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MONTHLY REVIEW BUSINESS AND AGRICULTURAL CONDITIONS WILLIAM W. HOXTON, CHAIRMAN AND FEDERAL RESERVE AGENT MAY 31, 1927 RICHMOND, VIRGINIA DISTRICT SUMMARY. Business in the Richmond Federal reserve district was relatively better in April than in March, and on the whole compared favorably with the volume o f business transacted in April 1926. Reserve bank credit extended to member banks in creased during April and the first half o f May, due to country bank needs fo r crop planting, but the in crease was moderate. City banks actually reduced their borrowing at the reserve bank, and their loans to customers declined while their deposits and invest ments increased. Debits to individual accounts during the fou r weeks ended May 11th were slightly lower than during the corresponding period last year, but the decrease was much less than the decline in the general price level during the year. Business failures in the fifth district last month were few er in number than those o f April 1926, although the liabilities were greater. Employment is somewhat smaller than in May a year ago, particularly in the construction in dustry which is less active than in the early months o f 1926. Textile mills are operating fu ll time, and have more forward orders than fo r many months. Agricultural prospects in the district are difficult to estimate so early in the season, but fru it growers appear to be the only real sufferers from recent un favorable weather. Cold weather and late frosts in April and early May cut down the prospective yield based on early spring conditions, and official observers do not expect nearly as large fruit crops as those gathered in 1926. In practically all other agricultural lines, however, prospects are better at this time than they were in late May a year ago, when extreme dry ness had prevented planting or germination o f seed, had impaired grass and hay yields, and had withered truck crops. Retail trade in April was in larger vol ume than in April 1926, and wholesale trade, while seasonally below that o f March, was about equal to that o f April last year. RESERVE BANK OPERATIONS. A seasonal in crease in credit needs incident to crop planting raised the total o f rediscounts held by the Federal Reserve Bank o f Richmond from $22,973,000 on April 15th to $27,977,000 on May 15th, and increased the total bill holdings o f the Richmond bank by about the same amount, raising them from $33,395,000 last month to $38,173,000 at the middle o f May. The increased borrowing last month was by country banks, redis counts fo r city banks having declined slightly. In spite o f the increased demand fo r credit during the past month, however, the circulation o f Federal re serve notes dropped from $69,917,000 to $66,571,000, the need at this season being fo r book credit rather than cash. Member bank reserve deposits increased from $66,542,000 at the middle o f April to $67,787.000 at the middle o f May. The several changes in the items enumerated above resulted in a net de cline in the total cash reserves o f the Richmond bank from $108,536,000 on April 15th to $97,010,000 on May 15th, and reduced the ratio o f reserves to note and deposit liabilities combined from 75.02 per cent last month to 70.76 per cent at the middle of May. Reserve bank credit continues in much smaller use than at the same time last year. On May 15, 1926, rediscounts fo r member banks held by the Federal Reserve Bank o f Richmond totaled $48,916,000, but on May 15th this year rediscounts held by the Rich mond bank amounted to only $27,977,000, a decrease o f approximately 43 per cent. The circulation o f Federal reserve notes also declined during the year, falling from $74,013,000 on May 15th last year to $66,571,000 on May 15th this year, a decrease o f 10 per cent. Member bank reserve deposits, on the other hand, rose from $65,355,000 last year to $67,787,000 this year. Total bill holdings o f the Richmond bank declined from $56,388,000 at the middle o f May a year ago to $38,173,000 on the corresponding date this year, a decrease o f about 32 per cent. The lower demand fo r credit and currency this year shows both in an increase in the Richmond bank's cash reserves from $88,025,000 on May 15, 1926, to $97,010.000 on May 15, 1927, and in a gain between the same dates in the ratio o f reserves to note and deposit liabilities combined from 60.09 per cent to 70.76 per cent. SAVINGS DEPOSITS— At the close o f business on April 30, 1927, thirteen mutual savings banks in Baltimore had aggregate deposits totaling $165,482,800, compared with $163,378,458 on deposit at the end o f March this year and; $154,680,290 at the end o f April a year ago. The April 30, 1927, total was the highest on record. Sixty-seven regularly report ing member banks in the fifth reserve district had time deposits amounting to $221,992,000 on May 11th, compared with $217,321,000 on deposit on April 13th this year and $207,029,000 on May 12, 1926. CONDITION OF SIXTY-SEVEN REPORTING MEMBER BANKS IN SELECTED CITIES May 11, 1927 ITEMS April 13, 1927 May 12, 1926 $513,136,000 $520,300,000 $521,854,000 145.920.000 142.674.000 135.658.000 40.821.000 13.958.000 381.159.000 221.992.000 6,993,000 40.470.000 14.143.000 381.082.000 217.321.000 7,278,000 38.682.000 13.783.000 372.844.000 207.029.000 16.147.000 1. Total Loans and Discounts (including all rediscounts)........................................ 