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M M ITH LT FEDERAL RESERVE BANK OF RICHMOND R I C H M O N D 13, V IR G IN IA JU N E 3D, 1 9 4 9 Business Conditions B USIN ESS A C T IV IT Y in the Fifth Federal Re INDEXES OF DEPARTMENT STORE SALES serve District, for the most part, enjoyed a respite FIFTH FEDERAL RESERVE DISTRICT during May from the downward trend which had been SEASONALLY ADJUSTED (1942 * 100) in evidence since the fall of 1948. Trade figures in par 200 200 ticular made a favorable showing with department store, JVlA AtyV 150 10 3 1 furniture store, and most lines of wholesale trade show ing better than normal seasonal performance in May „ *A_ 100 too APRONS, UNIFORMS, over April. Bank debits, bituminous coal production, HOUSE FURNISHINGS AND HOUSEDRESSES SO ---------1 --------- 1 _____1 _____hum.— 50 public works and utility and residential building contract awards, building permits, cigarette production, and life insurance sales all showed better than seasonal perform ance in May as compared with April. Cotton consump tion by mills of the Fifth District in May showed no change from April after seasonal correction. New pas senger automobiles registered in the District in April were 39 per cent higher than a year ago, while business failures in May fell 54 per cent from April on a season ally adjusted basis. The underlying situation, however, indicates that fur ther curtailment of economic activity in the District ume of hidden inventories, these could have been pushed would be seen before a period of sustained improvement into consumption channels by this time since the meas is witnessed. The employment situation continued to urable sources of consumption at the retail level have deteriorate in May with declines from the previous shown no perceptible weakness in this period. It would month recorded in a large majority of the manufacturing seem in view of these considerations together with the industries. Reduction in hours of labor has had about sharp cut-back in output that a measure of recovery in the same effect on pay rolls as the decline in employment production would be in order this fall. The degree of recovery, however, must take into account the fact that levels. further shifting is taking place from cotton to rayon Cotton Textiles tire cord. Although cotton consumption in the mills of the Fifth Rayon District in May showed no change from the April level Shipments of rayon filament yarn and staple fiber in after adjustment for seasonal variation, the mills of Vir ginia and North Carolina showed increases in this period May for the United States were 9 per cent higher than which were offset by declines in South Carolina. From in April, but 35 per cent below May 1948. Relative to a the peak levels around May 1948 the declines in cotton year ago filament yarn shipments in May were down 25 consumption have occurred most in Virginia mills fol per cent while staple fiber shipments were down 65 per lowed in order by those in North Carolina and South cent. In the first five months of 1949 Viscose filament yarns were down 9 per cent and acetate filament yarns Carolina. Summer vacations have been announced by numerous down 22 per cent from like months last year, while Vis mills, and there appears to be a larger number of them cose staple was down 46 per cent and acetate staple down shutting down for more than one week than was the case 62 per cent in the same period. This would seem to indi cate that the areas of Front Royal, V a .; Nitro and Par last year. The goods and yarns market has been showing strong kersburg, W. V a .; Narrows and Waynesboro, Va. where resistance to further price declines; and while purchases staple fiber is produced may have cut back more substan have been held to a minimum and mainly for nearby de tially than in other rayon producing areas. livery, there has been some broadening of forward pur Rayon prices for both viscose and acetate during May chases of selected constructions. Next month will mark were reduced in a range o f from 1 cent to 10 cents a a year that the industry operations have been sliding, and pound depending on the denier of the yarn. These de it would seem that if there has been a considerable vol- clines were followed by a drop of 3 to 6 per cent in dis J FEDERAL RESERVE BANK OF RICHMOND solving wood pulp price on June 1st. This is an impor tant element o f cost in rayon production. High tenacity viscose yarns used for making tire cords were already competitive with cotton for this purpose and the lowered rayon prices seem likely to continue the trend toward rayon usage. In the first five months of 1949 high te nacity viscose and cupra rayon yarn shipments were IS per cent higher than in like months of 1948 whereas other viscose and cupra yarn shipments were down 29 per cent bringing the total of these yarns down only 9 per cent. Furniture Although furniture shipments of southern manufac turers in April were about the same as in March after seasonal correction, new orders likewise adjusted fell 29 per cent in this period thus indicating some further drop in output and shipments. Trade opinion points toward a dearth of new business until the July furniture shows have been held. Based on the retail sales of furniture thus far this year it would appear that some improve ment in operations would be a reasonable expectation this fall. Furniture store sales in the Fifth District rose 17 per cent on a seasonally adjusted basis from April to May to a level 4 per cent ahead of May 1948. Sales in the first five months were 1 per cent behind last year. In the first four months of 1949 the furniture departments of those stores reporting departmentally throughout the United States showed sales only 4 per cent under similar months last year. This makes it look like either retail furniture sales are in for a considerably bigger drop, or manufac turers sales are in for a rise, or some of both. Lumber Employment in this industry is still declining and hours of labor are likewise falling. Together they indi cate a reduction in the output of between 20 and 25 per cent from a year ago. Although southern pine prices have been fairly steady for the past month, west coast fir has weakened, and this will probably have a similar effect on southern pine. The southern hardwood market is soft with furniture factories buying very little stock, and the flooring factories cutting back operations. Construction New construction contract awards seasonally adjusted in May moved somewhat contrary to trends shown thus far this year in the Fifth District. Commercial building awards, which in the first five months were 57 per cent ahead of a year ago, declined 56 per cent on a seasonally adjusted basis from April to May. Contract awards for factory buildings, which fell 46 per cent in the first five months decreased 68 per cent from April to May after seasonal adjustment. Continued on page 9 B USINESS IN D E X E S — F IF T H F E D E R A L R E S E R V E D IS T R IC T A V E R A G E D A IL Y , 1935-39= 100— S E A S O N A L L Y A D JU ST E D May 1949 Automobile Registration 1 ............................ One and Two Family Houses ................. Building Permits Issued .............................. ________ ................... . Cigarette Production .................................... Cotton Consumption ....................................... Cotton Spindle Hours ................................ Department Store Sales3............................... Department Store Stocks ........................... Electric Power Production ......................... ___ _______ Employment — Mfg. Industries 1 ............. Furniture Orders3 ......................................... .................. ......... ......... . ........... ........ Hardware .................................................... Industrial Supplies2 ................................... .................. Paper and Its Produpts2 ......................... Tobacco and Its Products 2 ..................... .................... 