The full text on this page is automatically extracted from the file linked above and may contain errors and inconsistencies.
Monfhlu Review ATLANTA, G E O R G IA , APRIL 30, 1954 JnJkisIssue: F irs t Q u a rte r in R e v ie w D is tr ic t F o r e ig n T r a d e V o lu m e S till L a r g e F e w e r F a c to r y J o b s : M o r e U n e m p l o y m e n t SixthDiflridStatistics: C o n d itio n o f 27 M em b er Banks in Leading C itie s D ebits to Individual Dem and D eposit A cco u n ts D epartm ent S to re Sales and Inventories Instalm ent C ash Loans R eta il Furniture S to re O p era tio n s W holesa le Sales and Inventories Sixth ViftridIndexes: C o n struction C o n tra cts C o tto n Consum ption D epartm ent S to re Sales and Stocks E le c tric Pow er Production Furniture S to re Sales and Stocks M anufacturing Em ploym ent M anufacturing Payrolls Petroleum Production Turnover o f Dem and D eposits D I S T R I C T B U S I N E S S H I G H L I G H T S D ebits to d e m a n d d e p o s its , seasonally adjusted, declined from February to March but were still above the first-quarter 1953 average. D ep artm en t sto r e s a le s during the three weeks preceding Easter were slightly better than last year’s pre-Easter sales. S a le s o f te le v isio n s e ts a n d o th er h o m e fu rn ish in g s at depart ment stores strengthened in March although household appliance sales were lower than last year’s. • C onsum er in sta lm en t cred it o u tsta n d in g at commercial banks continued downward in March, but new automobile and other instal ment loans increased seasonally. • L ong-term sa v in g s continued to increase more rapidly than through out the nation during March, as measured by the growth in time deposits and life insurance sales. • Loans a t all m e m b er b an k s were approximately the same at the end of March as a month earlier. • Total d e p o s its a t m e m b er b a n k s increased about seasonally, and according to preliminary data increased further in April, reflecting largely a gain in both demand and time deposits. P etroleu m production in coastal Louisiana and Mississippi rose during March but remained below year-ago levels. Electric p o w e r production reached an all-time high in February. • Cotton t e x t ile a c tiv ity , as measured by seasonally adjusted cotton consumption, rose slightly during February after having declined since November. • S te e l production in the Birmingham area during March was higher in relation to capacity than it was throughout the nation, but fell sharply below the national average in mid-April because one major plant shut down for repairs. • Farm stock s of corn, oats, and soybeans are far above last year’s springtime stocks. • Farm e m p lo y m e n t did not rise as much this March as last March. • F ederal R e se rv e Bank o f A tla n ta n o te s in circulation rose slightly during April after seasonal adjustment, but remained somewhat below a year ago. • M em b er b a n k s in le a d in g cities have been lengthening the maturi ties of their Government security holdings by liquidating notes, certif icates, and bills, and by buying bonds. • E xcess r e s e r v e s o f District m e m b er b a n k s remained high during April and exceeded borrowings from the Federal Reserve Bank by a large margin. • 2• First Quarter in Review At least four major conclusions can be drawn from the behavior of economic indicators in the Sixth District during the first quarter of this year. Some slowing-down of business activity is evident. The slackening has been less pronounced in the District, however, than throughout the nation. Soft spots have developed in limited areas of the District and in a few segments of the economy and have caused the weakness that has shown up in over-all District statistics. Finally, the slowing-down of business activity has not been reflected in a general decline in demand for bank credit. The weakening of business activity has been most evident in two fields: manufacturing and consumer spending. For the District as a whole, total nonagricultural employment continues above year-ago levels. Manufacturing employment, however, began to decline last summer and has continued downward until it is now below year-ago marks. In February, District manufacturing establishments had 3 per cent fewer workers on their payrolls than at the peak of their opera tions in July last year, and payrolls were down 6 percent after allowance for the usual seasonal changes. The growth factor in the District economy apparently has been sufficiently strong to offset weakening influences. Its strength was reflected in a continued expansion in construction during the first quarter. Work on the large volume of contracts let in the final quarter of 1953 kept activity high. Construction contracts awarded during January and February, moreover, were greater than a year earlier. Announcements of new plants and