michael perelman wrote:
Nasaw says that he [Carnegie] gave the order in 1890 to integrate forward into finished products.
I'm not sure what Nasaw means by integrate forward; at Homestead?; company wide? In 1890 the Homestead mill was making structural shapes for buildings and bridges and plate steel for boilers, ships, and tanks. In 1898 the mill was making the same products. The annual capacity, however, increased from 295,000 tons to 2,260,000 tons (not all of this tonnage was finished product). In 1890 there was a 23-inch and 33-inch structural mill and a 120-inch plate mill. Homestead had the same mills in 1898. Between 1890 and 1892 a 30-inch beam mill was added. I'm not seeing forward integration here. The Edgar Thomson and Duquesne mills were Bessemer producers and made rails exclusively. In 1888 the Upper and Lower Union Mills had about 75 puddling furnaces and 14 rolling trains (8 at Upper, 6 at Lower), which ranged in size from 8-inch to 20-inch rolls. Products from the Union Mills included iron and steel plates, beams, channels, tees, angles, axles, links, pins, bars, and light steel rails. Again, I don't see forward integration. Guess I should read Nasaw's book.
