The full text on this page is automatically extracted from the file linked above and may contain errors and inconsistencies.
MONTHLY REVIEW CREDI T, B U S I N E S S AND A G R I C U L T U R A L CONDI TI ONS FEDERAL RESERVE BANK OF RICHMOND RICHMOND, VIRGINIA May 31, 1937 April 1937 Debits to individual accounts (24 cities)................................ Number of business failures, 5th district.................................. Liabilities involved in failures, 5th district............................... Cotton consumption, 5th district (Bales)................................ Building Permits issued (31 cities)......................................... Value of building permits (31 cities)....................................... Value of contracts awarded, 5th district.................................. Total sales, 57 department stores, 5th district.......................... Total sales, 56 wholesale firms in 5 lines.................................. Registrations, new passenger automobiles................................ Bituminous coal production, U. S. (Tons)...... ....................... T H E curve of improvement in business tended to flatten some what in April and early May, but on the whole trade and industry con tinued on levels materially above those of the corresponding period last year. The earlier Easter date this year caused March to show an exceptional volume of trade, and naturally April showed some recession. Sales in de partment stores in the Fifth district last month lacked about 3 per cent of equaling the volume of sales in April last year, but Easter’s seasonal buying was done in April last year and in March this year. Wholesale trade, which is less affected by the Easter date, showed about the same rate of increase last month over 1936 as in earlier months this year. Regis tration of new passenger automobiles in the district showed a smaller increase in April over April 1936 registrations than earlier months in 1937. The volume of work provided for in building permits issued last month was smaller than that provided for in March, but was 12 per cent larger than the April 1936 valu ation. Coal production in April this year dropped sharply below the March figure, chiefly because fear April 1936 $1,314,915,000 36 $ 348,000 332,253 3,381 $ 8,677,686 $ 32,606,300 $ 9,222,094 $ 5,585,679 26,987 25,735,000 $1,098,267,000 37 $ 437,000 276,894 3,236 $ 7,781,193 $ 19,460,300 $ 9,500,611 $ 4,672,091 25,644 30,452,000 % Change +25.0 — 2.7 —20.4 +20.0 + 4.5 +11.5 +67.6 — 2.9 +19.6 + 5.2 —15.5 of a possible general strike in bitumi nous fields on April 1 had stimulated production in March and built up ex cessive reserve stocks, which were drawn upon in April. Tobacco manu facturing last month declined from the high level of March, but in all lines except snuff continued above 1936 out put. Cotton consumption in Fifth dis trict textile mills declined in April from the record level of March, but was 20 per cent above consumption in April last year. Debits to individual accounts in April showed a seasonal decrease from March debits, but were nearly 20 per cent higher than debits in April 1936. Spot cotton prices de clined in the latter half of April and the first half of May, but are still higher than at this season in any year except 1935 since 1930. Most of the changes on the statement of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond in the past month were seasonal or were of relatively little importance. The most interesting development of the past month was the increase in reserve require ments on May 1 which brought these requirements up to double the base percentages prescribed in the Fed eral Reserve Act. The increase on May 1 was the 2 MONTHLY REVIEW third since last summer, all of which were put into ef fect by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System in order to impound some of the large excess reserves which accumulated in recent years. The com posite statement of regularly reporting member banks showed only minor changes during the past month. Employment showed little net change during April. Some decrease in industrial workers was probably off set or perhaps exceeded by increases, largely seasonal, in such fields as construction and agriculture. Agricul tural prospects are good on the whole in the Fifth district, and farm work is farther advanced than at this time last year. It is too early to estimate probable yields, but grain crops are in excellent condition, and weather has been favorable for land preparation and planting of Spring crops. Actual growth has recently been retarded by cool weather, but with plenty of mois ture in the soil this backwardness will be overcome quickly when warm weather comes. Reserve Bank Statement ITEMS May 15 1937 $ Discounts held ................................... Open market paper ......................... ....... 