MONTHLY SUPPLEMENT TO COMMERCE REPORTS UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE WASHINGTON SURVEY OF CURRENT BUSINESS AS OF DECEMBER 1, 1921 No. 5 COMPILED BY BUREAU OF THE CENSUS BUREAU OF FOREIGN AND DOMESTIC COMMERCE BUREAU OF STANDARDS Subscription price of the SURVEY OF CURRENT BUSINESS is $1 a year; single copies, 10 cents. Foreign subscriptions, $1.50; single copies, including postage, 20 cents. Subscription price of COMMERCE REPORTS is $3 a year; with the Survey, $4 a year. Make remittances only to Superintendent of Documents, Washington, D. C, by postal money order, express order, or New York draft. Currency at sender's risk. Postage stamps or foreign money not accepted. INTRODUCTION. The present number of the "Survey" contains (1) a summary text pointing out the principal changes during the month; (2) a table, entitled TREND OF BUSINESS MOVEMENTS, giving the principal data, together with numerical and percentage comparisons; (3) detailed tables containing new data not shown in preceding issues; and (4) a list of the organizations from which the statistics are taken. A few suggestions have been received to the effect that the period covered by the "Survey" should be the month immediately preceding the date of issue. In answer to this, it must be remembered that the "Survey of Current Business " is first of all a statistical record of current business movements. To receive reports and tabulate them requires time even under the best of conditions. Very few figures are available before the 20th of the next month. Copy for the "Survey" goes to the printer about the 25th of the month. This gives an opportunity to enter in the proof figures which are received up to the last days of the month. Thus the figures received up to the end of December are those covering the month of November. This is as close to the time of publication as it is possible to secure actual data for the majority of items. In the main the text has been confined to a statement of certain facts brought out by the actual data. In certain industries the trends during December have been touched upon, based upon telegraphic reports to the Department of Commerce, although it is impossible to give actual figures in support of such comments. It should also be pointed out again that in receiving and publishing figures from trade associations and technical journals the Department of Commerce assumes no responsibility for their correctness. The figures are furnished to us by the associations in good faith, and we believe they are representative of the industry to the extent indicated. The Department does not attempt to check the correctness of such data. The detailed figures for earlier years and for the months of 1920 and 1921 will be found in the two preceding numbers (numbers 3 and 4). The issue following the present one will be a complete quarterly number, giving detailed tables for all items. (3) SUMMARY OF THE MONTH'S DEVELOPMENTS. General slowing down of industry after the spurt leum and by-product coke far above the prewar in October was the outstanding characteristic of the average, the coals slightly below and beehive coke November business figures. This is partially ac- far below. Production of cigarettes and oak floor- counted for as a seasonal reaction in many lines, such ing was more than twice the prewar average, while as textiles and automobiles, and in some lines, such as oleomargarine, wool, by-product coke, and petroleum coal and transportation, by the overstimulation of showed gains of over 50 per cent above the 1913 level. October business in the face of the threatened railroad Copper and beehive coke were produced at less than strike. half their prewar rate; in fact, at less than 20 per cent. The general result of November conditions appeared Calculating the index numbers on a new basis, to be stabilization. This tendency was felt especially relative to 1919, the November figures show that 14 in textiles, metals, building construction and its commodities out of 34 were above the 1919 production. related industries, and retail sales. It was also DIAGRAM 1.—COMPARISON OF PRESENT PRODUCTION WITH manifested in price movements, employment condi- PREWAR. tions, and in railroad transportation. (Relative production of 1913= 100.) INDEX NUMBERS PRODUCTION. 0 100 200 300 400 Figures on November production thus far received WHEAT FLOUR indicate greater activity than in October 4n metals, clothing, and glass. On the other hand, production for BEEF PRODUCTS November slackened among the foodstuffs and tobacco, while an irregular condition existed in the construction PORK PRODUCTS industries, fuels, and paper. The chief relative changes in November were decreases in wheat flour, bituminous OLEOMARGARINE coal, and cement, and increases in zinc, California red- wood, and glass bottles. WOOL (CONSUMPTION) COMPARISON OF PRESENT PRODUCTION WITH PREWAR. COTTON (CONSUMPTION) RELATIVE PRODUCTION (1913=100). BITUMINOUS Maxi- Mini- COAL Nov., Oct., Nov., mum in mum in 1920. 