516 THE COLLIERY GUARDIAN. March 17, 1916. required on contract account leave comparatively little fuel for the open market, and any odd lots are quickly purchased. The position in regard to slacks is much the same as a week ago, all kinds being eagerly purchased, with prices showing an upward tendency. Prices at pithead. Hand-picked brights ..... Good house coals......... Secondary do............. Best hard coals......... Secondary do............. Slacks (best hards)...... Do. (second) .......... Do. (soft)............. Current prices. 17/6-19/ 16/6-17/ 15/6-16/ 16/6-17/6 15/ -16/ 11/9-12/6 10/6-11/ 11/ L’stweek’s prices. 17/6-18/6 16/6-17/ 15/6-16/ 16/6-17/6 15/ -16/ 11/9-12/6 10/6-11/ 11/ Last year’s prices. 19/6-21/ 17/6-18/6 15/6-17/ 17/6-20/ 16/6-17/ 11/ -12/ 9/6-10/6 9/ -10/ marked bars is said to be <£14 15s., and for unmarked bars £13 5s., net at works — prices which are not far removed from present selling values. For Northamp- tonshire forge iron, sales have been made at 89s. a ton, delivered, for better qualities, this being the limit. This, however, is* a high figure, and quotations for common qualities were heard as low as 84s. Derbyshire iron remains at the controlled rates ; sales are made in small parcels, seldom exceeding 200 tons. No maxima have been fixed for smaller classes of iron. Three-eighths rounds, for which considerable enquiry is experienced, range from £15 5s. to £15 10s., and consumers are thankful to get smaller sizes at practically makers’ prices. Small lots of galvanised sheets are ordered for India, but none are going to the American continent. Prices remain on the £28 basis. The steelworks are fully occupied, and makers have to refuse orders outside Government work. Every effort is being made to improve the output. Bessemer sheet bars and billets are in the neighbourhood of £12 10s.; joists and sections £11 2s. 6d. f.o.t. and net (maximum). developed more activity, and, despite increases in rates, tonnage was freely taken up for all destinations. Reports of Government action to limit outward freights no doubt have some influence, but orders were plentiful and fixtures numerous. Though colliery stems are by no means in a strong position, there are few that are not com- fortably placed for this month, with a strong inclina- tion on the part of sellers to advance present values wherever possible. Smalls have met with a fair demand for bunkering purposes, a large quantity also going inland. Patent fuel quotations are firmer, also coke, the demand for which is pressing and continuous. Pitwood supplies have been better than for many weeks now, and, despite the acute difficulty of finding wagons, arrivals have been promptly dealt with, values to-day ruling 46s. to 47s. ex ship for good wood. Prices f.o.b. cash 30 days. Leicestershire. COAL. The conditions which now prevail are intensely difficult to meet, and all the evidence goes to show that there are many great hardships being endured in consequence of the shortage of coal. So much of the aggregate output is absorbed for meeting the vital requirements of munition factories and controlled establishments, that the balance left to meet the demands for household both for London and country stations is totally inadequate. Coal merchants are begging for supplies which cannot be delivered, and all reserves of stocks in the coal yards of merchants have been cleared out. Owners have a fresh difficulty to meet in regard to summer contracts, the winter agreements coming to an end at the close of March. In the ordinary course prices would be reduced, but it is claimed that the increased cost of pit props and other stores ought to bring about a concession under the Price of Coal (Limitation) Act,so as to make a continuance of winter rates legal. The pits are working full time of five and three-quarter days per week, but the reduction of the output by weather causes and the increase in the domestic consumption at the same time has created a state of affairs which has never before been experienced. The following are the prices, subject to special modifications, which now generally prevail at the collieries in this district:— Lydney. Forest