363 149 2,667 Government securities ..................... ........ 133,035 $136,214 Total earning assets ..................... . 195,474 Circulation of Fed. Res. notes........ ., , , 226,547 Members’ reserve deposits .............. 302,729 Cash reserves .................................... 69.66 Reserve ratio .................................... ........ 000 omitted May 15 April 15 1936 1937 $ 414 120 2,704 131,609 $134,847 196,191 213,880 297,126 69.85 $ 46 191 4,164 116,716 $121,117 172,999 177,110 273,952 70.51 Total earning assets of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond increased by $1,367,000 between April 15 and May 15, both this year. Discounts held de clined by $51,000 and industrial advances dropped by $37,000, while open market paper in the Bank’s port folio rose by $29,000 and Government securities owned increased by $1,426,000. As usually occurs at this sea son, the actual circulation of Federal Reserve notes dropped by $717,000 during the past month. Member bank reserve deposits rose by $12,667,000 between the middle of April and the middle of May, partly due to increased reserve requirements which went into effect on May 1. Most member banks had sufficient excess reserves to meet the higher requirements, but a rela tively small number found it necessary to add to their reserve deposits. The several changes mentioned in the statement, with others of less importance, raised the cash reserves of the Richmond Reserve bank by $5,603,000, but the ratio of cash reserves to note and deposit liabilities combined declined by 19/100ths of 1 point. Between May 15, 1936, and the corresponding date this year, all items on the statement increased except the portfolio of open market paper and loans made direct to industry for working capital, which declined $42,000 and $1,497,000, respectively. Discounts rose by $317,000 during the year, and Government securi ties owned increased by $16,319,000. The net change in total earning assets of the Bank was a rise of $15,097,000 during the year. The volume of Federal Reserve notes in actual circulation rose by $22,475,000 between the middle of May last year and this, chiefly due to increased business activity and higher price levels in many lines this year. Member bank reserve deposits rose by $49,437,000 during the period under review, the increase being only partly accounted for by 100 per cent higher reserve requirements in force in May this year. Much of the increase in reserves was caused by further accumulation of funds for which member banks were unable to find profitable employ ment. Cash reserves of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond rose by $28,777,000 during the year, but the ratio of cash reserves to note and deposit liabilities combined decreased by 85/100ths of 1 point. Statement of 41 Member Banks ITEMS Total loans and discounts................ . . . . Investments in securities .............. Reserve bal. with F. R. B a n k ........ Cash in vaults ................................... Demand deposits ............................... Time deposits ..................................... Money borrowed ................................. May 12 1937 $241,505 384,498 134,748 19,688 475,622 19*8,825 4,500 000 omitted April 14 1937 May 13 1936 $240,365 390,270 128,626 19,837 470,213 197,083 0 $204,337 394,585 126,883 17,685 414,668 193,436 0 The principal items on the statement of condition of 41 regularly reporting member banks in 12 cities of the Fifth Federal Reserve district are shown in the accompanying table for three dates, thus affording opportunity for comparison of the latest available fig ures with those a month and a year earlier. The fig ures in the table are not necessarily the highest or lowest figures which occurred during the periods re viewed, but represent the composite condition of the 41 banks on the report dates. Total loans and discounts rose