POSITION OF LEADING COMMERCIAL NATIONS
General Statement.
—The world’s chief iron- and steel-producing countries are, in the order of their importance: United States, Germany, Great Britain, France, Russia, Austria-Hungary, and Belgium. The annual pig-iron production of these countries ranged in 1913 from 2,300,000 tons in Belgium to 30,900,000 tons in the United States. The normal consumption of iron ore by these countries in the last years preceding the war and their recent maximum annual production are given below:
Table 21.—Maximum Annual Output and Normal Consumption of Iron Ore by Chief Iron- and Steel-Making Countries
| Countries | Consumption (long tons) | Production (long tons) |
|---|---|---|
| United States | 62,000,000 | 75,288,851 |
| Germany | 40,600,000 | [48]33,987,112 |
| Great Britain | 19,000,000 | 15,997,328 |
| France | 12,300,000 | 21,572,835 |
| Russia | 8,900,000 | 9,362,746 |
| Belgium | 6,800,000 | 164,734 |
| Austria-Hungary | 5,200,000 | 5,233,055 |
[48] Includes production of Luxemburg.
The consumption figures represent metallic iron consumed in terms of iron ore and are obtained on the basis of production and imports of iron ore, and imports of pig iron and crude iron and steel products. Exports of iron ore, pig iron, and crude iron and steel products are not considered as forming part of the countries’ consumption.
A comparison of the consumption and production indicates that the United States, France, Russia and Austria-Hungary were self-supporting as far as raw materials for their iron and steel industry were concerned. Great Britain and Germany are dependent for a small percentage of their requirements upon foreign countries. Belgium produces a very small percentage of her consumption of iron ore, being almost entirely dependent upon foreign sources, mainly France and Germany, for her iron-ore requirements.
In several countries that produce much iron ore the iron and steel industry is still in its infancy. The iron ore from these countries is nearly all exported to the large iron and steel making countries. The following table shows the recent maximum annual production and normal annual consumption in some of these:
Table 22.—Maximum Annual Output and Normal Consumption of Iron Ore in Several Countries
| Countries | Consumption (long tons) | Production (long tons) |
|---|---|---|
| Spain | 1,000,000 | 9,705,963 |
| Sweden | 700,000 | 6,878,318 |
| Cuba | ... | 1,585,431 |
| Newfoundland | ... | 1,433,858 |
| North Africa | ... | 1,349,000 |
Thus, considerable quantities of iron ore are available from these countries for consumption in countries that have to import iron ore and iron products.
There is shown below the pig-iron and steel production in 1913 of the world’s principal iron and steel manufacturing countries.
Table 23.—Pig-Iron and Steel Output of the Chief Producing Countries, 1913
| Countries | Pig iron (long tons) | Steel (long tons) |
|---|---|---|
| United States | 30,966,152 | 31,300,874 |
| Germany | 19,004,022 | 18,659,000 |
| Great Britain | 10,481,917 | 7,664,000 |
| France | 5,227,378 | 4,349,000 |
| Russia | 4,474,757 | 4,750,000 |
| Austria-Hungary | 2,335,170 | 2,641,000 |
| Belgium | 2,318,767 | 2,475,000 |
| Canada | 1,015,118 | 1,044,000 |
| Sweden | 728,103 | 574,000 |
| Spain | 418,061 | 359,000 |
| Italy | 420,011 | 897,000 |
| Japan | 236,491 | 251,000 |
United States.
—The United States has for many years had in the Lake Superior district the chief iron-ore producing fields in the world. In recent years the Lake Superior district has furnished more than two-fifths of the world’s output of iron ore. In 1917, 75,288,851 gross tons of iron ore, 38,647,397 gross tons of pig iron, and 45,060,607 gross tons of steel were produced in the United States, as compared with 61,980,437 tons of iron ore, 30,966,152 tons of pig iron, and 31,300,874 tons of steel in 1913. The imports of iron ore in 1917 amounted to 971,663 tons and of crude forms of iron and steel to 306,189 tons, as compared with 2,594,770 tons of iron ore and 250,592 tons of crude iron and steel products imported in 1913. The exports of iron ore from the United States in 1917 amounted to 1,132,313 tons and of crude forms of iron and steel to 4,744,527 tons, as compared with 1,042,151 tons of iron ore and 1,278,131 tons of crude forms of iron and steel exported in 1913.
