JULY 1937 SURVEY OF CURRENT BUSINESS UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE BUREAU OF FOREIGN AND DOMESTIC COMMERCE WASHINGTON VOLUME 17 NUMBER 7 Copies OF THE 1936 SUPPLEMENT to the Survey of Current Business are available for those who wish the complete service J\ CHECK of the records of the Superintendent of Documents reveals that not all users of the monthly Survey of Current Business have as yet secured a copy of the Supplement, which is an essential part of the service. It is not the intention to prepare a Supplement this year, and, therefore, the 1936 issue will be needed as a base book until another Supplement can be issued in 1938, IF YOU have not yet secured your copy of the Supplement it is suggested that you act promptly, so that you may have at hand the necessary explanatory and historical data needed for the proper analyses and interpretation of the series presented monthly. XVEMITTANCE may be made to the Superintendent of Docu- ments, Government Printing Office, Washington, D. C, or to any district office of the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce, United States Department of Commerce. 1 RICE 35 cents a copy. 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 ROY G. BLAKEY, Chief M. JOSEPH MEEHAN, Editor Volume 17 JULY 1937 Number 7 CONTENTS SUMMARIES AND CHARTS STATISTICAL DATA—Continued Page Business indicators 2 Monthly business statistics: Page Business situation summarized 3 Business indexes 22 Graphic comparison of principal data 4 Commodity prices 23 Commodity prices 5 Construction and real estate 24 Domestic trade 6 Domestic trade 25 Employment 7 Employment conditions and wages 27 Finance 8 Finance 31 Foreign trade 9 Foreign trade 37 Real estate and construction 10 Transportation and communications 37 Transportation 11 Statistics on individual industries: Chemicals and allied products 3*> SPECIAL ARTICLE Electric power and gas 41 Recovery in the railway equipment manufacturing industry 12 Foodstuffs and tobacco 41 Fuels and byproducts 45 STATISTICAL DATA Leather and products 46 Lumber and manufactures 47 New or revised series: Metals and manufactures: Table 22. Department store sales, St. Louis Federal Reserve dis- trict, 1921-37 16 Iron and steel 48 Table 23. Department store sales, Chicago Federal Reserve dis- Machinery and apparatus 49 trict, 1923-36 16 Nonferrous metals and products 50 Table 24. Freight-car loadings, by years, 1919-36, by months, Paper and printing 51 1926-36 17, 18 Rubber and products 52 Table 25. Industrial disputes (strikes and lock-outs), 1927-37... 19 Stone, clay, and glass products 53 Table 26. Copper, production, deliveries, and stocks, Copper In- Textile products 53 stitute, Inc., 1934-37 20 Transportation equipment 55 Table 27. Copper, production, shipments, and stocks, American Canadian statistics 56 Bureau of Metal Statistics, 1935 and 1936 20 Weekly business statistics through June 26 21 General index Inside back cover Subscription price of the monthly and weekly issues of the SURVEY OF CURRENT BUSINESS is $1.50 a year. Single-copy price: Monthly, 10 cents; weekly, 5 cents. Foreig~ n subscriptions" • • •-, $3a-7. jrncpriCe ofi mthe iyoo1936 supplemenSupplementt is J3O5 cents., iviMaka e remittances only to Superintendent of Documents, Washington, D. C. 152709—37 1 SURVEY OF CURRENT BUSINESS July 1937 Business Indicators 1923-25 = 100, except as noted INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION RURAL SALES OF GENERAL MERCHANDISE 150 150 125 125 100 100 ^v Ac/jus tec/ Ac/Jus fed 75 75 50 50 25 25 0 i i i i i I i I I I I 1 ! I I I I I I I 1 I I 1MM 0 M ! 1 MM IM.MI.MM I. FREIGHT CAR LOADINGS DEPARTMENT STORE SALES 125 100 /. C. L. (Adjusted) * 75 A djusteat 50 TOTAL (Adjusted) 25 25 0 I M M M • •••IMM.I.MMI 0 M M M 1 FACTORY EMPLOYMENT & PAYROLLS * CASH INCOME FROM FARM MARKETINGS 125 125 100 Adjusted 25 , 0 M M M 1 CONSTRUCTION CONTRACTS AWARDED WHOLESALE PRICES 125 125 \ • 100 100 ALL COMMOD/T/ESy A TOrAL ( Ad/usted)- 75 75 \ "'^ PRODUCTS -\^ Ni^=*h- 50 vV ***** 50 25 T 25 OTNJ /AL (Adjusted) * 0 i iTvru" i il i l 1 i M I 1 II t II 11 1 1 • ii: II ii 1 II i i 1 0 i i i MM i i i i i I i i i i i I i i i i i I i i i i FEDERAL RESERVE MEMBER BANK LOANS BANK DEBITS OUTSIDE NEW YORK CITY 150 125 100 75 50 nf M ii M l , ml, ,,,,! i T 1930 1935 