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MONTHLY FEDERAL RESERVE BANK OF RICHMOND R I C H M O N D 13 , V I R G I N I A M A R C H 31, 1 9 4 9 Business Conditions H E trend of business in the Fifth Federal Reserve District in February was about a stand-off between gains and losses. In major lines of production small gains were recorded from January to February after allowance for the usual seasonal tendency, while trade levels, seasonally adjusted, were mainly downward in the same period. Evidence thus far in March indicates that the Febru ary improvement in production was only a temporary respite in the downward trend which has prevailed for the past several months, and that the March level of output will be below that of February, on a seasonally adjusted basis. Production cut-backs, increased un employment, and reduction of working hours have been prominent in cotton textile mills, cigarette factories, rayon yarn mills, paper mills and garment factories dur ing March, while the coal mine shut-down has fur loughed numerous railroad workers in addition to the miners. Whether the production situation will begin to im prove before long or deteriorate further is a question of the proper interpretation of why the current fall is taking place. An explanation that seems plausible is that products of the Fifth District are in supply (i. e., production has overtaken demand), prices are softening and wholesalers and retailers are attempting to work with smaller inventories since deliveries presumably can be effected in a short time. If this is a correct appraisal, then it would be in keeping to expect some improvement in the next few months, or by fall at least, provided the level of retail trade does not fall by more than small proportions in the interim. If, on the other hand, there is a basic weakening in the consumer’s ability to pur chase, (1 ) because incomes of a sufficient number of people had not kept pace with the price rise, (2 ) because large numbers of people had already spent money they had saved in the past, or because (3 ) large numbers of people have already extended their credit to practical limits, then it should be expected that the level of retail trade would fall something more than by small propor tions and that a still lower level o f production would be seen in the Fifth District. T Trade The trade level in the Fifth District and, for that matter, all along the Eastern Seaboard, has held up bet ter than in the rest of the country. This could mean that the weakness nationally in January and February might be attributable to the bad weather in the West. Department store sales in the Fifth District declined only 1 per cent from January to February, after sea sonal correction, to a level 4 per cent below February, 1948. Outstanding orders o f department stores in this District rose 8 per cent, after seasonal adjustment, from January to February, but were still 24 per cent under the same period a year ago. Retail furniture sales in February fell 3 per cent below January, after seasonal adjustment, but held at a level 7 per cent above Febru ary, 1948. Most lines of wholesale trade, seasonally adjusted, continued a downward trend through Febru ary, thus giving further evidence that retailers are still shortening their inventory positions. While the de clines from January to February in seasonally adjusted wholesale sales were, for the most part, moderate, those of electrical goods and hardware firms ran 13 and 12 Continued on page 8 FEDERAL RESERVE BANK OF RICHMOND f 21 MARCH 1949 MONTHLY REVIEW Four Leading Ports of the Fifth District One of the fundamental factors influencing the eco nomic growth of the Fifth Federal Reserve District has been the District’s location on the Atlantic Seaboard. Since the early settlement of this country, the products of this particular area have been carried to foreign and domestic markets by water transport. Development of the leading District industries such as coal, leaf to bacco, lumber, farm products, iron and steel, and other manufactured products has been affected by this natural and cheap means of transport. Moreover, the growing industrialization of the Middle West and the spreading network of railroads, into this area resulted in an in creased flow of commerce through the District ports. More recently, wartime demands hastened the devel opment of this waterborne transport system of the Fifth District. Thus, during the war a large part of the facilities of the various ports in the District were taken over by the Government. Extension of the ports system was necessitated by the nearby location of war industries, the expansion of shipbuilding activity, and the movement of supplies and troops. As a result the ports of the Fifth District emerged from the war with expanded facilities. The port activity of the District is concentrated prin cipally in four areas: Baltimore, Maryland; Hampton Roads, Virginia; Wilmington, North Carolina; and Charleston, South Carolina. In addition, the District has many growing coastal and inland ports, but the major portion of the Fifth District’s waterborne com merce passes through these four principal ports. In Table I the importance of these ports is indicated in terms of their relative share o f the total waterborne commerce of the District and o f the United States. TABLE I T otal Commerce* o f the F our Leading F ifth D istrict Port* A s P er Cent o f D istrict T otal and T otal U . S. P orts ________________________________1939 and 1946_______________________________ 1939 1946 P er Cent o f : Thous------------------------and A ll 5th L on g U. S. Dist. ____________________________Tons_____ Ports Ports T otal Comm erce U . S. P orts ..............468,748 T otal Comm erce F ifth Dist. Ports ...... 49,868 B altim ore ................ 21,013 Ham pton Roads .... 24,708 N orfolk ................ 17,906 N ew p ort News .. 6,802 W ilm in gton ............ 2,033 Charleston .............. 2,114 100.0 10.6 4.5 5.3 3.8 1.5 .4 .4 100.0 42.2 49.5 35.9 13.6 4.1 4.2 Per Cent o f : Thous-------------------------and A ll 5th L on g U . S. Dist. Tons Ports Ports 821,446 100.0 56,790 28,654 22,015 14,277 7,738 1,800 4,321 6.9 3.5 2.7 1.8 .9 .2 .5 100.0 50.5 38.7 25.1 13.6 3.2 7.6 S ou rce: A nnu al R eport o f the C hief o f A rm y Engineers, 1940, P art 2, Table 4 ; 1947, P a rt 2, Table 4. * Includes foreign , coastw ise, internal, intraport, and local traffic. Inadequate data prevent a complete economic analy sis o f these ports and of their contribution to the Dis trict in terms of capital investment, income and employ ment. However, since the ports do make an important direct contribution to income in the District as well as indirectly influencing the industrial growth of this re gion, a descriptive analysis of the leading ports of the District may be of interest to bankers and others con cerned with the District’s future growth. In this descriptive study of the leading ports of the Fifth District, an attempt will be made (a) to detail the physical characteristics of the individual ports, (b) to analyze the volume and value of the trade handled by these ports, and (c) to indicate some o f the external factors affecting the future growth and development of these leading District ports. Physical Structure of the Ports Although the ports have been of major importance to the economic growth of this region, there are no readily available comparable data as to the development and status of facilities of the various ports.. Therefore, since there is no comparable series o f informative data relating to the ports of the Fifth District and since the ports themselves have distinctive attributes