These figures indicate that in normal times the United States consumes about 85 per cent. of the domestic output of iron ore, in the manufacture of finished iron and steel products. Fifteen per cent. is exported either as iron ore, or as crude iron and steel products which are manufactured into finished products in other countries. Of the finished iron and steel products made in this country the United States itself consumes the larger part. However, large quantities of iron and steel articles and machinery are exported to other countries as well.
The iron ore exported from this country is mainly Lake ore, which goes to Canadian furnaces. The iron ore imported is largely Cuban ore, which is used at the Sparrow’s Point plant of the Bethlehem Steel Corporation. This plant has facilities for using only ore arriving by boat and has been running almost entirely on foreign ores. The Cuban iron mines are largely under the control of this company, and an increased production is expected from them in the future.
The Bethlehem Steel Corporation has also developed an extensive iron-ore deposit in Chile, from which some shipments were made during the first years of the World War. It has been allowed to remain idle recently on account of lack of shipping facilities. Large shipments are expected from Chile in the future.
A considerable amount of Swedish ore has been imported in recent years by the Bethlehem Steel Corporation, to supplement its shipments of Cuban ore. During the war, however, the Trafikaktiebolaget Grängesberg Oxelosund decreased its ore shipments and finally refused altogether to export ore to the United States. These shipments recommenced soon after the cessation of hostilities in Europe.
Certain high-grade low-phosphorus iron ores which are not present in the United States in sufficient quantity to supply domestic needs have been imported in past years from Spain, North Africa, and to a small extent from Sweden. During the war, when the shortage of shipping facilities necessitated combing this country for supplies of high-grade low-phosphorus ores, it was shown that the United States is more or less dependent upon foreign sources for such ores.
There are a number of mines in the United States, such as the Lyon Mountain mine in New York, and the Cranberry mine in North Carolina, which produce limited amounts of high-grade low-phosphorus ore. Several mines on the Menominee Range, Michigan, produce a very siliceous low-phosphorus ore that can be used to supplement in part the high-grade ores. A considerable quantity of low-phosphorus pyrite residue from sulphuric acid and fertilizer plants is also used for making low-phosphorus iron. Much of the pyrite yielding this residue is imported from Spain, some of it is of domestic origin, and some of it comes from Canada. Altogether, the United States supplies about 60 per cent. of the material required for the manufacture of its normal output of low-phosphorus pig iron.
Certain developments in progress make it probable that a greater percentage of ore used for this purpose can be supplied from domestic mines. The principal enterprise is one that plans to concentrate the siliceous magnetite ore of the eastern Mesabi Range. Experiments have yielded a high-grade product and work on a commercial scale is planned.
The reserves of the ordinary grades of iron ore in the United States are large, and no shortage of such ore is anticipated for many years. They are easily capable of taking care of a considerably increased consumption. The largest reserves are in the Lake Superior district and in the southeastern states, but large untouched reserves occur in the western states as well. The iron ores in the Pacific Coast region have remained undeveloped from the lack of sufficient demand for pig iron and crude forms of iron and steel on the Pacific Coast. Undoubtedly this demand will increase in the future, and iron and steel industries will be established there.
The reserves of ore in the Lake Superior district are large. The grade of ore mined, however, has been gradually getting lower, and it is possible that before many years Lake iron ores averaging considerably below 50 per cent. will have to be utilized. At present the average grade of the ores mined in the Lake Superior district is about 51 per cent.
