New Traffic, New Needs

Last week ODT and WPB were studying the carriers' carefully pruned minimum new equipment needs for the year commencing in October. If WPB sees fit, the railroads intend to order:

> 80,000 new freight cars. Of these 25,000 will be coal cars to meet the greater demand for overland transportation of coal and coke; 35,000 will be low-sided gondolas, 10,000 will be flat cars, both of which types are ideal for carrying tanks, artillery, other heavy pieces peculiar to war production. These cars, purchased at the railroads' own expense, are an outright contribution to the war effort; the carriers already have a surplus of such equipment for their expected peacetime needs. New boxcars, which the railroads can always use, are limited to about 3,000.

> 900 new locomotives. Though passenger-miles next year by conservative estimates are expected to increase 14% over this year's record, few, if any, of the new locomotives will be for passenger service. War freight needs come first.

If, and when, the railroads are permitted to purchase this new equipment, the cost to them will be about $350 million, the steel required will be close to 2 million tons. But this year the railroads will turn back to the steel mills well over 3 1/2 million tons of high-grade scrap, enough when mixed with ore to turn out more than three times as much new steel as the railroads are asking for next year's equipment needs.

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