1 Not seasonally adjusted. 2 1938-41 = 100 8 Revised Series—back figures available on request. May 1948 253 Bituminous Coal Production ....................... ...................... Building Contracts Awarded: ................... Commercial Construction Contracts ..... Manufacturing Construction Contracts Public Works and Utilities ..................... Residential Construction Contracts -------- ............. . Electrical Goods 2 ....................................... Mar. 1949 179 312 179 363 1305 414 245 304 428 292 285r 128 232r 111 112 307 315r 258 125 172 217 297 234r ..... 249 163 332 93 263 346 286 219 230 278 263 222 101 256 128 128 290 305r 277 127 241 r 218r 402r 250 203 256 106 326 190 365 461 418 523 313r 312 320 277 31 232 148 152 322 325r 254 135 241 262 668 263 190 252 + + — — — + — — + + + 344 266 166 90 246 139 248 129 85 260 268 156 77 238 124 255 125 89 283 256 151 71 247 133 279 134 84 408 253 198 89 262 138 387 153 92 + 32 — 1 4- 6 + 17 4* 3 4- 12 — 3 4- 3 — 4 ..................... Furniture Sales — Retail ........................... Gasoline Consumption ................................... Life Insurance Sales....................................... Wholesale Trade: Automotive Supplies2 ................................ % Change— Latest Month Apr. 1949 328 187 287 573 133 252 315 334 312 342 59 255 111 115 317 304 ..... 177 200 253 274 £21 Prev. Mo. + 4* + — — — + 4— + + — 4- io 5 4 21 56 68 3 4 22 7 20 54 10 0 3 3 3 7 2 3 8 15 17 6 2 Year Ago + + — — 4— — 4* + — 444— — — — + — — — — + + 39 1 2 21 24 68 52 1 7 3 23 90 10 25 24 2 6 1 7 27 24 62 4 13 0 — 16 4- 5 —•16 + 1 — 6 4“ 1 — 36 — 16 — 8 MONTHLY REVIEW JUNE 1949 The Growth and Importance of Manufacturing in the Fifth Federal Reserve District The Census of Manufactures was taken last year cov ering the year 1947. In 1947 the value added by manu facture of all manufacturing industries in the Fifth Fed eral Reserve District amounted to $5,396 million. This was a gain of 205.4 per cent over the previous manufac turing census covering the year 1939. In this same period the value added by manufacture for all manufac turing industries in the United States amounted to $74,364 million or a gain of 203.7 per cent over 1939. Thus, essentially the manufacturing industries of the Fifth District paced the nation in its gain in this period, the differences in percentage being inconsequential. The value added by manufacture is computed by subtracting the cost o f materials and supplies from the value of ship ments. Thus, the value added by manufacture measures the value of manufacturing process and is the best repre sentation of the relative importance of manufacturing. Seven industries in the Fifth District accounted for two-thirds of the total value added by manufacture in that area in 1947. Only three of these seven industries, however, exceeded the gain shown for all manufacturing industries in the District between 1939 and 1947. These were textile mill products, lumber and timber products, and transportation equipment. O f the eighteen major groups of industrial products into which manufacturing has been subdivided, eight of these industries in the Fifth District showed gains from 1939 to 1947 less than the District average for all prod ucts while the remaining ten showed gains greater than the District average. Industries of not very great im portance in the manufacturing economy of the District showed some very substantial gains in value added in the period under review. These include rubber products, machinery other than electrical as well as electrical ma chinery, and instruments. Altogether these industries ac counted for only 3.2 per cent of the value added in the District in 1947. Only two states in the Fifth District, South Carolina and West Virginia, showed a gain in the value added by manufacture from 1939 to 1947 in excess of that shown by the Fifth District as a whole. North Carolina showed a gain only slightly below the District average while gains in other states and the District of Columbia were below the District average. Relative Importance of Manufacturing in Fifth District States North Carolina, Maryland, Virginia, South Carolina, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia in 1947 ranked in importance in the order named in their contri bution to manufacturing in the Fifth District. But in the gain shown from 1939 to 1947, South Carolina by far exceeded any other state in the District, West Virginia placing second, North Carolina third, Virginia fourth, Maryland fifth, and the District of Columbia sixth. In the industries showing any considerable importance to the state of South Carolina the gain from 1939 to 1947 exceeded that of any other state in the District or that of the national average; a very substantial gain being made in the state's most important industry, textile mill products. The value added by manufacturing in South Carolina rose 369.3 per cent from 1939 to 1947 to exceed that of all other states in the nation except that of New Mexico. West Virginia’s gain in value added by manufacture between 1939 and 1947 of 211.3 per cent in comparison with 205.4 for the District as a whole was occasioned mainly by the larger than average increase in its chemical industries and by unusually large gains in relatively small industries such as furniture, petroleum and coal manu facturing, and machinery, both electrical and other. In the percentage growth from 1939 to 1947 West Virginia ranked twenty-first among the 48 states and the District of Columbia. Even though North Carolina’s gain in manufacturing, as measured by value added, gained essentially the same as that in the Fifth District or in the nation, the failure of the state’s important tobacco industry to gain commensurately with the average of all manufacturing in dustries acted as a retarding factor on North Carolina’s gain. While North Carolina’s gain in the textile indus tries was greater than that in the nation, it was not so large as in South Carolina, Virginia, or the Fifth District as a whole. Though of relatively minor importance in North Carolina’s economy, unusually large gains were made in the apparel, paper, fabricated metals, machinery, and transportation equipment industries. The percen tage increase in value added by manufacture in North Carolina from 1939 to 1947 ranked twenty-fifth among the states. The Virginia manufacturing economy, dominated by chemicals, textile mill products, and tobacco manufac turing, showed gains in chemicals and textile industries from 1939 to 1947 better than the District’s average of all industries while the tobacco industry gain was sub stantially less than that shown for all industries in the District or in the nation. Virginia’s rank in relative growth among the states was thirty-sixth. Maryland’s manufacturing gain of 171.0 per cent from 1939 to 1947 is considerably less than that in either the District or the nation to rank forty-third among the states. Maryland’s important industries are food, trans portation equipment, chemicals, apparel, and fabricated metal products in the order named. Food manufacturing in this state showed an increase better than that industry showed in the Fifth District and in the nation. The transportation equipment industry in Maryland showed a gain considerably better than all manufacturing indus tries in the Fifth District, but poorer than this industry recorded nationally. The state’s chemical and apparel r3 1 FEDERAL RESERVE BANK OF RICHMOND industries gained considerably less in the period under review than these industries gained in either the Fifth District or in the nation. Manufacturing activity in the District of Columbia consists mainly of printing and publishing and food pro cessing. Printing and publishing in this area gained more between 1939 and 1947 than this industry showed in either the Fifth District or the nation, but the gain ran well behind that of the average of all industries in either the District or the nation. The food processing indus try's gain was less than half of the gain showed in all in dustries in the District and a little more than half as large a gain as that shown in all food manufacturing in dustries in the nation. The gain in the value added by manufacture in all industries in the District of Columbia from 1939 to 1947 was 130.2 per cent for a rank of forty-eighth. The value added by manufacture in dollar amounts, the increase from 1939 to 1947, and the percentage of the Fifth District totals are shown in Table 1 for each of the states in this District in comparison with the national total for all industries. TABLE 1 R E L A T IV E IM P O R T A N C E OF M A N U F A C T U R IN G IN FIF T H D IS TR IC T STATE S V alue Added by M anufacture (M illion dollars) 1939 M aryland .................... Dist. o f Colum bia..... V irgin ia ......................... W est V irgin ia ............ N orth C arolina .......... South C arolina .......... 1947 420.6 43.4 376.3 213.3 544.2 169.3 1,140.0 99.2 1,052.1 663.9 1,646.1 794.6 F ifth D istrict .......... 1,767.1 U nited States ..........24,487.0 S ou rce: 5,395.9 74,364.0 % Increase 171.0 128.6 179.6 211.3 202.5 369.3 205.4 203.7 % o f F ifth Dist. 1939 1947 23.8 2.5 21.3 12.1 30.7 9.6 21.1 1.7 19.3 12.6 80.7 14.6 100.0 100.0 Census o f M anu factu res: 1947, Bureau o f the Census, D epart m ent o f C om m erce, Series MC-D5 and Series MClOO-1 The Growth of Fifth District Manufacturing Industries from 1939 to 1947 The Census o f Manufactures has thus far classified all manufacturing concerns on a state basis into twenty groups consisting of eighteen broad industrial classifica tions, a miscellaneous group composed of those indus tries not falling under any of the eighteen named groups and an “ all other” group covering those concerns be longing under the eighteen named groups but which cannot be so reported because of possible disclosure of individual firm operations. O f the eighteen named groups o f industries located in the Fifth District, the increase in the value added by manufacture from 1939 to 1947 was greater in eleven industries and lower in seven than the national average o f all industries. The major group o f manufacturing industries in the Fifth Federal Reserve District is textile mill products. These industries accounted for 29.9 per cent of the total value added by manufacture in 1947 in the Fifth District which was considerably more important than the 24.7 per cent recorded in 1939. While textile mill products industries in the Fifth District were gaining 269.9 per cent in the mentioned period, their gain for the nation as a whole was but 193.4 per cent. South Carolina is pri marily responsible for the greater part o f this increase in the District with a gain of 404.7 per cent. The growth in Virginia in these industries was greater than that in North Carolina, the increase in Virginia being 287.9 per cent and that in North Carolina 218.9 per cent. The in crease in Virginia was greater than the District or na tional gain for similar industries. The North Carolina gain exceeded that for the nation, but fell behind the Fifth District gain. In Maryland and West Virginia where textile mill products are of relatively small impor tance to the industry or to the economies of these states, the increase from 1939 to 1947 shown in value added fell far short of the growth in the industry in either the Dis trict or the nation. The second industry of importance in the Fifth Dis trict is the chemical industry which includes mainly rayon yarn, fertilizer, and the synthetic chemical industries in the Kanawha Valley of West Virginia. Chemical indus tries accounted for 11.4 per cent of the total value added by manufacture in the Fifth District in 1947 and 11.6 per cent in 1939. The gain in these industries in the Fifth District from 1939 to 1947 as measured by value added by manufacture was not greatly different from the gain shown in these industries in the nation as a whole, amounting to 196.3 per cent in the District and 194.7 per cent in the nation. West Virginia, South Carolina, and Virginia, however, showed gains of respectively 275.1 per cent, 232.0 per cent, and 206.4 per cent in these in dustries. These percentages were in excess of the Dis trict average of 196.3 per cent. The gain in food processing industries in the Fifth District compared favorably with the gain of these in dustries in the nation. The gain in the value added by manufacture from 1939 to 1947 in the Fifth District was 166.2 per cent; in the nation it was 158.9 per cent. These industries in 1947 ranked third in importance in the Fifth District amounting to 8.3 per cent of the total value added by manufacture compared with 9.5 per cent in 1939. All states in the District except West Virginia and the District of Columbia, showed gains in these in dustries larger than those in the nation. The fourth ranking indusutry in the Fifth District is tobacco products which in 1947 accounted for 7.4 per cent of the total value added by manufacture compared with 11.7 per cent in 1939. This industry’s selling prices have not been advanced very greatly while its labor and materials costs have risen notably during the period un der review. The industry made a gain from 1939 to 1947 in the District of 93.5 per cent and 83.7 per cent in the nation. It is interesting to note that the chief gain in this industry has occurred in North Carolina where the gain in value added was 113.8 per cent, while in Virgina the gain amounted to only 65.5 per cent, less than the na tional average of 83.7 per cent. Since the supply of leaf tobacco is grown largely in North Carolina, it is apparent that the manufacturing growth in this industry is being made at the source of the raw material. Lumber and timber products, the fifth industry in importance in the Fifth District, which accounted for 4.5 per cent of the District’s value added by manufac ture in 1947 and 4.0 per cent in 1939, showed a gain of 241.1 per cent from 1939 to 1947 compared with a na r4 1 MONTHLY REVIEW JUNE 1949 tional gain for these industries of 243.8 per cent in this period. Both South Carolina and North Carolina show ed a considerably greater gain for these industries in the period under review than either those in the Fifth Dis trict or the nation. The gain in Virginia was not greatly different from the national or District average while that in Maryland and West Virginia was substantially below either District or national gain. Transportation equipment in the Fifth District was our sixth industry in size as measured by value added in 1947, accounting for 4.2 per cent of the District total in 1947 compared with 4.0 per cent in 1939. The gain in this industry from 1939 to 1947 was 222.6 per cent in the District which was below the 230.5 per cent in the nation. The gain in this industry in Virginia is well below either District or national average, amounting to IS 1.1 per cent in the period under review. While of small im portance in the state’s economy, the gain from 1939 to 1947 in this industry in North Carolina has been con siderably greater than in the nation, amounting to 372.7 per cent in North Carolina compared with 230.5 per cent in the United States. Stone, clay, and glass industries in 1947 were tied for sixth place with transportation equipment in the relative importance in the District's economy, accounting for 4.2 per cent of the District’s value added by manufacture in that year compared with 4.5 per cent in 1939. Although these industries in the Fifth District accounted for a smaller proportion o f the manufacturing activity in 1947 than in 1939, their gain in this period in the District ex ceeded that in the nation. In West Virginia where the industry is fairly important the gain in value added was greater than that