Document YGNdNE5VbJ1wJKzkkjvrdQ0rE

% 1 */ 4 SW-'k lUPPJi W- : '"m* . T i -5 1 ^fl2 LEJLD KtOOXTt ! ' Byi Mix Edgar Korstser, Secretary h Lead Industrie* Association 1 L Although the topic assigned to me Is LEAD PR0DXT3 used V tie paint Industry, such u whit* load, rd lead, baslo lead sulphate tod other lead plf entea I Intend to speak also it entirely on the pig lead situation because it la H f the root of your current Inability to procure all the lead pigments you might like to utilise# The pig lead ehortage today la an exoellent Illustration of what Corernmant 7, oontrola on prices, profit!, production, distribution and lnperta oan do when they rupplant the operations of a free market In a oocxoodlty of International f- Importance. The eleaente in the lead situation are eaey to grasp. In the f irat plane, lead hai aide application in industry and la to extraordinarily useful that in times of great business activity, at today, the deaand for It la exception- ally strong, hr example, the automotive Industry needs large quantities^ lead : for the construct Ion and continued operation of automobiles. In storage batteries, solder, bearing ssetals, brake linings, and in the very gasoline which propels thaau The building Industry, as you well Icnow, requires large amounts of lead la the form of paint, both white lead and red lead, in pitching, and la sheet lead wherever sulphuric Mid Is used. The public utility Industry oonsuaes large quantities In oable sheathings for telephone toll and power llnssc * MUM,II iwujLpei" 'w?w.iwi"i .u',v ,-* ii.ii'nwi N 1673.01 I m urr IWULJI m u B^auj'pgu 'ism ^> W*4iiii M*t$Twr.'rw"iiiTiaiitgiii 4 31UIU4UIRMU j i <-^21583 " -2- Er*n tha food lndutry In th* United State* readI lirg, tonnage* of load, both ti th* iraeetiolde - load arenat* for ipraylng fruit tree*, and al aasainiticn for th* fanner to *uppl*nent hi* food aupply and to out down depredation* by pradae tory animal*. Thar* art a msabar of othar Important usae, too dotallod to nantlca har*. In tha agregat* I aitlraata that. If It w*r aratlabla, lnduitry eould ooa r\aot today, in tha United State* alone, between 1,030,900 and 1,260,000 too* of load par year. Thl* oontlnued tha warti-ia trend which aat a mark of wall over 1,000,000 ton* par year for a period of iz year*, from 1940 to 1945 lnolmlr*. To latltfy tuoh a hug* demand for the antal thara art four aouroaa of aupply opaa* 1. Doaurtle sin* production, 2, Dooestic *erap or aeoondary load r*ocr*ry, 5, Import*, and 4. Gowenoent Stook*, or prlaata rtoelc*, Tha fourth souroa wo oan dltali* at onoa, a* tha Sorersasnt rtockpll* 1* only around 60,000 ton* and I do not think tha military authorial** will look with much faror to an impairment of that mod art aupply. Let via analy** tha aitu&tlon 1* eh orz vf tha othar arallahl* aouroa* of aupply aa ahoara oo tha tabl* following! 0. S. LEJO SUPPLIES (1957 - 194$) lln Shore lon*> U.S, Ulna . Production of Lead Secondary Lead Production Import* (Lead Contact) Total Supply 19ST 193# 195# 1940 1941 1942 1949 1944 1949 1946 (I(tlaatad) 456,000 970,000 414,000 467,000 461,000 496,000 455,000 417,000 568,000 550,000 275,000 226,000 242,000 260,000 297,000 525,000 542,000 551,000 565,000 900,000 41,000 64,000 *7,000 262,000 581,000 492,000 519,000 521,000 500,000 125,000 781,000 659,000 742,000 1,000,000 1,240,000 1,512,000 1,116,030 1,070,000 1,051,000 775,000 i)'i w ef ew iw u umip f mi ....... t t \rni k` *! - 'f fi-rOerLmM. ->'--^ LIA2158A 9 0 1. Paocetlo Mine Production By dint of axtraordlnary affort nod th* aaerlfio# of their or* reserve position, cany laid ulna* r able to keep prod uction keyed up to * relatlrely high pltoh during th* war and aucoeeded In pro ducing olos* to G00(000 ton* in 1942. Thereafter, however, owing to progressively rloui labor shortages, production declined until thli year only about 550,000 ton* of lead are *ip*ot#d to