by $1,140,000 during the past month and $37,168,000 during the year. On the other hand investments in securities decreased by $5,772,000 between April 14 and May 12, 1937, and dropped by $10,087,000 since May 13, 1936. Aggre gate reserve balance of the reporting banks rose by $6,122,000 between April 14 and May 12, and on the latter date showed an increase of $7,865,000 since May 13, 1936. Cash in vaults declined by $149,000 during the month, but rose by $2,003,000 for the year. Total deposits rose last month and on May 12 were much higher than a year ago. Demand deposits rose by $5,409,000 during the month and $60,954,000 during the year, while time deposits rose by $1,742,000 and $5,389,000 last month and year, respectively. For the first time in several years the May 12 statement of reporting banks showed money borrowed of $4,500,000 from sources other than the Reserve bank. This sum represented the temporary need of one institution for additional funds, the bank evidently borrowing in pref erence to selling securities, of which it held a large volume. Time and Savings Deposits Time deposits in forty-one reporting member banks in the Fifth district and aggregate deposits in ten mutual savings banks in Baltimore totaled $415,197,167 at the end of April 1937, a higher figure than either $412,452,008 reported at the end of March this year or $400,694,087 at the end of April last year. Both MONTHLY REVIEW the savings banks and the member banks reported higher figures at the end of April than either a month or a year earlier, the savings banks gaining 4.4 per cent and the member banks 2.8 per cent during the year. The month’s gains were less than 1 per cent in each group of banks. Debits to Individual Accounts CITIES April 1937 000 omitted March April 1937 1936 % of Change Month Year Maryland Baltimore ................ $ Cumberland ______ Hagerstown ............ 3 Md. C ities___ 370,813 $ 385,316 $ 317,749 9,122 9,549 8,733 9,309 9,121 7,805 389,244 403,986 334,287 — — + — D. of Columbia Washington ............ 1 D. of Col. City . 280,253 280,253 286,123 286,123 248,450 248,450 — 2.1 +12.8 — 2.1 +12.8 Virginia Danville ................. Lynchburg .............. Newport News ___ Norfolk ................... Portsmouth .............. Richmond ............... Roanoke ................. 7 Va. Cities........ 8,460 15,732 9,954 52,591 4,240 150,047 33,375 274,399 9,392 15,636 10,120 56,324 4,211 153,981 30,122 279,786 6,366 13,917 8,876 46,659 3,703 124,449 25,711 229,681 — 9.9 + .6 — 1.6 — 6.6 + .7 — 2.6 +10.8 — 1.9 West Virginia Charleston .............. Huntington ............ 2 W. Va. Cities . 55,157 19,744 74,901 54,988 20,381 75,369 43,955 16,758 60,713 North Carolina Asheville ................ Charlotte .................. Durham . . . . ___ . . . Greensboro .............. Raleigh ........ ........... Wilmington ............ Winston-Salem ___ 7 N. C. Cities 13,884 62,930 24,238 18,741 40,096 12,240 42,419 214,548 13,500 69,320 26,895 20,076 42,873 12,603 43,422 228,689 10,553 48,374 21,038 14,351 29,364 9,622 31,281 164,583 + — — — — — — — 2.8 9.2 9.9 6.6 6.5 2.9 2.3 6.2 +31.6 +30.1 +15.2 +30.6 +36.5 4-27.2 +35.6 +30.4 South Carolina Charleston .............. Columbia ................. Greenville ................ Spartanburg .......... 4 S. C. Cities ___ 19,577 28,937 22,325 10,731 81,570 20,286 31,982 23,077 10,872 86,217 16,074 21,590 15,656 7,233 60,553 — — — — — 3.5 9.5 3.3 1.3 5.4 +21.8 +34.0 +42.6 +48.4 +34.7 — 3.3 +19.7 District, 24 Citie® $ 1,314,915 $ 1,360,170 $ 1,098,267 3.8 4.5 2.1 3.6 +16.7 + 4.5 +19.3 +16.4 +32.9 +13.0 +12.1 +12.7 +14.5 +20.6 +29.8 +19.5 + .3 +25.5 — 3.1 +17.8 — .6 +23,4 Debits to individual, firm and corporation accounts in the banks of twenty-four fifth district cities include all checks debited against customers’ accounts in both member and non-member banks, and furnish a good indication of the volume of business passing through the banks. Debits in April show a seasonal decline of $45,255,000, or 3.3 per cent, in comparison with debits in March, which was a longer month and also contained a large volume of income tax payments around March 15. In comparison with debits in April 1936, debits in April this year show an increase of $216,648,000, or 19.7 per cent, which reflects for the most part an increase in trade and industry this year. Debits figures in April 1937 were higher than April 