INDUSTRIAL PROGRESS DURING THE YEAR 1874. clxxxvii 



three years of the five leading classes of manufactured goods 

 that compete with American manufacturers: 



During the fiscal year 1S73-74 the increase in our exports 

 has amounted to $54,500,000 (currency), our specie export 

 has decreased by $14,200,000, a gain of $62,600,000 to our 

 credit in our account with foreign nations. 



The Iron producing and manufacturing industries are in 

 a condition of even greater prostration than represented in 

 our last year's review. This condition of things is in keep- 

 ing with the general depression of manufacturing interests 

 throughout the country, and its causes are too patent to re- 

 quire consideration here. The impossibility of securing ac- 

 curate returns of yearly production until some time after the 

 close of the year applies of course to every department of 

 industry; the difficulty of getting reliable information, how- 

 ever, appears to be intensified in this particular department. 

 Our estimated returns for 1 873, as given in our last year's Rec- 

 ord, will now need a slight modification in the light of facts 

 collected during the current year. From the complete returns 

 from all the states, as given in the Bulletin of the American 

 Iron and Steel Association, the home production of pig-iron 

 for 1873 is placed at 2,868,278 net tons (of 2000 lbs.) ; the es- 

 timated figures given on the same authority in our last year's 

 Record were 2,695,434 net tons, a very close approximation 

 to the truth. The following is a summary of the leading 

 facts bearing upon the present state of this important indus- 

 try, issued by the Association, July 23d of the current year. 

 All tons are net tons of 2000 lbs. : 



Whole number of stacks, December 31st, 1871 



Whole number of stacks built in 1872 



Whole number of stacks, December 31st, 1872 



Whole number of stacks built in 1 873 



Whole number of stacks, December 31st, 1873 



Whole number of stacks in blast, January 1st, 1874. 



o . 



1 



41 



612 



50 



662 



410 