It is clear that there is not likely to be a shortage of the ordinary grades of iron ore in the United States. Reserves of high-grade ores, however, are being gradually depleted, and high-grade ores from foreign countries will find an increasingly ready market. American capital controls a large reserve of high-grade iron ore in Brazil. Much of the Brazilian ore averages about 68 per cent. in metallic iron and is very low in phosphorus, making it an exceedingly desirable raw material for the manufacture of special iron and for mixing with lower-grade domestic ores. Doubtless much of the Brazilian ore will go to Europe, as British and other foreign holdings of this ore are extensive. However, it is highly desirable that a certain proportion of the ore should be diverted to American furnaces.
Germany.
—The annual consumption of iron ore in Germany just before the war was about 40 million tons, and the maximum annual output at this time, including more than 7 million tons from Luxemburg, was only about 34 million long tons. In order to supply German furnaces it was necessary, therefore, to import more than 6 million tons of iron ore from foreign countries. More than 58 per cent. of the iron ore mined in Germany has come from the Lorraine district. The production from German iron mines outside of the Lorraine district amounted to 6,906,809 tons in 1913. The production of pig iron during that year was 19,004,022 tons.
The pre-war imports of iron ore into Germany were large, amounting to nearly 14 million tons in 1913; against these the exports were somewhat more than 2 million tons.
The iron ore imported from Sweden is mainly high-phosphorus ore from the mines of Swedish Lapland and central Sweden. This is especially adapted to the manufacture of pig iron for the Thomas process, much used in Germany. Most of the ores from the Lorraine district are slightly too low in phosphorus to be suitable for the Thomas process; and Swedish high-phosphorus ores, phosphate rock, and phosphatic slags are in places mixed with Lorraine ore to raise the phosphorus content.
A considerable amount of low-phosphorus iron ore used in the manufacture of low-phosphorus pig iron is also imported from Sweden, and a larger amount of this ore is imported from Spain. This material is used in Germany for the manufacture of pig iron to be used in making acid open-hearth steel.
Since Germany has lost the Lorraine iron fields, the remaining domestic iron mines will be able to supply less than 20 per cent. of the requirements of iron ore for the German furnaces. However, it is likely that Germany will continue to receive most of her supplies from the Lorraine fields, in which German holdings at present predominate over French holdings and will probably continue to predominate.
Great Britain.
—The United Kingdom has produced from 10 to 14 per cent. of the iron and steel of the world annually for the past 10 years or more, and apparently has consumed in normal times about 50 per cent. of the product and exported 50 per cent., mainly to British possessions. During the war about 75 per cent. of the British production was consumed at home and 25 per cent. was exported, largely to France. Fifty per cent. of the iron and steel products manufactured has been obtained from ores mined in Great Britain, and 50 per cent. from imported ores. Thus, normally, the domestic yield of iron ore just about equals the domestic demand for iron, whereas during the war the domestic demand for iron was greater than the domestic supply of ore. Great Britain depends upon outside sources for one-third of her iron-ore supply and this constitutes the source of about one-half of the iron products.
The iron industry in Great Britain before the war was loosely controlled by merchants who acted as intermediaries between producer and consumer, an arrangement that did not work to the advantage of the consumer.[49] British manufacturers had little interest abroad and were themselves insufficiently organized to operate successfully. If the sources of foreign iron ore were cut off, the situation might become critical and exceedingly embarrassing until the domestic mining industry could be expanded. To meet this condition the British Board of Trade Committee advised a consolidation of iron interests by the formation of a syndicate for the purchase and distribution of iron ores and particularly for the acquiring of interests abroad. This syndicate would establish sales agencies and arrange for transportation and trade, similar to the organization of W. H. Müller & Co., of The Hague. The committee recommended that these operations be backed by the government and that all the resources of the British Empire be under the control of the government, especially in regard to the granting of concessions to aliens and the imposing of restrictions to favor home producers. It has recently been reported that the iron interests have organized along the lines indicated.
[49] British Board of Trade, “Reports on Iron and Steel,” London.
France.
