The full text on this page is automatically extracted from the file linked above and may contain errors and inconsistencies.
MONTHLY REVIEW BUSINESS AND AGRICULTURAL CONDITIONS WILLIAM W. HOXTON. CHAIRMAN AND FEDERAL RESERVE AGENT R IC H M O N D , V IR G IN IA January 1927 witnessed a fair volume of busi ness in the Fifth Federal reserve district, but the month’s activities did not measure up to those of January last year. Debits to individual accounts figures for the four w eeks ended F eb ruary 10th w ere approxim ately 4 per cent below a g g rega te debits during the corresponding period last year. Business failures in the Richmond district in January w ere less numerous than in January 1926, but the liabilities involved in this y e a r’s insolvencies w ere larger than last year. L abor is not so fully employed as in January a year ago, and a considerable amount of un em ployment has developed in recent w eeks. T e x tile mills are running practically full time, but m argins are narrow and forw ard orders scarce. The demand for bituminous coal, while large, is below that of January a year ago, when the strike was on in anthracite fields. Building permits is sued in January in the F ifth district w ere few er in number and low er in estim ated valuation than those issued during the first month of 1926. R e tail trade last month at departm ent stores was 3.2 per cent below the volum e of trade reported for January last year, and nearly all lines of w holesale trade also reported m aterially low er sales figures for the opening month of 1927. It should not be overlooked, how ever, that business was very active at the opening of last year. SAVINGS DEPOSITS— Thirteen mutual savings banks in Baltimore had deposits aggregating $161,231,987 at the close of business January 31, 1927, compared with $159,914,868 at the end of December 1926 and $152,540,104 on January 31st a year ago. The January 31, 1927, figure was the highest 011 record. Time deposits in sixty-seven regularly reporting member banks, located in thir teen leading cities of the Fifth reserve district, totaled $219,122,000 on February 9th this year, com pared with $211,895,000 on January 12, 1927, and $204,136,000 on February 10, 1926. The recovery of savings deposits usually withdrawn prior to the holidays was very rapid this year. ' F E B R U A R Y 28, 1927 RESERVE BANK OPERATIONS— The de mand for reserve bank credit expanded slightly in the F ifth D istrict betw een the middle of Jan uary and the middle of February, the volum e of rediscounts for member banks held by the F ed eral R eserve Bank of Richmond rising from $21,860,000 on January 15th to $23,658,000 on F ebru ary 15th. H ow ever, total bill holdings at the reserve bank, including bills purchased, de clined during the month from $35,607,000 to $33,840,000. The volum e of Federal reserve notes in actual circulation continued to decline during the period under review , dropping from $78,689,000 on January 15th to $74,493,000 on F ebruary 15th. M em ber bank reserve deposits at the Federal reserve bank also declined, from $70,278,000 at the middle of January to $69,175,000 at the middle of February. In even thous ands of dollars, the cash reserves of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond totaled exactly the same amount, $110,956,000, on both January 15th and February 15th, but the ratio of cash re serves to note and deposit liabilities combined rose during the month from 72.81 per cent to 74.89 per cent. A smaller volum e of reserve bank credit w as outstanding at the middle of F ebruary this year than at the same tim e a year ago. The volume of rediscounts for member banks held by the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond totaled $23,658.000 on F ebruary 15, 1927, compared w ith $39>I 9 I>000 on F ebruary 15, 1926. T otal bill hold ings of the Richmond bank amounted to $33,840.000 on the 1927 date and to $48,323,000 on the corresponding date last year. M ember bank reserve deposits w ere higher this year, totaling $69,175,000 on F eb ru ary 15th compared w ith $65,629,000 a year earlier. The actual circulation of Federal reserve notes stood at $74,493,000 on February 15, 1927, and $79,964,000 on February 15, 1926. T otal cash reserves amounted to $110,956.000 at the middle of F ebru ary this year as compared w ith $103,984,000 a year ago, and the ratio of cash reserves to note and deposit liabili ties combined rose during the year to 74.89 per cent from 68.78 per cent in F eb ru ary 1926. CONDITION OF SIXTY-SEVEN REPORTING MEMBER BANKS IN SELECTED CITIES ITEM S 1. Total Loans and Discounts (including all rediscounts) ........................................ 