mates that this year's production of s y n thetic resins will be 10% afbove last y e a r , or 2.6 billion pounds versus 2.4 billion in 1951, and 2.2 in 1950. The plastics molder and fabricator l i a v e been aided by more plaixt facilities for production of polystyrene^ polyethylene, and the phenolics, he said. Turning now to the accompanying graphs, it is recalled that Washington h a s worried of late because of increasing u n employment in some centers, such as Detroit, brought on by inability to g e t certain raw materials for civilian g o o d s manufacture. Sure enough, our current graph on e m ployment among chemicals a n d allied p r o d ucts shows some falling oflE in November,
BUSINESS
PROCESS INDUSTRIES* OUTLOOK Plentiful basic m a t e r i a l s t a k e s o m e curse off scarcities . . . R u b b e r a n d plastics in excellent s u p p l y . . . C o p p e r will i m p r o v e . . . Synthetic r u b b e r use still skyrockets shortages that plague the P RINCIPAL tion were pinned down recently
naby Manly Fleischmann, defense production administrator, to aluminum, copper, brass mill work, nickel, and structural steel shapes and steel plates. These shortages will particularly effect housing, commercial construction, highways, automobiles, freight cars, household appliances, and the like. As to nickel, he said, military requirements in the United States alone exceed t h e available supply "in the whole free world." Essential civilian production has been limited to only 6% of total supply. The big drain on structural steel has been due to construction of new defense plants and now that this has been accomplished largely, or at least steel allotted for it, the situation should gradually ease, it would seem to any analytical observer. Despite the almost overwhelming impact of shortages, several statements of hope and cheer have been made recently. Take copper—one of the "big three" scarcities. Our copper supply should begin to improve materially in the latter half of the year, said Cornelius F. Kelley, chairman, Anaconda Copper Mining Co., recently.
The SPI itself, he states, organized a program to correct the polystyrene plastics shortage of twelve months ago b y proposing and obtaining imports of benzene from France and Western Germany and by acquiring additional benzene from petroleum production. Mr. Cruse esti-
EMPLOYMENT Chemical and Allied Products THOUSANDS OF WORKERS
700
6€0
200
1*10
11^50.1
WM4M
SfiSS!
Better Hopes for Copper By the end of 1953 Anaconda's production should be 125,000 tons yearly above present levels, Mr. Kelley said. Moreover, projects already under way or contemplated in the United States and abroad should further augment the world supplyb y an additional 240,000 tons, starting 1955—56. Domestic mine production now averages 90,000 tons a month, with an additional 35,000 tons available from foreign sources. In quite a contrary situation from copper, our rubber supply would make a dictator chuckle with satisfaction—if that supply were his. W e have enough rubber, crude and man-made, to meet all essential needs for a five year all-out war, says John L. Collyer, president, B. F. Goodrich Co. American plants, now producing 930,0 0 0 long tons of man-made rubber annually, may be counted on to provide 65c/r of the nation's total rubber needs, will consume 1.2 to 1.3 million tons of rubber this year. Plastics, too, present a pleasing picture of plenty. The supply of plastics raw material has improved substantially from a year ago, says William T. Cruse, executive vice president, Society of the Plastics Industry, Inc. Though one or t w o types are a "bit tight," raw materials are generally available.
