Double Order

How much can the steel industry boost its capacity in the next two years? Commerce Secretary Charles Sawyer put the question to steelmen three weeks ago. This week, Sawyer had his answer: the steel industry not only could but would increase capacity by 9,400,000 tons by the end of 1952, making a total capacity of 109,963,000 tons. Even before the news from Sawyer went out, two steel companies showed that they meant business. U.S. Steel Corp. announced plans to boost capacity of its Tennessee Coal, Iron & Railroad Co. by 500,000 tons (to 3,350,000) within the next two years, and Henry Kaiser announced expansion plans for his Fontana mill (see below).

Sawyer made it clear that the overall goal was not just optimistic talk on the part of the steelmen. Said he: "What I wanted was not suggestions or hopes, but actual commitments for the future." The American Iron & Steel Institute, he explained, had drawn up the figures based on the expansion programs of 20 big companies. Sawyer, who thinks that the best way to carry the rearmament burden is to expand production rather than cut civilian consumption, summed up: "The peak of military requirements and consumption during World War II was in 1943 when 53 million ingot tons of steel were required. By the end of 1952 our steel capacity will be more than double that figure."

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