REPORTS ®N
INDUSTRIAL
MOBILIZATION
N e w s of the nation's activity in marshaling its resources to m e e t the international emergency E x p a n s i o n G o a l s Set f o r Three O r g a n i c Insecticides A n d T w o Pigments
Expansion goals for five more commodities h a v e b e e n set b y the Defense Production Administration. T h e latest goals are for three organic insecticides—DDT, b e n z e n e hexachloride, and lindane. T h e others a r e for titanium dioxide pigment and iron oxide, yellow (synthetic). D D T . DPA has set the D D T expansion goal at 155 million p o u n d s (100% basis) by Jan. 1, 1955, or about 53 million pounds above the 1951 capacity. During the past year, D D T capacity increased about 27 million pounds from unassisted expansion. Minor additions and improved operating efficiencies a d d e d another 7.6 million p o u n d s to the output of existing facilities. DPA expects that 16 million pounds of capacity will come from expansions planned for 1952 and that the remaining 2.4 million p o u n d s will he provided with further unassisted additions and improvements to existing facilities. Benzene Hexachloride. DPA figures that the requirements for this insecticide will reach 23.7 million p o u n d s by 1955 (on a 100% gamma isomer basis), that 17,437,000 pounds of capacity were in place on Jan. 1, 1951, and that further unassisted expansion will satisfy requirements by 1955. L i n d a n e . T h e goal calls for a n a n n u a l capacity of 5,120,000 pounds of lindane, the g a m m a isomer of b e n z e n e hexachloride, by Jan. 1, 1955. T h e proposed expansion goal will cover only facilities for extracting 99% or more gamma isomer from benzene hexachloride and will require an expansion of 850,000 tons of capacity beyond that covered by applications already received for certificates of necessity. Titanium Dioxide Pigment. The goal is for a production capacity of 370,000 short tons by Jan. 1, 1955, an increase of 88,000 tons over Jan. 1, 1951. Certificates for r a p i d writeoff for titanium expansion plus unassisted expansion will take care of 60,750 tons of the required capacity. The remaining 27,250 tons of capacity are still open for issuing certificates. Iron Oxide, Yellow. D P A is asking.a total domestic capacity of 25,000 short tons by 1955, an increase of 12,000 tons over the Jan. 1, 1951 capacity. Tax amortization certificates already approved or recommended for approval will cover the entire increase. G o a l s for Petroleum E x p a n s i o n Set b y D P A
Expansion goals for domestic and foreign petroleum operations calling for a world-wide total of about 90,000 wells in the period from July of this year to December of next year have been announced by the Defense Production Administration. Of the total, about 80,000 are expected to be drilled in the U. S. Refinery expansion is set to be raised to a total capacity of 8 million barrels a day by the end of 1953 and to just over 5 million barrels a d a y in foreign countries, including Canada. Present refining capacity is about 7,250,000 a day in t h e U. S. and about 4,424,000 barrels a d a y in foreign countries. Expansion of natural-gas liquids capacity is set for 131,000 barrels a day in the U. S. Also included w a s approval of an expansion of 19,700 miles of pipelines a n d 153,113,000 V O L U M E
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barrels of storage capacity in the U. S. T h e former will raise total pipeline mileage to about 185,000 a n d the latter increase will bring total storage capacity to over 1.2 billion barrels. Expansions in other countries of the free world for the 18-month program amount to 3800 miles of pipeline and 35,360,000 barrels of storage capacity. DPA said these figures represent estimates of needs and that actual expansion will d e p e n d on developments in the first half of 1952. TEL R e m o v e d f r o m Control
All control in the use of tetraethyllead fluid in automotive gasoline have been removed by the Petroleum Administration for Defense. Unrestricted use of T E L is n o w possible, said Secretary of Interior C h a p m a n , because P A D has reached an understanding with t h e military on the size of a TEL reserve to be maintained for emergencies and because a d e q u a t e facilities and raw materials are n o w available. PAD said, however, that users of T E L m u s t still keep records of its use and submit regular reports to the agency. This is necessary, it was said, because P A D w a n t s to keep in close touch with the T E L situation in case shortages develop or reserves are threatened. In making the announcement, P A D said t h a t the nation has been fortunate because Ethyl Corp. and D u Pont, the two manufacturers of T E L , have borne the full cost of the program arid have accumulated reserves in their own facilities. D M P A to G u a r a n t e e O v e r - t h e - C e i l i n g Price For C o p p e r f r o m A r i z o n a M i n e