2. Total Investments in Bonds and Secu rities ........................................................... 3. Reserve Balance with Federal Reserve Bank ........................................................... 4 . Cash in Vaults............................................ 5. Demand Deposits ...................................... 6. Time Deposits .............................................. 7. Borrowed from Federal Reserve Bank.... In the above table com parative figures reported by sixty-seven identical member banks are shown as at the close of business M ay n , 1927, April 13, 1927, and M ay 12, 1926, thus affording an opportunity for comparing banking developments during the past month and the past year in the thirteen leading cities of the fifth reserve district. W hile the figures shown in the table reflect con ditions on the dates mentioned, they are not necessarily the highest or low est figures that occurred during the period under review. C ontrary to the seasonal trend, total loans and discounts outstanding at the sixty-seven report ing banks declined $7,164,000 between April 13th and M ay n th , both this year, and the banks also reduced their rediscounts at the R eserve bank by $235,000. On the other hand, they increased their investm ents in bonds and securities by $3,246,000, and their reserve balance at the Federal reserve bank rose $351,000. Demand deposits showed a slight increase during the month under review, rising by $77,000, while time deposits increased $4,671,000. Cash in vaults declined slightly, decreasing by $185,000 betw een the middle of A pril and the middle of M ay. A comparison of the figures reported for M ay n , 1927, w ith those reported on M ay 12, 1926, showed a decrease this year of $8,718,000 in outstanding loans to custom ers of the reporting banks, and a decline during the year of $9,154,000 in the banks' borrow ing at the Federal reserve bank. A ll other items in the statem ent show higher figures on the 1927 date. T otal investm ents in bonds and securities w ere $10,262,000 greater on M ay n t h this year than on M ay 12th last year. Reserve bal ances of the sixty-seven banks at the reserve bank increased $2,139,000 during the year, and cash in vaults rose $175,000. Deposits increased m aterially in the period covered, in spite of the decline in loans to customers. Demand deposits rose $8,315,000 during the year, and time deposits gained $14,963,000. DEBITS TO INDIVIDUAL ACCOUNTS TOTAL DEBITS : URING THE FOUR W EEK S ENDED D CITIES May 11, 1927 April 13, 1927 May 12, 1926 Asheville, N. C..................................................... Baltimore, Md...................................................... Charleston, S. C................................................. Charleston, W. V a............................................. Charlotte, N. C................................................... Columbia, S. C................................................... Cumberland, Md................................................. Danville, V a......................................................... Durham, N. C..................................................... Greensboro, N. C................................................ Greenville, S. C.................................................. Hagerstown, Md............................................. . Huntington, W. V a............................................. Lynchburg, V a.................................................... Newport News, V a............................................. Norfolk, V a.......................................................... Raleigh, N. C....................................................... Richmond, V a....................................................... Roanoke, V a........................................................ Spartanburg, S. C............................................... Washington, D. C............................................... Wilmington, N. C............................................... Winston-Salem, N. C......................................... $ $ $ Totals ................................................................... $1,241,482,000 31,680,000 375,385,000 26,765,000 31,759,000 50,031,000 24,930,000 8,848,000 7,972,000 28,424,000 26,346,000 22,193,000 10,244,000 22,278,000 18,087,000 9,150,000 68,667,000 19,685,000 123,454,000 25,853,000 12,460,000 236,205,000 19,540,000 41,526,000 34,331,000 377,631,000 27,415,000 33,888,000 50,846,000 22,952,000 8,261,000 8,433,000 26,601,000 22,009,000 21,257,000 10,897,000 33,168,000 17,508,000 9,897,000 64,635,000 