ΐ REPORTS OIM
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INDUSTRIAL
MOBILIZATION
News of the nation's activity in marshaling its resources to meet the international emergency
Critical M a t e r i a l s E x c h a n g e w i t h N A T O H e l d Possible
The possibility of a short-term arrangement to exchange critical materials with countries in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization was held likely by Defense Production Administrator Manly Fleischmann in his comments t o the press upon his recent return from Europe. The DPA chief went abroad for a series of conferences with the Temporary Coordinating Committee, headed b y W. Averell Harriman, at v^hich he explained to western European representatives the objectives of this country's defense program and the current materials situation. While talks of a bartering program do not encompass anything so inclusive as the system used during World War II, Fleischmann indicated that some arrangement could b e made to share such critical materials as tin, steel, copper, lead, zinc, and rubber. The exchange of steel for tin shipments from England may lead off the n e w arrangement. England has applied for increased steel shipments. That country badly needs steel ingots not only for defense production, but also for industrial uses and the manufacture of consumer durables. These consumer items are especially important to England's economy as a means of producing goods that can be sold for dollars. Such a procedure would help bolster the coun try's economy and in turn would lead to stepped-up defense production. Tin fits into the picture because we are so short of the metal since high prices have forced the Reconstruction Finance Corp. to withdraw from the world tin market. There is a possibility that England, which controls a sub stantial part of the world's tin supply, would consider a trade of tin for steel. A l u m i n u m " C z a r " t o Expedite E x p a n s i o n ; Further A i d Seen If M e t a l Proves Copper Substitute
The Defense Production Administration has set up a new division, the Office of Aluminum, with Samuel W. Ander son as its administrator. Mr. Anderson will have powersί roughly equivalent to those "czars" of World War II days. He is a former program vice chairman of the War Productionι Board. H e is a past president of the Interstate Equities• Corp. of N e w York City, ard has been associated witht Lehman Brothers. H e came to Washington in 1948 to b eÎ director of the Industry Division of the Economic Coopera tion Administration. In his new capacity, Anderson will b e empowered to de velop aluminum expansion all the way down the line—fromι bauxite, alumina, aluminum, aluminum fabrication, sec ondary smelting, and cryolite. He will also have a say onι tax amortization benefits requested b y expansion-minded1 companies. In addition, decisions affecting the stockpile and1 actions touching on electric power supply for aluminum pro duction will clear with him. As it stands now, the aluminum expansion program is5 pretty well rounded out and established but DPA Administrator Fleischmann has declared that still further expansionι may b e made if t h e agency decides that aluminum can be3 used extensively as a substitute for still scarcer copper. Iff 5066
the idea proves workable, we can expect a second round of expansion. Aluminum's big three—Alcoa, Kaiser, and Reynolds—are already forging ahead with expansions to meet the goal of a 659,000-ton increase—almost double pre-Korean output. In addition Anaconda Copper and Harvey Machine have come into the picture with a proposed $40 million plant at Kalispell, Mont. Initial capacity of this plant would run to 54,000 tons a year. The go-ahead signal of this project now awaits the Justice Department's authorization for a tax amortization certificate. Johnston to L e a v e ESA Post
Eric Johnston, head of the Economic Stabilization Agency, has submitted his resignation to President Truman. The resignation is t o b e effective Nov. 30. Johnston is planning to return to his job as president of the Motion Picture Association from which he took his sec ond leave of absence last Jan. 2 to become ESA director. At that time he was t o b e gone for only nine months, but his leave was extended to Dec. 1. In his letter of resignation, Johnston told the President that he would continue to do everything within his power to prevent inflation. "No military defense can be any stronger than the economy which supports it," h e added. N o successor has as yet been named. Rumors that Muni tions Board Chairman John D . Small was being considered were denied b y President Truman's office. Johnston's choice. Price Administrator Michael V. DiSalle, has refused the job. Pigment G r o u p A s k s R e m o v a l o f Lead from Stockpile
Representatives of the organic and inorganic pigment in dustry have asked NPA t o withdraw supplies of lead from the national stockpile in order to increase the amount of lead products used in pigments. Lead requirements are double the amount available for allocation. Imports during this year have dropped from a total of 521,000 tons during 1950 to an average of 15,00Q tons during t h e first nine months of 1951. Reason for this is that the world market price is well over the 19-cents-apound U. S. price. Requirements for November were estimated at 60,000 tons, but only 28,000 tons were allocated. Industry members also urged that an effort be made to obtain an estimate of mib'tary requirements for zinc chromate, chromium oxide, medium chrome yellow, and yellow iron oxide. They felt that a heavy military demand for these items might have considerable effect on the civilian economy. They hope that with advance information they could swing up their production to cope with increased demands. The pigment group also asked that supplies of tungsten be allocated for other end uses besides printing inks. The industry is now b e i n g allocated 10,000 pounds of tungsten a month, and this allocation is restricted to the manufacture of pigments for printing inks. E v e n at that, this amount represents only one half the normal requirements. Some increase in imports is expected, but this will be absorbed i n rising military demands. C H E M I C A L
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ENGINEERING
NEWS