286
SYNTHETIC RUBBER C O N S U M P T I O N , T H O U S A N D S Of
U5 N G
BY-PRODUCT COKE
TOMS
PRODUCTION. MILLIONS OF SHORT TONS
A/
50
*0
1 35
-
idA/
55
J
.v y
s
-
V
-
1
^
^
V
/V
s**t . . . . . . . . 1950
1
1
1
'
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
. 1
1951
1 MOTOR VEHICLES
PAPER AND PAPERBOARD
FACTORY SALES, PASSENGER CARS, C O A C H E S , A N D TRUCKS THOUSANDS OF UNITS
PRODUCTION, THOUSANDS OF SHORT TONS 1050 900
A yv A
750 (500
i
300
f
IJ0
1 ir
L
f^X:^
W
Vv
,,,,,, 1950
1951
CHEM.ICAL AND ENGINEERING M i g g g
CHEMICAL
AND
ENGINEERING
NEWS
last figures available, or from 766,000 employees in October to 762,000 in November. In the case of industrial organic chemicals and the inorganics, the last figures available are for September and here employment was increasing, as would normally be expected in the first fall month. Among organic chemicals, 231,800 total workers in August were stepped up to 232,200 in September; for inorganic chemicals, 84,000 workers improved to 84,600. Factory employment generally totaled 15.9 million in November, down 80,000 from the previous month. This represented mainly seasonal reductions in the lumber, canning, apparel, and shoe industries. Aircraft, metalworking machinery, and shipbuilding industries continued to expand their workforce to meet defense production goals. Over the year factory employment gained 100,000. Production of paper and paperboard these months is falling considerably short of the record of over 2.4 million short tons established in May. November output was 2.1 million, following 2.2 million tons in October, and comparing with 2.2 million in November last year. The breakdown for October was: paper, including building paper, 1.2 million tons; paperboard, 1.0 million, with building board 115,000 tons. Big Expansion for Coke Scheduled By-product coke production has a bearing on output of coal chemicals. This graph essentially shows no definite trend. October production was 6.1 million tons against 6.0 million the year before. However, total coke output, by all processes, in 1951, at 79 million tons, a new record, was 9.6% higher than the year before. Moreover in the steel capacity expansion program, a net increase of over 6 million tons yearly in coke capacity is expected. In 1951 the steel industry's coke capacity was 66.3 million tons. The graph on factory sales of motor vehicles has been declining gradually, in line with shrinking production. Sales in November, the last month available, were 450,800 oars, coaches, and trucks, comparing with 603,569 units in November 1950. The peak has definitely been established as June 1950 at 856,615 units which represented the high point for abolishing the scarcity created by the war. When speaking of automobiles, it is appropriate to consider synthetic rubber. Consumption knows no bounds, a new high having been established in October, at 69,159 tons, comparing with 68,460 tons in September and 54,507 tons in October 1950. The Rubber Act of 1950 expires in June 30, 1952, by which time government plants may be apportioned among private rubber producing companies. CHART CREDITS: Chemical Employment—Department of Labor; By-Product Coke Production—Bureau of Mines; Paper and Paperboard—Department of Commerce; Synthetic Rubber—Department of Commerce; Motor Vehicles—Department of Commerce. V O L U M E
3 0,
NO.
3
NEVILLE NEVSOLV
RESINS COUMARONE-1NDEWE MODIFIED COUMARONE INDENE PETROLEUM OXIDIZING RESIN SOLUTIONS
a group of aromatic Petroleum Solvents
These aromatic Petroleum Solvents are available in a number o f different distillation ranges from low boiling to high boiling. In addition to the standard distillation ranges, we invite inquiry on special fractions to meet your particular requirements. NEVSOLV Solvents a r e manufactured to rigid specifications, insuring high solvent power, constant evaporation rates and negligible residue.
AROMATIC SOLVENTS PETROLEUM COAL-TAR
PLASTICIZiNG OILS CREOSOTE 0!LS SHINGLE STAIM OILS
W r i t e for samples a n d further information
NEUTRAL OILS
on these uniform Neville solvents
TAR ACID OILS
CE-3-F
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THE NEVILLE COMPANY
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PITTSBURGH 25, PA.
Plants at Neville Island, Ra, and Anaheim, Cal.
o# U&n&tdeuf value. For Clinical and Biological Technicians
Contains:
THE MANUAL of STANDARDIZED PROCEDURES for SPECTROPHOTOMETRIC CHEMISTRY /
METHODS for the determination of SUBS 1 AIN