19,100,000 121,754,000 26,848,000 15,423,000 243,479,000 19,853,000 45,400,000 $1,251,586,000 36,344,000 406,450,000 24,164,000 32,242,000 49,442,000 17,468,000 8,729,000 7,737,000 20,646,000 27,073,000 19,436,000 9,664,000 23,610,000 19,325,000 8,658,000 73,713,000 13,895,000 115,370,000 26,445,000 14,132,000 228,423,000 19,457,000 36,584,000 $1,239,007,000 The accom panying table shows agg regate debits to individual, firm and corporation accounts in tw enty-th ree leading cities of the fifth reserve district for three equal periods of four w eeks, ended 2 M ay i i , 1927, April 13, 1927, and M ay 12, 1926. These figures show the totals of all checks paid against depositors’ accounts by the clearing house banks of the reporting cities during the period under review, regardless of whether or not the checks passed through the local clearing houses, w ere cleared through the Federal R eserve System , w ere cashed over the counters, or w ere deposited for the credit of other custom ers of the reporting banks. During the four weeks ended May n th , aggregate debits totaled $1,241,482,000, a decrease of eight-tenths of 1 per cent under the total of $1,251,586,000 reported for the preceding four w eeks this year, ended A pril 13th. This decline w as seasonal, the period ended A pril 13th w ith its debiting of late income ta x checks and its large volum e of quarterly payments on and around April 1st nearly alw ays exceeding the later period, when the chief influence tending to swell debits figures is the p a y ment of E aster bills. This influence is largely offset by the cash purchases of E aster goods, nearly all of which fell in the period ended A pril 13th. Nine cities reported higher figures during the period ended M ay n t h than during the earlier period, while fourteen cities reported low er totals for the more recent period. Debits during the 1927 period under review exceeded a g g rega te debits of the corresponding period last year by tw o-tenths of 1 per cent, a very satisfactory show ing in view of the reduction in w hole sale prices since M ay 1926. Fourteen of the tw en ty-th ree reporting cities showed higher figures during the four w eeks ended M ay 11, 1927, than during the like period ended M ay 12, 1926, while nine cities reported low er figures for the more recent period. Gains of more than 10 per cent w ere reported by Charleston, S. C., Columbia, S. C., Durham, N. C., Greenville, S. C., Raleigh, N. C., and W inston-Salem , N. C. BUSINESS FAILURES— Dun's Review for May 7th, in reviewing business failure statistics for April, says, “ F ollow in g the seasonal trend, a low er comm ercial m ortality is reported for April. T otalin g 1,968, last m onth’s comm ercial defaults in the United States are about 8 per cent below the 2,143 insolvencies of M arch, w hile the A pril liabilities of $53,155,727 are approxim ately 8.2 per cent under the $57,890,905 of the earlier period. W hen comparison is made w ith the returns for A pril 1926, the record of the number of failures, which is the best m easurem ent of the business m ortality, m akes the more satisfactory exhibit. Thus, last m onth’s defaults are less than 1 per cent above those of A pril of last year, w hereas the present indebtedness shows an increase of about 38 per cent over the $38,487,321 of a year ago. In point of number of insolvencies, the decrease from M arch to A pril of last year w as only 1.3 per cent, which is a relatively less favorable show ing than is made by last m onth’s statem ent. The maximum number of failures for A pril w as reported in 1922, w ith a total of 2,167. The highest liabilities for that month also w ere recorded in 1922, when the amount exceeded $73,000,000.” “ About 51 per cent of last m onth’s indebtedness w as accounted for by defaults involving $100,000 or more in each instance, such insolvencies numbering 75 and a gg rega tin g more than $31,000,000. In contrast, similar failures in A pril of last year numbered 63 and had liabilities of only some $17,500,000. H ence the large defaults a year ago supplied about 45 per cent of the total liabilities for the month.” In the F ifth district, failures in A pril this year numbered 123, compared w ith 147 in M arch this year and 134 in A pril 1926. A pril liabilities of $3,800, 752 w ere larger, how ever, than either $3,585,847 reported for M arch or the $3,320,683 of A pril a year ago. A pril w itnessed the sm allest number of insolvencies in the fifth district of any month since last November, when 120 w ere reported. LABOR— Labor conditions have changed little during the past month. There is some unem ploy ment in nearly all sections of the district, but the number of idle w orkers is not seriously large at any particular point. No one developm ent is responsible for the increase in the ranks of the unemployed during recent months, but a number of industries are som ewhat less active than at this time last year. The chief influence at w o rk in reducing em ploym ent is the decline in construction