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MONTHLY REVI EW of Financial and Business Conditions M Fifth Federal \ \ a. sIiCfCiirnortda ff _^ Reserve ...... D i s t r i c t Federal Reserve Bank, Richmond, Va. March 31,1942 Buy Buy D efen se B onds S a v in g s St a m p s INVEST FOR VICTORY NOW MONTHLY REVIEW 2 SALES OF UNITED STATES SAVINGS BONDS IN THE FIFTH FEDERAL RESERVE DISTRICT The country as a whole purchased, from May 1941 through February 1942, United States savings bonds, series E, F, and G, in the amount of $4,300,956,000. Of this total, sales in the Fifth Federal Reserve District ac counted for $192,276,072, or 4.5 per cent. The actual achievement of this district, by months, is fully set forth in the following tabulation: MONTHLY SALES OF UNITED STATES SAVINGS BONDS IN THE FIFTH FEDERAL RESERVE DISTRICT MAY 1941-FEBRUARY 1942, INCLUSIVE MONTH Series B (Issue price) Series F (Issue price) Series G (Issue price) Total All Series 1941 May . . . . . . . $ 3 , 166 ,781.25 $ 2,548,560.00$ 9,243,600.00 $ 14,958,941.25 June .......... 3,646,556.25 1,177,858.00 6,151,300.00 10,975,714.25 July .......... 5,169,881.25 1,233,432.00 6,164,200.00 12,567,513.25 Aug................ 4,505,006.25 1,132,496.00 4,711,200.00 10,348,702.25 Sept............... 4,153,387.50 940,244.00 4,458,800.00 9,552,431.50 Oct................. 4,811,868.75 1,138,564.00 5,816,300.00 11,766,732.75 Nov................ 4,231,087.50 1,127,612.00 5,004,200.00 10,362,899.50 Dec................. 19,240,312.50 2,605,096.00 9,992,100.00 31,837,508.50 1942 Jan................. Feb................. 29,000,006.25 16,199,887.50 4,603,140.00 2,276,795.00 18,128,800.00 9,697,000.00 51,731,946.25 28,173,682.50 Totals ___ $94,124,775.00 $18,783,797.00 $79,367,500.00 $192,276,072.00 It is apparent that the record of sales achieved for the three series in May 1941 was not surpassed in any suc ceeding month until December. Following Pearl Harbor, sales increased to $31.8 millions in December of 1941, but this record was surpassed in January, when sales amounted to $51.7 millions. However, a portion of the January sales included limit purchases by relatively large investors, a seasonal development, and it was therefore logical to expect a decline in February, when the sales came to $28.2 millions. The Series E bonds proved to be the most popular of the three series, for sales, covering 922,264 individual bonds, aggregated $94.1 millions. As for Series F, 17,102 bonds were sold for a total of $18.8 millions, while the sales of 53,594 Series G bonds amounted to $79.4 mil lions. Apparently, Series E bonds have met with a favor able response from small investors, as was anticipated, while Series F and G bonds, which may be bought in relatively large amounts, appeal to those with more ample funds. The achievement in the Fifth District of the sale of these bonds is the result of work accomplished by quali fied issuing agents. As of February 28, 1942, there were 1,389 of these, exclusive of post offices, classified as follows: QUALIFIED ISSUING AGENTS, OTHER THAN POST OFFICES, UNITED STATES SAVINGS BONDS, FIFTH FEDERAL RESERVE DISTRICT D.C. Va. W.Va. National Banks .......... State Banks ................ Mutual Savings Banks.. Federal Sav. & Loan. . . . Building & Loan .......... Federal Land Bank.......... Credit Unions ................ Security Dealers ............ Corporations . . , . , .......... 61 111 11 32 26 0 7 7 16 9 13 0 3 18 0 49 0 0 130 184 0 13 17 0 35 0 8 69 85 0 8 3 0 17 0 2 42 183 0 21 27 0 13 1 2 22 104 0 17 5 1 15 0 2 333 680 11 94 96 1 136 8 80 Totals ............................. 271 92 387 184 289 166 1,389 Md. N.C. S.C. Tot. It is apparent that a good initial record has been made in this district, and even better results may be expected in view of the well developed sales organization. All banks in the District of Columbia, Virginia, and West Virginia have qualified as issuing agents, while all banks save one in Maryland, two in North Carolina, and four in South Carolina have also qualified. Thus, out of a total of 1,032 eligible banks, 1,025 have qualified. As of Febru ary 28, 1942, thirty corporations, employing 106,870 workers, had qualified and all had adopted the payroll deduction plan. It is to be hoped that 1942 will show a steady increase in monthly sales. This hope is based upon the great im portance of financing the war out of current income of the public. Purchases of United States savings bonds out of current income represent an addition to the aggre gate funds available for investment in Government securuties; but money withdrawn