CONDITIONS IN PARTICULAR INDUSTRIES. 213
In 1913 the sales of A products by the Stahlwerksverband
amounted to 6,339,000 tons, of which total semifinished steel comprised
 1,681,000 tons; railway material, 2,880,000 tons; and structural
shapes, 1,778,000 tons. The proportion of the production of the
Stahlwerksverband to the total production of Germany is estimated
at about 90 per cent.! The distribution of the B products is highly
complicated by the fact that the different works which carry on the
manufacturing processes organized themselves into cartels, unions
and syndicates, which in turn, have their own selling organization
independent of the Stahlwerksverband. These smaller cartels cover
such products as drawn wire, woven wire, nails, castings, radiators,
pipes, ete.
One of the purposes of the establishment of the Stahlwerksverband
 was the elimination of competition among Gterman works in
foreign markets,? and it has succeeded in practically dominating the
export trade of the entire steel industry. It nas given a great deal
of attention to pushing the exports of German steel products and its
success is inferable from the marked increase in the exports of these
products following the formation of the Stahlwerksverband in 1904.
It is generally conceded that it has been one of the most important
factors in German exports during the past decade.?
According to the annual report of the year ending March 31, 1913,
while the domestic sales of semifinished steel in that year were about
20 per cent less than in 1906-7, the export sales of such products
during the same period increased about 115 per cent, so that the proportion
 of export sales to total sales was increased from 18% to 38
per cent.*
A manufacturer of iron and steel products in the United States
says that the Germans, through the Stahlwerksverband, are formidable
competitors, not only because of the advantages of export bounties
and freight rebates, but because they keep in close touch with the
requirements of the foreign markets through effective and expensive
representation on the ground, and because the syndicate backs up
the credits granted by individual manufacturers to secure initial
business.
The Stahlwerksverband, by reason of its organization and of its
attitude toward the export trade, has been in a position to pave the
way for international agreements with the chief exporting countries.’
(See Pt. IT. +,. 81.)

1 Kartell-Rundschau, 1914, p. 91; ¥. Walker, op. cit., p. 373.
TF. Walker, op. cit.,, pp. 373-374.
8 Pt. II, pp. 13, 18.
+ Kartell-Rundschau, 1913, p. 654.
$J., Riesser, The German Great Banks and their Concentration, p. 182; translation
published by the National Monetary Commission. 61st Cong, 2d Sess.. 8. Doc. No. 593.