in the District as a whole and consider ably greater than that in the nation. Larger than average increases were made in this industry in North and South Carolina, but in these areas the industry is of minor im portance. Paper and allied products industries, accounting for 3.6 per cent of the total value added by manufacture in the Fifth District in 1947, increased their importance in the District economy from the 3.1 per cent recorded in 1939. The gain in these industries from 1939 to 1947 was 252.8 per cent in the Fifth District and 223.8 per cent in the United States. In Virginia, where the industry is of most importance District-wise, the gain from 1939 to 1947 was somewhat less than the District average for these industries, but above the growth of the same in dustries nationally. North Carolina and South Carolina both showed gains around 319.0 per cent in this period. The printing and publishing industries contributed 3.5 per cent of the Fifth District’s total value added by manufacture in 1947 compared with 4.4 per cent in 1939. While the gain in these industries in the Fifth District of 145.5 per cent from 1939 to 1947 was slightly greater than the gain of 141.9 per cent in the United States, their gain was considerably below the average of all manufac turing industries in the District of 205.4 per cent in this period. Slightly better than average increases were shown in the District of Columbia and Maryland where these industries are of greatest importance in this District. Apparel industries in the Fifth District showed a re lative gain in importance from 3.1 per cent of the total value added by manufacture in 1939 to 3.4 per cent in 1947. Their increase in the Fifth District of 240.2 per cent was greater than the District’s average of all indus tries and greater than the 219.1 per cent increase shown for apparel industries in the nation. The largest increases came in North Carolina where the value added was six times greater in 1947 than in 1939 and in Virginia where it was more than four times greater. In Maryland, how ever, where half of the District’s industry is located, the growth of 161.7 per cent was less than in both District and nation. Furniture accounted for 3.3 per cent of the total value added by manufacture in all industries in the Fifth Dis trict in 1947 compared with 2.8 per cent in 1939. The in crease in these industries in the Fifth District of 256.3 per cent compared with a gain of 229.9 per cent in the nation. This industry in the District is located primarily in North Carolina and secondarily in Virginia and nomi nally in Maryland, West Virginia, and South Carolina. The gains in both North Carolina and Virginia from 1939 to 1947 of 264.4 per cent and 257.0 per cent re spectively were greater than District or national averages for this industry. Fabricated metal products, accounting for 3.2 per cent of the total value added by manufacture in the Fifth District in both 1947 and 1939, showed an increase of 205.3 per cent from 1939 to 1947 compared with a gain in the United States of 351.0 per cent. This industry, lo cated chiefly in Maryland and West Virginia, and to a lesser extent in Virginia with some representation in all other states of the District, rose most in North Carolina and South Carolina in the period under review and least in the District of Columbia and Maryland. North Caro lina and South Carolina showed gains from 1939 to 1947 greater than the national average for the industry with West Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina showing gains greater than the District average. Primary metal products accounted for 2.5 per cent of the total value added by manufacture in the Fifth Dis trict in 1947 compared with 3.0 per cent in 1939. The gain in these industries from 1939 to 1947 o f 160.5 per cent was less than the national growth in the same indus tries of 166.3 per cent and in both instances their gains were smaller than the average for all industries in Dis trict or nation. Primary metal products in the Fifth Dis trict are located mainly in West Virginia and Maryland and to a lesser extent in Virginia. The Maryland figures, however, cannot be shown because they would reveal the operations of one large concern. The gain in primary metal products in West Virginia from 1939 to 1947 was 158.2 per cent. This was less than either District or na tional average for such industries in this period. The growth in Virginia was 184.4 per cent which was greater than District or national average of these industries. The machinery industries, both electrical and other, showed increasing importance in the Fifth District’s economy between 1939 and 1947. In both cases these in dustries grew much more substantially than the average of industries as a whole. Electrical machinery industries r51 FEDERAL RESERVE BANK OF RICHMOND accounted for 1.1 per cent of the total value added by manufacture in the Fifth District in 1947 and 0.8 per cent in 1939, while other machinery industries accounted for 1.5 per cent in 1947 and 1.1 per cent in 1939. In Maryland where machinery industries are most impor tant in the District the increase from 1939 to 1947 was less than either District or national average of similar in dustries. In West Virginia where machinery industries are of considerably less importance than in Maryland, their growth in the same period was 417.2 per cent. The nucleus of a machinery industry had been established in North Carolina by 1939 and by 1947 it had raised the value added by manufacture to $17 million compared with $3.9 million in 1939 for a gain of 343.6 per cent. Petroleum refining together with the manufacture of coal products in the District showed value added by manufacture of $38 million in 1947 compared with $14 million in 1939 which made these industries of slightly less importance in the manufacturing set up in the Fifth District in 1947 than in 1939. Increases from 1939 to 1947 in these industries were smaller in the District than in the nation and in both cases the gain was smaller than the average of all manufacturing industries in this period. Rubber products, though of relatively small signifi cance in the Fifth District, increased in importance from 1939 to 1947 and the gain, 483.0 per cent, compared with a national gain of 154.7 per cent in the same industries. The relative importance of manufacturing in the Fifth District in 1947 as compared with 1939 has found the textile, food, lumber, transportation equipment, paper, apparel, furniture, machinery, and rubber industries in creasing in importance. The chemicals and fabricated metal products industries have just about maintained a similar position in the economy in 1947 as they held in 1939. Tobacco; stone, clay, and glass; printing and pub lishing ; primary metal products; and petroleum refining and coal products manufacturing have failed to maintain as important a position in 1947 as they held in 1939. On the whole the Fifth District’s gain has been only slightly greater than that of the United States as a whole. Details are shown in Table 2. TABLE 2 R E L A T IV E IM P O R T A N C E OF M A N U F A C T U R IN G IN D U STR IE S IN TH E F IF T H D IS TR IC T A N D T H E IR G R O W TH FR OM 1939 TO 1947 % o f F ifth D istrict value added by m fr. IN D U S T R Y G R O U P 1939 Textile m ill products .............. Chemicals & allied products .. Food & kindred products ....... Tobacco m anufactures ............ Lum ber & products .................. Stone, clay, and glass................ Transportation equipment ..... Paper & allied products .......... P rin tin g & publishing ............ A p parel & related products .. Furniture & fixtures .............. Fabricated m etals .................... P rim ary m etals ........................... M achinery (excl. electrical).... E lectrical m achinery ................ Petroleum & coal products .... Rubber products ........................ Instrum ents ................................. Other ............................................. 24.7 11.6 9.5 11.7 4.0 4.5 4.0 3.1 4.4 3.1 2.8 3.2 3.0 1.1 .8 .8 .3 .1 7.3 Total ..................... -......................... 100.0 Derived from Census o f M anu factu res: 1947 % increase in value added b y m anuf. 19S9 to 1947 5th Dist. U. s. 29.9 11.4 8.3 7.4 4.5 4.2 4.2 3.6 3.5 3.4 3.3 3.2 2.5 1.5 1.1 .7 .5 .1 6.7 269.6 196.3 166.2 93.5 241.1 179.7 222.6 252.8 145.5 240.2 256.3 205.3 160.5 303.4 321.8 168.6 483.0 327.3 185.1 193.4 194.7 158.9 83.7 243.8 169.5 230.5 223.8 141.9 219.1 229.9 351.0 166.3 283.8 313.4 189.4 154.7 224.3 227.5 100.0 205.4 203.7 1947, op. cit. The Contribution of Fifth District Industries to National Totals Concerns located in the Fifth Federal Reserve District are major sources of national output of manufactures in two industries. These are tobacco products and textile mill products. Tobacco Products Fifth District plants accounted for 62.43 per cent of the United States output of manufactured tobacco pro ducts in 1947, which was an improvement over the 1939 contribution of 59.26 per cent. This gain in the Fifth District position was probably caused by the relatively greater growth of cigarettes among the industry’s pro ducts. Textile Mill Products These industries in the Fifth District accounting for 30.20 per cent of the national output in 1947 show marked relative progress over the 23.97 per cent in 1939. This gain in importance of the Fifth District in these industries is probably due mainly to the relatively greater increase in the number of man hours operated in old facilities and to a lesser extent in the expansion of new plant. Furniture and Fixtures In 1947 the Fifth District accounted for 12.76 per cent of the total national value added by manufacture in these industries. This was a moderately higher percentage than the 11.82 shown in 1939. The shift in importance was not great in this period and represents mainly a greater avail ability of labor in the Fifth District in 1947 when this resource everywhere was scarce. Chemical and Allied Products Chemical and allied products industries represented the Fifth District’s fourth most important contribution to a national industry total. In 1947 these industries in the Fifth District accounted for 11.45 per cent of the same industries in the United States. This was not greatly dif ferent from the 11.40 per cent in 1939. It appears that the industrial chemicals of West Virginia were mainly responsible for maintaining the District’s position in these industries in 1947 at the 1939 proportion since states where rayon has been important like Maryland and North Carolina show smaller percentages of the chemical indus tries in 1947 than in 1939. The small gain in Virginia’s percentage of the industry total may in part be due to the rayon industry for greater gain had been experienced in this industry in Virginia than elsewhere in the country in the period under review. Lumber and Products (excluding furniture) These industries represented the fifth most important contribution of the Fifth District to a national industry total. In 1947 the industries in the District accounted for 9.65 per cent of similar industries in the United States compared with 9.75 per cent in 1939. Slight gains in per centage of the national total were made in North and South Carolina from 1939 to 1947; Virginia just about maintained the same position, while West Virginia and Maryland more than accounted for the District’s small loss in importance. f61 MONTHLY REVIEW JUNE 1949 Stone, Clay, and Glass The Fifth District’s sixth largest contribution to a national industrial group is found in stone, clay, and glass products, of which the large glass plants in West Virginia are most important. As previously noted, the industrial growth o f stone, clay, and glass products in both District and nation did not keep pace with that of all manufacturing industries. The Fifth District im proved its position in this group of industries from 9.23 per cent of the national total in 1939 to 9.58 per cent in 1947. Paper and Allied Products Paper and allied products in the Fifth District ac counted for 6.76 per cent o f these industries’ value added by manufacture in the United States in 1947, which was moderately larger than the 6.20 per cent that the Dis trict had in 1939. North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia showed increases in their percentages o f the national total from 1939 to 1947 of respectively .38 per (cent, .29 per cent, and .10 per cent which were offset in part by lower percentages in West Virginia, Maryland, and the District o f Columbia o f respectively .14 per cent, .05 per cent, and .02 per cent. The seven industrial groups here covered separately are the only ones in which industries located in the Fifth District accounted for as much as five per cent o f the national total for the same industries. O f the remaining eleven industrial groups, the portion located in the Fifth District was a larger percentage of each industry’s Na tional total in 1947 than in 1939 except in four industries. There was a fairly significant increase in the District’s percentage of the rubber products industry, and an in crease worthy of note in the apparel industry. TABLE 3 F IF T H D ISTR IC T PE R C E N T A G E OF E AC H U . S. IN D U S T R Y 'S V A L U E A DDED B Y M A N U F A C T U R E 1939 1947 T obacco m anufactures ............................ ................ T extile m ill products ............................... Stone, clay and glass ............................... ................ Furniture & fixtures ................................. ................ Chem icals and allied products .............. ................ Lum ber & products ................................... ................ P aper & allied products .......................... Prim ary m etals ........................................... ................ T ransportation equipment ...................... ................ Food & kindred products ........................ ................ P rin tin g and publishing .......................... ................ A pparel & related products .................. ................ F abricated metals ..................................... ................ R ubber products ........................................... ................ P etroleum & coal products .................... ................ M achinery (excl. electrical) .................. ................ E lectrical m achinery ................................. ................ Instrum ents .................................................. ................ Other ................................................................ ................ 59.26 23.97 9.23 11.82 11.40 9.73 6.20 2.42 3.96 4.84 4.40 3.95 4.00 .81 2.01 1.00 1.51 .33 12.27 62.43 30.20 9.58 12.76 11.45 9.65 6.76 2.36 3.87 4.98 4.47 4.21 3.48 1.84 1.86 1.06 1.54 .44 10.68 .............................................................. ................ 7.22 7.25 IN D U S T R Y G R O U P T otal Derived from Census o f M anufactures : 1947, op. cit. The relative importance of the Fifth District’s contribution to the value added by manufacture in each major group of industries in the United States in 1939 and in 1947 is shown in Tables 3 and 4. TABLE 4 V A L U E A D D E D B Y M A N U F A C T U R E IN T H E F IF T H D ISTR IC T S TATE S M illions o f Dollars— 1947 IN D U ST R Y G R O U P Md. T obacco m anufactures ___ T extile m ill products ........ Stone, clay and glass ........ F urniture & fixtures ........ Chemicals & allied p rod .... L um ber & products .......... P aper & allied products.... P rim ary metals .................. T ransportation equipment.. Food & kindred products.... P rin tin g & publishing A pparel & related products F abricated metals .............. Rubber products .................. Petroleum & coal products M achinery (excl. electrical) E lectrical m achinery ...... Instrum ents ........................... 