and are in different stages of development, the following discus sion of physical structure by necessity is simply a gen eral description of port facilities and related informa tion. Baltimore The port of Baltimore is situated on a northern estu ary of the Chesapeake Bay, the Patapsco River and its tributaries. This inland port is 150 miles from the Atlantic Ocean via the Virginia Capes. However, approximately 20 per cent of the deep draft ships which put in at Baltimore come through the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal. This route shortens the distance to the ocean by 25 miles and at the same time is a joining link in the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway which ex tends from Boston to Miami. All main ship channels leading into the harbor are capable of handling deep draft ships, the depth varying from 35 to 39 feet at low tide. At present, the port facilities of Baltimore include some 300 piers, wharves, and docks. The shore front age o f the harbor extends for 45 miles, three-fifths of which is developed. Almost all o f the large marine terminals are owned and operated by the trunk line railroads with shorter lines connecting the terminals on the waterfront. Total investment in these facilities has been estimated at $200,000,000, and employment at about 25,000 workers. A large part of these facilities are equipped to handle large quantities of raw materials and semi-manufac tured goods. The facilities include: grain elevators, coal and ore piers, and lumber piers. In addition, Balti more has numerous United States Revenue and Cus toms Bonded warehouses which facilitate the handling of imports. It has fourteen ship construction and re pair yards which employ approximately 13,700 workers currently. FEDERAL RESERVE BANK OF RICHMOND Its inland location gives Baltimore the distinctive ad vantage of being the Atlantic port nearest the industrial center of the nation. Its hinterland, therefore, extends to the Middle West, a large part of the Central Freight Association territory (that area east of the Mississippi River, north o f the Ohio River, west of the Alleghanies, and south of the Great Lakes), and to the Great Lakes region as well as to nearby territory. These con nections are afforded by four railways: the Baltimore and Ohio, the Pennsylvania, the Western Maryland, and the Maryland and Pennsylvania Railroads. The ad vantageous location of Baltimore in relation to water, rail, and trucking transport has aided in its developing into a diversified center of production and trade. One of the largest of the city’s industries is the Bethlehem Steel Sparrow’s Point plant which is situated on the harbor and has a shipping cost advantage in the export o f steel products. Hampton Roads Hampton Roads is a land-locked arm of the Chesa peake Bay comprising the ports of Norfolk, Ports mouth, and‘Newport News. It is formed by the conflu ence o f the James, the Nansemond, and the Elizabeth Rivers. This central Atlantic port is one of the largest natural harbors in the world and, like Baltimore, has existed as a port since the early settlement of this coun try. The channel leading into Hampton Roads from the Chesapeake Bay has a controlling depth of 40 feet at low tide. This port serves a hinterland which includes Vir ginia, North Carolina, West Virginia, portions of Ten nessee and South Carolina, and a part of the Central Freight Association territory which penetrates the Mid dle West. Eight railroad trunk lines serve the Hamp ton Roads port: the Chesapeake and Ohio, the Norfolk and Western, the Pennsylvania, the Virginian, the At lantic Coast Line, the Norfolk and Southern, the Sea board Air Line, and the Southern Railroad. These rail roads are interconnected at the port by a jointly owned terminal. The combined facilities of this port area include 243 piers, wharves, and docks on approximately 32 miles of developed shore frontage. The railroads have built and are operating piers for storage and loading of general cargo. More specialized facilities are provided for the storage and shipment of tobacco, coal and grain. Oil storage plants provide for the fueling of ships and the supplying of the nearby territory. The development of the port o f Hampton Roads has been strongly affected by the impact on the area of the World Wars. During both W orld War I and World War II this port was used extensively as a port of em barkation and debarkation for men and supplies. Close ly allied to the extension of port facilities under pres sure of wartime demands were the concentration of mil itary and naval establishments in the area and the phe nomenal expansion of the shipbuilding industry of the region. Thus, the wartime periods were marked by heavy Government expenditure on construction and shipbuilding contracts at the Newport News Shipbuild ing and Dry dock Company, the Norfolk Navy Yard at Portsmouth, the Welding Shipyard, and the Norfolk Shipbuilding and Drydock Company. Most of the recent expansion and development in the Hampton Roads area since World War II has been fostered by private interests. At present, the railroads have three large building projects under way which will provide Hampton Roads with additional modern coal piers, freight and merchandise warehouse piers, and other facilities for the handling of general cargo. Wilmington The port at Wilmington, North Carolina is located on the east side of the Cape Fear River, 32 miles from the ocean bar. The deep water channel up the river has been dredged to a uniform depth of 30 feet and a width of 300 feet. This port was brought into the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway when an extension was completed in 1932 from Beaufort, South Carolina to the Cape Fear River. Railroad facilities are such that the port of Wilming ton is capable of serving a large part of North Caro lina and parts of South Carolina and Georgia. Two main railways— the Atlantic Coast Line and the Sea board Air Line— serve this port. The Wilmington harbor occupies the whole width of the Cape Fear River, and its 57 piers and wharves extend for six miles along the city's waterfront. These piers aand wharves facilitate the loading and unloading of 11 ocean-going ships and 165 freight cars simul taneously. Most of the cargo handled at Wilmington does not require heavy lifting equipment, but this port is especially equipped to handle petroleum and petro leum products, Wilmington being North Carolina’s chief distribution point for these products. In 1945 an act of the State Legislature created the North Carolina State Ports Authority and empowered the authority to promote the waterborne trade of the state by means of acquisition, construction, or operation of equipment. The North Carolina Shipbuilding Company was W il mington’s chief war installation. The shipyards were closed at the end of the war, but their facilities have been taken over by the State Ports Authority. Engi neers are now investigating this site for the possible construction of additional wharves and piers, and plans are in the final stage of completion. Also there is a Federal project in the planning stage which will widen the channel up the Cape Fear River and increase the anchorage basin. [4] Charleston Charleston harbor is formed by the confluence of the Cooper and Ashley Rivers which form a bay seven and one-half miles from the ocean. The city of Charles ton is situated on the peninsula between these two rivers. MONTHLY REVIEW The main route from the sea has an improved chan nel with a depth of 35 feet at low tide and a width ranging from 500 to 1,000 feet. The channel up the Cooper River extends for ten miles at a depth of 