1936 figures in every reporting city in the Fifth dis trict, the increases ranging upward from 4.5 per cent in Cumberland, Maryland, to 48.4 per cent in Spartan burg, S. C. Only one city increased less than 10 per cent, nine cities rose between 10 and 20 per cent, five cities rose between 20 and 30 per cent, seven cities rose between 30 and 40 per cent, and two cities rose between 40 and 50 per cent. 3 Commercial Failures Business failures in the Fifth Federal Reserve dis trict in April 1937 showed a decrease of 1 in compari son with failures in April 1936, and aggregate liabili ties involved also were lower in the 1937 month. The number of failures and total of liabilities involved in the Fifth district and the United States for several periods, as reported by Dun & Bradstreet, were as follows: Period Number of Failures District U. S. April 1937 ................. March 1937 ................ April 1936 ............... 4 Months, 1937 .......... 4 Months, 1936 .......... 36 53 37 194 174 786 820 830 3,138 3,709 Total Failures District U. S. $ 348,000 359,000 437,000 $1,632,000 3,667,000 $ 8,906,000 10,922,000 14,157,000 $38,260,000 62,621,000 Employment Seasonal increases in employment occurred in sev eral lines of work during the past month. Building tradesmen and painters are in active demand, and more employment is available for agricultural workers as the season advances. Industries of the Fifth district continued operations at high levels, and total payrolls increased at many plants. Payrolls have recently in creased faster than reemployment, due to numerous wage advances granted either voluntarily or as a result of organized effort by labor. A number of small, local strikes occurred, but on the whole differences between labor and management have been settled with little trouble. The following figures, compiled for the most part by the Bureau of Labor Statistics from reports fur nished by a large number of identical industries, show the trends of employment and payrolls in the Fifth district geographical divisions from February to March 1937, the latest available figures: STATES .............. .............. W^st Virginia ..................... .............. North Carolina ..................... South Carolina ..................... ..................... Percentage change from February to March In number In amount on payroll of payroll + 1.4 + 1.0 +1-9 + 3.0 + 7.3 + 2.3 + 1.7 + 7.8 + 1.1 + 2.4 Coal Production There was a marked decline in bituminous coal pro duction in April in comparison with March this year, partly due to an unusually high rate of output in the earlier month as a result of strike threats and partly to restricted output in certain fields where strikes did develop in early April. Output of bituminous coal last month totaled only 25,735,000 net tons, compared with 51,315,000 tons mined in March 1937 and 30,452,000 tons in April 1936. On a daily basis, production of 1,021,000 tons in April 1937 was 46 per cent less than the daily output of 1,901,000 tons in March this year and 16 per cent less than 1,208,000 tons per day 4 MONTHLY REVIEW in April 1936. During the first four months of 1937 production of 160,100,000 net tons of bituminous coal exceeded production of 142,930,000 tons during the corresponding period last year by 12 per cent. Ship ments of coal through Hampton Roads ports this cal endar year to May 1 totaled 7,939,096 tons, 15 per cent more than 6,926,142 tons shipped through the same ports to May last year. In its May 8 report the Bureau of Mines gave State production figures for March 1937 and 1936, and the Fifth district coal states, which dug 28.5 per cent of the National total, were reported as follows: Production March 1937 (Tons) STATES West Virginia .............. Virginia ....................... Maryland ....................... 5th District ................. United States ............. .