0.4 24.5 33.5 10.1 142.6 13.1 25.3 150.8 189.8 54.2 93.7 83.2 27.1 18.0 44.3 34.8 3.7 191.1 Total ....................................... 1,140.0 D. C. 1.4 1.2 5.0 26.8 58.6 1.9 V a. 143.0 166.8 20.5 53.9 219.4 63.4 71.9 12.8 70.8 88.4 29.9 49.0 26.7 W . Va,, 14.5 134.6 3.1 175.9 22.5 7.9 123.7 31.0 13.9 .......... 0.6 0.7 3.0 28.6 46.1 0.3 18..6 15.0 24.5 0.3 31.9 99.2 1,052.1 663.9 1.0 6.1 N . C. S. C. 258.0 846.3 19.5 102.4 58.6 84.1 47.4 558.7 11.6 6.5 16.6 59.4 36.9 5.2 78.4 25.4 43.4 11.9 34.9 9.0 1.5 17.3 48.1 59.6 1,646.1 794.6 P ercentage Increase from 1939 to 1947 IN D U ST R Y G R O U P D. C. V a. T obacco m anufactures , , 33.3 T extile m ill products . , .. 135.6 Stone, clay, and glass . .... 148.1 — 17.7 F urniture & fixtures ........ 152.5 Chemicals & allied prods. 148.4 100.0 Lum ber & products ............ 142.6 P aper & allied products.... 204.8 194.1 P rim ary metals .................. T ransportation equipm ent 267.8 90.1 Food & kindred products 174.7 P rin tin g & publishing ...... 146.4 159.3 A pparel and related prod. 161.7 Fabricated metals .............. 171.9 111.1 R ubber products .................. 476.6 Petroleum & coal products 106.9 M achinery (excl. electrical) 292.0 E lectrical m achinery ........ 194.9 500.0 250.0 Instruments .......................... 311.1 123.8 114.3 128.6 Total ....................................... 171.0 Md. 65.5 287.9 153.1 257.0 206.4 242.7 237.6 184.4 151.1 174.5 137.3 318.8 203.4 100.0 154.2 150.9 179.6 W . V a. 130.2 193.2 416.7 275.1 152.8 113.5 158.2 152.0 110.6 236.5 • 287.5 417.2 965.2 * 209.7 211.3 N . C. 113.8 218.9 219.7 264.4 127.1 259.4 319.5 372.7 171.3 151.6 502.8 561.1 S. C. .......... 404.7 213.5 306.3 232.0 298.7 319.3 186.1 130.8 400.0 343.6 ... 362.5 202.5 626.8 369.3 * W ithheld to avoid disclosing figures fo r individual com panies. F ifth D istrict States' P ercentage o f Each U . S. Industry in 1947 IN D U ST R Y GROU P T obacco m anufactures ...... Textile m ill products .......... Stone, clay, and glass-----F urniture & fixtures .......... Chemicals & allied prod. Lum ber & products ............ P aper & allied products.... P rim ary m etals .................... Transportation equipment.. Food & kindred products P rinting & publishing........ A pparel & related products Fabricated metals ................ R ubber products .................. Petroleum & coal products M achinery (excl. electrical) E lectrical m achinery ........ Instruments .......................... Md. D. C. Va. W . Va. N. C. S. c . .06 .46 1.45 .73 2.66 .52 .88 .00 2.57 2.10 1.27 2.12 1.69 1.82 .89 .57 .89 .34 5.63 .00 .00 .06 .00 .02 .00 .17 .00 .00 .30 1.37 .00 .04 .00 .00 .00 .02 .07 .09 22.24 3.13 .89 3.91 4.09 2.52 2.50 .22 1.21 .98 .70 1.11 .54 .00 .05 .08 .00 .00 .84 .00 .27 5.83 .22 3.28 .90 .28 2.14 .00 .34 .33 .00 .94 .02 .92 .19 .63 .03 .94 40.13 15.87 .85 7.43 1.09 8.35 1.65 .00 .09 .87 .59 .98 .24 .00 .00 .22 .00 .00 1.42 .00 10.47 .50 .47 .31 2.36 1.28 .00 .00 .39 .21 .00 .03 .00 .00 .00 .00 .00 1.76 .13 1.42 .89 2.21 1.07 1.53 S ou rce: f 71 Census o f M anu factu res: 1947, op. cit. FEDERAL RESERVE BANK OF RICHMOND AVER AGE D A IL Y TO TAL DEPOSITS* OF MEMBER BANKS PRINCIPAL ASSETS AND LIABILITIES % of $ thousands U.S. Last Half of Apr. Maryland Reserve city banks Country banks District of Columbia Reserve city banks Country banks Virginia Reserve city banks Country banks West Virginia North Carolina Reserve city banks Country banks South Carolina Fifth District U. S. (millions) % of $ thousands U.S. Last Half of May 1,012,032 .96 637,620 .60 374,412 .36 879,429 .83 856,898 .81 22,531 .02 1.21 1,282,990 305,676 ,29 977,314 .92 606,745 .57 764,482 .72 349,579 .33 414,903 .39 422,603 .40 4,968,281 4.69 105,805 100.0 1,005,446 .95 632,510 .60 372,936 .35 885,007 .84 .82 862,118 22,889 .02 1,267,902 1.20 294,760 .28 973,142 .92 605,224 .57 742,443 .70 336,139 J2 .38 406,304 413,164 .39 4,919,186 4.67 105,334 100.0 ♦Excluding interbank demand deposits. r8 1 FIFTH DISTRICT MEMBER BANKS Billions of Dollars Billions of Dollars MONTHLY REVIEW JUNE 1949 Business Conditions Continued from page 2 For the most part, the decline in sales thus far in 1949 has been the high ticket items of house furnishings such as major appliances and floor coverings. The chart on page one shows the seasonally adjusted sales of three departments which have been doing fairly well along with the nine departments which form the housefurnishings grouping. The contrasts in trends can readily be seen on this chart. There are additional departments other than the housefurnishings group which show sales occasionally running under the same month a year ago, but when these sales are seasonally adjusted, there are few instances where distinct downward trends are in evidence. Public works and utilities contract awards were 31 per cent below a year ago in the first five months of the year; in May the adjusted index was up 3 per cent from April. Residential contract awards rose 4 per cent from April to May on a seasonally adjusted basis, whereas in the first five months of the year they were 23 per cent under a year earlier. Educational buildings which had been generally given an excellent prospect earlier this year showed contract awards in the first five months 39 per cent under the same period last year. Total construc tion contract awards in May were down 21 per cent from April after seasonal correction and 21 per cent under a year ago. In the first five months of the year total awards were down 16 per cent from similar months last year. The index of department store stocks, which has re cently been revised to take account of the seasonal shifts of a return to a buyer’s market fell 3 per cent from April to May to a level 6 per cent below May 1948. In view of the drop in prices it does not appear on an over all basis that the physical quantity of department store stocks is below a year ago. Thus, department stores in this area have not contributed substantially to the re duction in production at the manufacturing level as a result of an inventory reduction. Automobile Registrations New passenger cars were still moving to users in the Fifth District in substantial numbers in April this year when new registrations were 39 per cent above that month last year and 79 per cent higher than the 1935-39 average. In the first four months of 1939 new passen ger car registrations in the Fifth District were 18 per cent higher than in like months of 1948 with West Vir ginia showing a gain of 31 per cent, North Carolina a gain of 26 per cent, South Carolina a gain o f 23 per cent, Virginia a gain of 15 per cent, Maryland a gain of 11 per cent, and the District of Columbia a loss of 4 per cent. Department Store Sales Consumer purchases at the department stores in the Fifth District have been in good volume thus far this year even though somewhat below a year ago. The aver age daily unadjusted index through May averaged 2 per cent under a year ago in dollar sales which prob ably means that the physical quantity of goods sold has been somewhat higher than a year ago because of de clines in prices. In May these sales rose 3 per cent from April after seasonal correction to a level only 2 per cent under a year ago. Bank loans of all member banks in the Fifth District fell 2.9 per cent from December 29, 1948 to May 25, 1949. Member banks in West Virginia, however, show a gain in loans in this period of 3.3 per cent while Dis trict of Columbia member banks show a gain of 1.7 per cent. North Carolina member banks show the largest loan drop of 8.7 per cent in the period under review, with South Carolina member banks showing a drop of 6.0 per cent, Maryland member banks a drop of 5.7 per cent and Virginia member banks a drop of 0.5 per cent. In the weekly reporting banks indications are that the chief causes of the loan drop are the commercial, industrial, and agricultural loans. There has been very little drop in real estate loans of these banks since the year end while “ Other” loans which are largely con sumer loans have risen. 