35 feet, while the channel of the Ashley River with a depth of 30 feet extends for seven miles. The principal commercial section of the city is lo cated on the northern waterfront on the Cooper River. Port facilities here consist of 55 piers, wharves, and docks. The three main railroads which serve the Charleston port are the Southern Railway, the Atlantic Coast Line, and the Seaboard Air Line. These lines are interconnected at the harbor by a beltline thirteen miles long installed by the city. Through these rail roads the tributary area of the port of Charleston in cludes parts of the South Atlantic states and part of the deep South which produce leading export commodi ties such as cotton, lumber, tobacco, and textiles. During the days of the clipper ships before the Civil War, Charleston was one of the leading ports o f the nation. During the second World War its activities were again greatly stimulated by the establishment of a port of embarkation at North Charleston. The United States Army in the early part of the second World War restored the facilities built during the first World War at a cost of $20 million. In addition, the Government authorized millions of dollars in war con tracts which were largely allocated to the Charleston Navy Yard and the Charleston Shipbuilding and Drydock Company for the construction and repair of vessels. In 1942 the South Carolina State Port’s Authority was created by the State Legislature with power to engage in such activities as would promote trade and develop the ports of the state. The facilities and serv ices of the port of Charleston were increased by the Authority's acquisition o f the North Charleston facili ties formerly used as the port of embarkation. This property was deeded to the state without cost. This Authority has set up and staffed a shipside packing plant to facilitate the shipping of textiles. The Au thority has also established a bonded warehouse to handle imports. Trade Through the Ports In the preceding discussion of the physical structure of the District ports, some o f the wartime changes in facilities have been indicated. From this discussion it appears that the ports are now capable of handling a much larger volume of traffic than previously and that further extension of facilities is contemplated or un der way at most of these ports. More important, how ever, than the changes in the physical structure of the ports are the changes evident in the nature, direction, and volume o f trade through these ports. In the first postwar year 1946, there had been marked shifts in the composition of the waterborne commerce through the four ports of the Fifth Federal Reserve District, both relative to pre-war and relative to all ports in the United States. MARCH 1949 Waterborne commerce measured in tons increased in both the Fifth District and the nation between the last pre-war year, 1939, and the first post-war year, 1946. However, the gain through the ports of the Fifth District in this period was only 14 per cent whereas the gain in all ports of the nation was 75 per cent. It is interesting to note that the relatively smaller gain by Fifth District ports was due to an actual de crease in the 1939-1946 period in the District’s domestic commerce of 15 per cent. In the country as a whole this type o f commerce rose 87 per cent in the same period. The smaller gain in the District reflects the failure of important shipping companies to reestablish their service to District ports in the post-war period. A factor of considerable significance, however, is the fact that foreign trade tonnage through Fifth District ports rose 125 per cent between 1939 and 1946 while the foreign trade tonnage through all ports of the nation rose only 33 per cent. In part these differences are indicative of an increased importance of the District ports in the nation’s overseas trade, and in part may be explained by the relatively greater availability of goods for export in District port territory. T A B L E II Changes in Total Comm erce Through D istrict P orts Compared w ith A ll U . S. P orts _________________________________ 1939 and 1946______________________________ Thousand long tons 1946 1939 49,868 10,418 39,450 56,790 23,467 33,323 U. S. Ports T otal Comm erce 468,748 F oreign Com m erce ............ 100,274 Dom estic Com m erce1 ........ 368,474 821,446 132,917 688,529 F ifth Dist. T otal Comm erce F oreign Com m erce ............ D om estic Comm erce1 ........ P er cent P er cent Change o f total 1939-1946 1939 1946 + 14 + 125 — 15 100.0 20.9 79.1 100.0 41.3 58.7 + + + 100.0 21.4 78.6 100.0 16.2 83.8 75 33 87 Source A nnu al Report o f the C hief o f A rm y Engineers, 1940, P a rt 2, Table 4 ; 1947, P a rt 2, Table 4. 1 Includes coastwise, internal, local, and intraport traffic. Concerning the nature o f the trade handled by these ports, it may be generalized that the commodities han dled by the Fifth District ports are chiefly in the cate gory o f raw materials and semi-manufactured goods, which accounts for the high tonnage of shipments in relation to the low value figures. For example, in 1947 these four ports shipped 31 per cent of the nation’s total exports in terms of tonnage, but only 11 per cent in value terms. These bulk commodities require ex tensive storage space and special facilities for loading and unloading. Thus, the nature of the trade through the ports increases their industrial importance in terms of employment and investment. However, more detailed analysis of the trade of the individual ports indicates District ports have shared unequally in the gain from 1939 to 1946 in foreign commerce handled and in the loss of domestic com merce handled from pre-war levels. All of the District ports except Wilmington have shown a gain in foreign commerce handled, but principal losses in domestic commerce may be attributed primarily to the port of Hampton Roads. Domestic commerce may be broken down into the following categories: coastwise traffic— FEDERAL RESERVE BANK OF RICHMOND trade between U. S. ports or territories; internal traf fic— trade between a port and a tributary waterway; intraport traffic— trade between the arms or channels of a port; and local traffic— movements of freight with in the confines of a port. The losses of the Fifth District ports have appeared principally in internal traffic. The following table shows the change in foreign and domestic commerce handled by the four District ports in 1946 as compared with 1939. T A B L E III P er Cent Change in Foreign and Dom estic Comm erce o f the Four F ifth D istrict P orts 1939-1946 P er cent Change in Total Comm erce 1939-1946 Total F ifth D istrict P orts ----B altim ore .............................. . . H am pton Roads ............... N orfolk ............................ . N ew port N ews ............. ....... W ilm ington ......................... . Charleston ......................... + + — — + — + 14 36 11 20 14 11 104 P er cent Change in Foreign Com m erce 1939-1946 + 125 + 122 + 108 + 64 + 40 —- 57 + 319 P er cent Change in Dom estic Com m erce1 1939-1946 — — — — — — + 15 1 29 32 20 6 17 S ou rce: A nnu al R eport o f the C hief o f A rm y E ngineers, 1940, P a rt 2, Table 4 ; 1947, P a rt 2, Table 4. 