of Dean. COAL. The demand for all descriptions of house coal is still a very heavy one. The wintry weather experienced during the past few weeks has considerably stimulated business, and as merchants’ stocks have been materially reduced, they are putting great pressure on collieries for supplies. Delay to vessels is the cause of smaller shipments, but rail- borne consignments are correspondingly heavier. The steam coal market is very strong and active, the demand from controlled establishments being on a steadily increasing scale. All the pits, both house and steam, are working at full pressure, and there are no stocks of any description to be noticed. Prices at pithead. Steam coals: — Best Black Vein large... Western-valleys, ordin’y Best Eastern-valleys ... Secondary do. Best small coals ..... Secondary do.......... Inferior do. ......... Screenings ........... Through coals ........ Best washed nuts...... Other sorts:— Best house coal....... Secondary do. ........ Patent fuel .......... Furnace coke.......... Foundry coke ......... Current prices. 30/ -30/6 29/ -29/6 28/ -28/6 26/ -27/ 15/6-16/6 14/6-15/ 12/ -13/6 16/ -16/6 22/ -23/ 27/6-28/ 23/ -24/ 22/ -23/ 34/ -35/ 37/6-40/ 48/6-50/ L’stweek’s Drices. 30/ -30/6 29/ -30/ 28/ -29/ 27/ -27/6 16/ -16/6 15/ -15/6 12/ -14/ 16/6 22/ -23/ 28/ -28/6 Last year’s prices. 29/6-30/6 29/ -29/6 28/6-29/6 28/ -28/6 19/3-19/6 18/6-19/ 18/ -18/6 19/6-20/ 19/ -20/ 19/6-20/6 Prices at pit. Best household coal ....j Second, hand picked .... Deep screened cobbles ... Deep large nuts ........ Bakers’ nuts............ Small nuts.............. Deep breeze ............ Peas ................... Small dust ............. Main nuts for London Current prices. 16/6-18/ 15/6-16/6 14/6-15/ 14/ -15/ 12/6-14/ 12/ -13/ 13/ -13/6 11/ -12/ 5/ - 6/ L’stweek’s prices. 16/6-18/ 15/6-16/6 14/6-15/ 14/ -15/ 12/6-14/ 12/ -13/ 13/ -13/6 11/ -12/ 5/ - 6/ Last year’s prices. 18/6-19/6 17/6-18/6 16/6—17/6 16/ -17/ 15/6-16/6 14/ -14/6 13/6-14/6 11/9-12/9 3/ - 3/6 House coals:— Block ............... Forest ............. Rubble .............. Nuts ................ Rough slack ......... Steam coal:— Large................ Small ............... Current L’st week’s Last year’s prices. prices. prices. 21/6 21/6 21/6 20/6 20/6 20/6 20/9 20/9 20/9 19/ 19/ 19/ 11/6 11/6 12/6 18/ -19/ 18/ -19/ 17/6-18/ 13/6-14/ 13/6-14/ 12/6-13/ Prices 2s. extra f.o.b. Lydney or Sharpness. kitcheners............. Steams, best hand picked Steams, seconds ......... Main cobbles for kitcheners Main breeze.............. 13/9-14/9 14/ —15/ 12/ -13/ 13/9-14/9 12/6-13/6 13/9-14/9 14/ —15/ 12/ -13/ 13/9-14/9 12/6-13/6 15/9-16/9 15/ -16/ 14/ -15/ 15/9-16/9 13/ -14/ Devon, Cornwall, and South Coast. Plymouth. COAL. Messrs. W. Wade and Son report that the recent snow- falls throughout the country and all over the southern counties found many buyers with very small stocks, and it has required all their efforts to keep up their supplies. Even now this condition continues in some quarters where stocks had been neglected. Some forward contracts to the end of autumn have already been made for railborne coal. Sailing ships are being offered more plentifully, but steam freights are as firm as ever. 23/ -24/ 21/ -23/ 34/ -35/ 35/ -37/6 45/ -46/ 27/ -29/ 25/ -27/ 29/ -31/ 26/ -28/ 32/ -33/ South Staffordshire, ISorth Worcestershire and Warwickshire. Birmingham. COAL. The situation has been very little eased during the week, the shortage in practically all classes of fuel being very pronounced. As a time and labour saving expedient, collieries are issuing notices that the varieties of fuel are to be further reduced, and it is even asserted that at no distant date there will be only two kinds of fuel on the market—large and cobbles. Practically no open coal is on the market, collieries having difficulty in fulfilling contracts. Prices remain as under:— Prices at pit. THE WELSH COAL AHD IROH TRADES. Thursday, March 16. Current L’st week’s Last year’s Staffordshire (including Cannock Chase) :— prices. prices. prices. House coal, best deep ... 