191 FEDERAL RESERVE BANK OF RICHMOND F E D E R A L R E S E R V E B A N K OF RICH M O N D (A ll Figures in Thousands) June 15 Change in 1949 5-18-49 ITEMS Total Gold Reserves .............................$1,059,052 Other Reserves ..................................... 18,122 Total Reserves ................................... 1,077,174 Bills Discounted ................................... 11,349 Industrial Advances ............................ 30 Govt. Securities, Total ...................... 1,249,315 Bonds .................................................... 516,819 N otes ...................................................... 23,053 Certificates ......................................... 452,370 Bills ...................................................... 257,073 Total Bills & Securities .................. 1,260,694 U ncollected Items ................................. 254,130 Other Assets ......................................... 25,690 Total Assets ....................................... 2,617,688 — — — — — — — Federal Reserve Notes in C ir........... $1,539,373 Deposits, Total ..................................... 806,130 M embers’ Reserves .......................... 780,661 U . S. Treas. Gen. A cct.................... 513 F oreign ............................................... 22,545 Other Deposits ................................. 2,411 227,133 D ef. A vailability Items .................... Other Liabilities ................................... 632 Capital A ccounts ................................. 44,420 Total Liabilities ............................... 2,617,688 DEBITS TO IN D IV ID U A L A CC OU N TS + — — + — — 24,746 735 25,481 11,748 8 15,772 25,029 0 21,107 11,850 27,258 26,915 5,640 31,734 + 47,050 + 2,799 + 49,849 — 4,951 — 29 — 98,223 +115,674 — 102,601 + 166,811 — 278,107 — 103,203 — 33,886 + 1,880 — 85,360 — — + — — + + + + — 5,172 38,597 32,513 70,174 1,387 451 10,869 40 1,126 31,734 — + + — + + — — + — 69,040 3,373 48,655 51,844 6,047 515 25,718 277 6,302 85,360 51 R E PO R TIN G M EM BER B A N K S — 5th D ISTRIC T (A ll Figures in Thousands) June 15 1949 ITEM S Change in A m t. From 5-18-49 6-16-48 Total Loans ........................................... $ 799,556** Bus. & A gri. ..................................... 357,285 Real Estate Loans ........................ 192,868 A ll Other Loans ............................... 257,695 Total Security H oldings .................... 1,673,275 U. S. Treasury Bills ...................... 80,485 U. S. Treasury Certificates ........ 193,845 40,595 U. S. Treasury N otes .................... U. S. Govt. Bonds .......................... 1,221,070 137,280 Other Bonds, Stocks & Sec........... 232,513 Cash Items in Process o f Col........... Due from Banks ................................... 171,351* Currency & Coin ................................. 62,965 Reserve with F. R. Banks ................ 519,201 Other Assets ......................................... 48,667 Total Assets ....................................... 3,507,528 — — + — + + + + — + + + + + — + 28,578 22,494 209 6,166 28,822 18,685 13,069 925 7,002 3,145 26,329 20,511 238 26,421 1,130 72,613' — — + + — — — — — + — + — + — — 19,438 24,127 3,897 9,084 61,459 7,343 20,102 31,647 14,230 11,863 5,625 8,033 542 31,759 7,217 54,489 Total Demand Deposits ...................... $2,643,126 Deposits o f Individuals.................... 2,040,350 Deposits o f U. S. Govt..................... 32,864 Deposits o f State & Local Govt..... 154,645 Deposits o f Banks .......................... 371,881* Certified & Officer’ s Checks............ 43,386 Total Tim e Deposits .......................... 613,669 568,602 Deposits o f Individuals .................. Other Tim e Deposits ...................... 45,067 Liabilities fo r Borrow ed Money ...... 4,525 A ll Other Liabilities ........................ 21,400 Capital A ccounts ................................. 224,808 Total Liabilities ................................. 3,507,528 + + — — + — + — + — + + + 69,895 88,351 10,590 33,974 27,438 1,330 6,310 2,165 8,475 8,400 3,257 1,551 72,613 — — — — — — + — + + + + — 80,750 18,366 15,071 44,625 1,476 1,212 12,092 15,701 27,793 3,825 2,492 7,852 54,489 * N et Figures, reciprocal balances being eliminated. ** Less losses fo r bad depts. M ay 1949 % Chg. from M ay 1948 5 Mos. 1949 M aryland ...................... $22,983,000 — 23 $106,246,000 — 23 Dist. o f Columbia .... 8,615,000 +82 51,362,000 +43 V irgin ia ...................... 18,031,000 — 38 89,256,000 — 1 W est V irgin ia ............ 4,501,000 — 46 17,699,000 — 64 N orth Carolina .......... 15,863,000 — 3 58,135,000 — 12 South Carolina .......... 6,970,000_____ — 26________ 34,581,000_____ — 12 F ifth D istrict ........$77,063,000 — 21 $357,279,000 — 15 S ou rce: Deposits ............$393,504,008 $ 3,666,193 $ 3,546,925 930,390 20,275 18,264 26,193 4,639,878 101,999 85,382 129,516 4,732,549 98,893 90,321 129,895 54,348 217,520 97,842 70,584 10,627 99,729 34,531 13,565 110,963 226,264 1,121,985 415,505 357,776 64,260 614,820 153,877 71,477 588,049 242,926 1,123,972 456,127 366,057 56,951 501,230 167,918 67,712 588,019 54,784 89,121 77,771 45,210 291,033 476,383 385,321 221,164 266,859 452,577 391,560 237,169 20,715 23,166 36,340 30.444 184,811 19,296 429,746 84,339 108,385 111,193 176,559 158,321 858,588 94,929 2,350,818 439,787 106,443 125,715 187,325 153,310 873,784 97,500 2,150,446 411,129 37,737 128,848 30,063 53,881 26,608 226,122 672,605 143,901 285,233 125,943 197,879 639,645 152,734 277,155 128,379 $3,767,991 D istrict Totals ........... $3,829,147 $19,363,266 $19,019,104 COTTON CON SU M PT IO N A N D ON H A N D — B A L E S May 1949 M ay 1948 A ug. 1 to May 31 1949 1948 Fifth D istrict States: 301,252 401,349 3,428,036 3,969,289 6,029,198 6,989,913 6,742,240 7,926,583 Cotton Growing States: 521,525 693,963 1,089,010 . 5,054,045 1,645,944 2,169,927 580,078 785,516 Cotton on hand M ay 31 in United S tates: Cotton on hand May 31 in consum ing establishments S ource: 1,277,423 2,006,769 . 5,079,999 2,232,911 19,862,000 21,723,000 Departm ent o f Commerce. COTTON CON SU M PTION -—FIFTH DISTRIC T S ource: 157,237 152,070 218,880 861,552 1,127,041 S. Carolina 134,215 138,730 163,542 721,868 856,281 V irgin ia 9,800 9,521 18,927 62,109 94,164 District 301,252 300,321 401,349 1,645,529 2,077,486 Departm ent o f Commerce. May 1949 A verage, 17 constructions .............. Printcloths, average (6) ................ Sheetings, average (3) .................... T w ill (1) ................................................ Drills, average (4) ............................. Sateen (1) .............................................. Ducks, average (2) ........................... D E PO SITS IN M U T U A L SA V IN G S B A N K S 8 Baltim ore Banks Total $ 690,280 PRICES OF U N FIN ISH ED COTTON T E X T IL E S F. W . Dodge Corp. M ay 31, 1949 5 Mos. 1949 District o f Columbia W ashington ............ ..$ 760,575 Maryland Baltim ore ............... 940,594 Cumberland 20,907 Frederick ................ 16,506 H agerstown ............ 24,961 N orth Carolina A sheville ................ 41,919 Charlotte ................ 217,302 Durham .................. 87,806 Greensboro .............. 66,091 Kinston .................... . 11,730 113,624 W ilm ington ............. 30,885 W ilson ...................... 10,915 W inston-Salem 116,553 South Carolina Charleston ............... 54,022 Columbia..................... 96,036 70,794 Greenville ................. Spartanburg .......... 39,948 V irginia Charlottesville 20,947 Danville ................... 19,211 L ynchburg ............... 32,418 29,694 N ew port News N orfolk ................... 163,778 P ortsm outh ............. 18,381 458,660 Richm ond ................. Roanoke ................... 