2. Total Investments in Bonds and Securi ties ............................................................... 3. Reserve Balance with Federal Reserve Bank ........................................................... 4. Cash in Vaults.............................................. 5. Demand Deposits ........................................ 6. Time Deposits .............................................. 7. Borrowed from Federal Reserve Bank.... Feb. 9, 1927 Jan. 12, 1927 Feb. 10, 1926 $ 520,674,000 $ 519,291,000 $ 522,383,000 137.618.000 132.834.000 130,796,000 39.374.000 13.686.000 384.988.000 219.122.000 9,748,000 41.373.000 14.844.000 392.966.000 211.895.000 6,310,000 41.937.000 13.341.000 380,254 000 204.136 000 16.891.000 In the accom panying table, the chief items of condition are shown for sixty-seven member banks in thirteen leading cities of the Fifth District, figures for three dates being included to allow for comparison of the February 9, 1927, figures with those of January 12, 1927, and February 10, 1926, the preceding month and year, respectively. It should be understood that the amounts shown represent the condition of the reporting banks on the report dates only, and are not necessarily the highest or lowest figures that occurred during the period under review. D uring the month between January 12th and February 9th, both this year, total loans and dis counts to custom ers of the reporting banks rose $1,383,000, and the banks increased their investm ents in bonds and securities by $4,784,000. Tim e deposits also increased during the month, rising $7,227,000. On the other hand, the a ggregate reserve balances of the reporting banks at the Federal reserve bank dropped $1,999,000, and cash in vaults declined $1,158,000. Demand deposits decreased $7,978,000 betw een January 12th and February 9th, and borrow ing by the sixty-seven reporting banks at the reserve bank rose $3,438,000. The volume of credit extended by the reporting member banks to their custom ers in the form of loans and discounts on February 9, 1927, w as $1,709,000 less than the volume of loans and discounts outstanding on February 10, 1926, but total investments in bonds and securities owned by the report ing banks were $6,822,000 higher on the 1927 date than a year earlier. A g g re g a te reserve balances at the reserve bank w ere $2,563,000 below those a year ago, but cash in vaults rose during the year by $345,000. Demand deposits increased $4,734,000 and time deposits gained $14,986,000 during the year, while total borrow ing by the reporting banks at the reserve bank decreased by $7,143,000. DEBITS TO INDIVIDUAL ACCOUNTS TOTAL DEBITS DURING THE FOUR WEEKS ENDED CITIES Feb. 9, 1927 Jan. 12, 1927 Feb. 10, 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 ....................................... ........................... $1,255,896,000 30,765,000 383,971,000 24,921,000 36,300,000 46.624.000 18.286.000 7,799,000 12,668,000 23,618,000 23,230,000 21,135,000 9,849,000 23,749,000 18,719,000 9,854,000 72,889,000 32,405,000 136.848.000 26.846.000 13,867,000 224 046.000 18,360,000 39,147,000 36,211,000 441,263,000 22.529.000 42.981.000 47.063.000 18.985.000 8,148,000 12.670.000 28.644.000 25.229.000 20.180.000 10,205,000 27,054.000 23,621.000 13,969.000 78,723,000 27,248.000 144.599.000 29,298.000 14.767,000 231,070.000 19,339,000 37,449,000 $1,361,245,000 29,044,000 409,612,000 25.570.000 37.209.000 46.439.000 16.244.000 7.956.000 10.068.000 27.332.000 25.597.000 24.609.000 9.507.000 24.391.000 20.862.000 10,109,000 74 179.000 45,671,000 141.094.000 26,709,000 14 248 000 221.032.000 21,317,000 38,515,000 $1,307,314,000 The accom panying table shows debits to individual, firm and corporation accounts in the clearing house banks of tw en ty-th ree trade centers in the Fifth reserve district, three equal periods of four w eeks being given to allow for comparison of the latest available figures w ith those of the