.4- costs since they exceeded then all of our other costs combined. We took the lead in designing new vessels and today we have cut our transportation costs in half. The principal beneficiaries of this saving have been the Japanese and European steel companies as competitive pressures and the denial of U. S. markets to independent ore producers have forced them to pass on the savings to the customers. This has greatly improved the competitive position of the steel industries in these countries vis-a-vis the U. S. So today we have a whole new picture. Each of the three major steel producing centers must look far afield for a major portion of its low-cost raw materials and draw them in varying degrees from politically unstable nations. We have at least 13 underdeveloped countries and Canada in which the export of iron ore is now a very important segment of their domestic economy and a major source of foreign exchange. In virtually all of these tremendous amounts of American capital are at risk. The cost of ore has been greatly reduced but the competitive position of Japan and Europe has been very much enhanced. To illustrate, 1957 was the peak year in both C & F prices and in ocean transportation costs. Delivered prices of ore to Europe and Japan were substantially above the U. S. prices. Last year competitive pressures and declining freight costs made our prices to Europe virtually the same as to the U. S., while the differential to the Japanese was a mere $2.02 above the U. S. We were able to cut our transpor-