NPA took advantage of a meeting called to hear the requests of the industry to outline the supply situation on a number of the industry's basic raw materials. Sulfuric Acid. It comes as news to no one that the supply is short. Official orders to limit its uses are still under discussion and the industry was urged to submit any suggestions it might have on the subject, particularly on the conservation angle. Selenium. A by-product of the copper industry, the availability of the metal is in proportion to the electrolytic copper produced in this country and Canada. Consequently, the supply is very short. Only about 60% of the requirements for high-grade quantities and about 50% of the requirements for commercial grade can be met. Molybdenum. Supply is expected to be higher for December. Present allocations amount to about 87% of estimated needs. Bichromate. During the past six to eight months, tne supply has increased and now demand is not very much in excess of supply. Further increases may be limited because of the lack of adequate inland transportation to move greater quantities of chrome ore from the mines to the ports of South Africa (one of the main foreign sources) and again—the shortage of sulfuric acid used in processing the ore once it reaches this country. Coal Tar Intermediates. D y e stuffs, lake colors, and acid colors are not particularly short. The intermediates, such as phthalic anhydrides, alkyd resins, and phenol are in tight supply. Expansion of facilities are expected to ease the pressure on supplies late next year, or in 1953A l u m i n u m Foil A l l o t t e d on End-Use Basis
After setting aside 3.6 million pounds of aluminum foil for military requirements during the first quarter of 1952, NPA has announced that it will permit the use of 57% of the average monthly use in the base period (last six months of 1950) for the packaging of antibiotics, drugs, film, and food products. Converters who process products for household use, labels, and decorative wrappings will be permitted 27.75% or 23.5% of the base period use, depending on the product. NPA officials said that the supply situation should improve later in 1952 when it hopes to make available more supplies of the foil for civilian use. The industry has asked that NPA explore the possibilities of importing foreign aluminum for nonmilitary use to augment CMP allotments. NPA has agreed to do this. T i n Stockpile Stands at 1 1 , 3 4 0 Tons; S e v e r e Cuts Expected
NPA has disclosed that the Reconstruction Finance Corp/s tin stockpile has dwindled to 11,340 tons, or approximately two months* supply at industry's current use. Of this amount, only 7500 tons is grade A tin. In addition to this amount, the only other tin presently available for industrial use is that being produced b y the government-owned Texas City smelter, which now amounts to 1600 to 1700 tons a month. The reason for this state of affairs, is, of course, the high world-market price asked by Bolivia, a price pegged at $1.50 a pound. At a recent meeting with NPA, tin industry representatives spoke of the hardships that situation is working on the industry. NPA has announced that tin allotments will be cut, but has not said definitely by how much. Not only does this leave the tin people facing a big question mark, but they feel that in the face of reductions, they will have no other alternative but t o shut down operations in the latter part of the first quarter of 1952. This will be necessary, they have explained, because it takes eight weeks to produce tin plate, and they are now V O L U M E
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producing steel for January delivery. So far, the industry has been assuming that about the same amount of tin would be available for tin plate in the first quarter of 1952 as i n the current fourth quarter, and production plans have been made accordingly. (The quota had been established a t 7755 tons for the first quarter, but NPA has said that present indications are there will not be more than 5000 or 60OO tons available.) An additional problem, in the event of a shutdown, will be the loss of much of the industry's skilled help, with t h e consequence that it will be difficult to get tin plate production back to the necessary levels. NPA officials pointed out that tin is not in short supply on an international basis. In the first eight months of 1951, world-wide production exceeded consumption b y 18,400 long tons. The arrival at a fair and reasonable price will bring tin into this country. Industry members stressed that any saving that might be made with regard to the purchase of tin on the world market could easily become a very slight gain in comparison with losses that the tin plate and the canning industries might sustain if sufficient tin is not made available. The agency has been investigating ways to conserve tin, but reported that no satisfactory substitute has yet been found. Some progress has been made in improving heavy electrolytic tin coatings, but this is still in the experimental stage. Also, some savings might be achieved b y the use of dual coatings of tin and enamel, but this is also still only experimental. Several methods are available for producing chemically treated steel so that it will make a satisfactory container without a tin coating, but this country does not as yet have any capacity for producing this type of steel. D e f e n s e N e e d s to Be S u p p o r t e d b y Record-Breaking Crop of Castor Beans
At the request of the Munitions Board, the Department of Agriculture has authorized an increase in the 1952 crop of castor beans by approximately 200,000 acres. Castor oil is a strategic oil for which there is a continuing demand for military purposes. It is estimated that this increased acreage will produce 113 million to 155 million pounds of castor beans in 1952, from which about 50 million to 70 million pounds of castor oil will be obtained. The price to be paid to farmers who plant under this program will b e the higher of 10 cents a pound, hulled basis, or the market price at time of delivery. This is the same price that w a s paid this year. The program will be financed by the Commodity Credit Corp., but the losses, if any, will be reimbursed from funds provided under the Defense Production Act, as amended. The 1951 crop, grown on 84,000 acres, showed an increase of more than 900% above the 1950 outturn 'when only 9000 acres were grown by farmers. Lid Pops on Corn C o b s
The Office of Price Stabilization has removed corn cobs from all price controls. This action, following a recent announcement that ceilings have also been lifted on Christmas trees, was not a followthrough on a piece of whimsey. Corn cobs are a basic material used in furfural, a chemical important i n defense production. NPA had joined major furfural processors i n urging the OPS action. The measure was taken, according to OPS, to stimulate t h e collection of corn cobs and to speed their movement t o processing plants in quantities sufficient to meet the sharply stepped-up demand for furfural. Furfural has more than 5 0 industrial uses, including the making of petroleum butadiene required in the production of synthetic rubber, nylon, and corrosion-resistant equipment.
1951
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