preceding 2 like period and the corresponding period last year. Total debits in the tw enty-th ree reporting centers during the four w eeks ended February 9, 1927, amounted to $1,255,896,000, a decrease of 7.7 per cent under the total of $1,361,245,000 reported by the banks in the same cities during the preceding like period ended January 12, 1927, a seasonal decline due to the large debits figures just before Christm as and around January 1st. The decline w as quite general am ong the reporting cities, larger figures during the more recent period having been reported by only four centers, Charleston, S. C., Greenville, Raleigh and W inston-Salem . In comparison w ith debits figures totalin g $1,307,314,000 reported for the four w eeks ended F eb ruary 10, 1926, those reported for the corresponding period this year, ended F ebruary 9, 1927, show a decline of 3.9 per cent, a relatively good show ing in view of a generally low er price level prevailing this year in comparison w ith a year ago. L arg er figures for the 1927 period w ere reported for A sh e ville, Charlotte, Columbia, Danville, H agerstow n, Roanoke, W ashington and W inston-Salem , but the other fifteen centers reported low er totals this year. BUSINESS FAILURES— Dun's Review for February 5th, in com m enting on failure statistics for January, says, “ The month of January invariably brings the largest number of comm ercial failures each year, due to the strain of annual settlem ent, and last m onth’s defaults in the United States show a considerable increase. Thus, the January insolvencies number 2,465, which is about 19 per cent above the 2,069 failures for Decem ber and is, in fact, the highest total for any month since January 1922, when the number w as 2,723. It is, m oreover, approxim ately 7.5 per cent in excess of the 2,296 defaults for January last year. On the other hand, some rise in insolvencies is to be expected, in view of steadily increasing numbers of firms and individuals in business. W ith the larger number of fail ures in January, the liabilities increased to $51,290,232. This is about 12.2 per cent above the $45,619,578 of December, and exceeds by approxim ately 17.5 per cent the $43,651,444 of January last year. It is, how ever, less than the amounts for January of both 1925 and 1924, as w ell as of that month in 1921.” Com m ercial failures in the F ifth reserve district in January 1927 totaled 170, compared w ith 182 in January 1926, the district show ing a decrease of 7.1 per cent this year in contrast w ith an increase of 7.5 per cent in the number of failures in the nation. E xcept for 1924, January insolvencies in the district w ere few er in number than in any January since 1921. Liabilities in the district last month totaled $3,533,544, compared w ith $3,516,504 in January a year ago, an increase this year of only fivetenths of 1 per cent in contrast w ith the national increase of 17.5 per cent. A g g re g a te liabilities in January 1927 w ere larger than those of January 1926 and 1924, but w ere low er than those of January 1925, 1923, 1922 and 1921. LABOR— Since the first of the year a considerable amount of unem ploym ent has developed in the F ifth reserve district, chiefly as a result of a decrease in construction w ork undertaken in recent w eeks. This surplus of w orkers is reported by em ployers to have increased the efficiency of those able to retain jobs. The w eather since the first of January has been good for all kinds of outdoor w ork, and employed persons have had steadier w ork than is custom ary at this season. The surplus of labor is in the building trades, in unskilled labor circles, and in clerical lines. M ost facto ry operatives are norm ally employed, and coal miners have not been laid off in appreciable numbers. The outlook for labor in the district is problem atical, depending largely upon the volum e of building w ork that de velops during the spring, upon road, street and sew er w ork, and upon the outcom e of negotiations between bituminous coal mine operators and miners in union fields. On the whole, it appears now that there w ill not be as g rea t a demand for w orkers this year as there w as in 1926, but on the other hand there do not seem to be signs of really serious unemploym ent problems except for the less effi cient w