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INDUSTRIAL MOBILIZATION News of the nation's activity in marshaling its resources to meet the international emergency
N e w Expansion Goals f o r Lead and Hydrofluoric Acid; OMPA Signs for 2650 Tons o f Guatemalan Lead Newest expansion goals set by the Defense Production Administration are for lead and hydrofluoric acid. This brings the list of expansion plans for specific commodities to an even dozen. Already completed and announced are: steel, sulfur, chlorine, magnesium ingot, aniline, phthalic anhydride, phenol, nitrogen, zinc, and nickel. Still in the works are: tungsten ore, chromite, petroleum, colbalt, and magnesium. If the new goals are met, lead production would be upped by 11% and hydrofluoric acid by over 38£ by 1955. Plans call for a supply of 1,342,000 short tons oi lead, which would include domestic production of ore and scrap and imports of lead in ore, scrap, and metal. In 1950, production was about 1.4 million short tons and in 1951, about 1.1 million pounds. The new goal is slightly below the tentative plans set last February and will serve as a guide in issuing certificates of necessity and other forms of government assistance. The hydrofluoric acid goal represents an increase of 36 million pounds over present capacity of 94 million pounds. All but 9.7 million pounds o£ this increase is already provided for by capacity already planned or under construction. Hydrofluoric acid is necessary in the manufacture of high octane motor fuel, pickling of stainless steel, and the manufacture of refrigerant gases. So far, about 47,000 pounds of lead production annually is planned. St. Joseph Lead Co. has plans for two mines, both in Missouri. One mine, scheduled to get started this year will produce 11,500 tons; the other will get under way in 1954 and will produce 17,500 tons a year. American Smelting and Refining Co. will begin producing in 1953 at Wallace, Idaho, at an annual rate of 9000 tons. By 1955, U. S. mine production is expected to total 417,000 tons of lead a year, including the 47,000-ton increase now approved for federal assistance. Approximately 430,000 tons of scrap lead are expected to be available by 1955, arid imports are expected to account for an additional 420,000 tons. This totals 1,267,000 and is stiH 75,000 tons shy of the 1.342,000 tons established by the goal. An additional 26,250 tons of pig lead will be made available to American industry for defense purposes over a fiveyear period under terms of a new contract announced by the Defense Materials Procurement Agency. The agreement, between DMPA and the Compania Minera de Huehuetenange of Guatemala, calls for an expansion of the company's facilities. The expansion, to cost $400,000, will include construction of a 75-ton flotation mill and mining facilities. Completion is expected two years from now, and delivery of the lead will begin in 1954. Average annual production is estimated at 5250 tons. Nickel Allotments f o r First Quarter Completed by International Materials Conference; Nicaro Plant Operating The International Materials Conference has completed its plan of distribution for primary nickel for the first quarter of this year. The interim arrangement for the month of January is now absorbed by the new allocation plan. VOLUME
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The government-owned nickel in Cuba is now back ID partial production and will add about 800,000 pounds of nickel to the inadequate supplies. Four of the Nicaro plant's 12 huge Herreschoff furnaces are now working 2 4 hours a day and each furnace will turn out over 200,000 pounds of nickel oxide a month. The other eight are scheduled to be brought into operation step b y step until total production of 3 0 million pounds a year is reached. Government Services Administration, which is overseeing rehabilitation of the World War II-built plant, is expecting the entire plant to be back in production by the first of June. Availability of primary nickel for allocation during the first quarter is estimated at 33,583 metric tons including output of the Nicaro plant. The U. S. will get by far the most of this during the first quarter—22,951.3 metric tons. Next biggest share will go to the United Kingdom, which gets 5170 metric tons. Germany and France will each get over 1000 metric tons. The remainder is split up among the other 32 participating nations. Jess Larson, General Services administrator, said that a pilot plant now going up near the Nicaro plant may be able to improve processes to the point where the plant's recovery of nickel may be increased by 10%. He also indicated that new ore bodies have been found in the surrounding area and that if ground explorations are successful, the plant may be expanded again. The nickel scrap industry advisory committee met with OPS officials recently to discuss a tailored price regulation in dollars and cents which would cover nickel ingot, shot. and waffle. They also suggested changes in the celling price regulation for nickel scrap, Monel metal scrap, stainless steel scrap, and other scrap materials containing nickeL Development of a tailored price regulation for nickel anodes from primary nickel and nickel scrap was discussed recently with OPS by members of another industry advisory committee. Carbon Disulfide IAC Asks NPA to Delay Decison on Allocation Order The carbon disulfide industry advisory committee last week advised NPA to postpone for at least a month any decision on whether to issue a limitation or allocation order for controlling the distribution of carbon disulfide. NPA officials told committee members that it would not be necessary to issue the order as long as defense needs are supplied and as long as only 9% of the amount used in rayon and cellophane manufacture in 1950 is consumed. The committee and NPA agreed that the present problems affecting carbon disulfide concern principally the distribution of the chemical among the supported and unsupported applications. Supported applications, excluding the production of carbon tetrachloride, include the following: rubber accelerators, high tenacity rayon; flotation reagents, grain fumigants, and pesticides. Unsupported applications include textile and staple rayon, cellophane, and miscellaneous small applications. Actual demand for carbon disulfide is estimated at 5 7 0 million pounds; 1952 supply, excluding the quantity used in making carbon tetrachloride, will be about 422.1 million pounds. Requirements for both supported and unsupported
1952
