WAS WROUGHT IROX A WEAK FACTOR IX THE INDUSTRY?
persisted in spite of the formation in 1919, of the British Iron
Manufacturers' Research Association.
The industry did not, in fact, decline after 1900 faster than those
on the Continent and in America. The mistake was to preserve the
industry to a greater extent than economically necessary after the
advent of cheap mild steel. This was no doubt influenced by the
large production and export of British forge pig iron for which
there was, of course, a falling demand. There will always be a
demand, to a limited extent, for wrought iron on account of its
special properties, but it will remain a small item in the total output
of the iron and steel industry.
The wrought iron industry has, however, left a special inheritance
which it is worth while noting in relation to the next chapter of this
study—steel production, for the mistake was made of basing the
steel industry on the location and lay-out of the iron industry.