22/ 22/ 20/ Do. seconds deep 20/ 20/ 19/ Do. best shallow 19/ 19/ 18/6 Do. seconds do. 18/ 18/ 17/6 Best hard 18/6 18/6 16/6 Forge coal 16/ 16/ 14/ Slack Warwickshire:— 11/6 11/6 10/ House coal, best Ryder.. Do. hand-picked 19/ 19/ 19/6 cobs 18/ 18/ 17/6 Best hard spires 20/ 20/ 18/ Forge (steam) 16/ 16/ 13/6 D.S. nuts (steam) 14/6 14/6 14/6 Small (do.) 14/6 14/6 11/6 North Wales. Wrexham. COAL. There has been little variation during the past week in the conditions prevailing in connection with the local coal trade. All pits have worked full time, and the demand for all grades of fuel has been well maintained. Owing to the continued wintry weather, orders for house coal continue to come to hand freely, merchants and retail dealers continually pressing for deliveries. As regards steam coal, as usual the railway companies account for a substantial portion of the available tonnage, and pressure is also being put upon sellers to supply a goodly quantity of fuel for works where Government work is undertaken. The demand from other works is up to the average, and also for shipping, but the Government orders get the precedence in most cases. Supplies of gas coal have been up to the average, taking into consideration the lessened output consequent on shortage of labour. Gas nuts are very scarce, and so is slack, the quantity available not being nearly sufficient to meet the demand of orders and enquiries coming to hand daily. On the whole, prices have been well maintained, and there has been very little variation during the past week. Railway and gas companies are negotiating for prices for the new contracts, but up to the time of writing there does not appear to have been any definite settlement of a basis arrived at for these renewals. Prices at pit. IRON. The attendance on ’Change was fairly large, and there was a fair amount of business about, with prices ruling very much as in recent weeks. The works throughout the district are as fully engaged as the shortage of men and supplies of fuel will allow. The trouble is not lack of orders, but rather of the ability to turn out stuff as speedily as it is desired. The fuel difficulty causes a good deal of perturbation, and it is inevitable that manufacturers not engaged on. private work must suffer some ificon- venience in keeping their fires going. At last some informa- tion trickled through with regard to maximum prices for South Staffordshire iron, unofficially, certainly, but there is every reason to accept them as accurate. They are as follow:—Pig iron, cold blast, <£8 17s. 6d.; cylinder iron (Earl of Dudley’s brand), <£7 17s. 6d.; hot air iron, £7 forge £7 10s. foundry; high-class all-mine, <£5 10s. forge and foundry; part-mine, <£4 10s. forge £4 12s. 6d. foundry ; common, £4 5s. forge and foundry. These are the prices fixed at furnaces. As regards finished iron, the limit for Current L’st week’s Last year’s Prices at pit f.o.r. :— prices. prices. prices. Best house coal 22/ -23/ 22/ -23/ 18/ -20/ Secondary do 20/ -22/ 21/ -23/ I 16/9-18/ Steam coal 18/ -19/ 18/ -19/ 18/ -19/ | 15/ -16/ Gas coal 18/ -19/ 15/ -16/ Bunkers 17/6-18/ 17/6-18/6 14/ -15/ Nuts 17/6-18/ 17/6-18/6 1 12/6-13/6 Slack 10/ -11/6 10/ -12/6 6/6- 8/4 Gas coke (at works) Prices landsale:— 21/8-25/ 21/8-25/ 11/8-16/8 Best house coal 25/ -27/6 . 25/ -27/6 23/4-26/8 Seconds 22/6-25/ 22/6-25/ 1 20/ -22/6 Slack 16/8-17/6 15/ -16/8 | 10/ -13/4 Bonmomthshire, South Wales, &c. Newport. COAL. The steam coal trade continues to suffer from a scarcity of tonnage, the number of steamers available this week for loading being quite insufficient to clear away existing stocks, although an improvement on the preceding week. The outlook is an improving one, as the chartering market IRON. There is little fresh to report in the general conditions of the local iron and steel trades, matters remaining very much as a week- ago. Work at tin-plate bar mills continues good, with prices firm at last week’s figures of £12 10s. upwards for both Bessemer and Siemens qualities. Steel rails continue nominal for all sizes at £11 10s. for heavy sections as a basis. With strong enquiries for Welsh haematite, business continues difficult, official quotations reading £7 5s. to £7 10s. delivered to works in the district. Iron