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INDUSTRIAL MOBILIZATION applications based on 90% of 1950 were estimated at 203.1 and 232.4 million pounds, totaling 43.5 million pounds and indicating a shortage of about 13.4 million pounds. Requirement for the supported areas were given (in millions of pounds): high tenacity rayon, 134; rubber accelerators, 36; flotation reagents, 11.5; grain fumigants, 10; and pesticides, 11.6. Requirements for unsupported uses were stated as follows: filament rayon, 80; staple rayon, 66.4; cellophane, 731; and miscellaneous, 15. NPA said it did not intend that the sulfur order, M-69, as amended, would place a 90% restriction o n the use of recycled sulfur obtained from carbon tetrachloride operations. Recycled sulfur is exempt, "if and only i f the recovered sulfur is kept in the carbon disulfide—carbon tetrachloride cycle. Sulfur use limitations imposed by M-69 limit the amount of sulfur which may be used for making carbon disulfide to 90% of the amount used in 1950. N e w carbon disulfide facilities brought into production since 1950 are permitted to operate at 81% of capacity. Export Quotas for Nylon Set Up; GR-S Quota for First Quarter Not Met; OIT Asks Data on Export of Paper and Copper Sulfate An export quota of 2 million pounds of nylon yarn and 200,000 tons of nylon staple, tow, tops, sliver, and roving staple and waste, has been established by the first quarter of this year by the Office of International Trade. Other types of nylon waste may now be exported under general license to all destinations except iron curtain countries, Hong Kong, and Macao. OIT announced that 847 tons of the 17,000-ton first quarter export quota for GR-S are still available for licensing. Second quarter allocations have not yet been determined. Export license applicants are required by OIT to report their previous exports of paper base stocks and copper sulfate. This data will help OIT in effecting equitable distribution of the limited export quotas. Polyethylene Controls May End by End of Third Quarter Control on polyethylene may be removed b y the end of the third quarter because of increased supplies resulting from plant expansion, says NPA. If defense needs increase in the meantime, NPA may not be able to keep its promise, it cautioned. Beginning with the third quarter polyethylene supplies should show a 50% gain over the same period last year. However, during March, supplies may be slightly lower, because of shutdowns at one plant to tie in additional production equipment. The 1952 dollar sales volume of all plastic films used for packaging is expected to double the $51 million total of 1950, according to NPA. With plant expansion due to be completed this year, sales should approximate $104 million. Order Limits Receipts of Aluminum Scrap A new NPA directive limits monthly receipts of aluminum scrap by smelters during February and March 1952 to 110% of their average monthly shipments during the first eight months of 1950. The directive covers both pig and ingot aluminum scrap, primary or secondary, both purchased and for tool. It also provides that smelters that did not produce aluminum rernelt pig or secondary ingot during the January to August 1950 period, or those desiring adjustments under the directive, may obtain special treatment by following various instructions set forth in the directive. 674
The Aluminum Smelters Industry Advisory Committee endorsed the directive, emphasizing that it would serve both as a working pattern for the industry and as an aid i n meeting production goals during the first quarter of 1952. However, the committee recommended that NPA carefully study problems arising under the base-period limitation of the order. Moreover, the committee suggested that N P A impose a ceiling on the availability of aluminum scrap t o new producers until the scrap supply situation eases sufficiently to permit the industry to meet its production objectives. 30-Day Inventory Limit on GR-S Lifted; Rubber Industry to Get 2 0 % More High Tenacity Rayon* The 30-day inventory limitation governing purchases of GR-S rubber has been removed by NPA. It also made an approximate 20% increase in the amount of high tenacity rayon which may be used by rubber manufacturers. Both of these changes were made by amending M-2, the basic rubber order. Still continued are export restrictions on GR-S and the 46% limitation on the percentage of cold compared with hot GR-S which may be purchased from RFC. The increase in amounts of high tenacity rayon are possible because production rate is being increased from 3 2 5 million pounds to an anticipated 400 million pounds annual rate by April and military requirements have not reached the previously expected level. The rubber industry will use an estimated 91 million pounds of the 93 million pounds of high tenacity rayon produced during the first quarter of 1952. Tailored Price Regulations in Offing For Rubber and Coal Chemicals, Superphosphates Tailored price regulations have been asked for superphosphates, rubber processing chemicals, coal chemicals, coke oven gas, and coke, by members of their industry advisory committees meeting in Washington recently with OPS officials. The superphosphate regulation seems nearest to realization as members approved an OPS draft of the regulation. They proposed that the regulation be issued by March 1. According to OPS officials, a uniform increase of 3.767% for rubber chemicals would be appropriate in lieu of the widely disparate percentage adjustments by individual firms. The list of chemicals for which individual ceiling prices were to be set was adjusted to reflect tonnage items and exclude minor specialties. Excluded were such items as plasticizers and softeners, aromatic odors, blowing agents, organic pigments, lubricants, extenders, and rubber substitutes. The committee also recommended that adjusted prices be rounded to the nearest half cent per pound and apply to sales to ultimate consumers in the rubber industry. OPS will need more time to get the tailored price regulation ready for coal chemicals, coke, and coke oven gas, so industry representatives recommended that the present regulation be extended for another 9 0 days beyond its Feb. 29 expiration date. The Industry Advisory Committee will meet again on Feb. 2 1 . Appointment. • • Former Governor of Georgia, Ellis Arnall, is slated to take over the duties of price stabilizer. Arnall replaces Mike V. DiSalle, whose resignation became effective Feb. 15. DiSalle resigned to undertake a "difficult" campaign for senator from Ohio. Arnall is.44 years old, an attorney, and a politician. CHEMICAL
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ENGINEERING
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