angles, <£11 10s.; iron ship rivets, £13; steel ship plates, <£10; steel ship angles, <£9 17s. 6d.; steel strip, <£10 15s.; steel hoops, <£11; steel joists, £9 17s. 6d.; heavy sections of steel rails, £9; and steel railway sleepers, £10—railway material net, and all other descriptions less 2| per cent. Cumberland. Maryport. COAL. The Cumberland coal industry continues in a most active condition, prices of all sorts are very firm, and the demand on both export and home account is beginning to show signs of expansion. Business in house coal is much firmer, and enquiries are more numerous than they have been for the last two months. The demand for works coal is still very strong, and all available supplies find a ready market. Nuts, washed nuts, smalls and best steam coals are also in firm request, and in some cases supplies are slightly below requirements. The cross-Channel trade is in a most flourishing condition, and the tonnage from Maryport, Whitehaven and Workington during the last few weeks has been much above the average for the time of the year. All sorts are now in strong request for the Irish market, and business has been so brisk in this branch during the past fortnight that it has been almost impossible to cope with the requirements of Irish consumers. Forty-five vessels have left Maryport dock during the past fortnight, and the shipments for that period have amounted to 12,350 tons. All the pits are well employed, and production, which is now more satisfactory than it has been for some time, is probably as high as it can possibly be with the present amount of labour available. There is still a shortage of suitable men, more especially in the western portion of the coalfield, and, unless there is a more plentiful supply of labour forthcoming, it will be extremely difficult to cope with the increased demand which may be expected during the next three months. Values are firm, but unchanged. Best Cumberland coal at the pit is quoted at from 22s. 6d. to 23s. 4d. per ton, with best washed nuts at from 21s. to 21s. 3d. per ton, and seconds 20s. lOd. per ton. Best steam nuts are quoted at 19s. per ton, and best dry small about 12s. per ton. Best Cumberland coal, free on board at Maryport, is quoted at 19s. 6d. per ton, with best nuts at 17s. 6d. per ton. There is a strong demand for bunkers, which are quoted at from 17s. to 17s. 6d. per ton. Last week, 20 vessels left Maryport for Irish ports, and the ship- ments amounted to 5,215 tons, a decrease of 1,930 tons compared with the previous week ; 3,795 tons were shipped from the Brayton Domain Colliery, and the largest cargoes were for Belfast, Dublin, and Carrickfergus. The imports at Maryport last week included two cargoes of pit timber from Waterford for the east coast. Coke is easier, and many of the Cumberland ovens are working short time. Local smelters, who are increasing their make of low- phosphorus iron, are now using more of the hard coke from the north-east coast, which is better adapted for the smelting of special iron, and, in consequence, the demand for the local product has fallen off considerably during the last few weeks. At Maryport, best house coal delivered is quoted at from Is. 5d. to Is. 6d. per cwt., or from 27s. 6d. to 28s. 4d. per ton, with best washed nuts at 25s. lOd. per ton, and seconds 24s. 2d. per ton. At Workington, Buckhill best house coal delivered is quoted at Is. 4d. per cwt., or 25s. lOd. per ton, with best double-screened washed nuts at Is. 3d. per cwt., or 24s. 2d. per ton. Other current quotations are as follow:— Current L’st week’s Last year’s prices. prices. prices. BestCumberl’nd coal at pit 23/4 23/4 19/2 Best washed nuts at pit... 21/3 21/3 17/1 Buckhill best coal „ Do. double-scrned 22/6 22/6 18/4 washed nuts at pit Oughterside best coal at 21/ 21/ 16/10 Fit Oughterside best washed 22/6 22/6 18/4 nuts at pit St. Helens (Siddick) best 21/ 21/ 16/10 coal at pit St. Helens best house nuts 22/6 22/6 18/4 at pit 21/ 21/ 16/10 Best dry small at pit 12/ 12/ 8/6 Best steam nuts at pit ... 19/ 19/ 15/ BestCumberl’nd coal, f.o.b. 19/6 19/6 15/6 Best washed nuts, f.o.b. ... 17/6 17/6 13/6 Bunkers 17/ -17/6 17/ -17/6 12/6 Best coal for gasworks ... Best washed nuts for gas- 20/ 20/ 15/ works 19/ 19/ 14/ IRON. There is continued briskness in the Cumberland haematite iron trade, prices and production are fairly well maintained, and a large proportion of the output is going into imme- diate consumption. The demand for low-phosphorus iron is increasing in volume, and makers have now more than half of the furnaces in the district on this class of metal. The requirements of high-class steel makers engaged on Government work have increased to such an extent that production is now scarcely equal to the demand. Ordinary iron is only moving slowly, and stocks are accumulating rather too quickly in makers’ yards. In this branch, the only business passing is for more immediate requirements. Bessemer mixed numbers are this week quoted at 106s. per ton free on board at the usual ports, with warrants at cash at 95s. per ton. Special iron is quoted at about 125s. per ton, while ferro-manganese is firm at £20 per ton. There are 23 furnaces in blast, 15 in Cumberland and eight in the Furness district. In Cumberland, the Workington Iron and Steel Company have eight in blast at Workington, Millom has three, and Cleator Moor and Distington have two each in operation. In the Furness district, Barrow has five, North Lonsdale two, and Carnforth one, in blast. A large percentage of the make of ordinary iron is going into consumption at Workington and Barrow, while a considerable tonnage is being consigned to South Wales and Scotland. The bulk of the special iron made in the district is going to Sheffield and Birmingham for Government purposes, but users in other parts of the Midlands are now taking a fair amount of metal. Business is fairly brisk in the steel trade. The iron ore industry in the Cleator Moor and Egremont