from savings accounts for the purchase of savings bonds may merely reduce by that amount investments of banks, thus achieving no net in crease of investment and therefore no net decrease of consumption. In other words, there are two great objec tives involved in the sale of these bonds, namely, the increase of the flow of funds to the Federal Government for the financing of the war, and the curtailment of ex penditures on consumption for the purpose of retarding price inflation. The individual who purchases savings bonds from current income is serving his own best in terests in three decisive respects, for he is participating in the prosecution of the war against the enemies of our country, and at the same time foregoing the satisfaction of current wants, thereby reducing the pressure of de mand upon prices of goods, stocks of which are severely curtailed by the war effort; but, in addition, he is accumu lating investments which may be converted into purchas ing power that will be available to prevent a depression when war expenditures decline with the coming of a peace. The increase of payroll deduction plans among indus tries, businesses, and institutions of all sorts is clearly to be desired. A wide distribution of United States bonds among all classes of our people means that the financing of the war is essentially democratic in character. Thus, all of us will have an increasing stake in the financial soundness of the country, thereby more fully insuring the maintenance of its credit in its present excellent con dition. 3 MONTHLY REVIEW Summary of February Business Conditions sale trade in many lines advanced an average of 30 per cent this year. Reflecting the influence of tire conserva tion, there has recently been a great increase in sales of bicycles. Fifth district industry continues full time operations, and additional plants are shifting to war work, especially in metals and textiles. Cotton textile mills in the district consumed 18 per cent more cotton last month than in February 1941, and only 5 per cent less than the record consumption set in January this year. Rayon yarn ship ments to domestic consumers exceeded production, and were 14 per cent above February 1941 shipments. Con struction work provided for in contract awards totaled $80,772,000 in February, increases of 55 per cent over January contracts and 142 per cent over February 1941 awards. Contracts were chiefly for defense work or Government financed housing in areas near plants hand ling Government work. F E B R U A R Y is usually a between-seasons month, and business is relatively slow, but this year seasonal in fluences were much less in evidence than in normal times, and nearly all recessions in trade and industry from Janu ary levels were due chiefly to the shorter month. The general level of business last month was far above the February 1941 level, the rise being accounted for in large part by the prominent part defense work is playing in Fifth district industries. In banking, loans of 41 reporting member banks rose slightly between the middle of February and the middle of March, and investments in securities increased substan tially. Demand deposits rose moderately, but time de posits fell off, as was also the case in mutual savings banks. At the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond the circulation of Federal Reserve notes rose unseasonably, and member bank reserve deposits also increased, while the bank’s total cash reserves declined. Debits to indi vidual accounts, reflecting checking transactions in the banks of 25 cities, declined in February from the longer month of January, but were 22 per cent above debits in February 1941. The distribution of available consumer goods continued at recent high levels in February. New automobile and tire sales were of course under rationing control, but department store sales in the Fifth district were 32 per cent above the volume of sales in February last year, while retail furniture sales rose by 17 per cent and whole The Department of Agriculture’s annual survey of live stock on farms on January 1 shows declines in the num bers of horses, mules, sheep and hogs in the Fifth district during 1941, but the number of cattle increased. The aggregate values of animals increased for all breeds ex cept horses, due to higher per head valuation. Hogs advanced about 67 per cent in per head price between January 1 last year and this, and sheep rose 25 per cent. Details of the live stock survey are presented elsewhere in this Review. BUSINESS STATISTICS—FIFTH FEDERAL RESERVE DISTRICT % Change Month Year February 1942 January 1942 February 1941 Debits to individual accounts (25 cities)................ ............. Sales, 78 department stores, 5th district................. .............. Sales, 40 furniture stores, 5th district..............................— Sales, 200 wholesale firms, 5th district............... ................ Registrations, new autos, 5th district..................... ............... $1,757,982,000 $ 13,629,042 1,432,196 $ $ 14,246,000 1,088 $1,980,524,000 $ 15,275,674 1,407,934 $ $ 14,167,000 6,176 $1,440,567,000 $ 10,333,470 1,227,277 $ $ 10,985,000 23,539 —11 —11 + 2 + 1 —82 + + + + — Number of business failures, 5th district.................. ........... Liabilities in failures, 5th district............................................ Value of building permits, 29 cities....................... ............... $ $ 47 901,000 8,238,325 —16 —12 +16 — 34 — 69 — 5 33,323,000 356,191 10.25 7.875 31,600,000 10,000,000 41,695,000 +55 — 5 + 1 — 1 —13 — 8 —10 +142 + IB + 89 + 48 + 14 — 56 + 5 Value of contracts awarded, 5th district..............................Cotton consumption, 5th district (Bales)____ ___________ .. Cotton price, cents per lb., end of month.......................... — Print cloths, 39 in., 80x80s, end of month.............................. Rayon yarn shipments, U. S. (Pounds).................. ............. Rayon yarn stocks, U. S. (Pounds)............................ ........ Bitiuminous coal mined, U. S. (Tons)................................... *Ceiling price tied to spot cotton. $ 31 275,000 7,849,950 80,772,000 422,029 19.41 11.625* 35,900,000 4,400,000 43,840,000 $ $ $ 37 311,000 6,739,931 52,030,000 444,168 19.25 11.750* 41,200,000 4,800,000 48,540,000 $ $ $ 22 32 17 30 95 MONTHLY REVIEW 4 BANKING STATISTICS EMPLOYMENT RESERVE BANK STATEMENT ITEMS Fifth District There have been no changes of moment in employment conditions in the Fifth Reserve district during recent weeks except in automobile and tire distributing agencies. Industrial plants in this district which have shifted from civilian to defense work have been able to make the change without serious dislocation in work schedules, and have therefore had to lay off very few of their employees. The following figures, compiled for the most part by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, show the trends of employ ment and payrolls in the Fifth district from January to February: 000 omitted Mar. 15 Feb. 15 1942 1942 ITEMS $ 43 766 119,976 120,785 291,234 394,914 628,578 84.45 $ 0 760 134,121 134,881 433,720 468,581 823,101 85.21 ; 0 746 134,679 135,425 447,398 471,650 816,964 85.59 Discounts held ........................... Industrial advances ................... Government securities .............. Total earning assets ............ Circulation of Fed. Res. notes. Members’ reserve deposits. . . . Cash reserves ............................. Reserve ratio ........................... Mar. 15 1941 SELECTED ITEMS—41 REPORTING MEMBER BANKS Fifth District Mar. 11 1942 000 omitted Feb. 11 1942 Mar. 12 1941 $167,301 172,892 581,252 299,751 30,131 790,774 198,704 $168,734 170,534 571,859 299,821 28,858 782,502 200,549 $137,300 157,470 470,995 256,171 27,258 652,642 205,553 ITEMS Loans to business & agriculture. All other loans ............................. Investments in securities.............. Reserve bal. with F. R. bank. . . . Cash in vaults................................... Demand deposits ........................... Time deposits ................................. Money borrowed ............................. 0 0 0 Maryland .............. Dist. of Columbia Virginia .................. West Virginia . . . North Carolina . . . South Carolina District Average MUTUAL SAVINGS BANK DEPOSITS 9 Baltimore Banks Total deposits ............... Feb. 28, 1942 Jan. 31, 1942 Feb. 28, 1941 $221,038,752 $223,982,404 DEBITS TO INDIVIDUAL ACCOUNTS Fifth District 000 omitted Jan. Feb. 1942 1941 CITIES Dist. of Col. Washington $ 373,988 $ 425,629 Maryland Baltimore ........ Cumberland ___ Hagerstown 516,211 8,645 12,764 545,894 10,668 15,970 North Carolina Asheville .......... Charlotte ............ Durham ............. Greensboro ........ Raleigh ............. Wilmington ----Winston-Salem . 15,611 89,523 29,945 26,559 56,915 21,513 49,488 % of Change Montht Year -1 2 + 30 416,425 7,704 10,085 — 5 — 19 — 20 + 24 + 12 + 27 21,326 105,571 40,319 28,080 68,561 23,573 57,180 14,314 89,650 25,293 23,353 46,538 12,863 38,535 — 27 — 15 — 26 — 5 — 17 — 9 — 13 + 28,446 37,526 30,415 15,369 32,735 43,795 36,876 18,105 22,601 34,112 22,247 18,316 — 13 -1 4 — 18 -1 5 + 26 + 10 + 37 — 16 Roanoke .............. 