1921, 1920. 1921. 1921. ANTHRACITE COAL FOODSTUFFS: Wheat flour 116 65 92 126 BEEHIVE COKE Beef products 108 88 132 125 Pork products 1 175 87 113 99 Oleomargarine 308 64 271 181 148 BY-PRODUCT CLOTHING: COKE Wool (consumption) 166 74 168 163 Cotton (consumption) | 123 76 103 109 FUELS: ; CRUDE Bituminous coal j 132 71 120 90 PETROLEUM Anthracite coal ; 109 92 99 90 Beehive coke 74 6 59 15 17 By-product coke 2 242 121 1242 164 167 Crude petroleum 198 171 187 172 182 AIETALS: Pig iron 132 34 115 48 55 Steel ingots 155 ; 38 124 76 78 STEEL INGOTS Copper 90 I 16 79 17 ) MAXIMUM I92O Zinc 167 ; 50 115 50 73 i MINIMUM 1921 BUILDING MATERIALS: : Cement 2 109 : 53 »109 137 116 ; OCTOBER 1921 Oak flooring | 229 64 110 244 254 NOVEMBER 1921 TOBACCO: I Cigars j 119 73 106 101 Cigarettes | 349 293 272 377 326 Manufactured tobacco I 114 73 54 101 83 1 As represented by tax-paid withdrawals. * 1920 monthly average. Out of 20 commodities whose production can be compared with the prewar average, the latest figures OAK FLOORING show that the tobacco, building materials, clothing, and foodstuffs groups were all producing more than the 1913 average, except in a few cases, which are only slightly below. The metals were all considerably below CIGARETTES the prewar basis in spite of good increases during MANUFACTURED November, while the fuels are divided, with petro- TOBACCO (5) COURSE OF PRODUCTION SINCE 1919. DIAGRAM 2.—COURSE OF PRODUCTION SINCE 1199. (Relative production of 1919= 100.) RELATIVE PRODUCTION (1919= 100).1 INDEX NUMBERS 100 200 Maxi- Mini- WHEAT FLOUR mum 1920 Nov., Oct., I Nov.. since 1920. 1921. I 1921. BEEF PRODUCTS end of PORK PRODUCTS 1919. 1919. SUGAR. (MELTINGS) OLEOMARGARINE FOODSTUFFS: COTTONSEED OIL Wheat flour 134 67 | 91 134 107 Beef products 109 67 92 101 95 '.. CONDENSED MILK Pork products 151 58 93 94 83 -C2 Sugar (meltings). 147 40; 104 69 So i COTTON. (CONSUMPTION) Oleomargarine2.. 126 26 i 103 110 74 I 60 265 WOOL. (CONSUMPTION) Cottonseed, oil 349 7 100 349 285 i 20 3 108 Condensed milk.. 121 20 ! SOLE LEATHER ; CLOTHING: ANTHRACITE COAL Cotton (consumption). HI K7 109 64 I 95 102 Wool (consumption)... 126 42 i 88 49 I 118 j 115 BITUMINOUS COAL Sole leather 95 63 ! 82 70 j 91 BEEHIVE COKE FUELS: BY-PRODUCT COKE Anthracite coal... 113 101 101 103 93 CRUDE PETROLEUM Bituminous coal.. 137 74 121 135 115 94 Beehive coke 127 11 ; 110 103 2C} 30 GASOLINE By-product coke.. 122 61 i 122 83 84 ELECTRIC POWER Crude petroleum.. 134 104 ; 117 123 113 120 Gasoline 141 98 ! 123 137 134 PIG IRON Electric power.... 119 98 113 114 108 112 STEEL INGOTS METALS: COPPER Pig iron 132 34 119 115 49 Steel ingots 140 34 121 112 68 ZINC Copper 113 21 104 99 99 Zinc 126 38 !| 105 87 38 !* YELLOW PINE DOUGLAS. CONSTRUCTION: Yellow pine 111 94 80 106 111 CALIFORNIA Douglas fir 118 102 91 100 98 WESTERN PINE California redwood 144 122 144 117 139 Western pine 119 119 78 74 OAK FLOORING Oak flooring 168 106 73 161 168 SILICA BRICK Silica brick 130 106 116 35 33 Face brick 121 100 75 104 101 FACE BRICK Cement 157 125 157 133 CEMENT Buildings (contracted for). 113 72 41 87 82 Vessels completed 79 67 61 14 18 BUILDINGS. (CONTRACTED) VESSELS COMPLETED TOBACCO: Cigars 128 112 113 108 105 CIGAR Cigarettes 116 84 80 liO 96 Manufactured tobacco 119 94 57 106 86 CIGARETTES MANUFACTURED TOBACCO PAPER: Newsprint 114 110 107 91 NEWSPRINT All other paper 132 121 9S 110 108 Mechanical wood pulp 143 109 115 68 90 ALL OTHER PAPER Chemical wood pulp 138 117 116 94 101 MECHANICAL WOOD-PULP GLASS: CHEMICAL WOOD-PULP Bottles. 124 48 104 GLASS BOTTLES 1 The 1913 relatives have here been calculated on a 1919 base, as many more com- modities can be compared on this basis. MAXIMUM SINCE END OF 1919 2 As represented by tax-paid withdrawals. LATEST MONTH 1921 OCT. OR NOV. > Latest month available, June. MINIMUM SINCE END OF 1919 it MAXIMUM SAME AS NOV. PRODUCTION STOCKS. STOCKS OP COMMODITIES COMPARED WITH 1919 AND 1913. Stocks of commodities at the end of November (1919=100). Per cent were, in general, slightly larger than in 1919. The increase or de- largest relative stocks were those of corn and coal, crease both above five times as large, due somewhat to Maxi- Mini- ! 1920 i mum mum | ov., Oct., Nov., Nov., aver- \ )20. 1921. 1921. 1921, seasonal variation. Increases of from 50 to 100 per since since age.