United States production.

The cresols.—There is large production of cresol, metaparacresol, and orthocresol in the United States. Commercial production of paracresol was reported for the first time in 1934, and of metacresol in 1935.

Statistics of domestic production and sales are publishable only for the year 1934 because of the small number of producers. The output in that year is shown in table [67]. Production has increased appreciably since then.

Table 67.—Meta, ortho, and para cresols: United States production and sales, 1934

Type	Production	Sales
Type	Production	Quantity	Value	Unit value
	Pounds	Pounds
Cresol	8,929,836	8,559,048	$572,738	$0.07
Metaparacresol	2,033,424	1,692,149	101,324	.06
Orthocresol	835,016	(¹)	(¹)
Paracresol	(¹)	(¹)	(¹)

¹ Not publishable; figures would reveal operations of individual firms.

Source: Dyes and Other Synthetic Organic Chemicals in the United States. U. S. Tariff Commission.

The trend of domestic production of the several cresols is upward. In 1937 the output of all grades and types of cresols was 13,745,271 pounds with sales of 13,251,345 pounds, valued at $1,071,965. The practice of topping coal tar will greatly increase the output of the cresols as well as of other tar acids and naphthalene.

There are five domestic producers of cresol, three each of orthocresol and metaparacresol, and two of metacresol and paracresol. All except one of these makers recover natural phenol, cresylic acids, and other tar acids. Refining plants are located at Pittsburgh, Pa., Philadelphia, Pa., Indianapolis, Ind., and Follansbee, W. Va. Domestic production of synthetic paracresol was first announced in 1938.

The xylenols.—There has been a large domestic production of mixed xylenols in recent years. These mixtures, containing from 50 to 80 percent xylenols, are marketed as cresylic acid. Statistics of domestic production, and sales are therefore included in table [68]. It is estimated that the output of xylenols and xylenol mixtures in 1935 exceeded 750,000 pounds and exceeded 1,250,000 pounds in 1937. At least one of the separated xylenols (1: 3: 5) has been produced commercially in the United States since 1935, but statistics of its production are not publishable.

Other high-boiling tar acids.—There was no reported domestic production of the other high-boiling acids prior to 1935 and the data obtained for that year are probably incomplete. Estimated output was 200,000 pounds in 1935, 250,000 pounds in 1936, and 300,000 pounds in 1937. These estimates are based on production of mixtures of high-boiling acids.

Cresylic acid.—Domestic production and sales statistics for so-called crude cresylic acid are not publishable. It is known, however, that production of the crude is small compared with our output of refined cresylic acid. It is usually more economical for the producer to prepare the mixture of tar acids to the specifications of the purchaser, rather than to leave part of the refining operations to be performed by the latter. The fact that imports of cresylic acid are chiefly of crude is largely due to the different tariff treatment of crude and refined.

Domestic production of refined cresylic acid was confined to one or two firms until 1928, when there were four makers. Statistics of production and sales are not publishable for the years prior to 1929, though it may be stated that the annual domestic output increased each year to supply the increased demand. Table [68] shows production and sales from 1929 to 1934, inclusive. Data for later years are not publishable.

Table 68.—Refined cresylic acid: United States production and sales, 1929-37

Year	Production	Sales
Year	Production	Quantity	Value	Unit value
	Pounds	Pounds		Per pound
1929	14,601,534			$0.10
1930	17,305,308	16,026,407	$1,267,155	.08
1931	10,994,000	10,305,000	652,000	.06
1932	8,060,000	4,805,000	251,000	.05
1933	13,813,941	11,975,441	626,496	.05
1934	10,949,860	9,230,255	489,231	.05
1935	(¹)	(¹)	(¹)
1936	(¹)	(¹)	(¹)
1937	(¹)	(¹)	(¹)

¹ Not publishable; figures would reveal operations of individual firms.

Source: Compiled from annual reports of the Tariff Commission on dyes and other synthetic organic chemicals in the United States.

As previously stated, the composition of cresylic acid has gradually been changed from a mixture of the isomeric cresols to mixtures of cresols, xylenols, and high-boiling tar acids. The cresols, formerly included under cresylic acid statistics, are now shown separately. For this reason the data in table [68] do not fully reflect the increased output of these tar acids in recent years. Statistics for years prior to 1931 probably include all of the tar acids except phenol, while those for subsequent years do not include the separated cresols. In 1934 the production of refined cresylic acid was 10,949,860 pounds, and in addition recovery of the several cresols amounted to 11,798,276 pounds making a total of 22,748,136 pounds as compared with a total of 14,601,534 pounds in 1929 and 17,305,308 pounds in 1930.