86,509 W est V irginia Bluefield ................... 43,269 Charleston ............... 133,528 C larksburg ............. 27,979 H untington ............. 50,092 Parkersburg ........... 23,513 N. C arolina % Chg. from 5 Mos. 1948 5 Mos. 1948 May 1948 May 1949 May 1949 ..................... A p ril 1949 ................... May 1948 ....................... 5 Months 1949 ........... 5 Months 1948 ........... CON STR U C TIO N C O N TRA C TS A W A R D E D STATE S (000 om itted) A m t. From 6-16-48 N o te : A p ril 30, 1949 May 31, 1948 $393,725,241 $392,812,787 A pril 1949 May 1948 61.27 64.42 55.65 62.47 56.11 81.06 60.10 62.56 66.91 56.79 63.17 56.19 83.63 60.10 85.18 96.62 69.27 116.15 72.41 128.15 63.27 The above figures are those fo r the approxim ate quantities o f cloth obtainable from a pound o f cotton w ith adjustments fo r salable waste. S ou rce: Departm ent o f A gricu ltu re. f1 1 0 MONTHLY REVIEW JUNE 1949 B U ILD IN G PE B M IT FIGU RES SOFT C O A L PR O D U C T IO N IN TH O U SAN D S OF TON S Total Valuation M ay 1949 M ay 1948 M aryland B altim ore .......................................................... Cumberland ...................................................... Frederick .......................................................... H agerstown ...................................................... Salisbury .......................................................... V irginia D anville ............................................................ Lynchburg ........................................................ N orfolk .............................................................. P etersburg ........................................................ Portsm outh ........................................................ Richm ond .......................................................... Roanoke ............................................................ W est V irginia Charleston ........................................................ Clarksburg ........................................................ H untington ...................................................... N orth Carolina Asheville ............................................................ Charlotte .................................................... Durham ......................................................... Greensboro .................................................. H igh P oint ................................................ Raleigh ......................................................... R ocky M ount .............................................. Salisbury ....................................................... W inston-Salem .......................................... South Carolina Charleston ................................................... Columbia ..................................................... Greenville ...................................................... S partanburg .............................................. . D istrict o f Columbia W ashington .................................................. D istrict Totals ......................... ..................... 5 Months ...................................... ...................... $ 5,841,510 46,890 291,902 297,050 67,413 $ 4,433,130 124,040 53,750 223,035 150,492 420,325 419,216 1,772,349 113,443 143.794 2,136,891 662,193 1,437,354 219,235 1,271,640 55,000 135,912 834,757 396,016 379,802 150,510 436,793 451,804 321,855 592,244 660,647 1,805,626 666,685 672,275 611.795 351,225 145,143 129,455 2,134,559 301,910 2,695,013 429,625 1,111,026 344,623 393,545 252,800 111,875 504,759 132,580 769,986 982,650 96,655 3,527,321 $ 27,727,637 $101,870,022 $ 22,458,324 $113,502,173 W est V irgin ia ..... M aryland ................ F ifth D istrict United States % in D istrict 147,272 389,895 1,391,800 156,597 5,388,275 May 1949 M ay 1948 % Chg. 5 Mos. 1949 5 Mos. 1948 16,114 1,697 46 17,857 47,470 37.6 15,940 2,044 168 18,152 56,583 32.1 + 1 — 17 — 73 — 2 — 16 66,641 6,949 327 73,917 220,117 33.6 63,025 7,679 712 71,416 233,159 30.6 REG ION S S ou rce: Y arn shipments ................ fiber shipments .................. Y a rn stocks ........................ fiber stocks ........................ S o u rce : + — — + — 6 10 54 4 6 Bureau o f Mines. R A Y O N Y A R N SH IPM EN TS A N D STOCKS M ay 1949 A p ril 1949 R ayon Staple R ayon Staple % Chg. 47.800.000 6,200.000 44.200.000 19.100.000 51,300,000 7,700,000 50,200,000 20,600,000 M ay 1948 69.900.000 23.700.000 8.700.000 3.700.000 R ayon Organon TOBACCO M A N U F A C T U R IN G May 1949 % Change from M ay 1948 Sm oking & Chewing tobacco 17,051 (Thousands o f lbs.) .......... C igarettes (Thousands) .... 3 ,892,727 428,357 Cigars (Thousands) ............ 3,311 Snuff (Thousands o f lbs.) 5 Mos. 1949 77,520 142,757,822 2,162,414 17,078 + 9 + 8 — 4 — 1 % Change from 5 Mos. '48 — + — — 4 2 5 5 S ou rce: Treasury Departm ent. R E T A IL F U R N IT U R E S A LE S P ercentage com parison o f sales in periods named with sales in same periods in 1948 May 1949 5 Mos. 1949 States + + — + — + + 3 6 1 17 8 2 3 — + — — — — — 4 12 5 12 14 11 3 + + + — — — — Maryland (5 )* .......................... Dist. o f Col. (6 ) * ........................ V irgin ia (1 9 )* ........................ W est V irgin ia (1 0 )* .............. N orth Carolina (1 2 )* .............. South Carolina (1 0 )* .............. D istrict (6 2 )* ...................... 3 6 8 15 6 11 8 — + + — — — — 4 12 1 4 4 25 1 M O NTH S S ou rce: $ 746,000 2,152,000 1,080,000 $5,048,000 2,192,000 $ 28,374,000 31,930,000 13,814,000 $204,474,000 85,175,000 D E P A R T M E N T S TO R E T R A D E B altim ore W ashington Other Cities D istrict P ercentage change in M ay 1949 sales com pared with M ay 1&48: + 2 — 5 + 1 — 3 — 2 P ercentage change in 5' m os. sales 1949 com pared with 5 m os. in 1948: — 2 — 4 + 3 — 3 — 1 W H O L E SA L E TR A D E . 176 FIRM S N et Sales May 1949 com pared with May A p ril 1948 1949 — 10 — 2 — 10 — 45 + 4 — 12 — 4 — 14 + 5 — 3 — 5 + + + — — + + + — + + 12 5 4 4 5 1 2 3 4 2 1 P ercentage chg. in stocks on M ay 31, 1949 com pared w ith May 31, *48: — 5 — 2 — 1 — 8 —3 Stock M ay 81, 1949 com pared with M ay 31 A p ril 30 1949 1948 — 10 — 12 — 3 "+ 2 — 4 — 4 + 4 + 4 — 5 P ercentage chg. in receivables M ay 31, 1949 from those on M ay 31, *48: + 6 + 2 +14 — 1 + 7 — 8 — 11 — 18 + 1 — 17 — 1 P ercentage chg. in outstanding orders M ay 31, 1949 from M ay 31, ’ 4 8: — 31 — 39 — 35 — 63 — 37 — 4 0 — 7 Percentage o f cu rrent receivables as o f M ay 1, 1949 collected in M a y: 33 48 48 47 44 P erctge. o f instalm ent receivables as o f May 1, 1949 collected in M a y: 15 21 20 23 20 M aryland Dist. o f Col. V irgin ia W . V a. N . Caro. S. F aro. P ercentage change in M ay 1949 sales from M ay 1948 sales, by S tates: — 5 + 1 — 1 + 1 — 8 — 1 Percentage change in 5 m onths 1949 from 5 m onths 1948 sales: — 5 + 3 — 2 + 1 — 9 S o u rce: Departm ent o f Comm erce. * N um ber o f reporting firms. 776 877 426 3,753 2,080 T otal L iabilities D istrict U . S. Dun & Bradstreet Richm ond ♦Number o f reporting firms. A uto supplies (8 )* ................... E lectrical goods (7 )* ............. H ardw are (1 1 )* ........................ Industrial supplies (3 )* ......... D rugs & sundries (1 1 )* ......... D ry goods (1 2 )* ........................ Groceries (55)* ....................... P aper & products (6 )* ......... T ob a cco & products (5)* ...... M iscellaneous (58)* ............... D istrict Totals (176)* ....... 30 54 16 179 82 May 1949 ........ A p ril 1949 ........ May 1948 ........ 5' Months 1949 5 Months 1948 Individual Cities Baltim ore, Md., (5 )* ............ W ashington, D. C., (6 )* ........ Richm ond, V a., (6 )* .............. Lynchburg, V a., (3 )* ............ Charleston, W . V a., (3 )* Charlotte, N . C., (3 )* .............. Columbia, S. C., (3 )* .............. L IN E S COM M ER C IA L F A IL U R E S N um ber o f Failures District U. S. [in 0