10,067 16,521 13,402 76,901 8,417 198,115 30,037 11,925 20,226 14,977 90,322 9,030 220,162 36,080 , 8,153 14,277 13,245 64,390 5,402 157,765 29,511 -1 6 — 18 -1 1 — 15 — 7 — 10 -1 7 West Virginia Charleston ........ Huntington........ Parkersburg ___ District Totals . 60,431 20,206 10,967 $1,757,982 66,650 23,709 13,161 $1,980,524 51,584 16,843 9,498 $1,440,567 — 9 -1 5 — 17 — 11 South Carolina Charleston ........ Greenville .......... Spartanburg Virginia Danville ............ Lynchburg ........ Newport News . Norfolk . . . . ----Portsmouth........ $ 287,863 — + + + + + 9 0 18 14 22 67 28 + 23 + 16 1 + 19 + 56 + 26 + 2 + + + + + 17 20 15 22 COMMERCIAL FAILURES Number of Failures District U .S . Periods February January February 2 Months, 2 Months, 1942.. .......... 1942.. .......... 1941.. .......... 1942. . .......... 1941.. .......... Source: Dun & Bradstreet 31 37 47 68 92 916 962 1,129 1,878 2,253 Total Liabilities District / U .S . $ 275,000 311,000 901,000 586,000 1,272,000 + AUTOMOBILE REGISTRATIONS $219,747,815 Feb. 1942 Percentage change from January 1942 to February 1942 In number In amount on payroll of payroll — 0.8 + 1.7 + 0.4 +0.5 + 3.2 + 1.4 — 1.0 + 1.4 + 1.3 + L1 + 1.3 + 4.0 + 1.0 1.2 states $ 9,631,000 f ' 9,916,000 13,483,000 19,547,000 25,371,000 In January a considerable number of new passenger automobiles were registered, in spite of the freezing order which took effect on January 1, chiefly due to de layed registrations on cars delivered late in 1941. In February, however, the full impact of the freezing of car sales was felt, and registration figures furnished by R. L. Polk & Co., of Detroit, were merely nominal. REGISTRATION OF NEW PASSENGER CARS— NUMBER STATES Dist. of Col.......... Virginia .............. West Virginia . . North Carolina. . Sou+h Carolina. . District .......... Feb. 1942 256 178 312 131 128 83 1,088 Feb. 1941 4,200 2,302 6,198 2,198 5,098 3.543 23,539 % Change — 94 — 92 — 95 — 94 — 97 — 98 — 95 % 2 Months 2 Months Change 1942 1941 1,505 8,369 — 82 562 4,415 — 87 2,214 12,337 — 82 859 4,534 — 81 1,277 — 88 10,859 847 6,387 — 87 7,264 46,901 -8 5 BITUMINOUS COAL PRODUCTION Daily production of bituminous coal in the United States declined 2 per cent in February from the January output, but exceeded February 1941 production by 5 per cent, /total production in February was 10 per cent less than in January. Fearing shortages of coal and shipping facilities when the defense program progresses further, both the Government and coal distributors have tried to stimulate purchase and storage of coal, especially for home heating, against next fall's peak demand, but the cam paign has not yet been very successful. Perhaps more coal will be stored in the next few weeks, since the March 15 income tax payments are out of the way. SOFT COAL PRODUCTION IN TONS REGIONS West Virginia .................... Virginia ............................... Maryland ............................... Fifth District ............ United States ................ % in District .................. February 1942 January 1942 February 1941 11,108,000 12,567,000 10,835,000 1,500,000 1,700,000 1,343,000 158,000________ 169,000_________ 153,000 12,766,000 14,436,000 12,331,000 43,840,000 48,540,000 41,695,000 29 30 30 MONTHLY REVIEW BUILDING PERMITS AND CONTRACT AWARDS Building permits issued in 29 Fifth district cities in February 1942 totaled 2,079, with estimated valuation of $7,849,950, compared with 2,731 permits valued at $8,238,325 issued in February 1941. Norfolk reported the highest valuation last month, $1,882,020, due to de fense housing, while Washington was second with $1,701,875 and Baltimore third with $1,327,818. Charles ton, S. C., ranking fourth with $697,349, also shows the influence of defense housing. Richmond, in fifth place, reported $516,304. Total valuation of permits issued in the 29 cities in two months this year amounting to $14,589,881 was 29 per cent less than the value of permits totaling $20,441,830 issued in the first two months of 1941. Contracts were awarded for $80,772,000 for construc tion of all kinds in the Fifth district in February, an in crease of 55 per cent over $52,030,000 for January this year and 142 per cent above $33,323,000 for February last year. Figures on contracts awarded in January 1942, which were not available on a state basis when the Feb ruary 28 Review went to press, were reported by the F. W. Dodge Corporation as follows: CONSTRUCTION CONTRACTS AWARDED STATES January 1942 January 1941 % Change Maryland ............................. $ 9,721,000 $13,715,000 — 29 Dist. of Col......................... 6,044.000 9,550,000 — 37 Virginia ............................. 