w ork in comparison w ith the past tw o or three years, and this decline is felt not only am ong the building trade but has naturally affected em ploym ent adversely in lum bering, brick yards, cement w orks, and m anufacturers of all kinds of building m aterial. U nfavorable farm ing conditions the past few seasons have reduced agricultural returns and made it difficult for farm ers to hire labor as exten sively as form erly. On the other hand, textile mills, tobacco factories, non-union coal mines, ship yards, and other more or less im portant industries are using full quotas of w orkers, and roadbuilding gives em ploym ent to large numbers of common laborers. COAL— Bitum inous coal production in A pril this year totaled approxim ately 34,671,000 net tons, a decrease of 42 per cent under M arch production, during which month mines and consumers w ere building reserves to tide them over the prospective strike called for A p ril 1st. A pril production w as only 13.5 per cent under production in A pril 1926, how ever, when 40,079,000 tons w ere brought to the surface. L ast month the leadership in production shifted to W est V irginia, due to the large percentage of non-union mines in that state, but even w ith the strike under w ay the demand for coal has not required capacity production from W est V irginia mines. Coal prices have registered the usual spring declines, but they are still higher than in the corresponding period in 1926. The 3 Bureau of Mines, D epartm ent of Comm erce, reports that stocks of coal in the hands of consum ers on A pril ist, the beginning of the strike, w ere the largest in the h istory of the country, averaging nearly tw o m onths’ supply. T he rate of production in April was nearly high enough to provide for current needs w ithout seriously depleting reserve stocks. Because of the productive capacity of the non-union mines and the record reserve stocks as of A pril ist, the strike has stim ulated only a small amount of early stocking of bins for next winter. TEXTILES — T extile mills in the fifth reserve district continued full tim e operations during A pril, and m any of the plants had outstanding orders in sufficient volum e to indicate steady w ork for several w eeks. Cotton consumed in the district totaled 259,754 bales in A pril, a decrease under the 287,436 bales used during the longer month of M arch, but an increase over 234,684 bales con sumed in A pril 1926, when orders w ere so scarce that many mills curtailed production to prevent the accum ulation of m anufactured products in their w arehouses. N orth Carolina mills used 142,251 bales of cotton in A pril this year, South Carolina mills used 106,520 bales, and V irgin ia mills used 10,983 bales. F ifth district consumption totaled 42 per cent of National consumption last month, compared w ith 40.6 per cent of National consumption used in the district in A pril a year ago. On the whole, the outlook in the textile industry appears to be better than it w as tw o or three months earlier this year, and is much better than in A pril 1926, when voluntary curtailm ent of operations w as spreading and early indications of a ve ry large cotton crop w ere beginning to disturb the m arket for cotton and textiles. BUILDING OPERATIONS FOR THE MONTHS OF APRIL 1927 AND 1926. Permits Issued 0 CITIES 2 New Baltimore, M d .... Cumberland, Md... Frederick, Md. Hagerstown, Md... Danville Va.......... Lynchburg, Va.... Norfolk, Va. Petersburg, Va..... Richmond, Va. . Roanoke, Va......... Bluefield, W. Va... Charleston, W. Va. Clarksburg, W. Va Huntington, W.V a. Parkersburg,W.V a Asheville, N. C..... Charlotte, N. C..... Durham, N. C. Greensboro, N. C. High Point, N. C... Raleigh, N. C. Salisbury, N. C..... Wilmington, N. C. Winston-Salem, N. C. Charleston, S. C ... Columbia, S. C..... Greenville, S. C.... Spartanburg, S. C. Washington, D. C. 499 44 8 33 21 23 84 1 144 91 12 41 40 68 25 25 64 60 72 77 55 18 10 101 14 25 13 43 313 Alterations Repairs 1927 1926 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 New Construction 1927 1926 672 1,248 1,192 $ 34 11 9 2 11 2 34 19 13 26 16 42 33 29 61 108 102 70 4 8 8 165 84 87 112 60 37 19 7 7 64 16 19 23 14 24 100 1 5 20 37 8 124 120 107 52 24 19 34 18 15 55 38 37 10 77 13 27 10 13 10 2 11 15 9 8 82 38 40 34 14 29 15 32 51 24 9 30 36 14 27 562 519 203 1926 1927 3,008,040 $ 3,295,896 63,905 134,257 25,890 15,110 26,115 149,155 226,785 47,045 302,014 134,065 250,599 268,730 10,252 1,500 1,413,055 1,483,017 648,032 257,780 36,295 31,165 95,655 144,747 26,980 38,753 241,983 91,687 79,500 55,650 1,161,219 301,916 506,000 296,000 266,628 278,243 420,421 269,275 271,535 289,250 1,092,200 175,768 45,700 114,980 92,700 40,600 343,825 448,272 28,592 9,780 39,100 189,700 112,700 51,100 254,461 87,400 4,157,180 7,999,250 Totals.......... 