1 Includes coastw ise, internal, local, and intrap ort traffic. The divergence in the changes in trade over the 1939-1946 period between ports as shown in Table III is partly due to the nature of the trade of the indi vidual ports. In discussing these changes in terms of the trade o f the individual ports, however, it should be noted that the last year for which data are available on the total commerce of these four ports is 1946; for 1947 the only data available are on foreign commerce. The marked decline of 11 per cent between 1939 and 1946 in the total commerce of Hampton Roads was chiefly due to the drop in domestic commerce. The main drop has appeared in internal shipments which were cut in half over the 1939-1946 period and in ternal receipts which are also lower than pre-war. This is due to the fact cited above that steamship lines have not seen fit to reestablish their services, and, conse quently, these products are now carried by rail and truck. Hampton Roads is also the leading trans-shipment port of the Atlantic Coast for bituminous coal. This type of domestic traffic over the 1939-1946 period re mained approximately the same with some increase in coastwise shipments of coal. At the same time, a com parison of the 1939 and 1946 traffic carried indicates a drop in the number of different commodities handled as well as specific declines in individual commodities— e.g., a drop in internal shipments of gasoline and leaf tobacco. The foreign trade of Hampton Roads increased from 3 million long tons in 1939 to 20 million long tons in 1947 (18 million tons, exports, and 2 million tons, imports). This is chiefly due to the increase in export tonnage, but there was also a significant increase in imports. O f the 18 million tons exported from Hamp ton Roads in 1947, 95 per cent was bituminous coal. [6] At the same time, Hampton Roads is the leading U. S. port of leaf tobacco exports; 96 per cent of the na tion’s export of leaf tobacco went through this port in 1947. O f the 2 million tons of imports entering Hampton Roads in 1947, fuel oil constituted 70 per cent of tonnage. Other imports include: tobacco, gyp sum, fertilizer, newsprint paper, manganese, jute, rub ber, and unmanufactured wood. The increase in commerce handled by the port of Baltimore may be attributed to the nature of the trade through this port. Coal cargo has played an import ant part in the tremendous increase in foreign trade through this port. This can in part be considered over flow traffic resulting from the inability of Hampton Roads ports to handle this coal traffic. Total foreign trade rose from 6.4 million tons in 1939 to 21.3 mil lion tons in 1947. Domestic shipments through the Baltimore port have shown only a very slight decrease from pre-war levels. O f its foreign shipments tonnagewise, coal accounted for approximately three-fourths of the experts through the Baltimore port in 1947. The remainder was made up of grain, iron and steel mill products, and other manufactured products. Foreign imports through Bal timore in 1947 totaled 8 million tons as against exports of 13 million tons. Leading import commodities through the port of Baltimore in 1947 were iron ore, cane sugar, vessel supplies, petroleum, residual fuel oil, and manganese. Total waterborne commerce of Wilmington in 1946, the latest year for which data are available, was 1.8 million tons or a decrease of about 11 per cent from the 1939 level. In 1946 the waterborne commerce through Wilmington consisted primarily of domestic shipments. These shipments had decreased from pre war levels, and this decrease may be attributed to the drop in internal shipments— i.e., the traffic between the port and its tributary waterway. Wilmington is the only leading District port which shows a lower volume of foreign commerce in 1946 compared with 1939. Foreign commerce declined over 50 per cent from pre-war levels, but since it constitutes less than 10 per cent of total commerce of this port, the drop is not of much significance. This decline is primarily re flected in imports of nitrate o f soda which is the prin cipal import through this port. Explanation of this may be found in the present world shortage necessi tating Chile’s allocation of nitrate of soda to its various customers and a consequent reduction in the amount moving into Wilmington. Although foreign exports through Wilmington have remained at the same level in 1946 as in 1939 in terms of tonnage, examination of the commodities exported indicates a shift from the export of scrap and iron and steel mill products, which accounted for 93 per cent of this port's export in 1939, to the export of leaf tobacco which in 1946 comprised 85 per cent of this port's total exports. MONTHLY REVIEW MARCH 1949 Reflecting the opening of new channels of trade at Charleston for the export of leaf tobacco and export of coal, the port of Charleston has shown the greatest relative gain of the Fifth District ports over pre-war levels. From 1939 to 1946 its total waterborne com merce doubled. Foreign trade through this port has accounted for an increasingly large proportion of its total water traffic amounting to 59 per cent in 1946 as compared wih 29 per cent in 1939. In terms of commodities, Charleston is now handling the exports o f coal, tobacco, textiles, forest products, and paper products and handling the import of petro leum, textiles, forest products, and bananas. Although domestic trade through this port has decreased, the chief decrease was not in internal shipping (which accounted for the decrease in Hampton Roads and Wilmington) but in coastal shipping. Increased utilization of the port facilities of Charleston to serve the traffic of its tributary waterways is indicated by the fact that in ternal shipments have actually increased by 142 per cent over pre-war levels. External Factors in Future Outlook From the preceding discussion of physical facilities and of the trade through the leading ports of the Fifth District it appears that the impact of World War II and post-war activity on the ports of the District ma terially affected the development of physical facilities and the nature o f trade through these ports. In terms of trade, the ports of the District taken together show a decrease in domestic trade handled as against pre war levels, Charleston alone being the exception. Thus, it may be concluded that the District ports have not yet regained the domestic commerce lost as a result of the wartime use of other facilities for carrying trade. Spe cifically, this decline in domestic trade reflects the fact that when the Government was using the facilities of these ports and had also expropriated ships for its maritime service the commercial trade normally carried by these ports was handled by rail and truck. In addition, several coastwise shipping companies for va rious reasons have not resumed operations to Balti more, Norfolk, Wilmington, and Charleston. With regard to foreign commerce through these Dis trict ports, the tremendous and abnormal European demand for coal in the immediate post-war period has provided the main stimulus in increasing foreign ship ments out of these ports. However, under foreign aid and reconstruction programs these ports have also handled shipments to foreign markets of grain, iron and steel mill products, leaf tobacco, lumber, and other manufactured goods. Preliminary estimates of total foreign commerce through all ports in the United States during the first nine months of 1948 indicate a decline o f from 15 to 20 per cent over the corresponding. period of 1947; in comparison, preliminary estimates of total foreign commerce through the four District ports indicate a [7] decline o f 32 per cent in the first nine months of 1948 from the same period in 1947. T A B L E IV Foreign Commerce o f United States P orts and F our L eading F ifth D istrict P orts First N ine Months o f 1947 and 1948 ___________________ (M illions o f pounds shipping w eight)___________________ 1948 Fer cent Change 1947-1948 277,614.1 75,776.4 27.3 231,050.2 50,184.0 22.5 — 16.8 — 31.5 ----- E xports United States F ifth