MONTHLYof REVIEW AGRICULTURAL AND BUSINESS CGNDITI~NS IIV THE NINTH FEDERAL RESERVE DISTRICT Serial VaI. 7 (xn. z7s) Federal Reserve Sank, Minneapolis, Minn, February 28, 1938 Most business indexes were lower thax~ in Jan- this year than in the same month last year, but the uary last year but rural retail trade and country average was lower in all other sections. The district check clearings indexes were slightly above a year total was 7 per cent lower than in January 1937. deposits decreased during the ago. Bank loans and Country check clearings in the district averaged month. Farm income in this district was higher in slightly higher during January than in the same January than a year ago. month a year ago, the decreases in Michigan and gull NESS Wisconsin being more than offset by increases in the other four states. The volume of business in January as measured by our seasonally adjusted indexes was slightly Retail trade in this district was slightly smaller in lower than in the preceding month . The rural retail January than in the same month last year according trade and country check clearings indexes were to reports from 615 city and country stores. The higher than in any other ]anuary in our records, Gut country stores reported a small gain but it was more all of the other indexes were lower than in ,January than offset by a decline at the city stores. The great- last year. The department store stacks index de- est increases were in the eastern half of South Da- clined for the fcfth successive month. At the end of kota. Sales at the b7 reporting stores in the eastern January it was lower than at any time since last sections of that state were 14 per cent larger than April and lower than in ]anuary of the two preced- in January 1937. Preliminaxy reports from soma of ing years. tha reporting city department stores for the first two weeks of February indicate a somewhat larger de- Northwestern Business Indexes crease Pram the 1937 level than was experienced in ( ! 929-1931=100} anuary . Jan. Dec. Jarr. Jan . 1938 1937 1937 193b SALES AT DEPARTMENT STDRES $ank debits-94 cities . $8 84 94 81 I~o. of °fo J n, ! 938 $ank debits--farming centers 88 90 92 81 Stares of J n. 1 93 7 133 Country check clearings . 149 149 148 i1~TpIs . Paul, Duluth-Superior . i Department stare sales. 87 94 89 83 ., St 2 98 Department store stocks . 79p 81 81 81 Country Stares . 594 I O I Rural retail trade . 95p 89 94 89 Minnesota . 207 102 Country hzmher sales . 98 101 101 84 Central Minn. 2b 104 85 86 I~'artheastern Minn. 1 G 94 Miscellaneous carloadings. 90 106 Red River Va~~ey Minn. I ! 1 12 L.C.L. carloadings . b5 67 TD fi4 South Central Minn . 36 102 Production in must of the manufacturing lines that Southeastern Minn. l9 98 Southwestern Minn. 39 105 are important in this district was a little higher dur- Montana . 85 1 fl0 ing the last quarter of 1937 than in the same threw Mountain . l4 100 months in 193b with the exception of apparel and Plains . 34 99 textile, and papar and printing industries according North Dakota . 1 T $ I fl3 I\~orth Central N. D. 15 i 43 to reports received from 53 manufacturers, Sales Northwestern 1ti1. D. F 2 95 during the same period were somewhat below the Red River Valley N. D. 24 1 !8 level of the last quarter of 193b, resulting in De- Southeastern lV. D. 27 95 goads inventories that 5authwestern N. D. 6 90 cem~er 31, 1937 finished Red River Valley-Minn, and 1+1. D. 35 I 1 7 were well above those of one year earlier. Purchases 5'outh Dakota . 105 107 of raw materials during the Dctober-November-De- Southeastern S. ~D. ! 6 121 cember 1937 peri5~d were reported by most indus- Other Eaatcrn 5. D. 51 108 smaller than in the same three months in Western 5. D. i 0 90 tries to be Wisconsin and Michigan . 79 94 193b, but raw material inventories at the end of the Northern Wis. and Mich. 40 93 year were still somewhat larger than on the soma West Central Wis. 39 94 date one year earlier as a result of forward buying 'Total District . 