The Defense Materials Procurement Agency has negotiated another over-the-ceiling price agreement for copper. T h e latest contract is with the Sam Knight Mining Lease, Inc., operators of the Christmas Mine in Gila County, Arizona. T h e two-year contract provides for continued operation of the mine at the current rate of 1,195,000 tons of electrolytic copper annually at a government-guaranteed price of 31.6 cents a pound, compared with the ceiling price of 24.2 cents a pound. Costs of operating the mine are so high, said DMPA, that production could not continue at the present ceiling prices. DMPA has entered into three other agreements of a similar nature and will thus provide almost 33 million pounds of copper during the life of these contracts. U n i f o r m C e i l i n g Prices Set for D O P Plasticizers
Uniform dollar-and-cenLs ceilings have been spelled out for sales of certain dioctyl phthalate-type plasticizers hy the Office of Price Stabilization. The specific D O P plasticizers covered in the new regulation are: dicapryl phthalate, di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate, diisooctyl phthalate, di-77-octyl phthalate, and /î-octyl-n-decyl phthalate. The new ceiling price regulations (accomplished by· issuance of supplementary regulation 24 to ceiling price regulation 22) replace present individual ceilings and are for tank car lots with minimum transportation costs allowed
1952
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INDUSTRIAL
MOBILIZATION
east of the eastern borders of Idaho, U t a h , and Arizona. This regulation also provides t h a t for other volumes and for delivery west of these states' eastern borders, each seller must maintain the terms and conditions of sale he had in effect during the period Dec. 19, 1950 to Jan. 25, 1951. OPS to A l l o w Chemical Suppliers to H o n o r Pricing Provisions of Long-Term Contracts
T h e Office of Price Stabilization has decided that suppliers of petroleum catalysts, ethyl chloride, and synthetic ethyl and isopropyl alcohols may ask permission to use pricing provisions of long-term written sales contracts in place of present ceilings as long as the contracts w e r e written before Jan. 26, 2*951. OPS defines t h e long-term contract as one that obligates a seller to make deliveries over a period of more t h a n a year. T h e seller, however, must a p p l y t o OPS for such rehef, giving evidence that the contract was entered into before Jan. 26, 1951, a copy of the contract, the prevaiHng prices of the chemical involved, and a description of the chemical. OPS will also ask the buyer whether h e agrees to the prices provided by the contract, his type of business and the use to which h e will put the chemical, and t o state that any cost change to him deriving fr>rn the regulation provisions will not be used by him as a basis for requesting an increase in the ceiling prices of commodities sold by him. 2 5 Chemicals R e m o v e d from I n v e n t o r y C o n t r o l , Sight Others A d d e d
NPA has removed 2 5 chemicals from inventory control a n d added eight others to the inventory control list. T h e following chemicals, removed from the list, are in approximate balance: aluminum sulfate aniline anthraquinone barium chemicals copper-8-hydroxyquinolinolate hydrogen peroxide maleic anhydride methanol methyl chloride nylon, plastic type phosphate plasticizers pentaerythritol phenol polyvinyl alcohol
polyvinylchloride and copolymer resins qninoline sodium hydrosulfide sodium sulfoxylate formaldehyde styrene tetraethylthiuramdisulfide trichloroethylene hydroquinones carbon tetrachloride glycerine perchloroethylene
T h e eight chemicals added t o t h e list are: alkyl phenol resins, acytylene, butadiene, p i n e oil, selenium compounds, toluene, zinc ammonium chloride, and zinc chloride. Users of these compounds will he required to keep no more than practicable working inventories. Ceramic grades of fluorospar, cryolite, and platinum have also been placed under inventory control. Rubber Order A m e n d e d