district is in a flourishing condition, and, although all the mines are regularly employed, production, as far as the high-grade ores are concerned, is not by any means equal to requirements The tonnage passing out of the district now amounts to about 1,000 tons weekly. Cumberland iron ore at the mines is quoted at from 22s. 6d. to 37s. 6d. per ton, according to grade. Spanish ores are quoted at about 25s. 6d. per ton. The imports at Maryport last week included 3,800 tons of iron ore from Lagoulette, for the Workington Iron and Steel Company. South-West Lancashire. COAL. More is passing in the inland household trade than was the case a few weeks ago, and there is no doubt that better class buyers are making their provision for the winter earlier than usual. Forges and such like works continue to take full deliveries of round screened coal. The business in steam coal for bunkers on contract account is fairly brisk ; there is also a good deal of Yorkshire and South Wales coal being shipped at Liverpool tips on Admiralty account. With regard to outside shipping, there is very little enquiry at the moment, scarcity of tonnage and increasing rates of freight tending to restrict business. Prices are in consequence easier, and for screened Lancashire steam coal 17s. for commoner sorts, up to 18s. f.o.b. for best descriptions about represents the market. Coastwise shipments of household coal have slackened off a little, but it is scarcely to be wondered at, as throughout the summer there has been far more than the average summer call. In slacks the position has been a little easier during the holidays at the manufac- turing towns, but these are at an end now, and it is exceptional where there is any quantity waiting an order. Prices at pit (except where otherwise stated). Current L’st week’s Last year’s House coal:— prices. prices. prices. Best 20/9 20/9 17/ Do. (f.o.b. Garston, net) 22/ -23/ 22/ -23/ 16/6-16/9 Medium 19/ 19/ 15/3 Do. (f.o.b. Garston, net) 20/ 20/ 14/6-15/ Kitchen 16/9-17/ 16/9-17/ 13/ Do. (f.o.b. Garston, net) 18/ -18/6 18/ -18/6 13/3-13/9 Screened forge coal 16/ -17/ 16/ -17/ 11/6-12/ Best scrnd. steam coal f.o.b. 17/6-18/6 17/6-18/6 12/ -13/ Best slack 14/ 14/ 9/9 Secondary slack 12/6 12/6 9/ Common do 10/ 10/ 8/ - 8/6 South Lancashire and Cheshire. COAL. The Manchester Coal Exchange was better attended on Tuesday than has been the case of late. The demand for house coal keeps quiet. Furnace coal is steady, and business in shipping coal is maintained at a fair level. Slack is on the dull side. Production at collieries is still hampered by “absenteeism” on the part of the worker. Prices generally are as below:— Prices at pit (except where otherwise, stated) House coal:— Best .............. Medium............. Common............. Furnace coal......... Bunker (f.o.b. Partington) Best slack .......... Common slack ........ Current prices. 21/ -22/ 19/ -20/3 17/ -17/3 16/ -17/ 19/ —21/ 14/ 11/ -12/ L’st week’s prices. 21/ -22/ 19/ -20/3 17/ -17/3 16/ -17/ 19/ -21/ 14/ 11/ -12/ Last year’s prices. 17/3-18/ 16/ -16/9 13/3-14/ 12/6 14/ 9/6-10/ 8/6- 9/ IRON. There was only a moderate attendance on ’Change in Manchester on Tuesday last, and in all cases there is very little change to report with the exception of pig iron, which, if anything, is slightly easier. Steel works are excep- tionally busy on Government work, and forges well employed. Engineers and wagon works are also fully occupied. Yorkshire and Derbyshire. Leeds. COAL. There was a rather more than average attendance at the Yorkshire Coal Exchange on Tuesday, and in most depart- ments business was fairly good, this applying particularly to manufacturing fuel for the Bradford and heavy woollen districts. The pits have worked full time, and there has been a satisfactory supply of empty trucks. A few of the colliery representatives reported that they are still losing men who are joining the Colours, with the result that the output tends to decrease in consequence. Otherwise, the miners are working satisfactorily, and the output is as high as can be expected under the circumstances. With regard to house coal, the demand from London has fallen off appreciably. Merchants now have large stocks, although these would not last long given a period of cold weather. The best qualities of West Yorkshire house coals are offered very sparingly for London. It is not expected that there will be any alteration of public prices, at all events during this month. In the coastwise trade there is a fair amount of enquiry, and ship- ments from Goole to the south coast have been active. There is also a considerable business passing in house coal for Ireland, through the Partington tips on the Manchester Ship Canal. A guide to current values may be found in one or two sales of Silkstone best coal at 19s. 9d. f.o.b. Hull. Freights are still very high, 9s. to 9s. 6d. Goole to London being about an average quotation, and suitable vessels are scarce. Although some of the larger residences in the West Riding are laying in stocks of house coal for the winter on the lines of the Government advice, the local trade is rather quiet. Still the turnover at the depots is fairly good for the time of the year. Pit prices are unchanged as follow: Haigh Moor selected 20s. to 21s., Silkstone best 19s. 6d. to 20s. 6d., Silkstone house 18s. 6d. to 19s. 6d., secondary sorts 16s. 6d. to 17s. 6d. Contract requirements absorb nearly the whole of the output of the gas coal pits, and there is practically nothing to spare for the open market. Gas nuts particularly are scarce, as so many nuts are being used for other purposes, a little more unscreened coal is offering, the demand for coking smalls being weaker. Inland gas works are now fairly well stocked, but are still pressing for supplies, in view of a possible scarcity in the approaching winter. A big tonnage of gas coal is still being shipped to France, but the demand from Italy is disappointingly small just now.