13,082,000 8,475,000 + 54 West Virginia ................... 12,881,000 1,684,000 +665 North Carolina ................. 4,895,000 5,149,000 — 5 South Carolina ................. ................5,407,000________ 3,994,000______ + 35 Fifth District ................. $52,030,000 $42,567,000 + 22 RAYON SHIPMENTS AND STOCKS February shipments of rayon yarn to domestic mills amounted to 35,900,000 pounds, as compared with 41,200.000 pounds in January 1942 and 31,600,000 pounds in February 1941. Cumulative shipments for the two months of the current year amounting to 77,100,000 pounds show an increase of 16 per cent over 66,600,000 pounds shipped in the first two months last year. Rayon Organon ascribes part of the February decrease in ship ments from those of January to the shorter month and part to a shortage of raw materials, particularly for the production of acetate yarn. Shipments of yarn exceeded production in February, and stocks of yarn in producers’ hands therefore declined from 4,800,000 pounds to 4,400.000 pounds between January 31 and February 28. The inventory of rayon filament yarn held by broad weavers on February 28, 1942 totaled 22,700,000 pounds, compared with 23,000,000 pounds held on January 31, 1942 and 28,000,000 pounds on February 28, 1941. COTTON TEXTILES Cotton textile mills increased operating rates in Feb ruary, but Government participation in cotton goods mar kets increased even more and reduced further the supply of textiles available for civilian consumption. It became increasingly difficult to purchase textiles without priori ties during February. Carpet and upholstery mills are being drawn into duck production, with yarns often sup 5 plied by tire mills with reduced demand for ordinary tire fabric. The Government bought some 49,000,000 yards of drills and twills, and worked further on its efforts to build up a 200,000,000-yard stockpile of osnaburgs. Prog ress was made on cotton duck orders, with contracts placed for upward of 100 ,000,000 yards of the earlier 200,000,000 yard Government request for bids. As for civilian business, occasional quantities of goods were al lotted, usually widely distributed to many buyers, but there were no large civilian markets in gray cloths. Consumption figures in Fifth district states in Febru ary were as follows: COTTON CONSUMPTION— FIFTH DISTRICT In bales MONTHS February 1942... January 1942 February 1941 2 Months, 1942, 2 Months, 1941. . % Increase No. Carolina So. Carolina Virginia 226,405 175,248 20,376 237,947 184,145 22,076 194,409 146,331 15,451 359,393 42,452 .............. 406,541 308,242 32,467 .............. 14 17 31 District 422,029 444,168 356,191 866,197 747,250 16 ................ .............. .............. COTTON STATISTICS Spot cotton prices, after rising steadily through most of December and January to 20.11 cents per pound on January 27, declined to 18.80 cents on February 2. The price moved back across the 19-cents line on February 4 , and on February 28 closed the month at 19.41 cents aver age for middling grade 1 5 / 16-inch staple on 10 Southern spot markets. COTTON CONSUMPTION Fifth district states: Cotton consumed ............... AND Feb. 1942 ON HAND— BALES Feb. Aug. 1 to Feb. 28 1941 This Year Last Year 422,029 356,191 2,943,904 2,399,539 759,028 674,009 5,334,918 4,458,285 6,280,108 5,216,874 Cotton growing states: Cotton consumed................... Cotton on hand Feb. 28 in Consuming establishments. Storage & compresses. . . . 2,096,777 1,570,268 11,823,328 13,707,994 United States : Cotton consumed ................. Cotton on hand Feb. 28 in Consuming establishments. Storage & compresses. . . . Spindles active............................. 2,579,789 1,906,835 11,823,328 13,707,994 17,470,838 17,236,944 893,745 793,428 SEASONS TOBACCO SALES All auction tobacco markets in the Fifth district have closed for the 1941-1942 season, and total season sales are shown in the accompanying table. Prices brought by all types of tobacco during the past season were much higher than prices for the 1940-1941 crop, and therefore a total crop 13 per cent smaller than the 1940 crop brought 50 per cent more in aggregate dollars to the growers. The 1941-1942 sales totaling 583,666,363 pounds brought $170,882,388, compared with the 19401941 crop of 667,988,927 pounds which sold for $113,681,000. STATES So. Carolina .............. No. Carolina .......... Virginia (Flue-cured) (Fire-cured) (Burley) (Sun-cured) Virginia, Total,........ District, Total . . . . Sales for Growers, Pounds Price per Cwt. 1940-1941 1941-42 1940-41 1941-1942 57,950,536 74,803,580 $25.20 $14.55 424,971,066 29.93 17.27 487,746,996 30.99 80.128,269 85,261,620 17.55 11,688,634 18,606,627 15.64 9.37 6,780,340 8,436,152 30.19 18.24 2,147,518 3,133,952 17.96 9.32 100,744,761 28.87 16.06 115,438,351 583,666,363 667,988,927 $29.28 $16.77 MONTHLY REVIEW 6 RETAIL FURNITURE SALES TOBACCO MANUFACTURING Production of tobacco products declined seasonally in February from January output but was above February 1941 production in all lines except chewing and smoking tobacco. Production figures released by the Bureau of Internal Revenue are as follows: Smoking & chewing tobacco, pounds . Cigarettes, number Cigars, number Snuff, pounds . . . . Feb. 1942 Jan. 1942 Feb. 1941 21,178,375 16,628,297,300 441,805,010 3,247,346 24,055,265 19,502,624,610 458,277,423 3,882,351 22,150,840 14,464,626,900 385,348,833 3,051,492 RETAIL AND WHOLESALE TRADE %Changes in Sales, Feb. and 2 Months of 1942 Compared with Compared with Feb. 1941 2 Months 1941 STATES Maryland (9) .................. Dist. of Col. (7) ............ Virginia (13) .................. North Carolina (5) South Carolina (6) ........ District (40) .............. + 21 + 30 + 13 — 17 — 13 + 17 + 22 + 38 + 20 — 15 — 8 + 22 Individual Cities: Baltimore (9) Richmond (5) .................. Washington (7) .............. + 21 + 16 + 30 + 22 + 20 + 38 Note: Number of reporting stores in parenthesis. WHOLESALE TRADE, 200 FIRMS DEPARTMENT STORE TRADE Percentage increase or decrease in sales, stocks, outstanding orders and outstanding receivables in February 1942 in comparison with February 1941: Orders Receivables Sales Stocks + 15 120 Richmond (5) ............... + 19 (+ 2 8 ) + 41 + 21 + 165 + 37 ( + 41) + 44 Baltimore (10) .............. + 17 + 158 Washington (7) ............ + 34 ( + 44) + 39 + 64 + 24 ( + 33) + 32 Other Cities (12).............. + 9 + 150 + 17 + 32 ( + 40) + 40 Fifth District (78) * . . . . Same stores by states, including stores re porting sales only: + 37 ( + 40) Maryland (13) . ............ + 24 ( + 33) Virginia (16) ................. + 20 ( + 31) West Virginia (15) . . . . North Carolina (16)___ + 10 (+ 21) + 28 ( + 43) South Carolina (11) ----- + ♦Includes stores reporting sales only. Note: Second figure in parenthesis under Sales compares combined sales in 2 months of 1942 with sales in first two months last year. LINES Auto supplies (8) . . . . Shoes (4) ................... Drugs & sundries (8) Dry goods (8 )............ Electrical goods ( 6 ) .., Groceries (60) ............ Hardware (14) ............ Industrial supplies (10) Paper & products (9) Tobacco & products (8) Miscellaneous (65) . . . District Avg. (200) Net Sales February 1942 compared with Feb. Jan. 1941 1942 — 29 + 15 + 30 + 120 — 14 + 8 + 44 — 9 + o + 11 + 32 — 11 + 32 — 13 + 24 - 8 + 48 1 + 24 2 + 37 — 3 + 30 + 1 Stocks Ratio Feb. Feb. 28, 1942 collections compared with to accounts Feb. 28 Jan. 31 outstanding 1941 1942 Feb. 1 68 + 37 — 11 39 105 + 71 46 + 6 + 43 — 1 89 + 28 102 + 1 + 6 54 + 1 + 16 — 6 76 + 2 74 + 7 + 27 + 28 + 3 — 0 71 71 Source: Bureau of the Census LIVE STOCK ON FARMS ON JANUARY 1, FOR THE PAST TEN YEARS, WITH TOTAL VALUATION FIGURES (All figures in thousands ; i. e., 000 omitted) North Carolina No. Value 72 $ 4,824 69 5,862 67 6,884 7,960 68 69 8,675 69 8,603 70 8,112 7,892 71 78 8,039 78 8,370 South Carolina No. Value 23 $ 1,449 22 1,760 21 2,050 20 2,250 20 2,465 20 2,265 20 2,189 20 2,092 22 2,245 21 2,381 876 972 1,116 1,380 1,428 1,428 1,392 1,272 1,166 900 285 290 295 298 301 305 305 305 298 298 25,365 33,596 41,242 51,150 54,110 55,136 53,198 52,287 47,228 49,893 179 179 183 185 189 187 185 185 181 181 13,783 20,943 25,071 30,525 34,398 31,790 30,525 31,350 29,407 30,166 595 602 612 617 626 626 625 625 606 602 50,047 67,606 81,948 100,144 108,486 106,688 102,874 102,191 93,479 94,472 596 627 612 618 576 588 600 600 586 586 13,350 12,540 12,856 19,530 17,491 20,447 21,415 22,116 22,304 28,317 659 679 685 671 651 638 664 664 613 631 13,575 13,399 14,624 38,225 18,813 18,896 20,716 21,438 20,912 27,971 351 372 386 374 374 352 359 359 338 355 6,844 7,031 7,327 8,131 8,834 9,322 9,731 10,259 9,801 13,540 2,706 2,838 2,860 2,831 2,760 2,760 2,831 2,891 2,816 2,877 59,424 58,986 64,234 88,242 88,779 97,312 102,347 106,405 110,760 144,893 1,671 2,021 1,947 2,569 2,596 2,823 2,602 2,610 2,751 3,167 631 610 606 588 547 547 536 504 461 456 2,082 2,257 2,4C1 3,019 2,931 3,062 2,911 2,750 2,520 3,255 85 81 77 73 62 