D istrict Dist. per cent o f U.S. 188,909.0 59,174.0 31.3 133,764.3 33,449.4 25.0 — 29.2 — 43.5 Im ports U nited States F ifth D istrict Dist. per cent o f U.S. 88,705.1 16,602.4 18.7 97,285.9 16,734.0 19.0 + 9.7 + 11.4 1947 Total F oreign Commerce United States F ifth D istrict Dist. per cent o f U.S. S ou rce: U .S. Departm ent o f Comm erce, U nited States F oreign Trade, W aterborne Trade by U nited States F ort, Sum mary R eport, FT 972. The sharper decline in the total foreign commerce of the Fifth District ports may be attributed princi pally to their heavy reliance on coal shipments which dropped from the abnormal levels of 1947. Again, preliminary estimates o f United States exports of coal for the first eleven months of 1948 indicate a decline of 25 per cent from 1947 levels. Both Baltimore and Hampton Roads have undoubtedly been affected by the decline in coal shipments in 1948, but the preliminary data indicate that Baltimore has been affected more severely by the drop in coal exports. In terms of foreign exports, however, it appears that continuance of the foreign aid program will help to sustain the demand for iron and steel mill products, lumber, leaf tobacco, and other commodities exported through these ports. In the post-war period the District ports have also shared in the nation's increased level of imports and are currently handling a larger proportion of the im port tonnage than in the pre-war period. Thus, in 1939 these four ports handled 16 per cent of the im ports through all ports in the United States, whereas in 1948 their share was increased to 19 per cent. How ever, as is shown in the above table, the District’s proportionate share of exports through all U. S. ports showed an even sharper increase over the pre-war period. Thus, in 1948 the District ports handled an estimated 25 per cent of total U. S. exports as com pared to 6 per cent in 1939. This post-war trend in the District ports' handling of exports and imports is particularly significant in terms of the future outlook for these ports, for the ability of the District ports to share in the future for eign trade of the nation after the abnormal demand for coal has abated will depend on a better balance between volume of exports and imports through these ports. It is not economically sound for ships to travel between ports in ballast. Although the foreign trade of both Baltimore and Hampton Roads has been dis- FEDERAL RESERVE BANK OF RICHMOND tor ted by large out-shipments o f coal, it appears that there is a better balance between exports and imports for the port of Baltimore than for Hampton Roads. Thus, as previously noted, in 1947 exports through Hampton Roads totaled 19 million long tons and im ports, 2 million long tons, whereas exports through Baltimore totaled 14 million long tons and imports, 8 million long tons. In considering the external factors affecting the fu ture outlook for foreign commerce through the Dis trict ports, a major factor is their competitive position relative to all other ports in the United States. Tra ditionally, the major part o f the United States foreign trade has been handled by the North Atlantic ports. Post-war data indicate, as previously noted, that the Fifth District ports have made relative gains in the handling of U. S. foreign commerce. However, these gains may be simply the result of the overflow from the North Atlantic ports due to the unprecedented level of foreign commerce, or they may possibly repre sent a more permanent claim on a major share of the U. S. total foreign commerce as a result of the exten sion of facilities and active solicitation of trade by the port authorities and the railroads feeding the Fifth Dis trict ports. Thus, in terms of commodities it seems probable that leaf tobacco and coal shipments to foreign markets will continue to go through Fifth District ports. Likewise, these ports may attract a larger proportion o f cotton textiles and manufactured tobacco products now shipped through the port o f New York. Finally, it should be noted that the potential growth of the District’s ports rests, at least in part, on their ability to recapture the domestic trade apparently lost in the wartime period. Therefore, in conclusion, the future outlook for these four leading ports of the Fifth District depends upon the changes in the level and di rectional flow of foreign and domestic trade and the competitive position of the District ports in terms of service and facilities as compared with other ports in the United States. Business Conditions Continued from page 1 per cent, respectively. Only hardware and industrial supply firms recorded February sales larger than sales of a year ago. The real trend of retail trade may be obscured during March and April by the shift of Easter from late March, last year, to April 17 of this year. Thus current weekly reports showing fair-sized losses from a year earlier are due in part to a late Easter. to December fell only 2 per cent from December to January, to a level 28 per cent below January, 1948, on a seasonally adjusted basis. The year-to-year change in manufacturers’ shipments of furniture of 28 per cent in January compares with a national decrease in retail furniture store sales of 12 per cent in this period and with a 7 per cent gain in Fifth District furniture store sales. Production Lumber production in the area ran ahead of ship ments, which in turn were running above new orders through February. Some change appeared around the middle of March, when new orders exceeded both pro duction and shipments. However, production and ship ments are running moderately below those of a year ago. These figures place the lumber situation in too favorable a light, for they represent the large mills which have continued to operate, while many of the small mills have closed down. Lumber prices have weakened somewhat further in recent weeks. Both cotton consumption and the number of hours run by active cotton spindles in the District during February showed a 2 per cent improvement over Janu ary, on a seasonally adjusted basis, but in each case the level of activity was 15 per cent under a year ago. Normally, there is a seasonal rise in cotton mill activity from February to March, but trade and labor market information indicate this will not be the case this year. Rather, there is a widening of curtailments which is showing up in both reduced employment and shortening of working hours. Cigarette output in the District improved 5 per cent from January to February after allowance for the nor mal seasonal variation. February production was 1 per cent smaller than in that month last year. The growth in cigarette output in the District in the last few years has been effected mainly in North Carolina, the Virginia output having remained relatively stable. This seems to be another case of an industry moving closer to the raw material. Furniture shipment data by manufacturers located mainly in this area are available for January. Those shipments which declined 35 per cent from November Construction placed under contract in February in the District normally falls 5 per cent below that placed in January. In February of this year, total construction contract awards rose 4 per cent, thus raising the sea sonally adjusted index 10 per cent. Total awards in February, however, were 22 per cent under those of February, 1948. Residential construction contract awards, on a seasonally adjusted basis, rose 11 per cent from January to February, but in the latter month were 38 per cent under those of a year ago. The spread of unemployment and reduction of working hours is likely to cause a downward trend in residential