INDUSTRIAL A N D ENGINEERING CHEMISTRY
March, 1930
Literature Cited
213
(4) Peterkin and Ferris, IND.ENG.CHEM.,17, 1248 (1925). (5) Piroomov and Beiswenger, Am. Petroleum Inst., Rept. Meeting, December, 1928, p. 52. (6) Wilson and Bahlke, IXD. Eac. CHEM.,16, 115 (1924)
(1) James, J . SOC.Aulontoliwe En!., 18, 501 (1926). (2) Murphree. IND.ENG.CHEM.,17, 747 (1925). (3) Peterkin, Proc. 4 m . Petroleum I n s t . , 9, 142 (1927).
9th Annual
Our Last Year’s Foreign Trade in Chemicals and Related Products’ Otto Wilson NATIONAL PRESSCLUB,W A S E I N G ~ OD. N , C.
A
YEAR of steady, prosperous activity in American chemical industries is indicated by the Government’s figures of our 1929 foreign trade in cheriicals just released. A marked increase in the value of exports of American chemicals and related products accompmied a small gain in imports. -4s a rewlt an adverse balance of trade of nearly $A,000,000 in 1928 Tyas changed to a favorable balance of 18,000,000 in 1929. The significant feature of the returns, however, lies in the fact that the gain of $15.000,000 in the export trade was due, not to the swelling of a few outstanding items, but to increases in nearly all the large groups of chemicals. In the import trade, on the other hand, a gain of $6,000,000 in industrial chemicals was balanced by a like decrease in fertilizers, with the other groups showing no very wide fluctuations. U n i t e d S t a t e s Foreign T r a d e i n C h e m i c a l s and R e l a t e d P r o d u c t s YEAR IMPORTS EXPORTS BALANCE OF TRADE 1928 1929
$143,234,000 144,062,000
$137,331,000 152,162,000
-$5,903,000 +$8,100,000
CHEMICALS AND RELATED PRODUCTS
I n compiling tht: foreign-trade statistics the Government includes most imports and exports of chemicalis in one major statistical group, Group 8, headed “Chemicals and Related Product’s.” This is divided into eight subgroups. The total value of the imports and exports in each of these subgroups in the last two years was as follows: I m p o r t s a n d Exports b y S u b g r o u p s IMPORTS
SUBGROUP 1928 1929 Coal-tar products SS3,907,000 522,824,000 Medicinals and pharnia5,179,000 6,422,000 ceuticals Industrial chemical speciala ties 24,165,000 30,644,000 Industrial chemicals Pigments, paints, and varnishes 3 766 000 3 821 000 Fertilizers and materials 78:118:000 72.’340:000 Explosives, fuses, etc. 979,000 960,000 Soap and toilet preparations 7,121,000 6,941,000 a Not separately stated.
EXPORTS 19% 1929 514,113,000 $18,059,000 20,522,000
21,282,000
14,551,000 25,501,000
14,457,000 28,194,000
25 614 000 16:095:000 5,165,000
29 119 000 20:444:000 4,549,000
15,721,000
16,059,000
While the group totals in 1929 were thus, for the most part. fairly close t o tho,se of the previous year, the trade in particular commodities often showed wide variations. The more important of these are noted below. 1 Received February 5 . 1930. All 1929 figures are ?reliminary but in general may be taken as correct, as the final figures seldom show changes of importance. Values of imports (except coal-tar products) are those declared a t foreign port of shipment and do not include owan freight and insurance. Export valcations are those declared by American exporters. Further details relating to given imports or exports may b,e obtained through this publication or by addressing the writer of the article. Government statistics on which these annual reviews are based are not available for the calendar year until the end of the following January. As heretofore. we have delayed publication of this review until it could be based on the full twelve-months figures.