62 60 50 52 51 264 278 287 351 321 362 353 295 307 382 14 13 13 12 11 11 10 10 7 6 43 40 40 45 36 37 37 37 25 29 1,309 1,269 1,228 1,175 1,099 1,100 1,070 1,017 960 938 4,436 5,028 5,110 6,518 6,436 6,869 6,437 6,216 6,049 7,375 2,577 2,545 3,314 5,691 6,114 5,904 5,722 4,543 4,777 7,827 196 188 188 197 213 209 217 221 235 230 1,019 884 1,106 1,807 1,859 1,823 1,834 1,481 1,547 2,690 1,096 1,005 947 966 1,111 1,111 1,155 1,167 1,133 1,122 5,590 5,822 7,241 10,255 11,523 10,994 10,833 8,358 8,287 14,156 600 552 509 519 550 540 583 688 641 628 2,820 2,705 2,917 4,425 4,828 4,635 4,633 4,512 4,160 6,418 2,651 2,516 2,346 2,446 2,721 2,714 2,848 3,028 2,947 2,909 12,888 12,830 15,614 23,854 26,163 25,081 24,867 20,478 20,272 33,441 West Virginia Value No. 103 $ 7,622 8,686 101 99 10,078 98 11,438 96 11.C04 96 11,497 96 11,079 95 10,119 99 9,495 97 8,264 Year 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1041 1942 Maryland No. Value 85 $ 5,780 82 6,806 80 8,115 81 9,695 81 10,062 82 9,950 82 9,200 82 8,481 82 7,694 79 6,644 Mulfes & colts. 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 29 29 29 29 28 28 28 27 25 24 2,581 2,987 3,491 4,013 4,004 4,060 3,696 3,537 3,075 2,592 90 92 93 93 96 94 95 96 91 89 7,442 9,108 11,028 13,076 14,546 14,274 14,063 13,745 12,603 10,921 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 11 10 Cattle & calves. 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 300 304 307 307 307 313 822 338 338 345 8,700 8,725 9,687 13,913 14,735 16,397 16,324 16,531 18,859 2.5,157 800 856 870 861 852 869 886 930 941 960 16,955 17,291 19,740 28,443 28,906 32,250 34,161 36,061 38,884 49,908 Sheep & lambs. 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 99 95 94 86 84 81 77 74 61 61 376 432 435 534 552 585 534 524 446 542 480 470 438 416 395 399 387 379 379 364 Hogs & pigs. 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 180 186 159 167 184 191 210 235 228 219 882 874 1,036 1,676 1,839 1,725 1,845 1,584 1,501 2,350 579 585 543 597 663 663 683 717 710 710 Horses & colts. . . Virginia No. Value 178 $11,768 170 13,770 163 16,049 165 19,575 167 21,307 167 20,771 169 19,727 169 17,728 16,966 168 166 14,388 (Compiled March 21, 1942) Fifth District No. Value 461 $ 31,443 444 36,884 430 43,176 432 50,918 433 54,113 434 53,086 437 50,307 437 46,312 449 44,439 441 40,047 7 MONTHLY REVIEW SUMMARY OF NATIONAL BUSINESS CONDITIONS (Compiled by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System) IN D U S T R IA L P R O D U C T IO N Industrial activity increased further in February and the first half of March. was sustained at high levels and commodity prices continued to advance. Retail trade PRODUCTION Federal Reserve monthly index of physical volume of production, adjusted for seasonal varia tion, 1935-39 average = 100. Subgroups shown are expressed in terms of points in the total index. Latest figures shown are for Feb. 1942. W H O LESALE P R IC E S 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 Bureau of Labor Statistics* weekly indexes, 1926 average = 100. Latest figures are lor week ending March 21, 1942. M E M B E R B A N K S iN 101 L EAD IN G C IT IE S In February the Board’s seasonally adjusted index of industrial production rose from 171 to 173 per cent of the 1985-39 average. As in other recent months, activity in the durable goods manufacturing industries, where the majority of military products are made, continued to ad vance, while in industries making nondurable goods and at mines activity was maintained at about the levels reached last autumn. Steel production rose to 96 per cent of capacity in February and increased further to 98 per cent in the third week of March—which corresponded to an annual rate of nearly 87 million net tons. Lumber production also increased, following less than the usual seasonal decline during the previous two months. In the machinery and transportation equipment industries, now engaged mainly in armament production, activity continued to advance rapidly as plant utilization increased and capacity expanded. Conversion to armament production in the auto mobile industry, where output of civilion products was discontinued in early February, is ap parently being effected much more rapidly than had been anticipated earlier. There were further increases in output at cotton textile mills and at chemical factories, reflecting an increasing amount of work on military orders. At meatpacking establishments activity was maintained near the high rate reached in January. Shoe production increased by less than the usual seasonal amount. Anthracite production