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... Production; Percentage March 1936 change (Tons) 12,950,000 1,494,000 194,000 14,638,000 51,315,000 8,807,000 767,000 125,000 9,699,000 31,527,000 + + + + + 47.0 94.8 55.2 50.9 62.8 Cotton Textiles The amount of cotton used in both the United States and the Fifth Reserve district declined in April from the record March figures, consumption on a daily basis falling 4.2 per cent in the Nation and 3.7 in the dis trict, but consumption figures continued much higher than those a year earlier. Consumption of cotton in the Fifth district in April 1937, March 1937 and April 1936 was as follows, in bales: No. Carolina Months So. Carolina Virginia District April March April 1937 1937 1936 183,425 198,392 149,089 133,239 143,873 113,758 15,589 15,852 14,047 332,253 358,117 276,894 4 Months, 4 Months, 1937 1936 728,229 580,2,96 530,283 438,081 58,473 55,070 1,316,985 1,073,447 The Bureau of the Census issued a report on April 20 on activity in the cotton spinning industry for March. On March 31 there were 27,024,970 spindles in place in the United States, of which 24,638,578, or 91.2 per cent, were active a total of 9,698,368,366 spin dle hours during the month, an average of 359 hours per spindle in place. In the Fifth Reserve district there were 12,356,468 spindles in place on March 31, of which 11,805,124, or 95.5 per cent, operated a total of 4,805,446,096 spindle hours in March, an average of 389 hours per spindle in place. South Carolina with an average of 423 hours per spindle in place led all states, while North Carolina with 363 hours tied for sixth place with Mississippi, and Virginia with 335 hours ranked ninth. Statistics on Cotton Spot cotton prices declined through April and the first two weeks in May, due to favorable weather for development of the new crop throughout most of the belt and heavy selling pressure from both domestic and foreign sources in early May. Cotton prices were also affected by sharp declines in the general level of prices of other commodities and securities. The fol lowing figures show recent trends in the spot market, and comparative per pound prices in eight earlier years on the corresponding Fridays nearest the 1937 dates: Middling Grade, % inch Upland Cotton, Per Pound Years 1937 1936 1935 1934 1933 1932 1931 1930 1929 Apr. 16 13.48 11.62 11.96 11.87 6.70 5.96 9.48 15.16 18.9(7 Apr. 23 Apr. 30 May 7 May 14 13.49 11.60 12.30 11.64 7.29 5.78 9.47 15.09 18.17 13.30 11.40 12.37 11.06 7.27 5.58 8.89 15.32 18.25 13.36 11.55 12.44 11.13 8.36 5.58 9.31 15.24 18.02 12.96 11.65 12.55 11.26 8.79 5.34 8.80 15.17 18.32 Cotton consumption figures released by the Census Bureau showed a decline in April from March of about 4 per cent on a daily basis, but exceeded April 1936 figures by 24.7 per cent. Bales of cotton consumed in the United States during the nine elapsed months of the present cotton year, beginning August 1, 1936, totaled 29.1 per cent more than the cotton used during the corresponding nine months ended April 30, 1936. Consuming establishments on April 30 this year held 67.1 per cent more cotton than a year earlier, but the backlog of cotton in public storage and compresses de clined 29.6 per cent during the year. Cotton Consumed and On Hand (Bales) April 1937 Fifth district states: Cotton consumed ............... Cotton growing states: Cotton consumed ................ Cotton on hand Apr. 30 in Consuming establishments Storage & compresses. . . . United States: Cotton consumed ................ Cotton on hand Apr. 30 in Consuming establishments Storage & compresses___ Exports of cotton .................. April 1936 332,253 276,894 2,803,042 2,233,851 595,608 486,697 5,010,763 3,912,201 1,630,605 4,104,772 972,464 5,878,897 Aug. 1 to April 30 This yr. Last yr. 718,947 576,762 6,010,883 4,667,761 1,987,280 4,213,860 373,158 1,189,605 5,989,676 352,710 4,762,357 5,167,070 Cotton seed received at United States mills between August 1, 1936, and April 30, 1937, totaled 4,415,228 tons, compared with 3,678,240 tons received in the nine months ended April 30, 1936. Of the receipts men tioned, North Carolina mills took 231,090 tons this year and 222,299 tons last year, and South Carolina mills received 218,298 tons and 204,303 tons in the two pe riods, respectively. The mills crushed 4,279,306 tons of seed in the period ended April 30 this year, and had 157,613 tons on hand at the end of the period, com pared with 3,669,931 tons crushed in the nine months ended April 30, 1936, and 97,884 tons on hand on that date. Tobacco Manufacturing Tobacco manufacturing slowed somewhat in April from other recent months, and showed smaller per centage increases over the rates of production in April last year. Output of tobacco products in April 1937 and April 1936 in the United States, according to the report of the Bureau of Internal Revenue, was as follows: 5 MONTHLY REVIEW April 1937 Smoking & Chewing Tobacco, Pounds .......... Cigarettes, Number ........ Cigars, Number .............. Snuff, Pounds ................. April 1936 26,785,686 12,209,822,610 453,007,930 3,242,079 25,882,084 11,868,891,200 411,605,582 3,371,486 % Change + 3.5 + 2.9 +10.1 — 3.8 No production figures were released on a State basis, but at the rate of production attained by Fifth district States in 1936 the district manufactured 84 per cent of all cigarettes, 45 per cent of the smoking and chewing tobacco and snuff, and 1 1 per cent of the cigars. Taxes paid to the Federal Treasury in April 1937 on tobacco manufacture totaled $43,148,122, compared with $41,896,642 paid in April 1936, an increase last month of 3.0 per cent. Construction __________ Building Peirmits Issued in April 1937 and 1936 i CITIES Permits Issued 1937 1936 Total Valuation 1937 1936 corresponding 1936 figures, although the increase last month was less than in other recent months. Permits for all types of construction numbered 3,381 in April this year, compared with 2,975 permits issued in March this year and 3,236 permits issued in April 1936. Esti mated valuation figures for permits issued last month totaled $8,677,686, a decrease of 1 1 per cent under $9,692,773 for March 1937 but 12 per cent above $7,781,193 for April 1936. Twenty-five of the thirtyone cities reported higher valuation figures for April this year than last. Contract award figures, collected by the F. W. Dodge Corporation, include rural as well as urban projects, and are a better measure of the volume of construction work than building permit figures. Contract award figures for March 1937 and 1936 are now available by States, and are as follows for the Fifth Reserve dis trict : Construction Contracts Awarded Baltimore, Md.................. .. Cumberland, Md.............. Frederick, Md.................. Hagerstown, Md.............. Salisbury, Md.................. Danville, Va, ................. Lynchburg, Va................ Norfolk, Va...................... Petersburg, Va................ Portsmouth, Va.............. Richmond, Va.................. Roanoke, Va. .................. Bluefield, W. Va............. Charleston, W. Va.......... Clarksburg, W. Va. . . . Huntington, W. Va. . . . Asheville, N. C................ Charlotte, N. C............... Durham, N. C................... Greensboro, N. C............. High Point, N. C............ Raleigh, N. C................... Rocky Mount, N. C. . . . Salisbury, N. C............... Winston-Salem, N. C. .. Charleston, S. C.............. Columbia, S. C................ Greenville, S. C............... Rock Hill, S. C................. Spartanburg, S. C. . . . Washington, D. C.......... 1,124 42 30 28 25 36 51 127 2 34 157 53 29 154 62 47 81 109 47 50 61 31 . 14 10 106 54 69 41 25 27 655 911 11 22 27 23 38 50 137 2 30 166 54 10 105 97 26 54 138 56 160 51 23 10 9 102 48 62 54 15 33 712 $2,129,160 44,126 68,752 33,735 49,250 47,759 84,169 205,985 29,100 72,650 454,056 178,023 100,350 312,498 63,635 73,620 83,308 409,300 116,576 69,706 160,399 111,725 13,375 37,300 275,845 110,005 176,609 73,023 40,677 73,820 2,979,150 $2,019,420 18,650 38,574 59,505 13,225 162,931 54,579 106,852 4,000 24,940 684,705 36,666 8,250 188,985 51,954 26,950 66,420 232,080 89,175 259,940 34,510 52,257 8,540 26,725 246,699 39,326 114,289 90,852 10,946 21,888 2,987,360 District Totals ............ .. 3,381 3,236 $8,677,686 $7,781,193 . Maryland D. of C........... Building permits issued in thirty-one Fifth district cities in April declined from those issued in March, but the valuation of work provided for continued above West Va.......... . No. Carolina... So. Carolina .,. STATES March 1937 Maryland ..................... D. of Col....................... Virginia ....................... West Va........................ No. Carolina ............. So. Carolina ................ District .............. March 1936 $ 3,771,800 3,887,100 5,488,300 1,279,000 7,907,800 2,170,500 $24,504,500 $ 3,185,300 1,664,900 3,564,100 1,719,800 5,546,900 1,573,400 $17,254,400 % Change + 18.4 +133.5 + 54.0 — 25.6 + 42.6 + 37.9 + 42.0 Automobile New Car Registrations Registrations of new passenger automobiles reflect consumer buying power. According to figures col lected by R. L. Polk & Company of Detroit, registra tion figures in Fifth Reserve district states in April 1937 and April 1936 and in the first four months of each year were as follows: Registrations of New Passenger Cars April 1937 April 1936 Change 4,671 3,061 6,001 4,590 5,995 2,669 5,315 3,700 5,605 4,090 4,846 2,088 — 12.1 — 17.3 + 7.1 + 12.2 + 23.7 + 27.8 15,630 10,236 17,642 11,653 18,692 9,882 12,734 10,700 15,032 10,068 13,424 7,003 + 22.7 — 4.3 + 17.4 + 15.7 + 39.2 + 41.1 . 