PRODUCTION: Steady

U.S. production was at a fast clip in the June 27 week, and TIME'S Index ended at 174.6 (estimated), only 0.2 point below the alltime high. Of the Index's three ingredients, freight carloadings and power production dipped slightly, but steel mills boomed ahead. Last week they turned out 1,664,600 tons of ingot, lifting June output to the highest in U.S. history. Thanks to soaring production in the past six months, shipbuilding (Naval and Merchant) is now the No. 1 user of steel, this year will use about 10,000,000 tons of plates and shapes—roughly one-sixth of the total fabricated steel output.

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