rose sharply in February and bi tuminous coal production was maintained near the high rate of other recent months. Output of crude petroleum, which had been at record levels in December and January, declined some what in the latter part of February and in the first half of March, reflecting transportation difficulties. CONSTRUCTION Value of construction contract awards increased considerably in February, according to figures of the F. W. Dodge Corporation, owing mainly to a sharp rise in awards for public projects. Total awards in February were half again as large as last year, and public awards were about three times as large. In nonresidential building, awards for public projects increased materially, while those for private projects continued to decline. There was a slight rise in awards for public utility construction. In residential building, contracts for private work changed little from January, while those for publicly-financed projects increased sharply and amounted to about half of the total for the first time on record. For the past six months there has been a noticeable shift in privatelyfinanced housing activity from building for owner-occupancy to building for sale or rent; in February, awards for the former constituted only about one-fifth of the small-homes total. This shift is attributable mainly to the activity in defense areas and to legislation enacted last spring making possible the insurance of mortgages taken out by builders. DISTRIBUTION Value of retail trade continued large in February. Sales at general merchandise stores and variety stores increased more than seasonally, while sales at department stores declined. In the first half of March department store sales increased by about the usual seasonal amount. Freight-car loadings, which in January had been unusually large for this time of year, declined somewhat in February owing to smaller shipments of coal, grain, and miscellaneous freight. COMMODITY PRICES 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 Wednesday figures. Commercial loans, which include industrial and agricultural loans, repre sent prior to May 19, 1937 so-called “ Other loans” as then reported. Latest figures are for March 11, 1942. :— FACTORS USING RESERVE FUNDS --------------- 1--------------MEMBER BANK RESERVE BALANCES r ~ COLO ivy 7 TREASURY FINANCING AND BANK CREDIT In March income tax receipts by the Treasury for the first time reflected the higher sche dule of rates. The effect of these receipts on the money market was largely offset by redemption of Treasury bills previously issued to mature during the tax collection period, by tax-anticipation notes turned in on payment of taxes, and by continued heavy Treasury expenditures. As a consequence a record volume of Treasury operations was effected with little influence on con ditions in the market. Excess reserves of member banks showed no large change and on March 18 amounted to about $3.2 billion. United States Government obligations held by member banks in leading cities showed little change during the first three weeks of March following a sharp rise in February. Commercial loans increased further. M E M B E R B A N K R E S E R V E S AN D R E L A T E D IT E M S FACTORS SUPPLYING RESEIRVE FUNDS Wholesale prices continued to advance from the middle of February to the middle of March, particularly those for finished consumer goods such as meats, fruits and vegetables, shoes, clothing, and household items. Temporary maximum price orders were issued covering whole sale prices of some of these products, including pork, canned fruits and vegetables, finished cotton and rayon fabrics, cotton rugs, and bedding equipment. These orders, according to statute, used as maximums the prices prevailing within five days prior to issuance. They are effective for only 60 days and may be replaced by regular schedules. " i j MONEY IN JT* CIRCULATION / V T ' UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT SECURITY PRICES .......... . TREASURY CASH AND DEPOSITS TREASURY CURRENCY ! RESERVE BANK OKtUI 1 1940 1941 1942 Wednesday figures. March 11, 194?. forfor FRASER _. --------- — 4= = i - === ^ p ----------.^•^NONMEMBER DEPOSITS 1 1 1940 1941 1942 Latest figures shown are Digitized Prices of United States Government bonds advanced steadily from the middle of February to the middle of March. Long-term taxable bofcds yielded 2.35 per cent compared with an average of 2.39 per cent in Februaiy. Prices of short-term securities have held steady since the first of the year, with Treasury bills selling at around .20 per cent.
@FedFRASER