TABLE 121.--Anthracite produced, by fields, 1913-1923, in gross tons

[The figures of breaker product include a certain quantity of culm-bank coal, which in 1923 amounted to about 2,300,000 tons]

• Includes Sullivan County, which in 1923 contributed 293,663 tons of breaker product.

TABLE 122.-Anthracite produced, 1928–29, by counties

• Value given for shipments is value at which coal left possession of producing company f. o.b. mines and does not include margins of separately incorporated selling companies. • Counties producing dredge coal only.

MONTHLY SHIPMENTS The monthly shipments of anthracite outside the region as reported by the Anthracite Bureau of Information are given in Table 123. They do not include dredge coal or the product of the Bernice Basin. Unfortunately, since November, 1923, the Bureau has been unable to obtain the figures of one important producer, and the current reports are no longer complete. In the interest of the public, as well as the industry, it is hoped that the publication of complete figures may be resumed.

Weekly production statistics for 1922 and 1923 are given on page 540.

TABLE 123.-Anthracite shipped, 1917-1923, by months, in gross tons a

77, 133, 305 76, 649, 918 66,855, 46268, 627, 125 67, 617, 713 40, 055, 073

72, 701, 027

• Does not include shipments from Sullivan County or from dredges.

Strike. • Estimate. No report by the Anthracite Bureau of Information.

NUMBER OF OPERATORS

Sustained demand and favorable prices after the strike of 1922 called into active operation all available plants in 1923. The number of breakers active was 257, against 243 in 1922, and the number of washeries 82, against 69. The number of dredges in operation for which the Geological Survey obtained information was 60, against 62 in 1922. Definite reports were received from all dredge operators on its lists, but the Survey can not guarantee that its present lists are complete, because a systematic field canvass of the dredge industry has not been made since 1920.

Table 124.-Number of anthracite breakers, washeries, and dredges active,

1918-1923

SHIPMENTS FROM BREAKERS, WASHERIES, AND DREDGES, 1880–1983 The shortage of anthracite and of bituminous coal created by the strike of 1922 led to favorable prices for the steam sizes of anthracite and caused an increase in the quantity of washery coal in 1923. As shown in Figure 54 and Table 125 the shipments from washeries

FIGURE 54.-Anthracite shipped from breakers, washeries, and dredges, 1890–1923. (Includes Sullivan

County.)

have been exceeded but three times in recent years namely, in 1917, 1918, and 1920. Attention has already been called to the facts that the figures of "washery product” are somewhat less than the quantity of coal recovered from culm banks and that some culmbank coal is prepared in the breakers and here appears in the breaker shipments.

TABLE 125.-Anthracite shipped from breakers, washeries, and dredges, 1890–1983,

in gross tons a

Year

Breakers

Washeries

Dredges

Total

1890. 1891. 1892 1893. 1894. 1895. 1896. 1897. 1898 1899. 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904. 1905. 1906. 1907 1908. 1909 1910. 1911, 1912. 1913. 1914. 1915. 1916. 1917. 1918. 1919 1920. 1921. 1922. 1923.

36, 573, 000 40, 362, 000 41, 803, 000 42, 845, 000 40, 757, 000 45, 430,000 42, 282, 000 40, 802, 000 40, 944, 000 46, 455, 000 13, 218, 000 51, 128, 000 29, 527, 000 56, 046, 000 54, 927, 000 59,010, 000 62, 139, 000 63, 158, 000 61, 473, 000 58, 994, 000 62, 417,000 67, 253, 000 62, 046, 000 69, 206, 000 68, 727,000 66, 174, 000 64, 368,000 72, 077, 000 70, 090, 000 64, 632, 000 63, 599, 000 67, 981, 000 37, 907, 000 69, 289, 000

42,000 86, 000 90,000 245, 000

634, 000 1,081, 000

895, 000

994, 000
1,099, 000
1, 368,000
2,059, 000
2,567, 000
1,959, 000
3, 563, 000
2, 800,000
2,644, 000
3, 847, 000
4, 301, 000
3, 646, 000
3,685,000
3, 296, 000
3, 172,000
3, 155, 000
2,090, 000
1, 720, 000
2, 475, 000
3, 104, 000
5,366, 000
6,506, 000
3, 017, 000
4, 616,000
1,308,000
2, 600, 000
3, 754, 000

36, 615,000 40, 448,000 41, 893,000 43, 090,000 41,391, 000 46, 511, 100 43, 177,000 41,790,000 42,043,000 47,823, 000 45, 277,000 53, 695,000 31, 486, 000 59, 609,000 57, 727,000 61, 654, 000 55, 186, 000 67, 459,000 65, 119,000 62, 688,000 65, 735,000 70,442,000 65, 229,000 71, 343,000 70, 464,000 68, 666,000 67, 501, 000 77, 490,000 76, 721,000 67, 972,000 68, 611, 000 69, 554,000 41, 074, 000 73, 428,000

9,000 22,000 17,000 28,000 47,000 17,000 17,000 29, 000 47,000 125,000 323, 000 396, 000 265,000 567, 000 385, 000

. Includes shipments from Sullivan County, except for 1891 to 1896, for which data are not available.

In recent years, at least, a considerable tonnage of culm-bank coal has been handled in the breakers, so that the figures of shipments from washeries are less than the sales of culm-bank coal.

TREND OF SHIPMENTS BY SIZES

The relative proportions of the domestic and steam sizes shipped from one year to the next (fig. 55) depend largely on the state of the steam-coal market. The high tide of the shipments of the steam sizes came in 1918, when 31.5 per cent of the total dispatched from the anthracite region consisted of sizes smaller than pea. In 1921, on the contrary, depression in the steam-coal market caused the proportion to drop to 25.1 per cent, the lowest in many years. For 1922 and 1923 the proportion of the steam sizes was again above the average-29.0 and 28.2 per cent respectively—a condition that reflects the active demand in the winter of 1922–23.