2,024 2,195 2,536 2,539 $14,186,858 $17,760,594 1927 $ 705,960 $ 8,716 1,800 37,475 15,150 11,165 59,505 6,650 181,068 15,197 12,225 69,062 7,075 1,500 9,150 53,677 28,850 11,390 15,791 5,585 3,375 1,600 9,000 108,312 14,350 13,265 56,100 2,515 278,490 $1,743,998 1926 Increase or Per Cent Decrease of of Increase 0 Total or 2 Valuation Decrease 504,720 $ - 86,616 — 2.3% 12,050 67,018 88.2 450 — 9,430 — 35.8 152,635 7,880 4.4 31,537 — 196,127 — 75.9 26,447 152,667 95.1 26,284 51,352 18.5 8,598 — 10,700 — 56.8 117,627 133,403 8.7 11,970 — 387,025 — 58.6 2,765 4,330 11.1 16,600 3,370 2.1 12,005 6,843 17.6 9,500 — 158,296 — 62.9 39,405 — 54,105 — 45.5 38,890 — 844,516 — 70.4 20,200 218,650 69.1 14,825 8,180 2.9 24,656 142,281 48.4 31,275 — 43,405 — 13.5 12,833 906,974 480.9 9,040 61,840 113.0 11,900 49,200 93.7 18,540 194,219 53.6 18,990 14,172 49.3 53,375 110,490 119.5 9,110 — 14,610 — 12.0 8,655 160,921 167.5 659,335 —4,222,915 — 48.8 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 $1,904,217 —$ 3,733,955 — 19.0% - Denotes decrease. — NOTE— The figures in the above table reflect the amount of work provided fo r in the corporation limits of the several cities, but take no account o f suburban developments. Building inspectors in tw enty-nine leading fifth district cities issued 2,024 permits for new con struction in April, compared w ith 1,910 perm its issued in M arch and 2,195 in A pril last year. In estim ated valuation, new w o rk provided for in A pril totaled $14,186,858, compared w ith $11,526,892 in M arch 1927 and $17,760,594 in A pril 1926. A lteration and repair perm its issued in A pril totaled 2,536, w ith estim ated valuation of $1,743,998, compared w ith 2,539 perm its and $1,904,217 valuation for the same class of w ork in A pril a year ago. T otal valuation for all classes of perm its in A pril amounted to $15,930,856, compared w ith $19,664,811 in A pril 1926, a decline this year of $3,733,955, or 19 per cent. H igher valuation figures during the 1927 month w ere reported by eighteen of the tw enty-nine cities, but very large decreases in A sheville and W ashington brought the m onth’s total 4 below the total for A pril 1926. R aleigh reported the largest gain in both actual amount and in per centage, w hile increases of m ore than 50 per cent w ere also reported by Cumberland, Lynchburg, Charlotte, Salisbury, W ilm ington, W inston-Salem , Columbia and Spartanburg. Richm ond’s figures for April, which show a m oderate increase over those of A pril 1926, w ere stim ulated by a rush of applications for permits which were applied for to beat the new zoning ordinance which went into effect last month. COTTON— U nfavorable w eather for planting, flood conditions in cotton g ro w in g sections along the M ississippi river, and a continuation of large consumption both at home and abroad tended to raise cotton prices during the past month. From an average of 13.54 cents per pound paid grow ers in the Carolinas for m iddling upland cotton during the w eek ended A pril 9th the average price rose to 14.50 cents per pound during the w eek ended M ay 14th, the latest period for which official figures are available. Cotton consumed in A m erican mills during A p ril 1927 totaled 619,140 bales, compared w ith 694,193 bales consumed in M arch this year and 577,678 bales used in A pril 1926. T otal consumption for the nine months of the season to date— A u g u st 1, 1926, to A pril 30, 1927— amounted to 5,337,820 bales, compared w ith 4,959,126 bales consumed during the corresponding period ended A pril 30, 1926. A ccording to the Bureau of the Census report of M ay 14th, consum ing establishm ent held 1,894,993 bales of cotton in their w arehouses on A pril 30th, compared w ith 1,637,062 bales so held on the cor responding date a year earlier. Public w arehouses and compresses held 3,676,083 bales in storage on A pril 30th, compared w ith 3,529,350 bales a y ear ago. E xports totaled 855,449 bales in A pril this year, compared w ith 516,494 bales shipped abroad during the same month of 1926, and total exports for the nine months ended A pril 30th amounted to 9,684,505 bales against 7,022,856 bales exported during the nine months ended A pril 30, 1926. Im ports last month totaled 37,519 bales, compared w ith 33,348 bales brought in during A pril last year. The cotton g ro w in g states consumed 447,111 bales in A pril this year, or 72.2 per cent of National consumption, compared w ith 404,864 bales, or 70.1 per cent of National consumption, used in cotton gro w in g states during A pril 1926. Cotton planting is backw ard in the fifth district, due to unfavorable w eather during A pril and the first half of M ay. W eather conditions have been generally adverse over the entire cotton belt this spring, and m any thousands of acres of cotton land are in the flood districts along the M issis sippi river. Prospects for a large cotton crop this year do not appear good at this time, but it is too early in the season for the form ation of an opinion as to the y e a r’s probable yield. W ith favorable weather during the growing and picking seasons, cotton frequently makes remarkable recoveries from poor starts. TOBACCO— V irgin ia tobacco m arkets have closed