CHROMITE 611


 No imports of chromium compounds were recorded in 1940 or 1941; a table
showing imports of these compounds from 1937 to 1939 is given in Minerals
Yearbook, Review of 1940, page 591.
 The following table shows imports of ferrochromium and chromium into the
United States from 1937 to 1941.

Ferrochrome or ferrochromium and chrome or chromium metal imported for consumption
in the United States, 1937—41, in long tons
Class
1937
1938
1939
1940
1941
Ferrochrome or ferrochromium— Containing 3 percent or more carbon (chromium
content)                            
Containingless than 3 percent carbon (chromium
content)                            
Chrome or chromium metal                  
96
164
78
(1)

121
39
3
127
56
(2)


(3)
79
 1 60 pounds. 2 1,020 pounds. 1,000 pounds.


PRICES

 Nominal prices of chromite for import are quoted in domestic trade journals
in dollars per long ton, c. i. f. North Atlantic ports. At the beginning
of 1941, Engineering and Mining Journal Metal and Mineral Markets quoted
Indian and Afric.an 48 percent metallurgical ore at $32 to $34. The price
rose during the year and in September reached $47 to $49; during the last
quarter, it held at $45 to $47. Refractory ore (43 to 45 percent) opened
the year at $22 to $24 and increased to $30 to $32, a price that was maintained
for the last 4 months of 1941.
 Prices for domestic chromite were established by the Metals Reserve Co.
in its schedule of November 14 and revised on December 19. The following
were the base prices per long dry ton, f. o. b. stock pile designated by
the Metals Reserve Co.:
November 14:
 48 percent Cr,03, Cr: Fe=3: 1~ $43.20
 40 percent Cr203 22.00
December 19:
 45 percent Cr,03, Cr: Fe=2.5:1 40. 50
 40 percent Cr,O,, Cr: Fe=2:1_. 28.00
 40 percent Cr,03, no Cr: Fe ratio specified 24. 00


CONSUMPTION

 Consumption of all grades of chromite in the United States during 1941 amounted
to 714,645 long tons. Actual data on consumption have not been published
before, but at the close of 1940 the annual rate was reported to be about
600,000 tons. For purposes of comparison, the apparent available supply may
be used as an indicator of the requirements in the years preceding 1941.
Since institution of the Government purchasing program, part of the new supply—
comprising shipments from domestic mines and imports for consumption—has
entered Government stock piles, from which an undisclosed quantity has been
released to consumers. The following table, covering the period from 1910
to 1941, shows the general upward trend in apparent supply of chromite and
reflects the increasing demand. During World War I, domestic production constituted
a significant