1935 1936 1937 1930 1935 1935 1936 1937 ADJUSTED FOR SEASONAL VARIATION REVISED ^REPORTING MEMBER BANKS 1929-31 : 100 1924-29 =100 NOTE: Indexes are based on dollar figu-re-5, except industrial production, freight -car loading^ and factory employment July 1937 SURVEY OF CURRENT BUSINESS Business Situation Summarized NDUSTRIAL activity during June tended to slacken for the third consecutive month. Fluctuations in I under the influence of seasonal factors and industrial most industries were not large with gains on a seasonally disputes, but the volume of output in most lines has adjusted basis in the iron and steel, automobile, leather, remained relatively high. The indicated recession in petroleum, and bituminous coal industries being offset aggregate activity for the month was not large and on by declines in the textile, food processing, tobacco the whole the second quarter was a period of relatively manufacturing, and anthracite industries. high industrial output. Security markets, however, Factory employment increased slightly but contra- were unsettled during the quarter with stock quotations seasonaUy in May, the adjusted index advancing for undergoing a downward readjustment. the fifteenth consecutive month. Pay rolls also rose The major labor dispute during June—-that involving slightly to a point about 30 percent above the May certain independent steel companies—affected several 1936 total. This expansion in industrial pay rolls important industrial areas and caused the rate of ingot and the improved position of the farmer were reflected production to drop from about 90 percent of capacity in in the volume of retail trade reported for May. May to around 75 percent in June. The decline in In view of the importance of the farm market, the automobile production during June was attributed trend of farm income and the 1937 crop prospects are partly to industrial disputes, but a seasonal recession of major significance with regard to the trade outlook. in production is usual at this time in this and many For the first 5 months of 1937 cash farm income from other industries. Sales of cotton goods were reported the marketing of farm products increased 14 percent to be slow during June and the rate of incoming business over the corresponding 1936 total and this rise has suggests the possibility of a further decline in manufac- meant a further substantial increase in "real" income. turing operations in this industry. Output of petroleum The June crop report of the Department of Agriculture refineries has been maintained at a high rate to meet indicated that this year's production of the principal the strong consumer demand. food, feed, and forage crops will be up to average, Industrial output continued in May at the April barring adverse weather conditions, such as the rust and rate, the seasonally corrected index of the Federal drought damage which have already affected spring- Reserve remaining unchanged at 118 (1923-25 = 100) wheat. MONTHLY BUSINESS INDEXES Factory em Freight-car Retail sales, Foreign Cash farm Industrial production ployment value, trade, value, 3 and pay rolls loadings adjusted » adjusted * income Mer- Unadjusted 1 Adjusted * chan- |3 Total dise, 3* 1. c. I. S •as ftw s C 3 Year and month II r bit Yo .273 "3 8 If g. f 1929- Monthly Monthly Monthly average, 1923-25 = 100 31=100 Monthly average, 1923-25=100 average, average, 1924-29=100 1926=100 1929: May 126 128 116 122 I 123 117 105.4 112.9 107 105 109 116. 5 108 | 121 134.3 121 87.5 94.0 94.7 1932: May 61 60 65 60 59 67 64.6 46.8 52 73 72 64.5 37 34 63.4 26 42.0 47.0 64.4 1933: May 79 80 77 78 77 79 65.9 43.7 55 67 66 64.8 32 32 58.3 16 50.0 64. 0 62.7 1934: May 89 89 86 86 86 88 85.9 68.1 64 66 75 79.7 45 47 71.5 26 50. 5 59. 5 73. 7 1935: May 87 87 88 85 84 90 84.6 69.4 61 64 74 93.1 46 78.9 59.5 66.0 80.2 1936: May 105 105 101 101 101 102 89.8 80.8 72 65 114.3 56 86.2 64.0 72.5 78.6 June. _ 104 105 101 104 105 100 90.4 81.1 73 65 111.5 55 95.7 69.5 80.0 79.2 July 105 105 102 108 109 101 92.8 80.2 76 66 114.7 54 94.4 84.0 88.0 80.5 August. 106 106 104 108 110 99 93.4 83.5 76 67 111.9 51 86.7 75.0 74.5 81.8 September-. _ 107 107 110 109 110 102 93.8 83.6 75 67 123.6 55 89.1 89.0 77.5 81.6 October. _ 111 110 115 no 110 105 94.4 89.0 77 66 127.1 57 102.1 104.0 76.0 81.5 November-..