Foreign News: Matching Muscle

In one respect Europe was in husky shape last week. Steel production, said the U.N. Economic Commission for Europe, was at an alltime high of nearly 68 million metric tons.† Of this, 58 million tons had been forged in non-Communist countries: West Germany (up 12%), France (up 13%), the French-directed Saar (up 40%), Belgium (up 25%), Italy (up 29%), The Netherlands (up 12%), and Austria (up 10%). Only Britain, Europe's largest single steel producer, is below her 1950 output (by 4%), partially because of shortages of scrap and coke.

The U.N. estimates that East Germany has increased steel production 52%, the Soviet Union 15%. When Soviet steel production, estimated at 31.3 million tons, is added to that of East Europe, the totals are: Soviet bloc, 41 million tons; non-Communist Europe, 58 million tons.