26,987 25,644 + 83,735 68,961 +21.4 STATES District % 5.2 4 Months 4 Months % 1937 Change 1936 6 MONTHLY REVIEW Retail Trade, 28 Department Stores Baltimore Washington Other Cities District April 1937 sales, compared with sales in April 1936: — 1.1 — 6.5 — .6 — 3.6 Jan.-April 1937 sales, compared with sales in Jan.-April 1936: -j- 9.3 + 4.4 + 9.9 -| 7.1 Apr. 30, 1937, stocks, compared with stocks on Apr. 30, 1936: + 9.1 +14.5 +11.7 +11.9 Apr. 30, 1937, stocks, compared] with stocks on Mar. 31, 1937: + 1.5 + 1.3 + 4.2 + 1.8 Number of times stocks were turned in April 1937: .306 .312 .278 .304 Number of times stocks were turned since January 1, 1937: 1.196 1.265 1.125 1.214 Percentage of Apr. 1, 1937, receivables collected in April: 30.6 27.0 32.1 29.0 In addition to the 28 stores which reported on sales, stocks, receivables and collections, sales figures alone were received from 29 other stores representing for the most part smaller cities and towns. The sales in these 29 stores have been combined with sales in the 28 stores in the above table, and percentage changes calculated on a State basis, as follows: Va. W. Va. N. C, S. C. District 12* 10* 7* 13* 57* April 1937 sales, compared with sales in April 1936: + .1 + 2.0 — .9 < + 3.8 — 2.9t Jan.-April 1937 sales, compared with sales in Jan.-April 1936: +10.3 +18.9 +12.5 +16.3 + 8.2f * Number of reporting stores, t Includes stores in Baltimore and Washington. Wholesale Trade, 56 Firms 21 7 6 12 10 Groceries Dry Goods Shoes Hardware Drugs April 1937 sales, comparedl with sales in April 1936: +20.5 + 7.8 +21.9 +29.5 +15.6 April 1937 sales, compared with sales in March 1937: + 3.3 — 6.4 —25.5 + 1.9 — 3.2 Jan.-April 1937 sales, compared with sales in Jan.-April 1936: +15.5 + 9.5 +21.7 +26.7 +11.9 April 30, 1937, stocks, compared with stocks on Apr. 30, 1936: ........ +20.2(8*) +44.1(3*) +40.9(4*) + 6.4(7*) April 30, 1937, stocks, compared with stocks on Mar. 31, 1937: + 3.4(8*) — 3.8(3*) — 5.0(4*) 2.4(7*) ........ Percentage of collections in April to receivables April 1: 119.0(12*) 43.4(4*) 62.1(5*) 52.5(11*) 69.9(6*) * Number of reporting firms. (Compiled May 21, 1937) BUSINESS CONDITIONS IN THE UNITED STATES (Compiled by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System) Industrial activity in April and the first half of May was maintained at the relatively high level of recent months. The general level of wholesale commodity prices declined somewhat, reflecting considerable re ductions in prices of many raw materials and semi-fin ished products. Production, Employment, and Trade The Board’s seasonally adjusted index of industrial production in April continued at 118 percent of the 1923-1925 average. Manufacturing production rose further, reflecting increased output of durable goods. Activity at steel mills was at a rate slightly higher than in March and about equal to that in the peak month of 1929. Automobile production continued to expand. In the first three weeks of May output in these indus tries was maintained at the levels reached at the close of April. Increases in output in April were also re ported for lumber and plate glass. At textile mills where output has been at a high level in recent months there was a slight reduction in activity. At bituminous coal mines output declined sharply following an increase in March, when consumers ac cumulated stocks of coal in anticipation of a strike. Crude petroleum output, which had risen sharply from IN D U STR IA L PRODUCTION FACTORY EM PLOYM ENT AND PAYRO LLS PER CENT P ER C EN T 120 ----- 120 v 1 110 9 100 S ^s ' i r 90 Em ym pl<D ent 80 \ 70 R A 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 193? Index of physical volume of production, adjusted for seasonal varia tion, 1923-1925 average=100. By months, January 1929 through April 1937. 80 J 70 / 'v 1 PayT0lls_^ \ 60 A 1 fi ii 50 40 A a 100 90 r f \ \ 60 1 110 50 v' 40 30 30 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 Indexes of number employed and payrolls, without adjustment for seasonal variation, 1923-1925 average—100. By months, January 1929 to April 1937. Indexes compiled by the U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. 