for the season. T o tal sales of leaf tobacco for the 1926-1927 season in the state amounted to 145,306,776 pounds, according to reports to the Commissioner of A griculture. The w arehouse sales and the receipts of the Tobacco G row ers’ A sso ciation for the 1925-1926 season amounted to I35,942>°98 pQunds. The amount of tobacco actually sold w as 3.5 per cent greater than the estim ate made by the D epartm ent of A gricu ltu re last fall, as the Fire-Cured and Sun-Cured types turned out better than had been expected, and also about 8,400,000 pounds of N orth Carolina and Tennessee grow n tobacco w ere sold in V irginia. The V ir ginia production for 1926, therefore, w as approxim ately 137,000,000 pounds, compared w ith the 1925 crop of 129,400,000 pounds and the 1924 crop of 136,500,000 pounds. Prices for all types except FlueCured w ere considerably low er than for the previous season. F ire-Cured tobacco showed the g re a t est drop in price. T he price of Flue-Cured tobacco w as the highest since 1922, averagin g $23.64 compared w ith $15.13 and $21.21 per hundred pounds for the tw o preceding seasons. The amount of Flue-Cured tobacco sold w as 90,323,385 pounds, which w as 62 per cent of the total sales of all types. Fire-Cured sales amounted to 43,761,225 pounds, or 30 per cent of the total sales. A pproxim ately 5 per cent of the total sales w as Sun-Cured tobacco, and B urley, w hich is grow n in Southw est V ir ginia, made up about 3 per cent of all sales. The quality of Flue-Cured tobacco w as much better than usual, but the other types w ere only average grade, w ith considerable common tobacco in the F ire-Cured and Sun-Cured sales. W arehousem en estim ated that all sales graded 23 per cent good, 36 per cent medium, and 41 per cent common, w hile for the previous season the grade estim ates w ere 17 per cent good, 34 per cent medium and 49 per cent common. Danville led in season sales w ith 44,328,490 pounds, South Boston ranking second w ith 18,305,639 pounds, both m arkets handling Flue-Cured tobacco. L yn ch burg w ith sales to t a lin g 11,404,953 pounds led the Fire-Cured m arkets. Richmond sold 7,132,951 pounds of Sun-Cured and Abingdon sold 4,089,215 pounds of Burley. AGRICULTURAL NOTES— D uring the past six w eeks, farm ers in the fifth district have lost ground in their efforts to get this season’s activities under w ay. E arly in the spring the w eather conditions w ere good, and a considerable amount of early plow ing and planting w as accomplished, but since M arch the w eather has been unfavorable for farm w ork, and much of the early start has been lost. Rain has fallen excessively throughout much of the district, w hile certain sections of South Carolina report dry conditions. Cotton, tobacco and corn planting is late, but tobacco plants are 5 doing w ell in the seed beds and enough plants are available to provide for the intended acreage. Grain crops, on the whole, are in good condition, and pasture lands and hay fields are above the aver age. A s a result of the early and plentiful grass for grazing, stock of all kinds are in better condition than a year ago. F ruit prospects in the district as a whole are much poorer than at this time last year, cold w eather and late frosts in A pril and early M ay having reduced seriously the excellent prospects of early spring. T ru ck crops turned out well, but w ere late. On the whole, it is y et too early to draw any conclusions as to probable returns from agricultural operations this year, but prospects are about equal to those of last year, which w as a late season because of extrem e dryness. There is plenty of m oisture in the soil this year in nearly all sections of the district, and if favorable w eather occurs during the g ro w in g season the retardation of the past six w eeks m ay be largely, or even com pletely, overcome. F IG U R E S O N R E T A IL T R A D E As Indicated By Reports from Thirty Representative Department Stores for the Month of APRIL, 1927 Percentage increase in April 1927 sales, over sales in A pril 1926: Baltimore 8.1 Richmond 11.1 Washington Other Cities 4.3 District 1.5 6.2 Percentage increase in total sales since January 1st, over sales during the same four months in 1926: — 2.2 5.5 — 1.0 — 2.7 — 1.1 Percentage increase in April 1927 sales over average A pril sales during the three years 1923-1925, inclusive: 4.6 23.3 17.0 5.6 10.4 Percentage increase in stock on hand April 30, 1927, over stock on April 30, 1926: — 2.8 — 1.3 .2 6.0 — .6 Percentage increase in stock on hand April 30, 1927, over stock on March 31, 1927: — .001 — .6 — 1.0 2.4 — .1 Percentage of sales in April 1927 to average stock carried during that month: 28.7 29.7 28.5 21.1 27.8 Percentage of total sales since January 1st to average stock carried during each of the four months: 99.6 106.5 104.8 80.7 99.9 Percentage of outstanding orders on Aipril 30th to total purchases of goods in 1926: 4.8 4.4 4.1 3.3 Percentage of collections in April to total accounts receivable on April 1st: 