fountains, a n d bars. Designs, such as rare wood veneers, abstract prints, soft m a t finishes, photographic w o o d grains, a n d layers "as glossy as p a t e n t l e a t h e r " are i m b e d d e d in t h e layer of plastic i m mediately u n d e r the top layer. Mr. A b b i a t i also p r e d i c t e d a diminishing market b e cause of t h e low birth rate of t h e 30's. In that classic, "Gulliver's Travels," t h e theme is that nothing is great or small except b y comparison. It is p e r h a p s timely to compare sales of chemicals and allied products with those in m a n u f a c t u r e d p r o d ucts generally, as d e p i c t e d in t h e t o p a c c o m p a n y i n g graph. T h e two graphs t h r o u g h t h e years h a v e proceeded parallel for t h e m o s t part. D u r ing t h e first three m o n t h s of 1952 sales of
BUSINESS
PHHCES8 J N H U S T i l l E S * QUTLII@iC Steel lost b y strikes 3 4 . 5 million tons in p o s t - w a r . . . A u t o a n d machine tool industries suffer . . . Textile industry better . . . C h e m i c a l sales off in M a r c h UST as some one has described the piccolo as an "ill wind that nobody blows good," so is the steel strike perhaps "an ill wind that blows no good." But in this case it is difficult to find any "good." If much further prolonged, many an industry must curtail operations or close down. Apparently too many responsible heads of government have merely been playing the piccolo while the open-hearth furnaces have failed to burn. Of course t h e Pied Piper of Hamlin did some effective work with the piccolo. But his influence was merely on the children of t h e land. Civilization has become adult—and adult methods are needed for t h e steel strike.
J
5.5 Million Tons Steel Lost As of June 15, 34.5 million tons of steel had b e e n lost because of major strikes in the United States since the end of W o r l d W a r II, the American Iron and Steel I n stitute estimates. This includes nearly 5.5 million tons lost in late April, early May, a n d the first two weeks in June. One of the first to suffer is t h e automobile industry where lack of steel will halt some assembly lines and curtail output of others very soon, regardless of h o w quickly t h e steel mills resume operations. T h e tardiness of our aircraft program is blamed on scarcity of machine tools, and these in turn depend on the steel supply. Undoubtedly many a chemical processing industry will be in distress for equipment if steel becomes extremely scarce. It is more pleasant to scrutinize t h e more cheerful aspects of business. Statistics concerning various segments of t h e textile industry appear "quite favorable," according to Bache & Co., w h o point out that t h e rate of new orders, beginning with fourth quarter, last year, have recovered from the low point of last summer. T h e current flow of orders is about equal to mill production, they say. T h e ratio of mill inventories to sales in April this year was the best for t h e last t e n months. A slap at man-made fibers, in favor of wool, was given recently by Giles E . H o p kins, New York technical director, Wool Bureau, Inc. H e mentioned "miracle" socks that stain his feet, blankets that produce enough static to blank out his radio, and a "miracle" suit that has t u r n e d to ashes from a spark from his pipe. H e admitted that t h e world will need man-made fibers because b y 1980 there will b e a billion more people to clothe. But w e mustn't forget wool which has been with us for a long time and which has been developed t h r o u g h actual experience over many generations of service. Turning to the field of plastics, F . A.
2744
Abbiati, general manager, Monsanto, told t h e home appliance manufacturers t h a t 2.5 billion pounds of plasb" - are b e i n g produced this year, or three times t h e o u t p u t of 1946. Many new designs a r e being incorporated in melamine l a m i n a t e d plastics for the tops of kitchen tables, soda
/
SALES, Chemical & Allied Products vs. Ail Manufacturing BILLIONS OR DOLLARS
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CHEMICALS AND AIMED PRODUCTS
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RECLAIMED RUBBER
STEEL OPERATIONS
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PER CENT CAPACITY
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WOOL CONSUMPTION
PHENOLIC PLASTICS (and Other Tar Add Resins)
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NEWS
all manufactured products were rising constantly as follows: January, $22.0 billion; February, $22.1 billion; and March, $23.0 billion. In the case of chemicals and allied products, March slumped a bit. Figures are so close, month by month, that round numbers cannot be used. The record for three months was: $1,518,000,000, $1,598,000,000, and $1,524,000,000. In both categories March sales were below those for the year before. In chemicals, $1.5 billion compares with $1.6 billion for March 1951; for all manufacturing, $23.0 compares with $23.7 billion the year previous. The most striking improvement over the year before was in machinery (other than electrical), transportation equipment, beverages, tobacco manufactures, and printing and publishing. The graph on steel operations has shown considerable dip of late for the first time in many months, due of course to the steel strike, the abortive seizure by the President, and the heated controversies that have ensued. Working at 102.0.% of capacity in March, the pace dipped to 89.7% in April and 89.8% in May, and of course as this is written the pace is but little above zero. In May 1951 the gait was 102.8%. The Iron Age commented on June 18: "Steel consumers are no longer complacent. They are gravely worried about their shrinking inventories, duration of the strike, and how they can keep operating until steel production is resumed." Consumption of reclaimed rubber continues at a low ebb, especially by comparison with the spring of 1951. Consumption in March had been 24,911 tons as against 32,678 tons the year before. January had experienced a spurt to 26,553 tons. Reclaimed Rubber "Has Something" Reclaimed rubber is not merely something to be used up to get rid of, but apparently adds certain chemical properties when mixed with new rubber. The reclaimed material may contain both natural and synthetic rubber. The graph on wool consumption has a jagged downhill direction, 34.5 million pounds in February 1952 comparing "with 42.9 million 12 months before. Consumption in January had been 40.3 million pounds. The 60-million mark had been reached twice in 1951. Production of phenolic plastics is another instance of considerable inferiority to the year before, or as 30.8 million pounds in March compares with 42.0 million in March 1951. January and February were about tied at 31 million pounds, though February was a short month. The peak of the graph is some 44 million, with 26 million the bottom. CHART CREDITS: Wool ConsumptionBureau of the Census; Reclaimed Rubber —Department of Commerce; Phenolic Resins—U. S. Tariff Commission; Steel Operations—American Iron and Steel Institute; Chemical Sales—Bureau of the Census. VOLUME
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How Much of the 2100A-10,000A Range Must Y O U Cover? T w o quickly interchangeable optical systems equip the Bausch & Lomb Large Littrow Spectrograph to solve your spectro-analytkul problems. The quartz system gives you complete coverage of the 21OOA-8000A range, with unsurpassed dispersion in the crowded 22OOA-3500A range where most of the spectral lines of the major elements are found. T h e glass system extends your coverage to lO,O00A. Extremely sturdy, heavy construction eliminates vibration, insures permanent alignment and adjustment. SPECTROGRAPHS ENGINEERING SERVICE Y o u r specific spectrographs problem may require the full range coverage of the Large Littrow—or perhaps another model in the B&L line will do the job satisfactorily. This can quickly be determined by a specially trained spectrographs: engineer. Expert advisory service is promptly available to you on request, to help you select the equipment most practically suited to your needs, and to assist you in proper installation. No obligation, of course. WRITE
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itonseii â &@nib JUNE
3 0,
1952
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