Coal-Tar Products
Imports of coal-tar products fell off somewhat in 1929, while exports registered a large gain. But the lower total of the incoming trade was due almost wholly to the drop in a single item, creosote oil. Purchases of this coal-tar crude dropped to 79,301,000 gallons from 88,385,000 gallons in 1928. Lower prices cut the total value in still greater proportion, from $13,928,000 to $i10,119,000. The average valuation of all imports was 12.8 cents per gallon as against 15.8 cents in 1928. (This valuation differs from that of all other chemical imports in that in the case of intermediates and finished products it is based on the American selling price. In the case of crudes, which come in free, it is based on the wholesale price abroad.) Last gear’s decline both in quantity and average value was a continuation of a tendency of the last three years. Other crudes and intermediates in general showed good increases, while imports of finished coal-tar derivatives were more than 20 per cent higher than in 1928. Finished colors, dyes, stains, etc., from Europe continued to grow in volume. The gain in the trade with Germany and Switzerland noted in 1928 carried on through 1929. Purchases from these and other sources in the last two years were as follows: I m p o r t s of Colors, Dyes, Stains, Color Acids, and Color Bases COUNTRY 1928 1929
Value
Pounds
115,000 74,000 4,056,000 65,000 1,639,000 98,000 205,000
I
137,000 90,000 4,250,000 60,000 2,005,000 96,000 239,000
76,000 108,000 4,685,000 14,000 2,563,000 92,000
-_55,000
___
6,252,000
$6,877,000
7:593,000
88,448,000
Pounds Belgium France Germany Italy Switzerland United Kingdom Other countries Total
Value $
96,000 160,000 5,019,000 12,000 3,000.000 101,000 60,000
The average valuation of the imports from Switzerland, $1.17 per pound, was 5 cents lower than in 1928, but that of the German products slightly increased. Coal-tar medicinals registered a gain of 36 per cent in volume last year, imports of 153,000 pounds, valued a t $332,000, comparing with 113,000 pounds valued a t $209,000 in 1928. Exports of coal-tar products showed a healthy gain of nearly 30 per cent in value, the total rising from 114,113,000 in 1928 t o $18,059,000 last year. But this was very largely due to increased sales of a single article, benzene, exports of which went to 33,346,000 gallons valued at $8,537,000, as compared with 21,338,000 gallons valued a t $4,963,000 in 1928. This gain much more than off-set a decline which the 1928 trade had experienced. Germany, the United Kingdom, and Belgium are the largest buyers of American benzene. Exports of other crude distillates showed both gains and losses, the chief decreases being in sales of coal-tar, pitch, and coke. Coal-tar dropped from an export total of 138,000 barrels in 1928 to 109,000 barrels in 1929, and pitch and coke
214
ILVDUSTRIAL ,4iVD ENGINEERIA-G CHEMISTRY
from 38,000 tons to 21,000 tons. Intermediates rose from 2,790,000 pounds to 2,809,000 pounds, while higher valuations brought the 1929 total to $418,000 against $316,000 in the preceding, year. Exports of finished coal-tar products increased about 8 per cent in value. They were very largely colors, dyes, and stains, amounting to 34,130,000 pounds valued at $7,277,000, against 27,824,000 pounds valued a t $6,532,000 in 1928. Coal-tar medicinals, however, dropped from 792,000 pounds t o 183,000 pounds, although the value, $185,000, was as much as 60 per cent of that of 1928. Medicinals and Pharmaceuticals Both imports and exports under this heading increased last year over the preceding year’s trade. The largest import item continued to be menthol, whose total rose from 254,000 pounds in 1928 to 296,000 pounds in 1929. Although the Japanese trade made up the great bulk of this business, shipments from France reached as much as 26,000 pounds, a gain of nearly 30 per cent, while Germany’s contribution, 14,000 pounds, was more than double that of the year before. Imports of quinine sulfate, 2,472,000 ounces, were more than one-third larger than in 1928. This was due to the fact that the Netherlands trade more than doubled, rising