construction in this area. Such a trend is already in evidence in factory buildings and could extend to commercial buildings with MONTHLY REVIEW any considerable decline in trade levels. Commercial building has been sustained at peak levels in this area for the past three years. Bituminous coal output, seasonally adjusted, in the Fifth District during February continued the downward trend which has been in evidence since October. All sources o f shipments through the ports of Baltimore, Hampton Roads, and Charleston thus far this year are below levels o f a year ago. However, the Hampton Roads ports are handling a larger proportion of the small export trade this year than last year. Coal prices have fallen moderately in the past month but the strike in March has reduced stocks to a point where the price situation may hold firm temporarily. The bituminous coal industry, however, is undergoing a period of ad justment in fitting production to a reduced market de mand, and lower prices are about the only satisfactory way yet devised to accomplish this end. Lower prices find their reflection in the elimination of high-cost mines from production. Lower prices also seem desirable in order for the industry to maintain its long-run com petitive position. The cotton textile industry stepped up output some what more than seasonally from January to February, but the February level was 15 per cent under the level for that month last year. Lay-offs and shorter work weeks have become more widespread in this industry in March, and retailers’ and wholesalers’ purchases of cot ton goods have improved very little thus far. There has been considerable shifting of looms from construc tions showing price weakness, to those where prices are more firmly held. Prices of ducks, drills, osnaburgs, sheetings, and jeans have been marked down from *4 of a cent to 2y* cents in the month, to March 18, and there is still an insufficient amount of business to main tain current production. The price situation in hosiery appears, for the time being, to have stabilized, and some in the trade seem reasonably hopeful that improvement in production may occur by April. Others feel, however, that the spring season can be written off but that fall prospects are likely to be good. Both employment levels and the hours worked per week in the industry held steady in January and February, but were considerably under those of a year ago. Hours worked per week in the full-fashioned branch in North Carolina in January were 37.2, while seamless mills were running 31.9 hours. MARCH 1949 The rayon yarn industry has announced production cut-backs at several plants in the District, arising from lack of orders from converters, cutters and weavers. Producers’ stocks of rayon yarns have been rising no tably and little or no idea is ventured as to the level of stocks held by the weaving and fabricating trades. Therefore, little idea can be expressed regarding the duration of the cut-back. Other Business Indicators Bank debits, which had fallen quite sharply on a sea sonally adjusted basis from October through January, recovered 3 per cent in February to a level 5 per cent ahead of February, 1948. This is somewhat difficult to explain since trade levels generally and payrolls which normally have an important influence on debits, were falling in this period. Business failures, seasonally adjusted, rose 5 per cent from January to February, to a level 61 per cent above that of a year ago. Failures, however, are still running less than half of what they were in the pre-war years, 1935 to 1939, but the upward trend is persistent. Electric power production, reflecting both the tem perate winter in the District and the slower manufac turing activity, fell 3 per cent from December to Janu ary. This index has shown a flat trend since last August. The January output of electric energy was 4 per cent higher than that of a year ago. Employment in manufacturing industries of the Dis trict, charted on page 1, shows moderate reductions from the peak levels of last fall in all states. This, of course, does not tell the entire story regarding manu facturing production, for hours of labor in many indus tries have been reduced in recent months even more than employment. There are several interesting things about the chart on page 1. The first is that employment in manufacturing industries of North Carolina in Janu ary, 1949, shows the least gain over the 1939 average of any of the District states. The second is that South Carolina is showing a secular growth in employment, whereas all other Fifth District states seem to have sta bilized the post-war levels of employment as far as secu lar trend is concerned. The third is that West Virginia, during and since the war, has shown the greatest degree of manufacturing employment stability of any Fifth District state. 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 ON D (A ll Figures in Thousands) M arch 16,Change in A m t. From 1949 2-16-49 3-17-48 ITE M S T otal Gold Reserves ...........................$1,053,896 Other Reserves ..................................... 20,173 Total Reserves ................................... 1,074,069 Bills Discounted ................................... 13,218 Industrial Advances ............................. 45 Govt. Securities, Total ...................... 1,380,228 Bonds .................................................... 615,502 N otes .................................................... 21,894 Certificates ......................................... 416,238 Bills ...................................................... 326,594 T otal Bills & Securities .................... 1,393,491 U ncollected Items ....................... ......... 278,182 Other Assets ......................................... 38,906 Total Assets ....................................... 2,784,648 + — — — — — — — — — — + — — Federal R eserve N otes in C ir........... $1,580,900 Deposits, Total ..................................... 909,510 M em bers’ Reserves ........................... 845,163 U. S. Treas. Gen. A c c t ..................... 24,276 Foreign .................................................. 35,873 Other Deposits ....................... ........... 4,198 D eferred A vailability Items .......... 249,874 Other Liabilities ................................. 664 Capital A ccounts ................................. 43,700 Total Liabilities ............................... 2,784,648 — 10,835 — 52,011 + 7,359 — 59,855 + 421 + 2,390 4,682 2,292 3,146 23 51,570 26,015 2,536 11,267 11,752 54,739 31,745 11,650 36,936 6 (000 om itted) F ebruary 1949 — 34,680 — 1,167 — 35,847 — 6,991 + 16 + 57,128 + 24 9 ,0 4 2 — 93,323 + 137,646 — 236,237 + 50,153 — 9,907 + 11,353 + 15,752 — + + — + — + — + + 5 + 24,296 + 44 + 1,570 — 36,936 Dist. o f Columbia W ashington M aryland Baltim ore ........... Cumberland Frederick ........... H agerstown North Carolina A sheville ............. Charlotte ............. Durham ............... Greensboro ........ K inston ............... R aleigh ................. W ilm ington ......... W ilson ................. W inston-Salem South Carolina Charleston ........... Columbia ............. Greenville ........... Spartanburg V irgin ia Charlottesville Danville ............... L ynchburg ........... N ew port News N orfolk Portsm outh ........ R ichm ond ............. R oanoke ............... W est V irgin ia ............. Bluefield Charleston ........... Clarksburg ......... Huntington ......... Parkersburg ..... 