23.7 27.7 29.3 33.5 4.3 26.6 — Denotes decreased percentage. R etail trade during A pril in the F ifth Federal reserve district, as reflected in departm ent store sales, exceeded the trade of A pril 1926, chiefly because E aster w as so late this year that m ost of the seasonal buying occurred in April, while in 1926 this trade came in M arch. L ast month th irty leading departm ent stores sold 6.2 per cent m ore goods, measured in dollars, than in A pril 1926, and also averaged 10.4 per cent larger sales than average A pril sales during the three years 1923-1925, inclu sive. The large volum e of business done in A pril w as not sufficient to balance low er sales in Jan uary and M arch, how ever, total sales from January 1st through A pril 30th averagin g 1.1 per cent less than sales during the first four months of 1926. Stocks of merchandise on the shelves of the reporting stores w ere six-tenths of 1 per cent low er in selling value at the end of A pril 1927 than a year earlier, and w ere one-tenth of 1 per cent smaller than a month earlier. The decrease in A pril under the M arch 31st figure w as som ewhat smaller than seasonal average. The percentage of sales to average stocks carried during A pril w as 27.8 per cent for the district as a whole, and the percentage of total sales during the first four months of this year to average stocks carried during each of the four months w as 99.9 per cent, indicating an annual turnover of 2.997 times. D uring the first four months of 1926 the turnover w as at a rate of 3.003 times. Collections by tw enty-nine of the th irty reporting stores during A pril totaled 26.6 per cent of outstanding receivables as of A pril 1st, a low er average than 28.5 per cent reported for M arch this year and 31.1 per cent collected in A pril 1926. A ll cities reported low er percentages in A pril than in A pril a year ago, and Baltim ore and W ashington collections also declined from those of M arch this year. Richmond and the O ther Cities group improved about 1 per cent last month in com parison w ith M arch. 6 WHOLESALE TRADE, APRIL 1927 Percentage increase in April 1927 sales, compared with sales in April 1926: 34 Groceries 12 Dry Goods 6 Shoes 16 Hardware 5 Furniture 13 Drugs — 9.8 — 3.2 2.0 7.1 — 7.0 .5 Percentage increase in April 1927 sales, compared with sales in March 1927: — 5.6 — 20.1 — 16.2 — 3.9 — 24.8 — 7.0 Percentage increase in total sales since Jan. 1, 1927, compared with sales during the same four months in 1926: — 7.4 — 2.1 3.4 3.6 — 13.2 — 4.0 Percentage increase in stock on April 30, 1927, compared with stock on April 30, 1926: .9(11) — 11.3(5) 31.4(4) — 5.3(7) Percentage increase in stock on April 30, 1927, compared with stock on March 31, 1927: — 6.9(11) 5.2(5) 2.7(4) — 1.5(8) Percentage of collections in April to accounts receivable on April 1, 1927: 65.2(21) 34.2(8) 34.8(5) 36.0(12) 29.8(3) 56.6(8) — Denotes decreased percentage. N O T E : The number o f firms reporting stock and collection data in each group is shown immediately follow ing the percentages. E ig h ty-six w holesale and jobbing houses, representing six leading lines, sent confidential reports on their A pril business to the Federal R eserve B an k of Richmond. T he figures show that sales in all lines w ere seasonally less in A pril than in M arch of this year, and in groceries, dry goods, furnicure and drugs, total sales since January is t through A pril w ere less than sales during the same four months last year. Shoe and hardw are sales during the past four months exceeded those of the corresponding period in 1926, how ever. In comparison w ith A pril 1926 sales, those of A pril 1927 show increases in shoes, hardware and drugs, w hile grocery, dry goods and furniture sales last month w ere low er than a year earlier. Stocks of merchandise carried by the reporting firms increased during A pril in dry goods and shoe houses, but declined in groceries and hardware. A t the end of A pril this year, the reporting gro cery and shoe firms had larger stocks than on A pril 30, 1926, but the stocks of the reporting dry goods and hardware firms w ere less than a year ago. Collections showed some im provem ent during A pril over M arch in dry goods and shoes, but grocery, hardware, furniture and drug collections slowed up som ewhat. G rocery, dry goods and shoe collections in A pril 1927 w ere better than in A pril 1926, and hardw are collections showed practically no change, but furniture and drug collections last month w ere below those of the cor responding month a year earlier. The percentage of collections during A pril to outstanding re ceivables on the first of the month w as 65.2 per cent in groceries, drugs ranking second w ith 56.6 per cent. H ardw are collections averaged 36.0 per cent of outstanding receivables, shoes 34.8 per cent, dry goods 34.2 per cent, and furniture 29.8 per cent. In April 1926 furniture collections totaled 54.8 per cent of outstanding receivables. (Compiled M ay 20, 1927) 7 BUSINESS CONDITIONS IN THE UNITED STATES. (Compiled by the Federal Reserve Board) Industrial output declined in April, reflscting reduced activity in both mines and in factories. Distribution o f commodities by railroads and retail trade increased, and the level o f prices showed a further slight decline. 