NPA has lifted its restrictions on the manufacture of white sidewall tires. This action, t a k e n through on an amendment to NPA's Rubber Order M-2, also increases the amounts of natural rubber that may he u s e d in the production of automotive tires. Further relaxation of restrictions on t h e use of natural rubber will be made in the near future, NPA said. T h e s e prospective changes will serve to widen the area of competition between natural a n d synthetic rubbers. NPA's most recent action follows a previous easing of restrictions on the use of natural rubber on Feb. 23. At that time, limitations on the private importation of dry natural rubber were removed, and G S A relinquished its position as 1558
exclusive importer of dry natural rubber, as of July 1, 1952. The permitted amount of d r y natural rubber that industry may use in a calendar quarter was raised from 105,000 to 110,000 long tons for the second, third, and fourth quarters of 1952. A t a recent meeting of the NPA rubber industry advisory committee, industry spokesmen urged t h a t Order M-2 b e revoked by July 1. The committee recommended that controls be limited to the R-l t y p e of order in effect prior to t h e Korean W a r . T h a t order, issued under t h e Rubber Act of 1948, set the minimum required consumption of synthetic rubber at 200,000 tons a year. Wilson Reports That M o b i l i z a t i o n Program Is Rolling W e l l A s H e Leaves W a s h i n g t o n
Charles E. Wilson's fifth a n d final report to the President as Director of Defense Mobilization stated that the military production program is rolling well and t h a t b y the end of this year, deliveries of military items will reach $10 billion worth a quarter. At this point, Wilson expects that military production will remain at that level throughout 1953 a n d 1954, which he terms the years of the "mobilization plateau." Some of the most important problems now facing' t h e nation in its effort to mobilize, as Mr. Wilson sees them are: military equipment produced in t h e next two or three years will have to b e constantly modernized; the mobilization base, facilities which will allow us to swing into full production more quickly, must be completed and systematically maintained; a minimum set of controls will have to b e developed on a long-run basis; manpower aspects must b e provided for; civil defense must be developed and maintained; and the mobilization program must be conceived on a freeworld basis. Reporting on the present status of industrial expansion, Mr. Wilson said that the 9 million tons of steel ingot capacity scheduled to go into operation this year will nearly achieve the goal of 120 million tons by 1953. The aluminum industry will add 415,000 short tons of primary capacity this year and 197,500 short tons next year. The chemical industry's plans for 1952 call for a capital expansion of $1.5 billion, about 78% of which will go into expanding capacity. H e said some of the earlier expansion programs such as the one for benzene are already bearing fruit. O n the question of manpower, Mr. Wilson devoted considerable attention. He said that one of the most difficult problems we are now facing is the shortage of scientists and engineers. H e recommended that government and industry both review their needs for engineers and scientists and work out programs for the further utilization of the skills of such employees. He said that such a program is the .only alternative for the present, because the supply of m e n with such skills cannot be increased soon. Appointments
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J. Ed Warren, an independent oil operator of Midland, Tex., has succeeded A. P . Frame as associate deputy administrator of the Petroleum Administration for Defense. Mr. Frame will return to his position with Cities Service after serving P A D since its establishment in October 1950. Morris T. Carpenter of Chicago has been named assistant director of the refining division of PAD, succeeding Walter C. Huffman of Wallingford, Pa. Mr. Carpenter has been with PAD since January after leaving his post as administrative director of the research department of Standard Oil ( I n d . ) . Mr. Huffman is leaving to return to his post in the manufacturing department of Sun Oil. Glenn W . Clark, newly elected president of Cities Service Gas Co., and C. P . Rather, president of the Southern Natural Gas Co., have been appointed members of the Gas Industry Advisory Council. C H E M I C A L
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ENGINEERING
NEWS