—The annual consumption of iron ore in France for the manufacture of pig iron and crude iron and steel products amounts to about 12 million tons under normal conditions. The productive capacity of the iron mines of France is more than 21 million, leaving a surplus of 9 million tons of ore annually available for export. More than 90 per cent. of the iron ore produced in France is obtained from the Lorraine iron mines.
Most of the ore exported from France in the past has gone to German blast furnaces. Much has gone to Belgium. Imports of iron ore are small, being mostly high-grade ore from Sweden, in which class of ore France is deficient. French possessions in North Africa have large reserves of high-grade ore, but the bulk of the ore mined there has gone to England and Germany.
As a result of the war, that part of the Lorraine iron fields within the boundaries of the disputed provinces of Alsace and Lorraine has been given to France, who thus has control of the entire output of the great Lorraine iron fields with the exception of the part included in Luxemburg. The production of the Lorraine iron fields, including the part that formerly belonged to Germany, has been nearly 48 million tons annually, of which about 7 million tons is mined in Luxemburg. Outside of the Lorraine district France produces about 1,500,000 tons of ore. Thus, unless iron and steel making expand greatly in France, much iron ore will be mined for export.
Russia.
—In 1913 Russia ranked sixth in the output of iron ore and fifth in the output of pig iron, producing about 4¹⁄₂ per cent. of the world’s production of iron ore and 6 per cent. of the pig iron.
Russia’s iron-ore reserves are estimated at about 1,600 million tons, a part of which, especially in central Russia, is not economically minable. The district of southern Russia is important on account of its large reserves, large output, and its location. This is particularly true at this time on account of Germany’s need of iron ore for future use.
The Russian output of iron ore grew from about 2 million tons annually in 1891-93 to 7 or 8 million tons annually in 1913-1917. Southern Russia (almost exclusively the Krivoi-Rog district) produced nearly 7 million tons in 1913, but by 1916 the production from this region had been cut down to half, its difference being made up from other regions.[50] Between 1913 and 1917, Russia produced about 4 million tons of pig iron annually, of which 3 million tons came from South Russia, and most of the remainder from the Ural region.
[50] Advisory Council, Dept. of Sci. and Indust. Research, “Report on the Sources and Production of Iron and Other Metalliferous Ores Used in the Iron and Steel Industry,” 1918. Also British Board of Trade, “Reports on Iron and Steel,” London; and Ironmonger Metal Market Year Book, 1918.
In 1916 the Central War Industry Committee estimated the monthly requirements of the whole country at 300,000 tons of pig iron for war purposes, and at 80,000 tons for the requirements of the civil population, making a total annual consumption of about 4,500,000 tons, or only about one-half of the normal consumption. In 1917, the total production in the country was estimated to amount to only 30 per cent. of these minimum requirements.
The situation in Russia is so unsettled that a statement of present conditions in the steel industry is valueless. It is reasonable to assume, however, that the iron and steel situation will not materially change as to operations and control. Moreover, it will be safe to predict that Poland will develop more rapidly as an iron-ore producer in the future, as she was handicapped in the past by restrictions on exportation of ore.
Belgium.
—Belgium has been negligible as a producer of iron ore but has been a comparatively large importer of iron ore and manufacturer of pig iron. The country ranked sixth as a producer of pig iron in 1913, in which year it produced 147,048 tons of ore and imported 4,400,000 tons.[51]
[51] Board of Trade, “Reports on Iron and Steel,” London.
Belgian iron works were greatly damaged by the Germans during the war, and probably some time will elapse before the industry again reaches the position it occupied before the war. The country offers a good market, however, for the iron ores of France and should in future years be a larger producer of iron and steel wares.
Belgium is practically dependent upon outside sources for ore supply, but is conveniently situated as a market for ores from many countries. The total iron-ore reserves of the country have been estimated at 62,500,000 tons, not enough to last 10 years at the present rate of consumption.
Austria-Hungary.
