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    "label": "Report, Central Intelligence Agency, United Kingdom, Situation Report 25",
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    "title": "Report, Central Intelligence Agency, United Kingdom, Situation Report 25",
    "citationUrl": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/486500365",
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    "productionDates": [
        {
            "day": 7,
            "logicalDate": "1949-12-07",
            "month": 12,
            "year": 1949
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{
    "seq": 49,
    "pageIndex": 0,
    "type": "photo",
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    "ocrText": "46\nareas suffering most from power shortages.\nmillion tons, manufacturing steel specialties\nDomestic consumption is being curtailed by\nsuch as wire, rods, and tubes. The steel in-\nraising the price of electricity to the consumer\ngot capacity of the industry in 1948 was orig-\nand by heavy purchase taxes on household\ninally estimated at 14 million ingot tons; final\nelectrical equipment. Appeals are also being\n1948 production was 14,877,000 tons.\nmade to power users to convert to gas when-\never possible.\nThe export of steel and its products has\nThe program to expand the electricity pro-\nalways been of prime importance to the Brit-\nduction industry SO vigorously is largely de-\nish economy, but never more SO than now\npendent, however, upon available supplies of\nwhen the world is starved for machinery and\nsteel and is also governed by the productive\ncapital equipment. In spite of an insatiable\ncapacity of an industry with great opportuni-\ndomestic demand the level of export has been\nwell maintained; it has been estimated that\nties for export. It is therefore by no means\nin 1948 steel and steel products accounted for\ncertain that the program will be pursued in\nits entirety once the more immediate short-\n46 percent in value of the country's total\nages have been met.\nrecord-breaking exports.\ne. Iron and Steel.\nOre from British deposits normally satisfies\nonly about two-thirds of the needs of the iron\nWith the invention in 1856 of the Bessemer\nand steel industry, thus necessitating large\nprocess, making possible cheap production on\nimports of ores chiefly from Sweden, Algeria,\na large scale, Britain launched the modern\nSpain, and Newfoundland. Manganese ore\nsteel age. In 1870, the United Kingdom ac-\nis also imported by the United Kingdom in\ncounted for almost 50 percent of world steel\nconsiderable quantities, the chief sources of\nproduction. By 1886, however, US output\nBritish supply being the Gold Coast, the\nhad already overtaken that of Britain, and\nUnion of South Africa, and India and Pakis-\nthe Germans caught up in the 1890's. In\ntan. Comparative import figures, in thou-\n1913 German production was more than dou-\nsands of tons, are listed below:\nble and US more than four times that of the\nUnited Kingdom, which was then about 10\n1938\n1947\n1948\npercent of world output. Nevertheless, at the\nGold Coast\n13,991\n190,129\n238,541\nbeginning of World War II the United King-\nUnion of South Africa\n1,015\n44,130\n70,143\ndom was still the third largest steel producer\nIndia, Pakistan, etc.\n172,441\n34,014\n85,627\nOther British countries\n6\nin the world.\nForeign countries\n5,268\n194\n2,184\nThe four large steel-producing districts of\nthe United Kingdom are situated upon the\nTotal\n192,715\n268,467\n396,501\nmain coal fields and their accompanying de-\nReserves and production of manganese ore\nposits of iron ore. One is on the North-East\nappear to be sufficient for British needs; pro-\ncoast, in the Newcastle area, with an ingot\nduction in the African fields can be sharply\ncapacity of about three million tons and spe-\nincreased with improved rail transportation\ncializing in structural steel, shipbuilding ma-\nand harbor facilities.\nterials, and rails; another in South Wales, in\nthe Swansea area, with a capacity also of\nBefore the war the United Kingdom also\nabout three million tons and supplying the\nimported large quantities of semi-finished\nbulk of the United Kingdom's tin-plate; a\nsteel from Europe for re-rolling, as well as al-\nthird in West Scotland, in the Glasgow area,\nmost a million tons a year of scrap from the\nwith a capacity of about two million tons, con-\nUS. Since the war the supply of semi-\ncentrating on heavy plates, sections and forg-\nfinished steel is virtually non-existent, and\nings for local shipbuilding and other heavy\ndomestic demand has caused the export of US\nindustry; and the fourth in the Midlands,\nscrap to cease. In consequence, the British\nin the Sheffield-Northamptonshire-Lancashire\nsteel industry is forced to rely upon domestic\nareas, with a combined capacity of some five\nsupplies and upon such imports of scrap as"
}