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INDUSTRIAL MOBILIZATION News of the nation's activity in

marshaling its resources to meet the international emergency

Public Utilities Get Increasing Share Of Certificates in Expansion Program

The shifting of emphasis from basic materials (iron, steel, chemicals, etc.) to public utilities in the granting of certifi­cates of necessity for the period Feb. 25 to April 15 is indi­cated in a recent DPA summary of the facilities expansion program.

During that period, public utilities accounted for $1.2 billion, or 31.5% of the $3.8 billion in proposed investments covered by the 1880 certificates issued. On Feb. 25, public utilities had ac-counted for only 9% of the total tax amortization program, but b y April 15 the figure had jumped to 13.7%.

On the other hand, iron and steel which accounted for as much as 70% of the certificates issued in the early days of the program, now represented only 19.8% by April 15. On a cumula­tive basis, however, iron and steel still head the list.

As of April 15, chemicals and al­lied products represented $2.03 billion or 11% of the total certificates issued. Of those certificates still pending at that date, 18.5% or $1.45 billion were in the chemicals category. Petroleum products (excluding pipelines) has ac­counted for $1.26 billion or 6.9% of the total by April 15, with $407 million or 5.2% of the total pending yet to be ap­proved. Nonferrous metals (including aluminum) had accounted for $809 million or 4.4% as of April 15, with pending certificates in the amount of $415 million or 5.3%.

cations for certificates of necessity providing for a 5,220,000-pound annual capacity have been received and recommended for approval, leaving a balance of 640,000 pounds.

DPA has also set an interim expansion goal for the pre­cision screw machine products industry requiring a $15 mil­lion capital investment in added production capacity to be completed by July 1, 1953.

DPA said that it has received enough applications for tax amortization certificates to provide the needed expansion and explained that establishment of this interim go.d does

DPA Calls for Expanded Lithium Capacity, Sets Interim Goal for Precision Screw Machine Products

Production of 10 million pounds of lithium compounds annually by Jan. 1, 1955 has been set as an expansion goal by the Defense Production Administra­tion. This goal represents an increase of 6,185,000 pounds (in terms of lithium carbonate) over the Jan. 1, 1951, capacity of 3,815,000 pounds. However, some 1,175,000 pounds of 1951 capacity was based on the utiliza­tion of raw material which is no longer available and DPA says that it will therefore be necessary to create new capacity for production of 7,360,000 pounds of lithium compounds.

Since 1.5 million pounds of addi­tional capacity already has been con-structsd without government assist­ance, the expansion eligible for govern­ment aid is 5,860,000 pounds. Appli-

DPA Approves Certificates for 437 Facilities Certificates of necessity for rapid write-off of 437 new or expanded facilities

amounting to $304,276,511 have been approved by the Defense Production Administration between May 23 and June 5. Of these, 244 are for facilities involving $100,000 or less. The latest group of certificates brings the total of certificates approved to 10,869, representing $19,622,175,138.

Among the largest certificates issued for chemicals were: American Petro­chemical Corp., for vinyl and ethyl chloride, $26,640,000 at 50%; Jefferson Chemical Co., for ethylene oxide, $18,700,000 at 50%; Texas Eastman Co., for polyethylene plastics material, $7 million at 60%; and Wyandotte Chemicals Corp., for ethylene oxide, $6.2 million at 50%.

N e w certificates of interest in the chemical field are listed below:

N A M E O F C O M P A N Y AND L O C A T I O N O F F A C I L I T I E S

Cabot Carbon Co. Bayou Sale, La.

Moss Iron Co. Trafford, Ala.

Rohm & Haas Co. Deer Park, Tex.

Jefferson Chemioal Co., Inc . Port Neches, Tex.

Wyandot te Chemicals Corp. Wyandot te , Mich.

Rohm & Haas Co. Deer Park, Tex.

Rohm & Haas Co. Bristol, Pa.

Rohm & Haas Co. Deer Park, Tex.

Spencer Chemical Co. Henderson, Ky.

Spencer Chemical Co. Pittsburg, Kan.

National Cylinder Gas Co. Chicago, ΠΙ.

Commercial Solvents Corp. Terre Haute , Ind.