70,498 76,949 95,723 28,586 13,000 3,188 3,209 100 6,192 15,752 51 R E P O R T IN G M EM BER B A N K S 5th D ISTRIC T (A ll Figures in Thousands) M arch 16, 1949 ITEM S $ 852,5 6 3 ^ 409,642 196,484 254,352 1,680,764 103,381 186,385 44,726 1,216,581 129,691 232,089 165,501+ 61,437 554,563 49,375 3,596,292 Total Loans ...................................... Bus. & A g r i.................................... Real Estate Loans ..................... A ll Other Loans ......................... T otal Security H oldings ............... U . S. Treasury Bills ................. U . S. Treasury Certificates U. S. Treasury Notes ............... U. S. Govt. Bonds ..................... Other Bonds, Stocks & Sec. . Cash Item s in Process o f Col. . Due fro m Banks ............................ Currency & Coin ............................ R eserve w ith F. R. Banks ......... Other Assets .................................... Total Assets ....................................... Total Demand Deposits .................... $2,759,915 Deposits o f Individuals ................ 2,045,631 Deposits o f U. S. Govt.................... 91.725 Deposits o f State & L ocal Govt... 191,433 Deposits o f Banks ........................... 382,413* Certified & Officer’ s Checks ........ 48,713 T otal Tim e Deposits ........................... 588,335 Deposits o f Individuals .................. 567,377 Other Tim e Deposits ...................... 20,958 Liabilities fo r B orrow ed M oney ...... 4,900 A ll Other Liabilities ........................ 21,470 Capital A ccounts ................................... 221,672 Total Liabilities ............................... 3,596,292 Change in A m t. From 2-16-49 3-17-48 __ 2,934 + 24,978 — — 934 1,958 — + 18,965 3,132 + 14,862 2,239 + — 78,592 + 12,058 + 48,339 1,921 + + 9,419 2,723 + — 51,690 683 + — 89,254 4,054 + + 4,594 2,677 + + 9,935 + 10,752 — 3,462 + 18,276 — — 766 58 + 59,332 3,371 + — 5,287 975 + + 42,440 + 6,138 + + + 39,916 8,802 18,448 + 7,878 + 6,430 — 1,642 485 + + 1,166 681 + + + 2,100 2,583 1,556 42,440 + + + — — — — — + — + + + S TA TE S Feb. 1949 2 Mos. 1949 + 4 — 56 — 11 — 82 — 14 — 5 — 22 $ 33,980,000 8,485,000 30,548,000 3,362,000 15,385,000 12,376,000 $104,136,000 Total Deposits .............. $ 668,049 $ 630,324 $1,390,822 $1,366,497 831,293 18,181 15,648 23,424 826,086 17,825 16,087 22,911 1,773,827 38,186 31,981 50,028 1,789,654 38,215 33,493 49,934 41,789 214,765 76,329 69,657 12,735 108,318 27,768 12,830 103,803 42,314 203,827 74,211 65,360 9,719 78,199 28,815 10,245 103,140 92,893 447,844 165,782 144,607 27,280 216,765 60,309 27,890 223,359 92,792 444,254 170,216 143,702 22,997 172,831 65,381 27,250 224,238 53,877 83,384 70,739 42,363 45,655 87,895 71,490 42,315 115,150 176,894 155,374 91,814 104,649 179,305 153,779 94,126 19,299 21,774 32,013 28,265 156,509 17,736 427,929 78,264 17,129 22,351 33,585 27,791 153,337 17,239 388,338 73,228 44,270 47,781 71,019 60,866 340,472 37,368 913,779 170,519 43.541 53,271 74,657 62,162 337,853 38,639 816,108 158,075 40,706 124,042 25,852 53,119 23,194 36,905 119,905 26,768 49,177 21,324 87,012 271,207 58,787 121,742 50,754 82,288 255,380 60,663 110,309 47,566 $3,523,654 $3,363,495 $7,506,381 $7,313,825 F ebruary 1949 — — + — — — — 11 41 7 87 13 15 25 February 1947 F ifth D istrict S tates: Cotton consum ed ................ 329,372 Cotton G row ing S tates: Cotton consumed ................ 574,577 Cotton on hand Feb. 28 in consum ing establishments 1,401,677 storage & com presses .... 7,461,960 United S tates: Cotton consumed .................. 640,182 Cotton on hand Feb. 28 in consum ing establishments 1,617,962 storage & com presses ..... 7,500,407 Spindles active, U. S..............20,758,000 S ou rce: 369,702 693,920 2,457,501 2,696,237 4,323,886 4,788,678 785,677 4,844,239 5,431,140 2,244,151 4,474,308 21,485,000 Departm ent o f Comm erce. N o. Carolina S o u rce : A u g. 1 to Feb. 29 1949 1948 1,894,200 4,408,512 COTTON C O N SU M PTIO N —F IF T H % Change from 2 Mos. 1948 176,850 181,157 209,820 358,007 442,042 D IS T R IC T So. C arolina 140,063 148,439 159,882 288,502 336,201 V irgin ia District 12,459 16,026 17,753 28,485 36,191 829,372 329,596 369,702 646,509 814.434 Departm ent o f Commerce. P R IC E S OF U N FIN IS H E D C O TTO N T E X T IL E S Printcloths, Tw ill Sateen Ducks, D E PO SITS IN M U T U A L S A V IN G S B A N K S 8 B altim ore Banks 2 Months 1948 F ebruary 1949 .......... January 1949 ............ February 1948 .......... 2 Months 1949 .......... 2 Months 1948 .......... C O N STR U C TIO N CO N TRA C TS A W A R D E D M aryland .................. $20,339,000 Dist. o f Columbia 4,625,000 13,233,000 V irgin ia .................... 1,516,000 W est V irgin ia ......... N orth Carolina ..... 7,414,000 South Carolina ..... .... 6,036,000 F ifth D istrict ..........$53,163,000 S ou rce: F. W . D odge Corp. 2 Months 1949 COTTON C O N SU M P T IO N A N D ON H AND-— B A L E S 19,209 17,905 29,590 11,379 8,236 8,671 18,046 20,278 2,232 7,500 4,216 8,259 6,138 ♦Net Figures, reciprocal balances being eliminated. **Less losses fo r bad debts. % Change from Feb. 1948 D istrict Totals February 1948 N o te : Feb. 28, 1949 Jan. 31, 1949 Feb. 29, 1948 $390,970,880 $391,302,897 $391,579,209 ( 1) avers ( ) 1 average (6).. b. 1949 Jan. 1949 Feb. 1948 64.55 70.33 58.23 63.60 56.57 87.99 61.46 65.04 71.27 58.26 64.90 57.01 89.52 60.41 96.22 121.76 80.62 116.15 73.16 128.15 63.22 The above figures are those fo r the approxim ate qquantities o f cloth obtainable from a pound o f cotton with adjustm ent fo r salable waste. S ource: Departm ent o f A griculture. [10] MONTHLY REVIEW MARCH 1949 B U ILD IN G P E R M IT FIGU R ES W H O L E S A L E T R A D E , 190 FIRM S February 1949 N et Sales February 1949 com pared with Feb. Jan. 1948 1949 Total V aluation F ebruary 1949 February 1948 M aryland B altim ore ................................................ $ 2,902,415 Cum berland ....................................... 33,115 Frederick .............................................................4,450 H agerstow n .................. ..................... 111,290 S alisbury ........................................... 426,865 V irgin ia 100,215 D anville ............................................. L yn chburg ......... ....... ........................ 349,515 N orfolk ....................................... ........ 493,795 Petersburg ......................................... 70,620 Portsm outh ................ ...................... 109,600 R ichm ond ........................................... 1,252,664 Roanoke ....................................... ...... 381,625 W est V irgin ia Charleston ......................................... 1,096,594 Clarksburg ......................................... 131,835 H untington ....................................... 155,675 North Carolina Asheville ............................................. 117,940 Charlotte ........................................... 1,580,900 Durham ............................................... 704,055 Greensboro ......................................... 507,310 H igh Point ....................................... 123,243 R aleigh ............................................... 303,410 R ocky Mount ................................... 107,150 Salisbury ........................................... 77,245 W inston-Salem ................................. 317,538 South Carolina Charleston ......................................... 505,275 Columbia ........................................... 1,166,805 Greenville ........................................... 450,150 Spartanburg ..................................... 95,480 Dist. o f Columbia 2,809,405 W ashington ..... ................................. D istrict Totals ................................. 