orkers. COAL— Bitum inous coal production totaled approxim ately 56,882,000 net tons in January, and the daily average production for that month w as higher than during any other month on record except Novem ber 1926. T o tal production during the present coal year to F eb ru ary 12th— approxim ately 268 w orking days— w as 513,431,000 net tons, as compared w ith 468,707,000 tons to the same date a year earlier. This y e a r’s production is greater than that of any other of the past eight years, the large figure being due chiefly to the British coal strike during the summer and fall of 1926, which greatly increased the demand for export and bunker coal. In W est Virginia, production continues slightly below that of Pennsylvania, but is far above production in any other state. In 1926, W est Virginia mined approxim ately 147,209,000 net tons of bituminous coal, compared w ith 151,119,000 tons mined in Pennsylvania and 69,700,000 tons brought to the surface in Illinois. Stocks of coal in retail yards w ere about the same on F ebruary 1st as in October 1926, but w ere slightly low er than they w ere just prior to the long strike of 1922. Since the settlem ent of the British coal strike, some recession in coal prices, at both w holesale and retail, have been made. TEXTILES— Cotton mills in the F ifth reserve district consumed 255,398 bales of lint cotton in January 1927, compared w ith 254,102 bales used in Decem ber 1926 and 241,621 bales consumed in Jan uary a year ago. N orth Carolina mills used 140,001 bales in January, 138,260 bales in Decem ber 1926, and 131,688 bales in January 1926; South Carolina mills used 103,813 bales in January this year, 3 I05>793 bales in D ecem ber last year, and 98,628 bales in January a year a g o ; and V irgin ia mills used 11,584 bales last month, 10,049 bales the preceding month, and 11,305 bales in January 1926. F ifth district consum ption in January this year w as 42.2 per cent of national consumption, compared w ith 41.4 per cent in January 1926, show ing a gain during the year for the district at the expense of N ew England. D uring recent w eeks cotton prices have been firm er than th ey w ere last fall, and the mills have th erefore been able to hold their prices steady. There has as y et been no considerable volum e of forw ard orders placed, but the mills appear to be in an improved position in comparison w ith that of a few months ago, when cotton prices w ere steadily declining as it became increasingly apparent that the 1926 cotton crop would break all records. The m argin on which F ifth district mills are operating is small, and operators contend that there is little profit in the business they are se curing, but on the w hole the outlook in the industry seems to have improved distinctly since last fall. BUILDING OPERATIONS FOR THE MONTHS OF JANUARY 1927 AND 1926. Permits Issued CITIES z 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 1927 226 4 5 12 8 15 39 3 61 49 8 29 5 26 16 21 47 30 27 31 23 11 14 62 13 8 6 19 192 281 15 4 6 11 9 59 5 100 41 10 20 12 40 13 52 22 28 41 64 44 10 6 68 3 10 10 24 123 751 2 2 4 9 27 59 6 54 14 4 7 2 5 4 37 19 8 26 3 15 6 2 28 24 15 29 6 216 Totals.......... 1,010 1,131 1,384 Winston-Salem, N. C. Charleston, S. C ... Columbia, S. C..... Greenville, S. C. . Spartanburg, S. C. Washington, D. C. Alterations Repairs 1927 1926 Baltimore, Md...... 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.Va. 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. New Construction 1926 1927 1926 936 $ 1,724,640 $ 2,226,240 5 23,268 14,475 12 66,500 57,000 2 68,300 920 6 4,080 62,085 10 25,405 76,997 39 136,833 194,715 11 10,200 9,200 75 771,491 740,022 21 78,440 147,549 2 54,754 9,675 12 44,395 39,932 6 4,175 2,825 1 28,485 93,040 3 125,300 72,950 50 196,200 350,375 8 439,506 261,925 10 69,900 118,275 20 216,800 158,870 4 85,050 219,060 10 69,600 261,900 6 98,250 22,310 5 25,900 70,750 22 159,980 657,886 29 6,800 3,616 30 193,800 46,483 21 16,800 *40,800 29 34,785 '78,160 239 2,679,675 3,470,300 1,624 $ 7,539,751 $ 9,427,896 1927 $ 312,240 $ 800 5,900 29,050 2,325 13,242 25,505 4,475 20,110 2,240 1,900 6,400 300 3,200 9,200 8,575 25,680 14,450 21,365 1,425 34,600 4,650 1,000 30,025 27,265 2,415 14,800 6,850 226,080 $ 856,067 1926 Increase or Per Cent Decrease of of Increase 0* Total