from 884,000 ounces to 1,831,000 ounces, while imports from Germany, Switzerland, and Japan declined about lOC,OOO ounces earh. Our foreign sales of medicinals were again several times as heavy as our purchases. The largest single item was medicinal preparations for internal use, chiefly patent and proprietary medicines, the total value of which reached $11,549,000, which was about the same as in 1928. For the first time the Government statistics last year stated separately the trade in a number of important medicinals. The leading items for the year were: cinchona salts, $147,000; milk of magnesia, $294,000; white mineral oil, $450,000; biologics (antitoxins, serums, vaccines, etc.) for animals, $527,000, and for human use, $1,577,000; glandular products, $426,000; medicinal plasters, $501,000; liniments, $631,000; salves and ointments, $2,010,000; tonics, $3,227 000; cough and bronchial preparations, $377,000. Industrial Chemical Specialties These comprise a number of chemicals of interest largely to exporters, and figures covering them are given separately only for the outgoing trade. The largest item is household disinfectants, insecticides, deodorants, etc., of which 10,262,000 pounds of liquid and 721,000 pounds of paste or powdered preparations were sold in 1929. These go to all countries of the world, but much the largest quantities are sent to Eorth and South America. Tobacco extracts sold abroad were valued at $566,000 as against $603,000 in the previous year. Sales of American baking powder abroad likewise fell off somewhat, amounting to 5,315,000 pounds valued a t 91,730,000, as compared with 5,679,000 pounds valued a t $2,016,000 in 1928. Other items in the trade in this group in 1929 included petroleum jelly, 7,073,000 pounds, valued a t $926,000, an increase of about 10 per cent in quantity; water softeners, purifiers, etc., 3,264,000 pounds valued a t $394,000, a 16 per cent gain; shoe polishes, 2,746,000 pounds valued at $808,000, a decrease of 16 per cent; automobile polishes, 1,261,000pounds valued at $345,000; and wood and furniture polishes, 1,577,000 pounds valued a t $346,000, which were not stated separately in 1928. Industrial Chemicals As this group deals largely with those articles usually when the word is used included under the term
Vol. 22. No. 3
in its more restricted sense, it will be of value to give the import and export returns for each separate commodity in the group: U n i t e d S t a t e s Foreign T r a d e in I n d u s t r i a l C h e m i c a l s CHEMICAL 1928 1929 Pounds Poundr IMPORTS
Acids and anhydrides: Arsenious acid or white arsenic Formic Oxalic Sulfuric (oil of vitriol) Tartaric Acetic or pyroligneous All other Alcohols, including fusel oil, value Ammonium compounds, n.e s.: Chloride (muriate) Nitrate All other Barium compounds Calcium carbide Cobalt oxide Copper sulfate (blue vitriol) Lime, chlorinated, or bleaching powder Glycerol: Crude Refined Iodine, crude Magnesium compounds Potassium compounds, n.e.s.: Cyanide Carbonate Hydroxide (caustic potash) S t r a t e , crude, or saltpeter, tons Bitartrate, crude, argols, or wine lees Cream of tartar Chlorate and perchlorate Others, n.e.s. Sodium compounds, n.e.s.: Cyanid e Ferrocyanide (yellow prussiate) ?.litrite XI1 other, n.e.s., d u e Radium salts, grains zlalue 4 1 1 other industrial chemicals, ualue
22,306,000 2,254,000 890,000 26,328,000 1,913d000 21,92s,ooo 5202,000
26,314,000 1,387,000 1,346,000 16,208,000 2,220,000 29,235,000 1,800,oon $239,000
11,024,000 13,172,000 1,439,000 14,877,000 2,527,000 364,000 3,612,000 3,167,000
9,561,000 9,496,000 8,151,000 974,000 3,773,000 476,000 5,389,000 2,792,000
4,9 16,000 4,210,000 721,000 17,311,000
14,602,000 5,493,000 627,000 17,928,000
116,000 16,912,000 11,648,000 9,674 12,890,000 159,000 13,130,000 12,040,000
137,000 22,644,000 15,648,000 12,800 18,001,oon 181,000 13,956,000 19,393,000
37,577,000 1,625,000 108,000 $1,725,000 169 $566,000 $5,116,000
40,047,000 1,940,000 312,000 $2,9S7,000 165 5579,000 $6,912,000
EXPORTS