2 Months ........................................... L IN E S $ 1,420,575 7,260 13,450 28,345 66,815 164,032 835,942 1,721,365 49,750 62,110 1,263,182 130,208 Dry Goods (1 2 )* ..................... Groceries (6 0 )* ....................... P aper & products (5 )* ......... T obacco & products ( 8 ) * ...... Miscellaneous (6 9 )* ............... D istrict Totals (190)* ....... 414,580 28,060 743,915 W est V irgin ia ...... V irgin ia ................... M aryland ................. F ifth District U nited States , % in D istrict S ou rce: Feb. 1949 Feb. 1948 12,608 1,280 77 13,965 44,458 31.4 13,578 1,450 123 15,151 50,395 30.1 — — — — — M aryland (5 )* ......................... Dist. o f Columbia (6 )* ........ V irginia (1 9)* ......................... W est V irgin ia (1 0 )* ............... N orth Carolina ( 1 3 ) * ............. South Carolina (1 0 )* ............... D istrict (6 3)* ....................... 4,318,472 $16,424,416 $37,057,853 26.433 2,674 154 29,261 91,628 31.9 7 12 37 8 12 IN D IV ID U A L 2 Mos. % 1948 Change 29,173 3,239 282 32,694 106,175 30.8 — — — — — 9 17 45 11 14 February 1949 % Change from Feb. 1948 Sm oking & Chewing tobacco (Thousands o f lbs.) ............ 14,005 Cigarettes (Thousands) ........25,358,189 Cigars (Thousands) ................ 410,170 Snuff (Thousands o f lbs.) .... 3,133 — 5 + 9 —11 — 7 % Change fro m 2 Mos. 1949 _2 Mos. '48 28,684 53,363,790 848,456 6,669 —6 + 5 —8 —8 + 2 CITIES + 4 + 26 + 6 + 1 + 3 + 13 + 25 + 17 —2 — 13 — 36 + 30 — 30 + 24 Baltim ore W ashington Other Cities D istrict P ercentage change in Feb. 1949 sales com pared with sales in Feb. '4 8 : — 2 — 4 + 8 — 4 0 Percentage change in 2 mos. sales 1949 com pared with 2 mos. in 1948: — 4 — 3 + 5 — 2 0 P erctg. change in receivables Feb. 28, 1949 fro m those on Feb. 29, 1948: + 3 + 8 +21 + 9 +12 Num ber o f Failures D istrict U. S. Dun & Bradstreet — 26 — 15 — 16 — 19 — 19 + 6 Perctg. change in outstanding orders Feb. 28, 1949 from Feb. 29, 1948: — 21 — 27 — 23 — 28 — 24 P ercentage o f receivables as o f February 1, 1949 collected in F ebruary: 32 47 44 43 42 COM M ERCIAL F A IL U R E S S ou rce: + 3 —21 P erctg. change in stocks on Feb. 28, 1949 com pared with Feb. 29, 1948: — 16 — 3 — 7 + 2 — 6 Treasury Department. 23 24 14 47 20 — 7 — 3 0 D E P A R T M E N T ST O R E T R A D E TOBACCO M A N U F A C T U R IN G F ebruary 1949 January 1949 , February 1948 2 Months 1949 2 Months 1948 1 2 1 9 4 3 1 ♦Number o f reporting firms. Bureau o f Mines. M O N TH S + 1 + 8 + 11 — — — + + + + + 4 + 26 —2 + 13 + 25 Baltim ore, Md., (5 )* ............... W ashington, D. C., (6 )* ...... Richm ond, V a., (6 )* ............... L ynchburg, V a., ( 3 ) * ............. Charleston, W . Va., (3 )* ...... Charlotte, N. C., (3 )* ............. Columbia, S. C., ( 3 ) * ............. Richm ond S o u rce : 14 18 41 23 3 2 3 Percentage com parison o f sales in periods named with sales in same periods in 1948 Feb. 1949 2 Mos. 1949 S TATE S 280,880 281,025 597,200 44,794 2 Mos. 1949 % Change + + + + + — — R E P O R T ON R E T A IL F U R N IT U R E S A L E S SOFT C O A L PR O D U C TIO N IN THOU SAN D S OF TONS REGIONS — 9 — 4 — 13 + 6 — 13 + 23 — 10 — 13 + 1 + 1 — 4 S ou rce: Departm ent o f Comm erce. ♦Number o f reporting firms. 85,452 726,488 921,095 1,343,579 490,975 361,165 51,000 61,325 411,377 $16,486,179 $29,227,617 _ 7 — 3 — 5 + 21 + 5 0 + 3 — 13 + 5 — 1 — 1 A uto supplies (9 )* ........ E lectrical goods (8 )*.. H ardware (.8) * ............ Stock Feb. 28, 1949 com pared with Feb. 29 Jan. 31 1948 1949 685 566 417 1,251 773 P ercentage o f instalm ent receivables as o f Feb. 1, 1949 collected in F e b .: 15 20 19 20 19 Total Liabilities D istrict U. S. $ 518,000 530,000 170,000 1,048,000 259,000 $27,567,000 19,159,000 25,619,000 46,726,000 38,584,000 M aryland Dist. o f Col. V irgin ia W . V irgin ia N . Carolina S. Carolina Percentage change in Feb. 1949 sales fro m Feb. 1948 sales, by S tates: — 4 + 8 — 2 — 1 — 8 — 1 P ercentage change in 2 m onths 1949 fro m 2 m onths 1948 sales: — 4 + 5 — 3 + 2 — 8 + 2 H i] FEDERAL RESERVE BANK OF RICHMOND AVER AG E D AILY TO T A L DEPOSITS* OF MEMBER BANKS % of $ thousands U.S. Last Half of Jan. 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) 1,020,733 640,850 379,883 903,763 881,766 21,997 1,301,179 296,375 1,004,804 618,483 824,817 370,895 453,922 436,529 5,105,504 107,944 .95 .60 .35 .84 .82 .02 1.21 ,28 .93 .57 .76 .34 .42 .40 4.73 100.0 % of $ thousands U.S. Last Half of Feb. 1,009,323 630,877 378,446 916,854 894,516 22,338 1,304,084 307,117 996,967 614,757 804,951 361,762 443,189 428,717 5,078,686 106,912 PRINCIPAL ASSETS AND LIABILITIES FIFTH D IST RIC T M E M B E R BANKS BILLIONS OF DOLLARS .94 .59 .35 .86 .84 .02 1.22 .29 .93 .58 .75 .34 .41 .40 4.75 100.0 ♦Excluding interbank demand deposits. BUSINESS IND EXES— FIFTH FEDERAL RESERVE DISTRICT AVERAGE DAILY, 1935-39=100— SEASONALLY ADJUSTED Feb. _______________________________________ 1949 Automobile Registration1 ...................................... Bank Debits ......................................................................... Bituminous Coal Production ............................... ........... Building Contracts Awarded ............................... ........... Residential Construction Contracts ................................ Building Permits Issued ....................................... . Business Failures — No........................................ ............ Cigarette Production ............................................. Cotton Consumption ............................................... ........... Cotton Spindle Hours ........................................... Department Store Sales3 ..................................... ............ Department Store Stocks ..................................... . Electric Power Production ................................. Employment — Mfg. Industries1.......................... Furniture Orders3 ................................................... Furniture Shipments3 ............................................. Furniture Unfilled Orders3 ................................... Furniture Sales — Retail ..................................... Gasoline Consumption ........................................... Life Insurance Sales ............................................. Wholesale Trade: Automotive Supplies2 ......................................... Drugs .................................................................... ........... Dry Goods3 ........................................................... Electrical Goods2 ............................................... Groceries ............................................................... Hardware ............................................................. Industrial Supplies2 ........................................... Paper and Its Products2..................................... Tobacco and Its Products2............................... ............ 1 Not seasonally adjusted. 2 1938-41=100. 8 Revised Series— back figures available on request. Jan. 1949 Dec. 1948 Feb. 1948 264 134 318 154 236 250 232 43 214r 126 127 301 r 316r 267 130 204 199 488 271 243 226 146 324 159 243 283 267 49 211 140 134 346 335 276 132 257 204 526 273 193 231 107 313 162 335 446 236 28 228 151 153 308 339 252 134 311 287 749 246 159 231 265 259 157 84 236 127 394 132 96 280 267 114 96 241 145 399 134 97 213 238 180 89 252 163 448 163 105 286 259 176 88 246 123 265 160 96 329 148 260 277 237 45 225 128 130 299 304 [12] Feb. 1949 from Jan. 49 Feb. 48 + 3 — 4 + 10 +11 + 2 + 5 + 5 + 2 + 2 — 1 — 4 + 5 — 9 —22 —38 0 +61 — 1 — 15 — 15 — 3 — 10 — 3 + 7 + 8 + 5 — 5 — 3 +38 — 13 — 2 — 12 — 1 — 1 — 1 — 7 0 — 11 __ 5 — 4 + 3 +49 — 18 0
@FedFRASER