or Z Valuation Decrease 478,440 $ 3,005 — 23,350 700 5,560 — 3,560 38,870 — 2,585 175,607 — 10.630 5,050 21,655 — 2,650 — 160 — 1,900 62,567 — 104,050 21,770 — 21,972 21,750 — 27,675 — 2,250 3,050 — 15,043 — 9,010 5,925 13,050 — 7,115 — 258,680 — 667,800 10,998 7,950 95,730 61,240 61,274 71,247 2,890 186,966 60,719 41,929 10,792 1,000 61,515 59,650 208,167 99,211 55,695 57,323 154,335 185,375 78,340 46,900 482,924 21,439 143,807 22,250 43,640 823,225 — 24.7% — 41.9 — 9.9 5 909.3 — 90.5 211.5 — 30.5 24.5 — 19.7 68.2 284.7 — 17.5 — 18.3 — 66.0 79.7 — 50.4 27.1 — 39.8 31.7 — 64.1 — 64.0 319.0 — 63.6 — 71.8 169.8 274.4 — 41.3 — 51.2 — 22.1 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 $1,347,629 —$2,379,707 — 22.1% —Denotes decrease NOTE- The figures in the above table reflect the amount of work provided for in the corporation limits of the several cities, but take no account of suburban developments. Reports from building inspectors in tw enty-nine F ifth district cities show 1,010 perm its for new construction issued in January 1927, a decrease of 10.7 per cent under the 1,131 perm its issued in the same cities in January 1926. E stim ated valuation figures for new w ork provided for in the January perm its totaled $7,539,751, a decrease of 20 per cent under the total of $9,427,896 in January last year. Perm its for alteration or repair w ork totaled 1,384 m January this year and 1,624 in the corresponding month in 1926, w hile estim ated valuation figures for this class of w ork totaled $856,067 in January 1927 and $1,347,629 in January 1926. T otal valuation figures for all classes of w ork w ere $8,395,818 in January this year, compared w ith $10,775,525 a year ago, a decline in 1927 of 22.1 per cent. The decline in construction w ork is district wide, eighteen of the tw enty-nine reporting cities show ing low er figures this year than last. Several gains that are high in percentage w ere reported, but most of them w ere due to small figures last year rather than to any m arked a ctivity this year. H a g ers tow n, Roanoke, Parkersburg, Charlotte, Greensboro and Columbia reported figures that probably in dicate real gains. The three largest cities, Baltim ore, W ashington and Richmond, showed declines in estim ated valuation, w hile both B altim ore and Richmond also reported few er perm its issued in Jan u ary 1927 than in January 1926. January w as the fourth consecutive month during which the volum e of w ork provided for in perm its issued in the reporting cities w as low er than during the correspond ing month of the preceding year, which would seem to indicate that a definite recession in construc tion a ctiv ity has developed. 4 COTTON— Spot cotton prices have advanced nearly a cent a pound since our January 31st Review w as compiled. D uring the w eek ended January 15th, the average price paid the grow ers on C aro lina m arkets w as 12.22 cents per pound for middling, short staple upland cotton. D uring the w eek ended January 22nd, the average rose to 12.64 cents, and continued upward to 12.67 cents during the last w eek in January. The price during the first w eek in February, ended on the 5th, averaged 12.81 cents, and the thirteen cents line w as crossed during the follow ing period, the average for the w eek ended F ebru ary 12th being 13.61 cents. A large part of the cotton offered for sale was below middling grade, how ever, and the average price obtained b y the sellers w as probably tw o or three cents below the basis figure. A ccording to the Census B ureau's consum ption report for January, 604,584 bales of lint cotton w ere used by Am erican mills during the month, compared w ith 605,217 bales consumed in Decem ber 1926 and 582,315 bales in January 1926. Cotton g ro w in g states consumed 437,788 bales in January, or 72.4 per cent of national consumption, compared w ith 411,652 bales, or 70.7 per cent of national consumption, used in January a year ago. Cotton held by consum ing establishm ents numbered 1,852,987 bales at the end of January 1927, compared w ith 1,766,392 bales so held on Decem ber 31st and 1,815,232 bales on January 31, 1926. Public warehouses and compresses held 6,070,020 bales on January 31st this year, compared w ith 6,478,998 bales on Decem ber 31, 1926, and 5,180,988 bales on January 31, 1926. E