1926 Index numbers of production of manufactures and minerals, adjusted for seasonal variations (1923-25 average 5 100). Latest figures, Aprili manufactures 109, minerals 107. Indexes of U. S. 3ureau of Labor Statistics. (1913 = 100). Latest figures, April, all commodities 144.2, non-agricultural commodities 144.4, agricultural commodities 143.3. PRODUCTION. Decreased output of industry in April as com pared with March was due chiefly to the coal miners’ strike, which caused a large decline in the production o f bituminous coal. Am ong manufacturing industries, which as a whole were somewhat less active in April than during the previous month, when allowance is made fo r usual seasonal changes, reductions were reported in the iron and steel and textile industries, as well as in meat packing and in the production o f building materials. The manufacture of m otor cars, though it showed the usual seasonal increase in April, continued at a lower level than a year ago. Petroleum production continued; in record volume, notwithstanding large stocks and de clining prices. Value o f building contracts awarded declined slightly in April from the record high figure in March, but was larger than last year. The decline in building between March and April re flected reduced activity in the construction o f commercial, industrial and educational buildings, while contracts fo r residential and public buildings increased. On the basis o f conditions on May 1, the Department o f Agrculture forecasts a winter wheat crop o f 594,000,000 bushels, or about 5 per cent less than in 1926. Continued wet cold weather over much o f the corn belt and also in the spring wheat area has retarded the planting of spring crops. TRADE. Commodity distribution at retail was larger in April than at the same season of any previous year, owing in part to the lateness o f the Easter holiday. Department store sales were approximately 7 per cent larger than in April o f last year, and sales o f mail order houses and chain stores were also in larger volume. Wholesale trade showed about the usual decrease between March and April and continued smaller than in the corresponding months o f last year. Inventories o f merchandise carried by depart ment stores were in about the same volume at the end o f April as in March, while stocks of wholesale firms were smaller. Railroad car loadings were larger in April than is usual at that season o f the year, reflecting chiefly large shipments o f iron ore, coke, grain and grain products, but also increased movement o f miscellaneous freight and o f merchandise in less-than-car-load lots. Coal ship ments were 27 per cent smaller in April than in the preceding month. PRICES. In April there was a further slight recession in the general level o f wholesale prices, as measured by the index o f the Bureau o f Labor Statistics, but in the first three weeks o f May price conditions were firmer. The decline in April reflected chiefly a decrease in the price o f petroleum, lumber, and several o f the nonferrous metals. There was little change in the level o f agri cultural prices, which have been fairly constant since the beginning o f the year. During the first three weeks o f May prices o f grains, cotton, iron and steel, petroleum, lumber and hides advanced, while those o f livestock, coke and nonferrous metals declined. BANK CREDIT. The volume o f credit o f weekly reporting member banks, as measured by their total loans and investments, increased by more than $300,000,000 during the month ending May 18, and was on that date at the highest level on record. This growth represented fo r the most part an increase in the banks’ holdings of investments and in the volume o f their loans on stocks and bonds, while commercial loans showed relatively little change. A t the reserve banks there was a decrease during the month in total volume o f credit outstanding, owing to the receipt o f a con siderable amount o f gold from abroad in addition to the purchase abroad by the banks o f about $60,000,000 o f gold that is now held earmarked with a foreign correspondent. The banks’ holdings o f acceptances and o f Government securities, declined by about $85,000,000 while discounts fo r member banks increased by about $45,000,000, apparently in response to the increased reserve re quirements arising from the growth in the member banks’ deposits. Conditions in the money market were comparatively stable during the first three weeks o f May and there were no changes in rates quoted on prime commercial paper and on acceptances. Monthly averages of weekly figures for banks in 101 leading cities. Latest figures are averages for first three weekly report dates in May.
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