ore continues in demand, with none too good a supply coming in. Best rubio is 1 quoted 38s. to 39s. c.i.f. Newport. Tin-plates continue very firm, and have again advanced on the week, latest ruling prices being based upon 30s. for 14 x 20 x 112 either Bessemer or Siemens, and 60s. for 28 x 20, with other’sizes and grades accordingly. Cardiff. COAL. Although arrivals of tonnage over the week-end have been rather more satisfactory, there is still a deficiency to meet the ordinary requirements of the port, and the market has again been unsteady. The chief bugbear is, of course, the freight market, and many new records have been estab- lished within the last few days. Nantes has been done at 57i- fr., or a rise of 71 fr., against 61 fr. in July 1914. St. Nazaire has gone up to 55 fr., Bordeaux 651 fr., Algiers 95 fr., Genoa 93s. 6d., and Alexandria 107s. 6d. These quotations are admitted to be excessive, and the unfortunate part of the whole business is the fact that the highest rates are obtained by neutral- owned vessels, where there is no excess of profits tax. As a matter of fact, many of these neutral firms are investing their huge profits in building new steamers which will seriously compete with British shipping when the war is over, and the one question that is now being asked is, Why does not the Government impose a tax which should compel these ship owners to leave a substantial portion of their huge profits in this country ? The problem is an important one, and it is to be hoped that some action will be taken before it is too late. Shipments of coal last week amounted to 296,054 tons, compared with 514,486 tons in the corresponding period of last year, or a decrease of 218,432 tons. These figures, of course, exclude shipments on Admiralty account. From Cardiff, the exports were 126,768 tons, against 346,945 tons, or a falling-off of 290,177 tons ; from Newport, 76,904 tons, or an increase of 6,949 tons; from Swansea, 38,170 tons, or a decrease of 29,362 tons ; and from Port Talbot, 54,212 tons, or an increase of 24,158 tons. Charterings were rather better, the amount of tonnage taken up being 132,300 tons, com- pared with 115,250 tons in the preceding six days, or an increase of 17,050 tons. Quotations on the market have been of a fluctuating character. Owing to the shortage of tonnage, stocks in some instances have been accumulating, and in order to release wagons and keep the collieries working, concessions have been made to buyers who were in a position to supply prompt steamers. The best and superior second Admiralties are still retained by the Government, and are not quoted. Ordinary seconds, although nominally priced at 31s. to 32s., have been done as low as 30s., and ordinary qualities are ‘29s. to 30s. Mon- mouthshires have been steadily held, but the tonnage difficulty has affected the market, and prices in some instances have been easy. Best Black Veins are 30s. to 31s., western valleys 29s. 6d. to 30s., and easterns 28s. 6d. to 29s. In the small coal market there has been a little improve- ment, and should there be a more ample supply of steamers there is no doubt that the quotation should advance several shillings per ton. Best bunkers are 16s. to 17s., ordinaries 15s. to 16s., and cargo sorts 12s. 6d. to 14s. 6d. per ton. Inbituminous coals there is a great shortage, and house coal descriptions are almost unobtainable. Many hundreds of men, formerly employed in the house coal collieries, have now been drafted into the steam coal pits, with the result that there is almost a famine in bituminous coals. So serious has the position become, that the retail merchants have demanded Govern- ment intervention, and an effort is to be made to retain as many colliers as possible in the bituminous pits. Prices, of course, are controlled under the Act of last year, but there is no doubt that if this legislation had not come into existence, the quotation for ordinary house coal would have been more than double the price ruling to-day. Patent fuel is still scarce and dear, and an attempt is being made in some of the works to introduce female labour. What the result will be remains to be seen,