xports in January totaled 1,115,792 bales, compared w ith 1,531,297 bales shipped abroad in Decem ber and 749,967 bales in January a year ago, while im ports numbered 56,939 bales in January this year, 39,851 bales in Decem ber, and 62,061 bales in January last year. Spindles ac tive in January numbered 32,633,550, compared w ith 32,496,250 in D ecem ber and 32,810,308 in Jan u ary 1926. TOBACCO— V IR G IN IA tobacco sales in January totaled 28,949,147 pounds, and brought an a v erage of $15.37 Per hundred pounds, all types included. T otal sales of leaf tobacco this season to F ebruary 1st a ggregated 110,412,865 pounds, compared w ith 107,769,107 pounds sold prior to the same date in 1926. In both years the sales totaled 79 per cent of the year's estim ated production. B righ t tobacco sold in January totaled 14,787,909 pounds, at an average price of $20.58 per hundred, compared w ith 10,941,471 pounds of this type sold in January 1926, at an average of $14.27 per hun dred. D ark tobacco sold in January totaled 10,767,095 pounds, compared w ith 7,753,880 pounds sold in January a year ago. The average price paid for D ark tobacco last month w as $8.62, compared w ith $15.99 in January 1926. Prices for the better grades of D ark tobacco w ere much better in January than earlier in the season, but prices for the common grades remained exceedingly low. Sales of 2,166,298 pounds of B urley tobacco last month brought the season total of this type to the highest point on record in V irginia. B urley sales averaged $16.03 per hundred in January, compared with $17.18 per hundred in January a year ago. Sun-Cured sales on the Richmond m arket totaled 1,227,845 pounds last month, compared w ith 1,124,205 pounds sold in January 1926. The average price paid for Sun-Cured in January w as $10.58 per hundred, compared w ith $15.91 in the corresponding month of 1926. Danville sold 6,808,960 pounds of B righ t tobacco last month, South Boston sold 3,321,523 pounds of the same type, and Farm ville sold 2,348,399 pounds of D ark tobacco. D anville also led in price paid w ith an average of $22.81 per hundred, while D rakes Branch paid an average of $11.49 per hundred for 931,400 pounds o f D ark tobacco, leading the D ark m arkets. N O R T H C A R O L IN A auction m arkets sold 21,119,368 pounds of tobacco for grow ers in January, at an average price of $20.88 per hundred pounds, compared w ith 23,879,601 pounds sold for an a v erage of $18.57 per hundred in January 1926. T otal sales this season, to F eb ru ary 1st, amounted to 361,909,343 pounds, compared w ith 329,752,911 pounds sold prior to F eb ru ary 1, 1926. W inston-Salem sold 5,706,038 pounds in January 1927, leading all m arkets, while Durham w ith sales of 2,104,044 pounds ranked second. In average price paid, Fuquay Springs led last month w ith $27.08 per hun dred pounds, Mebane com ing second w ith $25.82. AGRICULTURAL NOTES— January and F ebruary are com paratively inactive months on farms, but this year the w eather from the middle of January to the middle of F ebru ary w as so favorable for outdoor w ork that preparations for planting w ere advanced rapidly. In com m ercial trucking sec tions of the F ifth district there has been great activity, and a grea t part of the land is ready for planting at the proper time. Tem peratures from the middle of January to F eb ru ary 18th averaged w ell above seasonal levels, and fruit grow ers w ere becom ing exceedingly anxious, fearing that the mild w eather would bring out peach and apple buds too early, but the w eather became decidedly colder on F ebruary 19th, and prem ature development w ill probably be checked before serious dam age is done. Grain crops have had com paratively little snow cover this w inter, but on the other hand ice and sleet storm s have also been few in number, and w inter crops are therefore in good con dition. M oisture in the upper section of the district has been practically normal, according to official w eather reports, but some complaint as to dry w eather has been reported from South C aro lina. 5 FIGURES ON RETAIL TRADE As Indicated By Reports from Thirty Representative Department Stores for the Month of JANUARY 1927 Percentage increase in January 1927 sales over sales in January 1926: Baltimore Richmond Washington Other Cities