—The former Austro-Hungarian Empire yielded in recent years 2 to 3 per cent. of the annual iron-ore production of the world, and about 2 per cent. of the pig-iron production; therefore it has been of minor importance in the iron industry. The ore reserves have been estimated at 284 million tons of available ore, and 807 million tons additional of probable ore.
The present unsettled conditions will probably result in considerable change in the operation and control of the iron mines and works. Eventually the upheaval may stimulate the iron industry, but the result should not materially alter the international position.
Japan.
—The iron and steel industry of Japan is of small magnitude as compared with that of the United States, Germany, Great Britain, and other leading iron and steel manufacturing countries. The total reserves of iron ore are probably not much more than 60 million tons, or less than has been mined annually in the Lake Superior district in recent years. The steel-making industry is expanding rapidly, however, and at present blast furnaces, steel-making furnaces, and steel mills are being erected in Japan, Korea, Manchuria, and China by Japanese interests.
The output of iron ore in Japan is utterly inadequate to supply this expanding industry. The production of iron ore in Japan has averaged about 150,000 tons annually in recent years, whereas the consumption of crude, semi-crude and manufactured articles of iron and steel is approximately 1,500,000 tons. In order to supply her needs, therefore, from her own manufacturing plants, Japan would require in the neighborhood of 3 million tons of iron ore annually. As compared with this, Japan’s entire consumption of iron ore, both imported and domestic, is less than 700,000 tons. The remainder of the iron and steel required in Japan is being imported in the form of pig iron and crude and manufactured products.
Japan is making a strong effort to develop iron-ore deposits in neighboring countries, especially in China, Manchuria, and Korea; and the production from these sources which goes to Japanese-controlled furnaces is rapidly increasing. Among the more recent Japanese iron and steel enterprises in these countries are the blast furnaces and steel plant now being built at An-schan-chang, south of Mukden, in Manchuria; the blast furnaces at Pen-hsi-hu, southeast of Mukden, in Manchuria; and the blast furnaces at Ken-ji-pho, in Korea. The last two of these plants are now producing pig iron, which is being sent to Japan. In the future all three plants will probably build steel works. Iron-ore deposits are being mined in connection with all of them. Besides being used in the local blast furnaces, iron ore is being sent to Japan from these mines. In China, the most important iron and steel enterprise is that at Han-yang, in the Province of Hu-peh. This operation was started by the Han-Yeh-Ping Iron & Steel Co., as a Chinese enterprise in connection with the Tayeh mines in the same province. This company, however, became involved in financial difficulties, and Japanese capital was called upon in order that work might continue. Considerable expansion of the plant is at present taking place under Japanese supervision. Iron ore from the Tayeh mines and pig iron from the Han-yang plant are sent to Japan for use in Japanese iron and steel works.
It is doubtful whether, with the rapid expansion of the Japanese iron and steel industry, mines in China, Manchuria and Korea can be developed fast enough to supply the raw materials necessary. There are rumors that several deposits of iron ore in eastern China are now being developed, including that of Chin-ling-chen, and these may afford some additional supply. The iron mines of India also may be called upon to furnish more iron ore to Japan than they have done in the past. The only other important iron-ore deposits known elsewhere in the Orient are in the Philippine Islands. These deposits are reported to be fairly important and they are favorably situated for supplying Japanese plants. They are controlled by Americans.
The present expansion of the Japanese iron and steel industry is such that it is a question whether the consumption of iron products in Japan will be sufficient to take care of the entire output. It seems very probable that Japan is looking for a large export trade in iron and steel products. The Japanese may be ambitious not only to displace European and American goods in the Orient, but may even attempt to secure a market on the Pacific Coast of the United States and Canada. It is quite probable that Japanese manufactured articles will be able to compete in the western United States with articles manufactured in the eastern states and subject to heavy transportation rates. On the other hand, there is an active movement to start an iron industry on the Pacific Coast, and it is hoped that plants established there will be able to manufacture iron and steel products at a low enough cost to enable them to compete with Japanese products in the Orient.