November 1937 Survev of Current Busi
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
NOVEMBER 1937 SURVEV OF CURRENT BUSI UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 8UREAU OF FOREIGN AND DOMESTIC COMMERCE WASHINGTON VOLUME 17 NUMBER 11 The usual Periodic Revision of material presented in the Survey of Current Business has been made in this issue. A list of the new data added and of the series discontinued is given below. The pages indicated for the added series refer to this issue, while the pages given for the discontinued data refer to the October 1937 issue. DATA ABB ED DATA DISCONTINUED Page Page Slaughtering and meat-packing indexes Business activity indexes (Annalist) 22 (Board of Governors of the Federal Re- Industrial production indexes (Board of serve System added in the October 1937 Governors of the Federal Reserve Sys- issue) * 22 tem); food products (discontinued with Bituminous coal; retail price index 23 the August 1937 issue) and shipbuilding* 22 Construction contracts awarded, classified by ownership. 24 Grocery chain store sales, Chain Store Age index 26 Grocery chain store sales indexes (Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce)... 26 Department store sales indexes (computed Department store sales indexes (computed by Survey of Current Business): by District banks): Kansas City Federal Reserve District.. 27 Kansas City Federal Reserve District 27 St. Louis Federal Reserve District 27 St. Louis Federal Reserve District 27 U. S. Employment Service: Industrial disputes (strikes and lockouts): Percent of TOTAL placements to active Number of strikes beginning in month.. 29 file 29 Number of workers involved in strikes beginning in month 29 New securities effectively registered with the Securities and Exchange Commis- United States Employment Service: sion, number of issues 35 Percent of PRIVATE placements to active Me 29 Bond sales on the New York Stock Ex- Admitted assets of life insurance com- change exclusive of stopped sales (Dow- panies: Jones) 35 Real estate, cash, and other admitted Bond yields (Standard Statistics Co., Inc.). 36 assets 33 Refined sugar; shipments and stocks, two Gold production, Union of South Africa.. 33 ports* 44 New securities effectively registered with the Securities and Exchange Commis- Porcelain enamel flatware; new orders for sion, classified by industries 35 signs and table tops* 48 Bond sales on the New York Stock Ex- Safes; orders and shipments 49 change, exclusive of stopped sales (New York Stock Exchange) 35 Steel sheets, black, blue, galvanized, and full finished; orders, production, ship- Bond yields (Moody's) 36 ments, and stocks* 49 Bond yields, U. S. Treasury 3-5-year notes 36 Waste paper, stocks in transit and un- Manufactured tobacco production, by shipped purchases 52 types 44 Rayon, deliveries index, adjusted for sea- Gasoline, refinery production, by types... 46 sonal variation* 55 Copper; production, deliveries, and stocks (Copper Institute, Inc.) 50 * Discontinued by the reporting source. It is important that the tables printed monthly in the SURVEY, presenting back data for the new cud revised series, be retained for reference purposes. UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE DANIEL C. ROPER, Secretary BUREAU OF FOREIGN AND DOMESTIC COMMERCE ALEXANDER V. DYE, Director SURVEY OF CURRENT BUSINESS Prepared in the DIVISION OF ECONOMIC RESEARCH LOWELL J. GHAWNER, In Charge M. JOSEPH MEEHAN, Editor WALTER F. CROWDER, Acting Editor Volume 17 NOVEMBER 1937 Number 11 CONTENTS SUMMARIES AND CHARTS STATISTICAL DATA—Continued Page Monthly business statistics—continued: Page Business indicators 2 Domestic trade 25 Business situation summarized 3 Employment conditions and wages 27 Graphic comparison of principal data 4 Finance 31 Commodity prices 5 Foreign trade 37 Domestic trade 6 Transportation and communications 37 Employment 7 Finance 8 Statistics on individual industries: Foreign trade 9 Chemicals and allied products 39 Real estate and construction 10 Electric power and gas 41 Transportation 11 Foodstuffs and tobacco 41 Fuels and byproducts 45 SPECIAL ARTICLE Leather and products 46 Lumber and manufactures 47 Farm mortgage credit, 1930-37 12 Metals and manufactures: Iron and steel 48 STATISTICAL DATA Machinery and apparatus 49 New or revised series: Nonferrous metals and products 50 Table 45. Moody's bond yield averages, 1919-37 19,20 Paper and printing 51 Weekly business statistics through October 23 21 Rubber and products 52 Stone, clay, and glass products 53 Monthly business statistics: Textile products 53 Business indexes 22 Transportation equipment 55 Commodity prices 23 Canadian statistics 56 Construction and real estate 24 General index Inside back cover Subscription price of the monthly and weekly issues of the SURVEY OF CURRENT BUSINESS is 31.50 a year. Single-copy price: Monthly, 10 cents; weekly, 