Speaking Out

U.S. Steel Chairman Roger Blough is a hard man to get a rise out of. Through John Kennedy's attack on steel, through price-fixing squabbles with the Government and sniping from stockholders and legislators, Blough has steadfastly stuck to the mild manner, bland words and faint smile that have become his trademarks. At his meetings with the press, he gives only perfunctory answers, usually volunteers nothing. Almost everyone was surprised, therefore, when Blough dropped his usual reticence last week at his quarterly press conference and delivered a firm defense of the steel industry's pricing policies. It came just three weeks after U.S. Steel and seven other big companies had been indicted on charges of fixing some prices on carbon steel sheets. "If anyone inquires into it," said Blough, "he will find that there is plenty of competition in the steel industry, including price competition. In 1963 alone, on almost 100 separate occasions, we reduced one or more of our product prices. Some of the recent price changes were in galvanized steel, five major grades of stainless strip and sheet, and automotive upholstery spring wire. Now the price changes are occurring almost daily."

Though the steelmakers have also raised some prices, said Blough, the overall price level is only slightly higher now than six years ago. "Some of the price changes were initiated by U.S. Steel. Other times they were initiated by others. One of the best indications of price competition is that, under almost all circumstances, any steel producer is required to give the customer the lowest going price. It is not very usual for a customer to pay a higher price to one producer than to another. You might put it this way: that the similarity in prices is in itself real evidence of price competition."

To harden his point, Blough went on to announce that U.S. Steel would forthwith trim 12% to 14% from the prices of some types of wire and rods. Reason: stiff competition from cut-price European producers, whose steel shipments to the U.S. will exceed 6,000,000 tons this year.

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