b* produoed. Only about two-third* th# labor neoeeiary for oapaolty production la no* working in th* nine a, and it la doubtful whether th* lead miDoa my expect rush relief *o long aa e have "full employment* la th* : United States. In addition, lead Elnea hare been operating under a aubaldy ayatea whereby mort nine a hava been paid a bonus above the celling jrio* of 6.25/ per lb. The bonus say range fro* 1/ up to 7.60/ o that the top prloe reoelred tjr io m mimes la 15.75/, but the boon 1* only paid on production abore a quota determination 0 of the Corarment for eaoh Individual nine. S<n* Ami-load lead pining oocpanlea, however, are not reoe1ring ooe oent In aubeidy but are oospelled to aell their lead at 6.25/ while th* Gc-emmnt at the asm tine la purohaalng lead froa Wcxloo and other oouctriea t 10.25/, selling It at 8.25/ in this country and r- absorbing th* loi*, a dlecrlnd.nation against *coe of th* eltltena of our oountry In favor of th* national* of another. Moreover, the nine quota 1* eubjeot to eheng* at on* month'e notlo*, c o that after It has been **t, and If a nine should redoubl* It* *fforts to Increase It* profit*, th* quote would be readjust*! apeedlly. This 1* not a - ayatea oaloulated to pe-oduo* th* utaoet froa Anerloem lead re acure*a. 2. Dooestlo Scrap or Secondary lead Seoovery - Xow let ua turn to saoocdary or aorap lead production. This 1* an extreaaly Important aouroe of lead and * generally amount* for a fairly steady annual tonnage of between 200,000 and * 550,000 tons of l*ad per year# Plea** note that this torr.a^e correspond* eloaely l to the tonnage extracted froa th* lead nine* thccaelve*. V^WM. WIUTJP '1'TM "......- .WWggf^SAJ1 ... ` --^ ` *i >- ^ -y. --l.Tr. . -- ~ri'r -- . 1*38^ ,1111 111mii j ^ ) t -- o X nost Interesting situation doreloped during the OrX "holiday" which r hi* partly dried up thl* eouroe of lead. During the ChX "holiday" in open market prevailed and tha prloa of laad rose to 9.50/, but when tha OPX waa rartorod to llfa. It rollad back tha prloa to B.25/, with tha lmadlata result that lorap dealori bad no dailra to aoll thalr accumulations to tha s.uoltera and raflnara at tha calling prloa, knowing full well that tha Ofil atatutaa would expire oa June SO, 1M7, and that tha prloa of B.25/ wa* far below tha world nark at. Xs a natter of fact, tha world nerkst la around 10.25/ today. In other worda, tha aorap dealer waa taking a aery (nail gaable indeed In alttlng on hi a laad rather than te-dispos^ojfIt at a eaorifloe prloa. In addition, aorta oral and conoentratea and aorap, which ware bought at 9.50/ by tha aaalters during tha OPX "holiday* are frown today aa tha purchasers naturally do not wleh to aell thl a Bate rial at a lota, at 8.25/. So auoh for tha aorap situation. 8. Isporta - How lat ua look at tha third aouroa, naaaly, Inporta. X great change haa taken plaoa In tha lead aoonoey of tha United States. Before tha war lead production and oontunption were In balance and Laporta ware of winor algnlfloanoa. During tha war, howrrer, Xnerlcan industry demonstrated lta capacity to corauae ruch large aaousta of laad that tha United Stater nines, plus tha scrap, ware no longer able to supply tha denauid, to large tonnages of laad In both urchantable pig fern and In ores and conoentratea ware imported. In 1942 close to 500,000 tons were inported In that fashion ard for the six years 1910 to ISIS, imports averaged 119,200 tons per year* Eere, again, however, an i-.portant Ocremaant oontrol stepped In,a control tlt la largely responsible for the partial paralysis existing in laad oonsualng Industrial. Tha Coremarnt became tha sole lnporter, during the war. Prints 0 itporta were forbidden. Recently It we* revealed that the Government has scat* sort of an Informal understanding with England to 1 bait its Inports Into the % Units! States, on what bad* has never bran disclosed. Seaoe, the Imports