Data Descr iption
Labor. The labor quantity and pr ice ser ies for both
the U.S. and Japan are an amalgamation of series constructed
. '",~
by the Bureau of'Labor Statistics cover ing var ious per iods of
time. l/ As pointed out above, the BLS makes some limited
corrections in its ser ies to reflect product mix differentials
and the ser ies developed here reflects these corrections.
.l-. .
Iron Ore. For the United States, the source of the iron
ore quantity series was the total iron ore consumption reported
by the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) (1). The price'
of iron ore used for the United States was a ~eighted average
of prices computed for domestic and imported ore. For domestic
ore, the pr ice used was - the aver age val ue a t the mine of
usable iron ore- mined in the U.S. reported by the Department
of the Interior, Bureau of Mines (42)
. To the value of ore at
the mine was added an estimated cost of transportation to the
steel mill. The estimate was based on transportation rates
published periodically in Skilling's_Mining Review. The estimated time series of transportation costs is shown in appendix
(,
3A. For imported ore, the quantity and value were obtained
from the Department of the Interior (42). Since the values
given are f.o.b. the exporting country, a transportation cost
3/ Along with unpublished BLS òata covering the period 1964 to
I974, data were used from Jackman (9) and Mark (23). The data
from Mark incorporated changes suppl ied to us by the Bureau of
Labor Statistics through May 1977. The 1976 figures are projections based on datal in (l), (111, and (l2).
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was added, estiffated on the basis of data obtained from major
U.S. steelmakers through compulsory questionnaires.
For Japan, the quantity of iron ore used was the sum of
annual "imported" and "home iron ore consumption in the iron
and steel inõustry" reported by Japan Iron and steel Federation
(JISF) (12). The price of iron ore used for Japan was the
annual average c.i.f. price of imported iron ore from the JISF (15) .
.'. .
Scrap. Only scrap purchased from outside the steel mills
(as opposed to that generated internally) was considered in
calculating the cost of scrap. i/ If internally generated
scrap had been included, there would be double counting since
the cost of materials, energy, and labor used to produce that
scrap are included in other cost ser ies.
For the U.S., the quantity of scrap purchased was computed
from data reported by the AISI (1) simply by subtracting the
quantity of scrap "produced" from that "consumed." The price
used for U.S. scrap was the annual average, composite price
of ll heavy melting scrap at Chicago, Philadelphia, and
Pittsburgh from Iron Age.
For Japan, the quantity of scrap purchased was obtained
from the JISF (12) and (13). Separate figures were available
for the quantity imported and the quantity purchased in Japan.
4/ Data on the total consumption of scrap are shown in
appendix 3A.
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The pr ice used for domestically purchased scrap was the
domestic "market" pr ice and for imported scrap the "average"
cost of imports, c.i.f., both as reported by the JISF (15)
.
Coking Coal. The quantity of coking coal consumed by the
U.S. steel industry was obtained from the AISI (1). The price
used was annual "average cost of coking coal at merchant coke
ovens" from Department of the Interior data (42). This value
included the cost of transportation to the, ovens.
Coking coal consumption by the Japanese steel industry
was obtained from the JISF (12). The pr ice usee for Japan
was the average cost ~f imports, c.i.f., from the JISF (15).
Non-Coking Coal. For the U.S. industry, the quantity of
non-coking coal was obtained from the AISI (1) by subtracting
"coal consumed in product ion of coke" from W totalW coal consumption. The price for non-coking coal was estimated, using
data from the Department of the Inter ior (42). The average
f .o.b. mine value in the U.S., reported in (42J for bituminous
and lignite coal, was adjusted downward by taking tnto account
the quantity and value of that coal which was sold as coking
coal. To arrive at a delivered price, the authors added to the
adjusted f.o.b. value the average railroad freight charge for
sh ipmen ts of cok ing coal to merchant ovens, which also appear s
in (42J.