District — 4.3 — .2 — 3.0 — 2.1 — 3.2 Percentage increase in January 1927 sales over average January sales during the three years 1923-1925, inclusive: 4.7 17.5 13.8 ' — 1.1 8.4 Percentage increase in stock on hand January 31, 1927, over stock on January 31, 1926: — 2.8 2.6 — .08 3.9 — .6 Percentage increase in stock on hand January 31, 1927, over stock on December 31, 1926: —- 4.4 — 7.3 — 10.5 4.0 — 6.0 Percentage of sales in January 1927 to average stock carried during that month: 23.6 24.0 25.2 20.1 23.8 Percentage of outstanding orders on January 31st to total purchases of goods in 1926: 6.5 5.2 6.0 5.2 6.1 Percentage o f collections in January to total accounts receivable on January 1st: 25.7 27.6 37.9 37.0 30.0 — Denotes decreased percentage. R etail trade in the F ifth reserve district in January, as reflected by sales of th irty leading de partm ent and general stores, w as in smaller volume than in January 1926. Sales in January this year dropped 3.2 per cent below those of the same month last year, but averaged 8.4 per cent above average January sales during the three years 1923-1925, inclusive. Stocks of merchandise on the shelves of the reporting stores at the end of January this year averaged six-tenths of 1 per cent less, at retail selling prices, than at the end of January 1926, and w ere 6.0 per cent smaller than stocks on D ecem ber 31, 1926. Sales in January averaged 23.8 per cent of stocks carried that month, and col lections in January amounted to 30.0 per cent of outstanding receivables on January 1st. O utstand ing orders for merchandise on January 31st totaled 6.1 per cent of a g g reg a te purchases in 1926. This month w e have compared January sales to average January sales during the three years 1923-1925, inclusive, instead of using the five year base as heretofore. This change w as made be cause figures for several reporting stores w ere not available as far back as 1920, and also to elim i nate the distorting influence of m arked expansion in the size of three or four stores. WHOLESALE TRADE, JANUARY 1927 Percentage increase in January 1927 sales, compared with sales in January 1926: 12 D ry Goods 7 Shoes 3U Groceries 16 Hardware 5 Furniture — 5.0 26.5 — 6.4 — 3.8 — 42.9 Percentage increase in January 1927 sales, compared with sales in December 1926: 65.0 47.4 9.7 — 1.9 — 2.9 Percentage increase in stock on January 31, 1927, compared with January 31, 1926: 36.5(4) — 16.8(5) — 5.3(7) — 6.5(11) Percentage increase in stock on January 31, 1927, compared with December 31, 1926: 6.3(4) 25.2(5) 1.3(11) .1 (8 ) Percentage o f collections in January to total accounts receivable on January 1, 1927: 35.7(6) 59.6(21) 35.9(8) 38.4(12) 29.7(3) 12 Drugs — 4.0 13.7 57.9(8) — Denotes decreased percentage. N O T E : The number o f firms reporting stock and collection data in each group is shown immediately fo l lowing the percentages. E ig h ty -six w holesale firms reported on their January business, as shown in the accom panying table of percentages. Sales in dry goods, shoes, hardware and drugs showed the usual seasonal in creases over Decem ber sales, but grocery and furniture sales declined in comparison w ith the earlier month. In comparison w ith sales in January 1926, sales in January this year w ere low er in every line reported upon except shoes, furniture show ing a particularly large decrease. Stocks of g ro ceries, dry goods, shoes and hardware on the shelves of the reporting firms all increased during January, but on January 31st stocks of groceries, dry goods and hardware held by the reporting firms w ere low er than at the end of January 1926. Collections in January averaged better than in Jan uary last year in dry goods, shoes and hardware, but collections in grocery, furniture and drug lines w ere not so good last month as a year ago. (Compiled F ebruary 19, 1927) 6 BUSINESS CONDITIONS IN THE UNITED STATES. (Compiled by the Federal Reserve Board) Industrial a ctivity has been slightly larger since the turn of the year than at the close of 1926. Seasonal liquidation of reserve bank credit has been in unusually large volum e ow in g chiefly to the inflow of gold from abroad, and conditions in the m oney m arket have been easy. W holesale prices have continued to decline. PRODUCTION. Output of factories w as larg e r in