5 cents. Foreign subscriptions, #3. Price of the 1936 Supplement is 35 cents. Make remittances only to Superintendent of Documents, Washington, D. C. 23491—37 1 1 SURVEY OF CURRENT BUSINESS November 1937 Business Indicators 1923-25=100, except as noted INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION RURAL SALES OF GENERAL MERCHANDISE 150 150 12 5 125 100 100 Adjusted Adjusted 75 zz. 75 50 50 25 25 0 M 1 I 1 1 1 i 11 i 1111ii 11111i11iii1111 i ii 111 1i1 0 1 1 1 I [ I 1 11 M i I i 11 i i 111) i i I 11 11 i I 11111 I 111 i FREIGHT CAR LOADINGS DEPARTMENT STORE SALES 125 125 100 100 LCLfid/usted) 75 •—*— 75 A djusfeat 50 50 TOTAL (Adjusfe 25 25 0 I 1 1 I I 1 I n..iln. i i 11 11 II 1. i i 1 il I i I I I 1 I i i I i 0 i i i i i i i i 11 i i 11 11 it 111iit 11111i111i1111 i n FACTORY EMPLOYMENT & PAYROLLS * CASH INCOME FROM FARM MARKETINGS EMPLOYMENT (Adjusted) .^-* Adjusted J\*»*s - FAMOUS (Unadjusted) 25 25 0 II 1 1 11 1 I I ., lln.l ll.M, llll. I ll.,l III. Ml • 0 1 1 I I 1 1 I Mill 1 111 N I \\ M 1 I ! I 1 1 I I I I 1 I 1 I I CONSTRUCTION CONTRACTS AWARDED WHOLESALE PRICES 125 100 TOTAL (Adjusted) ALL COMMODITIES? 75 ^-FAtfM PRODUCTS 50 25 Ji^C^s/OTNT/AL (Ac/Jus fed) * i i 11 i 1111 i i 1111) i 11 i i i 1111 i i i 111 11 i 0 I I 1 I I 1 1 1111 i 1111ii 111i1111111i1111 11 111 ii FEDERAL RESERVE MEMBER BANK LOANS BANK DEBITS OUTSIDE NEW YORK CITY 150 150 125 125 100 100 75 75 50 50 I 1 I 1 1 I 1 1 1 1 1 l t nT i i i i i I i iinlmiiliiiiiliiiiiliiinliiii ot 1930 1935 1935 1936 1937 1930 1935 1936 1937 ADJUSTED FOR SEASONAL VARIATION # REVISED * REPORTING MEMBER BANKS ^1929-31 = 100 "#"l.924 - 29 =100 NOTE: Indexes are based on dollar figures, except industrial production, freight-car loadings, and factory employment November 1937 SURVEY OF CURRENT BUSINESS Business Situation Summarized NDUSTRIAL production in October as indicated by which is a composite of manufacturing and mining I available weekly reports from several major indus- activity, dropped from 117 in August to 111 in Sep- tries was sharply lower than in September, on a season- tember. ally adjusted basis. During the past 2 months the Factory employment in September declined, contrary decline has been approximately 9 percent. Steel to the usual seasonal movement, and pay rolls dropped activity showed a particularly severe curtailment during more sharply than employment. Employment in non- the month, the scheduled rate of operations being manufacturing industries showed some gain due mainly reduced from 74 percent of ingot capacity in the last to increases in the number at work in retail establishments. week of September to approximately 50 percent in the Retail sales of general merchandise in September final week of October. Early reports indicate that showed a sizable advance, after allowance for seasonal cotton-mill activity declined contraseasonally, after influences-and also maintained a gain over sales in the having advanced less than is usual in September. Auto- corresponding month last year of about 5 percent. Pri- mobile production, however, expanded more than mary distribution as indicated by freight-car loadings, de- seasonally, even though one of the leading producers clined during the early part of October although some sea- had not started volume production of its 1938 models. sonal increase is usually experienced during the month. Production of bituminous coal increased seasonally Extending the declines of the preceding 2 months, while crude oil output declined. security prices dropped sharply during the first part of Manufacturing production as contrasted with min- October. In the wide fluctuations of October 19, eral production declined sharply in September, accord- industrial, railroad, and utility share prices fell to the ing to the seasonally adjusted index of the Board lowest points since May 1935. At the bottom of the of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. This movement, the New York Times' index of 50 stocks index dropped to 110 (1923-25 = 100) in September was down 40 percent from the March high. Second- from 118 in August. Under the influence of a sharp grade bond prices were also sharply lower but the advance in output of anthracite and bituminous coal, prices of high-grade issues and Government bonds a gain was recorded in the adjusted index of mineral were generally firm. Some recovery in the prices of production. The index for total industrial production, stocks and bonds was experienced following the break. MONTHLY BUSINESS INDEXES Factory em- Freight-car Retail sales, Foreign Cash farm Industrial production ployment value, trade, value, 3 and pay rolls loadings adjusted 2 adjusted 2 income Mer- Unadjusted 1 Adjusted 2 chan- .£.2 Total dise, in Year and month P I.e. I. 11 1% II s .s •£ I V Cfi z f I a I 1929- Monthly Monthly Monthly average, 1923-25=100 31 = 100 Monthly average, 1923-25=100