§ Major GLYNasked the President of the Board of Trade what is the volume of pig iron produced in the United Kingdom for the last six months; how many blast furnaces were there in operation during that period; and how do these figures compare with the same period in 1913–14 and 1920–21?
979W
§ Mr. W. R. SMITHThe information published by the National Federation of Iron and Steel Manufacturers shows that the quantity of pig iron produced in Great Britain during the six months ended 30th March last, was 3,885,900 tons. In the six months ended 31st March, 1921, the corresponding quantity was 3,100,600 tons, and in the six months ended 31st March, 1914, the output appears to have been between 4,500,000 and 4,750,000 tons, more precise figures not being available. The number of blast furnaces in operation is recorded only for the end of each month. The averages of these numbers for the three periods mentioned above were 162, 229 and 284 respectively. I should add that the average blast furnace capacity is now considerably higher than in the earlier periods mentioned.