Rohm & Haas Co. Knoxville, Tenn.

Rohm & Haas Co. Knoxville, Tenn.

Rohm & Haas Co. Knoxville, Tenn.

Texas Eastman Co. Harrison, Tex.

Minnesota Mining & Mfg. Co. Copley Township, Minn.

Monsanto Chemical Co. Monsanto, HI.

Stauffer Chemical Co. Vernon, Calif.

Atlas Powder Co. Atlas Point, Del.

American Petrochemical Corp. Lake Charles, La.

Pan-Am Southern Corp. Destrehan, La.

Kaiser Aluminum & Chemical Corp.

Baton Rouge, La. Buckite Refractories. Inc. Dead burned dolomite 41 ,115 50

Woodville, Ohio Kaiser Aluminum & Chemical Fluorspar 410 ,700 70

Corp. ( near ) Fallon, Nev.

Vitro Chemical Co. Uranium ore 838,214 80 Salt Lake City, Utah

PRODUCT OH SERVICE

Carbon black Coke and coke chemicals Ethyl and methyl acrylates for

Plexiglas sheets Ethylene oxide Ethylene oxide Hydrogen cyanide for Plexiglas

sheets Methyl methacrylate for Plexi­

glas sheets Methyl methacrylate for Plexi­

glas sheets Nitric acid and ammonium

nitrate Nitric acid and ammonium

nitrate solutions Oxygen Penicillin Plexiglas sheets for the armed

services Plexiglas sheets for the armed

services Plexiglas sheets for the armed

services Polyethylene plastics material Sulfuric acid Sulfuric acid Sulfuric acid Transportation of chemicals Vinyl and ethyl chloride Gasoline Alumina

A M O U N T CERTIFIED

$ 370,650 227,638

7,465,734 18,700,000

6,200,000 1,113,576 1,263,449 4.791,703

400,000 1,695,000 1,492,500

252,450 604,875

50 ,500 105,250

7,000,000 680,000

1.900,000 1,000.000

51 ,000 26.640,000

2,332,000 418,500

2,056,000

PERCENTAGE ALLOWED

5 0

8.5

4 0

5 0

5 0

8 0

80 80 45 45 60 5 0

8 0

8 0

8 0

6 0

4 5

7 0

4 5

7 0

5 0

65 50 85

V O L U M E 3 0, N O . 2 4 J U N E 16, 1 9 5 2 25St

INDUSTRIAL M O B I L I Z A T I O N

not constitute a commitment to furnish controlled materials. Actual allotment of materials each quarter will depend on the supply-demand situation.

Removal of DDT Export Controls, Exemption From M - 3 2 Urged by Advisory Committee

Eventual removal of all export controls on D D T was rec­ommended by members of the D D T industry advisory committee in a recent meeting with NPA. The committee favored a two-step plan in which (1) export quotas would be "open-ended" beginning ™ t h the third quarter of 1952 and (2) all controls would b e removed with the beginning of the industry's annual pesticide season on Oct. 1.

The committee also recommended that D D T be removed from the requirements of order M-32, the limitation order on chemical DO rated orders. At present, the order requires that 20% of DDT production be set aside for defense rated orders.

NPA said that supplies of raw materials for the produc­tion of D D T and related chlorinated pesticides, such as ben­zene hexachloride, aldrin, chlordan, D D D , dieldrin, and toxaphene, are satisfactory to adequate and outlined the supply position of the principal chemicals used by the in­dustry as follows:

Chlorine. Present supplies are adequate and supply-de­mand should be in balance b y t h e end of 1952.

Benzene. Supply position is favorable and no present difficulty is being experienced in meeting requirements.

Sulfuric Acid. No need for concern on the part of D D T producers since D D T is one of t h e preferred uses for which sulfuric acid may be consumed.

As for meeting D D T production goals, the Advisory Com­mittee assured NPA that t he industry would have no diffi­culty in reaching a production of 150 million pounds of D D T during 1952-53. Production for the month of May was estimated by one industry representative at 12 million pounds.

