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F E DE R
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L R
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S BRVE B0
RD
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For release in Mornin6 Papers,
1, 1922.
Frid"'Y. fl,>G•)mb<'r
The fo1lovving h a sumr:ar,y of t,cmeral bus 1ness
am. f1nanci:.J.l conditions tl1rouc)lout the s.;::ver'll
Fecier..tl R:::drva Di,-;trict<> durm5 tha month of
November, a-> contained i.n th,o forthcoming issue
of the F~Qercu Reserve Bulletin.
Subst::mtial
incr.:Ja~eo
of p.rOQuctiva activity were ra-
ported by basic indu'3tries Cfl}_rin0 Gctober.
Due principally to in-
craaseci ciCtivity a.t antl1rac1ta co-11 rr:inc?s, mineral output was
19 per cant larger than in Se:?tember.
ThurJ wa:.> also a larger
production of all oth0r important minerals.
Production of
pig iron wa"' t;,reat,.n· tnan in ar:y mont!1 since Cctober 1920, and
tha blo,-vin 0 in of aJ.J.itional blast furnct.cas during November
indic,,ctes a further increase of actlvity.
''hll consumption
of cotton hets continw.ed to incraEtSJ c+nJ. the vctober total is
the largest in over t:w yoaxs, :hile opercJ.tions of woole:1
and sill: mills ::tre approachin 6 cc:.paci ty.
of railroJ.d cars lo.1den.
r~as
'f::._, total n1.1ITd.l3r
n-:;arly at a ma;cirr;Lm:, yet th.;; car
:->hortag0 on Novar;;bar 1 wa;;, the largest ever recoraed.
The
large movement of rnanufacturoli goods is i.r:.dic..:.ted by thJ fact
that loadings of miscellaneous frej.ght by railroads were lar 6 cr
in Jctober than in any month since 1920.
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Live-stoct receipts
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continue to be exceptionally large, as drought conditions on the
ranges during October necessitat8d unusually heavy marketing.
During the first two weeks of November there was a decline in
car loadings and some reduction in the estimated car shortage.
Incr~ased
production in October has been accompanied
by a continued increase in the volume of employment at industrial
establishments.
The average pay per worker vvas larger in many
industries, due in most cases to increases in hours of work, rather
than to increases in rates of pay.
Railroad repair shops and
equipment factories made the largest additions to their forces.
Steel mills, metal mines, and building contractors still report
shortages of skilled labor.
.Anthracite coal mines , on the
other hand, report a small surplus.
Wholesale trade showed comparatively little change during
October.
Sales of furniture, hardware, groceries, and drugs
showed a general upward tendency.
Seasonal declines occurred
in sales of dry goods, shoes, and automobile supplies.
trade continued to be greater than a year
country was larger than last month.
a~o
Retail
and throughout the
The volume of payments by
checks also increased in every Federal Reserve District conpared
to last month.
The total for 140 cities, not including New
York, was 11 per cent
~arger
in October than in September and
13 per cent larger than in October, 1921.
last October
The increase over
is partly due to the increase in wholesale prices
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- 3during tha current year.
The wholesale price index of the Bureau of Labor
Statistics was
154 in October, as compared with 153 in September
and 142 in October, 1921.
Prices of farm products and clothing
showed particularly large increases during October and reached
the highest level for the year.
cline sharply and were about
Fuel pr1ces continued ·to de-
17 per cent lower than in August.
The increased business activity
ha~
not been reflected
in the movement of total loans of member banks in leading cities.
In fact, during the period between October 18 and Novamber 15 the
loans and discounts of member ·uanks in leading cities showed a
decline of over $70,000,000, of which about $32,000,000 represented
a contraction occurring in the last
week.
The contraction· for the
four weeks 1 pariod, however, has been much less t.han the expansion
of $366,000,000 occurr~ng in the four weeks 1 period ending .October
13.
Slight loan increases were registered in the southern and
western districts and also in New England, but these increases wera
rrore than offset by
New York
~~d
redu~ions
Chicago.
in other districts, especially in
Rates on various classes of leans have
remained fin or have shown a slight upward tandency.
Demand
and time deposits both increased during the four weeks, though
again western and southern districts recorded slight increases.
Little change occurred in the position of the Federal
Reserve Banks during the period from October
25 to November 22.
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X-3570
Earning assets and nota circulation ramainad at substantially
tha sama point as a month ago.
.Thz:Jr0 has bean. howavar, a
change in the character of thase assets, as investments fell
off and bills incr0ased by $144,000,000.
@FedFRASER