of 1 * iin p n m n m w www '^ff!J>?!?..VJ!"l >JUHUW1* w** * it } -1--'- { J _*' -*- ^~' ` ta^rrjlS&eeicl wppWBWP! LIA 2158 6 >. , , t w*.w w .,u ,,|M,y -1 lead ecadng Into th* United State* in 1948 will total only 125,000 tool and thl* deipit* th* foot that load 1* arailabl* In Uexioo, Canada, Auttralla, Peru and *) elrh*r* If iaterioaa ooaponita were permitted to buy It. Sereral ocepanlee, doeperately needing lead for th# oowitnot of tholr operation*, har# appeared la Washington and r*qu*t#d penal ion to purohaao lead froe Vaxloo, or other countries, at admittedly higher price* than the dooeetlo oelllng pnot, but expreulng a vllllngneii to beerr* dotaeetio celling* on ratal* har*. Their pleat har* been uniformly denied. Th* power of the Gorarcaent to continue Import restriction* expire* on Uaroh $1, 1947, under th* Seoond War Purer* lot, and I hop* It will sot be roneerode In Tier of the facte In th* lead eltuatlcn at I hare siren the* abate, I ruggert a ilaple remedy, i.o. , that the Gorernaent deoontrol lead and lead prod* ucts. They are all negligible ltan* Is the oort of 11 ring of the American people but of treaendou* tlgnlfleanoe In our industrial eoonooy. 1 free wrlet would then be rettored and enable ueert of load to bid for the cotal internationally aa well at nationally. It eeena odd to M that seat, dairy product*, and other oocxeodltie* of raat itport an# in th* dally ooit of llrijig thou Id be deoontrolled whereat lead eoit oontisu# under rtriot Control*. If re are not to har* deoontrol, the Oorernaent night at ltart adrano* th* oelling prio* to the world aarket prloe to at to unlock th* pretent froten (took* of er*t, oonoentratei and to rap and to eneouras* the iteady and free more* Met of tcrap to caeltor*. If thl* isn't done, then aor* lead should be Imported into th* United State* by the Gorenaent and th* premita prio* ryiteei modified to ( to introduo* inoentire* rather than r**trlotlon on production. Until Gcremaent control* *c lead are terminated the lead shortage trill be with u*. Proa a long range point of Tinr, let M rca* rurw llttener* that th* lead abortage 1* something I oonalder purely tran* lent. Ri-^,er portwar prloe* of 1 im.eie IJJ-.I lien i iwpwimw'ewa n.i.ia'.m u nuu.m J eu . - r p i t rnwu 11........... .1, r .^ .H I.. . 1,-1.',, , .. u w i  >w o f '` fti TAd'W nil BBI m ^-y^-vwf^saiV^:^ifi n ' ivi^w ..'I L IA 2 15 8 7 - 6lead will, I a* confident, ic stirxilate prospecting and exploration throw ghout the world that new sources of production will be disooTered, at in the pert, an6 existing touroea intern inly exploited. In thil connection, considering the Bureau of Labor Standards oooraodity prioe index, lead it not expensin currently. In fact, 11/ is the prioe at which it should sell in relation to other cormoditie* today, if the index is used at a standard. The ceiling it 8.25/. Eigher postwar prices will no doubt cause lead to lste s o bs existing markets to substitutes but it it a contingency that surt be borne voider our oonpetitiT* free Barket syeten eStile the period of neoeteaiy readjustment ooourte What all of this will Min to the future of lead in the paint industry it a natter largely of ocnjecture. I do feel, hwrrrer, that at the paint industry is only one of nmerouf inportant lead ooasvcxing businesses, paint aaktrs should press the Gorenoent for a supply of the raw rate riel so long as Gcrernaent controls remain, just as other lead contusing industries are doing. Saxe lead plgaent* were understandably sacrificed during the war so that sort batteries, arxwmltiop and other war products could be cade, but that situation d o longer exists. It is, therefore, I bo Here, a sound policy for the paint industry to protect its interests in demanding a fair peacetime *.'iare of the available domestic and foreign supply, or it say be loet in the seraable. jmui'i'upwi i n i iim iwi| " ii ijmw f* *r V