January than in December, but sm aller than in January 1926 or 1925. M ineral production, though som ewhat below the Decem ber level, continued in unusually large volume, reflecting the m aintenance of production of bituminous coal, crude pe troleum and copper. M anufacture of iron and steel, which was sharply curtailed in December, in creased in January and February. Autom obile output w as increased considerably from the unusually low level of production reached last December but the number of passenger cars produced since the beginning of the year has been smaller than for the corresponding period of the past four years. The textile industries have continued active since D ecem ber w ithout, how ever, show ing the usual sea sonal increase. Building contracts awarded in 37 states during the first seven w eeks of the year w ere smaller in value than those for the same period of 1926. D ecreases have been largest in N ew Y o rk and in the N ew England, Southern and N orth w estern states, while increases occurred in the Middle A tlantic and Central W estern states. B y typ es of building, contracts awarded for residential and industrial building in January showed large reductions as compared with December and with Jan uary 1926, while contracts for comm ercial buildings w ere larger than a month or a year ago. TRADE. R etail trade showed more than the usual seasonal decline betw een Decem ber and Jan uary. Sales of departm ent stores w ere in about the same volume as a year ago, while those of mail order houses w ere 7 per cent smaller. W holesale trade declined in nearly all leading lines in Jan uary and w as considerably smaller than a year ago. Inventories of departm ent stores w ere reduced less than is custom ary and at the end of the m onth w ere in about the same volum e as in January 1926. Stocks of merchandise carried by w holesale firms increased slightly, but continued in smaller volume than in the corresponding month of the previous year. F reig h t car loadings declined som e w hat more than the usual seasonal amount betw een Decem ber and January, but ow in g chiefly to heavier shipments of coal this year, w eekly loadings since the beginning of the year w ere larger than for the same period of 1926. Shipments of m erchandise in less than car load lots w ere also slightly larger than last year, but those of most basic com m odities w ere smaller. PRICES. The general level of w holesale prices declined fractionally in January, according to the index of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, considerable advances in prices of livestock being some w hat more than offset in the total by decreases in nearly all other com m odity groups included in the index. Prices of non-agricultural products, as a group, declined to the low est level since early in 1922. In February there w ere decreases in the prices of iron and steel, non-ferrous m etals, bitum i nous coal, grains and hides, while prices of cattle, sheep, cotton and gasoline increased. BANK CREDIT. Com m ercial loans of member banks in leading cities continued to decline dur ing the four w eeks ending F ebru ary 16th, although at a less rapid rate than in earlier w eeks, and in the middle of F ebruary the volume of these loans was about $270,000,000 below the seasonal peak reached in the middle of November, though about $200,000,000 above last y e a r’s level. Loans on se curities also declined during the period, while the banks’ investm ent holdings increased som ewhat. The volume of reserve bank credit remained during the four w eeks ending F ebruary 23rd near the low level reached at the end of January. Liquidation of reserve bank credit since the high point of last December has been in excess of $500,000,000, the unusual extent of this reduction being due chiefly to the large inflow of gold from abroad. T o tal bills and securities of the reserve banks on February 23rd w ere about $200,000,000 smaller than on the corresponding date of last year. Easier money conditions in February w ere reflected in a decline in the rate on prime comm ercial paper from 4-4*4 per cent to 4 per cent after the first w eek o f the month. N ote: The shortness o f February prevents the preparation and publication o f the charts which usually accom pany the national summary. 7 F IF T H
@FedFRASER