615 99 last quarter. The number of employees prior to the Freight carloadings were 15 per cent smaller in on December 3 I showed little change from the num- this year than the soma month a year ago. ber at the end of the preceding year. January in Loadings of agricultural products, especially grains, Bank debits in the wheat and range, and south- were well above the January 1937 level, but were western beef and park sections of oux district and at more than offset by sharp decreases in other com- the Great Lakes Ports averaged higher in January modity classes. AGRICULTURAL AND BUSINESS CONDITIONS February 28, 1938 Building permits issued in January at 18 cities in the district were much larger both in number and in valuation than in the same month last year. Cities BUSINESS TRENDS of the district contributed to the in- N11+17ii F R. pI5TR1CT in all sections __ ._ . crease with the exception of Minneapolis. The larg- _ est increases were at Aberdeen, South Dakota and Winana, Minnesota. Substantial increases were also ' DEPOSITS-ALL ~ reported by smaller cities in agricultural sections of the district which evidently are not included in the I monthly surveys of the volume of building contracts FiANH ~EgIT . awarded. Building contracts awarded were one-third smaller in January this year than in January a year ago . The volume of contracts for each class was far level with the exception of below the January 1937 LIFE 1NSUR construction for educational purposes, Business failures in this district in January were only slightly larger in number than a year earlier, t]EP'T S~'pRE SALES! but total liabilities were mare than twice as large as . in ]anuary 1937. Y ~tlser indicators of business volume that wexe higher in January this yeax than in the same month CDUNTRY LUMBER S a year ago were sales of electrical goods at whole- sale, electric power consumption in Minnesota and the Dakotas, copper, silver and gold production and marketings of bread and durum wheat, rye and flax. l~ecreascs were recorded in electric power consump- tion in Montana, warranty deeds and mortgages in r Hennepin and Ramsey Counties, shipments of flour and linseed products, country lumber sales and I wholesale sales of shoes, drugs, groceries, hardware BUILDING CONT - and plumbing and heating supplies, BANKING Country xnernlaer hank deposits decreased $b mil- lion between the latter half of December and the I latter half of ]anuary. Each of the states in the dis- trict showed some decline. There were small de- creases in earning assets, resexve balances with us and balances due from other banks. Excess reserves decreased from $16 million to $1 ~} million. Com- TOTAL r pared with the lattex half of January 1937, demand ~CARLO deposits were down $1 6 rnillion as a result of de- creases of $5 million each at Minnesota and South ~~r~r ~~ Dakota member banks, $3 million at member hanks ELECTIC Pow~R cDN- - in both Montana and North Dakota and minor changes in Michigan and Wisconsin. Time deposits showed an increase of $4 million, mostly at Minne- I banks. Earning assets wcrc dawn slightly, re- sota FARMERS CASH + showed a $3 million decxease and $$ serves with us t rnillion was withdrawn from balances with other banks. City member bank deposits dropped $9 million in the 5-week period ended February 1 b, as customers E5 r reduced their indebtedness to the weekly reporting ~. banks by that amount . Holdings of government r securities increased about $12 million, half of which was withdrawn from reserve accounts with us and half from balances with correspondent banks. Excess of I reserves of city member banks were estimated tv he nearly $5 million compared with about $9 million 5 weeks earlier. 1929 //rr1930 1931 ~19 32 ~ 1933 193 l~~~rS38~1939~1940J 1VINTH FEDERAL RESERVE DISTRICT AGRICULTURE Shiprrxents of starker and feeder cattle from South St. Paul declined seasonally during January but were Farm Income and Prices a little larger than in the same month last year in plinth District farmers' cash income from the sale spite of a much narrower margin between feeder and of 7 important agricultural products during January lautchex cattle prices. 1-ieavy feeder cattle prices ad- was estimated to be nearly $30 million which was vanced from $6.25 in December to $7 .aD in January greater than in any January since 1931 . Potato in- whereas light feeders declined fxom $b.19 in De- come was the largest far Januaxy since 1929 chiefly cember to $5 .$5 in January. Januaxy 1937 feeder because of the unusually heavy maxketings which prices were $S.Oa and $S .OD respectively. established an 1 l -year record for that month. Dairy product income was largex than in any January since The dairy vow xxxarket at South St. Paul was 193fl as a result of a largex-than-usual volume of but- steady to slightly strongex during January. Low #eed ter production, especially in Minnesota. Estimates of costs together with fairly satisfactaxy prices fox dairy income from the sale of rye, durum wheat and hogs products were major factors in holding prices steady. were below the January i 937 level, but the esti- The price range far January was $$5-$4fl.