N P A Revises "Scarce-Items" List To Reflect Current Supply-Demand Picture

NPA has brought its Designation 1 (list of scarce mate­rials subject to antihoarding controls under the Defense Production Act) up to date b y removing some 29 items from the )izt. This action reflects the changes in the supply-demand situation since November 1951 when the order was last amended. The revised list now conforms with NPA regulations and orders relating t o inventory control.

Materials removed from Designation 1 include: Chemicals: carbon tetrachloride, copper-8-hydroxyquino-

late, methanol, methyl chloride, nicotinamide, nicotinic acid, nylon (plastic -type), phenol, quinoline, styrene, and tri-chloroethylene. Thiokol polymers are now on the list termed as alkyl polysulfide polymers in accordance with NPA's revised definition of Thiokol (see C&EN, page 2228. May 2 6 ) .

Forest Products: wood pulp. Leather and Tanning Materials: quebracho. Rubber Materials: natural rubber, latex. Metals: antimony (all fora is) , bismuth, cadmium, lead

(all forms), metal oxide salts, zinc (in a variety of forms), and zircon.

In addition to removing the above items from Designa­tion 1, NPA has added a l u m b e r of items to the list since November 1951. These commodities now are subject to the antihoarding sections of the Defense Production Act, as well as to current NPA inventory limitations. The additions include:

Chemicals: acetylene, alkyl phenol resins, amylphenol,

2522

argon, benzene, butadiene, butylphenol, calcium carbide, cyclohexylamine, DDT, 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid, hy­drofluoric acid, lead naphthenate, lithium chemicals, mela-mine resins and molding powders, monochlorotrifluoroethyl-ene, nickel chemicals, phenothiazine, pine oil, polyvinylidene chloride and copolymer resins, selenium compounds, sodium chlorate, sulfonated oils, toluene, zinc chloride, zinc ammo­nium chloride.

Metals and Minerals: gray iron castings, nonnickel-bearing stainless steel, asbestos, beryllium, chromium, colum-bium, copper, cryolite, fluorspar, natural graphite magne­sium, mica, molybdenum, rutile, tantalum (metal, alloys, and scrap) , tin, and vanadium.

Rubber Materials: natural rubber, dry. Miscellaneous: cellophane, and containers and packaging

material (except glass containers).

Polyethylene Supply Up 6 0 % Over Last Year

National Production Authority officials have announced that the supply of polyethylene has increased over 60% above the output in June of last year. Whereas a year ago only 15.5% of the output could be allocated to the free market after military and other rated orders were filled, today 58% of the production is available for the free market.

As for other packaging materials, NPA stated that pro­duction of cellophane continues temporarily in excess of demand and other plastic films for packaging, such as plio­film, acetate, and vinyl, are also sufficient to meet demand.

With this in mind, the flexible plastic container industry advisory committee has recommended the withdrawal from allocation controls of polyethylene for bulk packaging of dried milk solids. Members of the- committee went on record as favoring retention of the inventory control provision of NPA Regulation 1 for the products of the flexible plastic container industry.

N e w Plants Dispersing, But Half of Productive Capacity Still in Big Cities

More than 80% of all new defense plants and major indus­trial expansions for which rapid write-offs were authorized during the first 18 months of the Korean conflict were lo­cated outside the "central cities" of industrial metropolitan areas, according to Jack Gorrie, chairman of the National Security Resources Board.

Although 46% of the plants are outside industrial metro­politan areas and 42% are in suburban sections of industrial metropolitan areas, Gorrie pointed out that more than half of the nation's defense production capacity is still located in 19 central cities.

Appointments . . .

Bruce K. Brown, who retired May 29 as head of the Pe­troleum Administration for Defense, has been named to the National Petroleum Council for the remainder of 1952. Mr. Brown had previously served on the NPC before becoming PAD's deputy administrator in November 1950. He has returned to his position as president of the Pan-Am Southern Corp., New Orleans, La.

Morton E. Yohalem has been named special deputy for rubber facilities disposal at Reconstruction Finance Corpora­tion. He recently resigned his post as director of the divi­sion of public utilities at the Securities and Exchange Com­mission. Prior to joining the SEC staff, Mr. Yohalem prac­ticed law in New York, specializing in the field of corporate reorganizations.

C H E M I C A L A N D E N G I N E E R I N G N E W S