7 MONTHLY REVIEW November to March, showed further growth in April. Production of most metals also increased. Value of construction contracts awarded, as reported by the F. W. Dodge Corporation, increased more than seasonally from March to April and continued higher than a year ago, reflecting, as in earlier months of the year, a larger volume of residential building and of other privately-financed work. Contracts awarded for publicly-financed construction have been considerably smaller in the first four months of this year than in the corresponding period of 1936. Employment rose further between the middle of March and the middle of April. There was a consid erable growth in the number of persons employed in manufacturing and on the railroads, little change in those employed in the public utility industries and in trade, and a decline at bituminous coal mines. At fac tories the principal increases in employment were re ported by the steel, machinery, and automobile indus tries, while the number employed in the clothing indus try declined. Working forces at textile mills were maintained, although a decrease is usual at this season. Factory payrolls increased more than employment, re flecting chiefly further increases in wage rates. In April sales at department stores showed little change and mail order sales were also maintained at the March level, while sales at variety stores declined. showed further small advances. Since the middle of May prices of hogs and pork have advanced sharply and grain prices have also risen. Bank Credit Following upon the final increase in reserve require ments, which became effective on May 1, excess reserves of member banks declined from $1,600,000,000 to about $900,000,000, and in the first three weeks of May fluc tuated around the new level. Adjustments by banks to the new requirements were reflected in a decrease in interbank balances and in a small increase in borrowings. The Federal Reserve System in April purchased $96, 000,000 of United States Government securities, for the purpose of easing the adjustment to the new require ments and preserving orderly conditions in the money market. Total loans and investments of reporting member banks showed a small decline from the middle of April through May 19. Holdings of United States Govern ment obligations and other securities showed some de cline, which was offset in part by increases in loans. While domestic interbank and United States Gov ernment deposits declined further, balances of foreign banks and other demand and time deposits at reporting member banks increased. Money Rates Commodity Prices The general level of wholesale commodity prices, as measured by the index of the Bureau of Labor Sta tistics, declined from 88.3 per cent of the 1926 average at the beginning of April to 86.9 in the middle of May. Prices of nonferrous metals, steel scraps, cotton, and rubber declined considerably and there were also de creases in the prices of grains, cotton goods, silks, hides, and chemicals, while prices of shoes and clothing E X C E S S R E SE R V E S OF M EMBER BANKS M EM B E R B A N K CREDIT BILLIONS OF D O L L A R S BILLIONS OF D O L L A R S 17 24 | 16 Demand DepositsAdjuste d 15 Total Loan $t and Investme jr 1 12 11 6 — /S/w \ Balances of Prinks in 11 $ A BILLIONS O F D O L L A R S 4 22 21 20 11 ' U S . Gov't Obligation BILLIONS O F D O L L A R S 4 23 14 13 The open-market rate on 90-day bankers’ acceptances, which between January and the latter part of March had advanced from 3/16 to 9/16 percent, was reduced to ^ percent on May 7, and the rate on nine-months Treasury bills declined to .62 percent on May 24 com pared with a high point of .74 percent on May 3. Other short-term rates have shown little change in re cent weeks. Yields on long-term Treasury and other high-grade bonds have declined somewhat. to > 9 5 4 r Time Deposits Tottil Loan? 3 2 _ ^ 1 _I 0 Other Securities . U.S.Govt Deposits r— l r--------- ------- , 1932 Wednesday figures of reporting member banks in 101 leading citiefs. September 5, 1934, to May 19, 1937. 1933 1934 1935 1936 1 93 7 Wednesday figures of estimated excess reserves for all member banks and for New York City, January 6, 1932, to May 19, 1937.
