As may be supposed, conditions brought about by the war changed the situation materially, hence, figures illustrating the policy of the Corporation to develop exports more along the line of finished materials must be sought in the pre-war period. In 1912, the record pre-war export year, the Corporation shipped abroad 2,223,536 tons of finished steel products and only 42,031 tons of pig iron, ingots, and scrap. In the year 1904, immediately following the organization of the export company, foreign shipments were 1,002,967 tons of a gross value of $31,388,139, an average of $31.30 a ton. These figures are f. o. b. on the seaboard. In 1912 the tonnage exported was 2,265,567 of an average value of $40.60 a ton or a total value of $91,984,239. In the period indicated there had been an increase of 125.9 per cent. in tonnage, of 193.1 per cent. in total value, and of 29.7 per cent. in the average price, more than $9.00 a ton. Incidentally, the average price received on domestic business by the Corporation declined from $41.34 a ton in 1904 to $36.53 a ton in 1912, or nearly $5.00 a ton. Part of the gain in export prices during the period in question was due to the increasing percentage of more highly finished goods in total export shipments and part to the fact that the Corporation’s products were becoming more established in world markets and were getting the confidence of buyers therein. How important has been the part played by the U. S. Steel Corporation, through the Steel Products Co., in developing the iron and steel exports of this country, is shown in the table below. Tonnages given for the United States include only iron and steel exports proper, and not machinery and other articles not manufactured by the Corporation, or scrap sheet and iron: ===================================== | UNITED STATES | U. S. STEEL YEAR | GROSS TONS | CORPORATION | | GROSS TONS -----+------------------+------------ 1904 | 1,139,519 | 1,002,967 1905 | 1,002,289 | 939,517 1906 | 1,314,444 | 1,123,545 1907 | 1,276,292 | 982,084 1908 | 942,409 | 765,947 1909 | 1,218,225 | 1,000,395 1910 | 1,509,864 | 1,270,599 1911 | 2,102,014 | 1,712,877 1912 | 2,826,576 | 2,265,567 1913 | 2,640,142 | 1,797,948 1914 | 1,512,848 | 1,108,483 1915 | 3,450,783 | 2,355,858 1916 | 5,885,948 | 2,463,922 1917 | 6,268,514 | 2,229,747 1918 | 5,341,360 | 1,648,160 1919 | 4,354,086 | 2,004,190 1920 | 4,925,000 (est.) | 1,645,192 -----+------------------+------------ Between 1904 and 1912 the Corporation’s exports increased 1,262,600 tons, and the exports of the country 1,687,057 tons, the Corporation’s increase in shipments accounting for approximately 75 per cent. of the total gain shown by the United States.