During 1936 and the first part of 1937 a serious shortage of cresylic acid existed in the domestic market owing to increased demand by synthetic resin makers. The output in 1936 exceeded that in 1935 and the production in 1937 was appreciably higher than in 1936. These increases are due to the recovery of appreciable quantities at several new distillation plants, the topping of large amounts of tar hitherto not processed, and increased production by present recovery units.

There are many grades of cresylic acid, most of which are prepared by mixing or blending to individual specifications. Every large consumer apparently has his own specifications. In addition to these special mixtures there are the following standard blends:

(1) Ninety-nine percent high-boiling, straw color.

(2) Low-boiling, straw color.

(3) Special resin grade, high-boiling.

There are four domestic producers of cresylic acid with recovery and refining units at Pittsburgh, Pa., Philadelphia, Pa., Indianapolis, Ind., and Follansbee, W. Va. The last three mentioned are refining plants operated in conjunction with a number of tar distillation units widely scattered throughout the country. These units usually recover crude tar-acid fractions in the distillation of tar and ship them to these refining plants for separation and refining. All in this group are purchasers of coal tar. The fourth producer operates a byproduct recovery unit in connection with the company’s coke-oven operations. Part of the coal tar produced is distilled to recover the several products, including creosote oil, tar acids, and naphthalene, and the residual pitch is mixed with the remaining undistilled tar and used for fuel. The shortage of tar acids and naphthalene in 1936 caused this producer to begin the topping of tar.

Foreign production.

The cresols are produced in the United Kingdom, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, and other European countries. Coal tar recovered in the United Kingdom is principally gas tar, which is much richer in tar acids than coke-oven tar, the principal source in the United States. This is true because low temperature carbonization of coal yields greater quantities of tar acids than are obtained in the tar from byproduct coke ovens. Exports to the United States are chiefly mixtures which can enter as crude cresylic acid.

Production of cresol in Germany in recent years is shown in table [69].

Table 69.—Cresol: German production, in specified years

Year	1,000 pounds
1929	23,814
1931¹	15,435
1933	11,780
1934	10,476

¹ Includes 2,866,000 pounds of separated ortho, meta, and para cresols.

Source: Consular reports.

German imports and exports of cresol, in recent years, are shown in table [70].

Table 70.—Cresol: German imports and exports, in specified years

Year	Imports	Exports
	1,000 pounds	1,000 pounds
1929	2,037	8,494
1930	1,277	6,712
1931	1,874	7,980
1932	1,541	3,669
1933	1,832	4,970
1934	1,960	6,345
1935	2,117	8,528
1936	3,737	4,531
1937	1,787	4,423

Source: Consular reports (1929-33) and official German statistics (1934-37).

The output of cresols in Czechoslovakia in recent years is shown in table [71].

Table 71.—Cresol: Production in Czechoslovakia, in specified years

Year	Quantity
	1,000 pounds
1928	1,984
1931	1,477
1932	1,102
1933	1,599
1934	1,918

Source: Consular reports.

Cresylic acid is recovered in all the countries of Europe, Great Britain and Germany being the leading producers and the principal exporters. Increasing demand in these countries for synthetic resins made from cresylic acid has greatly reduced the quantities available for export in recent years.

Great Britain is probably the world’s largest producer of cresylic acid, and for many years has been the principal exporter to the United States. This position is due to the large available supply of gas-house tar, and to an ample market for all the products of tar distillation. In 1935 the tar distilled in England, Wales, and Scotland totaled 360 million gallons, of which 55 percent was gas-house tar.

British production of all grades of cresylic acid averages between 35 million and 42 million pounds annually, of which from 12 million to 20 million pounds are exported. Many British producers market their tar products through pools and associations. There is a cresylic acid pool, a phenol pool, and at least two creosote oil export associations, a pitch marketing association, and a benzol association. One of the principal grades of cresylic acid produced in Great Britain is “American duty-free specification.”

Table [72] shows British exports of cresylic acid, by countries, in recent years.

Table 72.—Cresylic acid: British exports, by countries, 1933-37

Destination	1933	1934	1935	1936	1937
	Quantity (in thousands of pounds)
UNITED STATES	3,616	5,783	6,116	11,296	(¹)
Chile	1,381	2,958	2,814	662	(¹)
France	358	87	214	189	(¹)
Japan	632	203	685	2,002	(¹)
All other countries	5,464	6,965	7,333	9,250	(¹)
Total	11,451	15,997	17,162	23,399	26,697
	Value (in thousands of dollars)
UNITED STATES	147	277	255	620	(¹)
Chile	28	89	87	31	(¹)
France	21	5	20	14	(¹)
Japan	38	20	43	118	(¹)
All other countries	189	307	330	537	(¹)
	422	698	734	1,321	2,262

¹ Not available.

Source: Official British statistics.