Acids and anhydrides: Sulfuric 7,000,000 6,960,000 Boric 3,382,000 5,204,000 Other 12,431,000 15,254,000 Alcohols : 524,000 498,000 Methanol, gallons 2,052,000 1,374,000 Glycerol 2,949,000 2,126,000 Other 4,959,000 7,897,000 Acetone Formaldehyde (formalin) 2,368,000 2,588,000 Acetates, amyl, ethyl, butyl, etc. 842,000 698,000 Nitro or aceto cellulose solutions, collodion, etc. 1,805,000 2,111,000 Ammonia compounds (except sulfate and an2,679,000 1,659,000 hydrous ammonia) 45,426,000 52,217,000 hluminum sulfate Other aluminum compounds 837,000 549,000 Calcium compounds: 101,000 11,173,000 Acetate of lime 4,345,000 3,746,000 Calcium carbide 5,024,000 21,S70,000 Chlorinated lime or bleaching powder a 30,851,000 Calcium chloride 17,526,000 6,420,000 4,145,000 Other, except arsenate and cyanide 8,667,000 Copper sulfate (blue vitriol) 21,3916000 20,828,000 Dextrin or British gum 2,238,000 Hydrogen peroxide (or dioxide) a 695,000 Magnesium salts 3,047,000 5,237;OOO Potassium compounds (not fertilizers) 42,000 h-ickel salts 542,350,000 705,605,000 Sodium compounds, n.e.s.: 5,855,000 8,692,000 Bichromate and chromate 1,816,000 1,522,000 Cyanide 135,703,000 159,768,000 Borate (borax) 59,326,000 66,735,000 Silicate (water glass) .. .... 66,666;OOO Carbonate: 77,913,000 12,395,000 Soda ash a Sal soda 18,71lA0O0 18,942,000 Bicarbonate (acid soda or baking soda) 3,332,000 Sulfate Modified soda (combinations of soda ash and a 19,193,000 caustic soda or soda ash and bicarbonate) Hydroxide, including lye: 119,415,000 117,390,000 Hydroxide 22 1,298,000 968,000 Lye 132,319,000 Other sodium compounds 658,000 Tin compounds 591,000 3,423,000 Zinc compounds 3,377,000 Gases, compressed and liquefied: Ammonia, anhydrous 1,908,000 2,417,000 7,168,000 Chlorine 5,493,000 906,000 497,000 Oxygen 2,354,000 1,882,000 $6,467,000 Other $5,205,000 All other industrial chemicals, ualzke a Not stated separately
.
As in past years, the leading commodity among the imports of industrial chemicals was sodium cyanide, trade in which showed a 6 per cent gain in 1929 in point of quantity, while the value increased still more, rising from $2,930,000
I X D U X T R I l L A N D ENGINEERIGG CHE;MISTRY
March. 1930
in 1928 to $3,199,000 in 1929. Canada, as usual, supplied about three-fourths of the total. Shipments from Germany registered a 26 per cent increase, reaching 5,764,000 pounds in 1929, and those from the United Kingdom and Czechoslovakia also showed gains, while imports from France dropped froni 2,203,000 pounds in 1928 to 1,700,000 pounds in 1929. Switzerland and the Netherlands reentered the list with 522,000 pounds and 325,000 pounds. respectively. Second to sodium cyanide in point of value was crude iodine, imports of which reached a total of $2,249,000. This was a drop of about 8 per cent, and marked a continuation of the downward tendency noted in the year before. Of AV 1921-25 $l60,000,000 /50,000,000
/40,000,000
/30,000,000
/20000,000
//o,ooo,ooo
1925
I926
192 7
215
$11,624,000. Caustic soda is the leading sodium export, sales in 1929 amounting to a total value of $3,413,000, or about the same as the year before. Japan, the Latin dmerican countries, and Canada take the bulk of these exports. Borax exports dropped off 15 per cent in value in 1929, the year's total of $2,935,000 comparing with $3,454,000 in the preceding year. Europe takes the great majority of these exports. Sales of carbonate of soda showed a healthy gain, the total value in 1929 being $1,529,000 as against $1,241,000 in 1928. The values of the other leading exports in the industrial chemicals group, with gain or loss compared with 1928, were as follows: dextrin or British gum, 1928 f929 $983,000, a gain of 6 per cent; acetone, $708,000. about 66 per cent more than in 1928; nitro or aceto cellulose solutions, collodion, etc., $625,000, a gain of 64 per cent; aluminum sulfate, $604.000, about 10 per cent more than in 1928; compounds of potassium (other than fertilizers) $584,000, a 4 per cent loss; and anhydrous ammonia, $427.000, a 35 per cent gain. Pigments, Paints, and Varnishes
100 000,000
I m p o r t s of paints and colors weie niuch the same in 1929 as in 1928, thc total value of the trade showing a slight gain. The mo
