Word: steelmen
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Dates: during 1950-1959
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Businessmen who had worried in May were calm in December. Steelmen sensibly pointed out that the nation's heaviest industry need not always operate at emergency throttle. "The auto industry no doubt could turn out 12 million cars a year if absolutely necessary," said a steel executive. "But when it produces only 6,000,000 cars, no one complains that it is operating at only 50% capacity." At times, businessmen even gave thanks for the breather. Frank Magee, president of Aluminum Co. of America, noting that aluminum has often been in short supply, said cheerfully: "For the first time...
...notable example is steel, which is learning to operate like a short-order restaurant. Not since 1942 have users ordered steel on such short lead times: six weeks for heavy construction beams, two weeks for sheet metal for automobiles. In turn, steelmen were producing just enough to meet delivery schedules. They were well aware that any sudden economic upturn would not catch them without production capacity. But it could catch customers short on steel. As long as customers continue to buy only for immediate needs, steel may not rise above 75% of rated capacity before June, but the industry expects...
...rated capacity to make up for the 1956 steel strike. It is now down to 81% of capacity. The steel industry considers recession a dirty word, says flatly that it is undergoing a "mild cyclical adjustment" which is now stabilizing. Production may go down some more, but steelmen expect consumption to remain at current levels as businessmen live off inventories. The oil industry is also cutting back to pare its ultralarge, 283 million-bbl. inventory of oil stocks...
...steel price hike made last July to balance the 21? hourly boost for steelworkers. Prices went up by an average of $6 a ton, Kefauver noted, but manufacturers admitted that the wage increase cost them only $3.15 a ton. Furthermore, some other manufacturing costs are down. Charged Kefauver: "Steelmen cannot justify the continued existence of a price increase in view of the fact that the price of scrap used in a ton of steel is down around $3.85 fr,om the average price a year ago." (The average price of No. 1 heavy melting grade scrap has plummeted...
Despite all fears about lower operating rates, few steelmen had poor business to report. National Steel, Armco Steel and Bethlehem Steel all had good sales and earnings, Bethlehem with its best earnings ever (see PERSONNEL). And for U.S. Steel, Chairman Roger M. Blough noted nine-month earnings of $329 million for a 9.7% return on sales v. $243.3 million and an 8% return in 1956. All told this year, said Blough, the industry will produce 115 million tons, just under the 1956 level. Next year, though the industry may slip back to an operating rate somewhere between...