expansions during the first quarter of 1954, according to preliminary tabulations, included plans for spending over 80 million dollars. In terms of total expenditures, about three-fourths was for new plants and expansions in the primary metals, food and kindred products, and petroleum industries. The expected expenditures for the new plants announced this year totaled much lower than in the comparable period of 1952 or 1953. The statistics show, however, some improvement over the low volume of expenditures for new establishments announced during the second half of 1953. Conditions have favored agricultural income this y e a r— at least enough to prevent continued sharp declines and, in some cases, to cause slight increases. There was a seasonal pick-up in first-quarter prices for many important District farm products. Prices of cotton, an all-important item, ranged slightly over year-earlier levels. Part of the large 1953 cotton crop is still being sold; beef slaughter was up; broiler sales were greater; milk flow was heavy; sales of oranges and grapefruit were larger; egg output held at about the same level; and vegetable output was practically unchanged. Hog marketings, how ever, were off. Farm cash receipts were greater in January and Feb ruary this year than last in Alabama, Georgia, and Louisiana but less in Florida, Mississippi, and Tennessee. Farm income in District states may not be cut too severely in 1954. Congressional action has prevented a one-fourth cut in District cotton acreage— instead, it will be cut about one-sixth. Farmers plan to sub- In the first quarter of 1 9 5 4 # a slacken ing in Sixth District economic activity showed up Q U A R T E R S IN 1 9 5 3 i n 1954 m I------------ 1------------ 1 P EA K QUARTER i 32 I I 1953 * 100 M a n u fa c tu r in g E m p lo y m en t h a s b e e n d e c lin in g s in c e J u ly C o n su m e r s w e r e b u y in g le s s a t D e p a r tm e n t S t o r e s A nd p a y in g b a c k th e ir I n s ta lm e n t L oans a t C o m m e r c ia l B a n k s But C o n str u c tio n C o n tr a c ts w e r e a b o v e a y e a r a g o A n d N o n fa r m , N o n m a n u fa c tu r in g E m p lo y m en t d e c lin e d lit tle J__________I_________ L A ls o , D e p o s its a t D istrict M e m b e r B a n k s r o s e A n d t o t a l L oans c o n tin u e d h ig h •3• I stitute cash crops of soybeans and sorghums, as well as oats and corn and some hay and pasture, for cotton. Rice farmers are planting more rice land. With cattle numbers on District farms up over last year, slaughter will remain high; broiler output continues heavy; and hog production is being expanded. Although short-term farm loan volume is off a little, it appears that District farmers are getting all the credit they need to carry out their 1954 intentions. Consumers app arently cut their spending much more than usual during the first month after Christmas. They maintained their buying in February but reduced it again in March, at least at department stores. Department store sales in all District states were below the first-quarter 1953 levels. For the District states as a whole the rate of decline from the first quarter of 1953 was less than that for the entire nation. By the end of March, District report ing stores had reduced their inventories 5 percent from the November 1953 peak, after allowance is made for sea sonal change. Special promotions at department stores resulted in higher first-quarter household appliance sales this year, although sales throughout the nation continued below last year’s. Sales at District household appliance stores equaled those of the corresponding period of 1953. Department store sales of other types of home furnishings of such items as furniture, television sets, and bedding, however, declined more than sales of nondurables such as clothing. Never theless, March sales of furniture and bedding exceeded those of last March. New car sales, as measured by registrations of new cars, were much larger in the first two months of this year than last year in Florida and Louisiana, and in Georgia they increased slightly. These increases brought the total Dis trict figure above a year ago even though declines were registered in the other District states. Registrations through out the United States were below last year’s level. Consumers added substantially to their savings at the same time that they reduced their spending. Time deposits at District member banks increased steadily and by the end of March were 68 million dollars greater than at the beginning of the year. Although redemptions of United States savings bonds continued to exceed bond purchases, individuals added enough to their life insurance equities and holdings of savings and loan shares to more than offset this decline in savings. Individuals in the District reduced their indebted ness even though they increased their savings. At District commercial banks, consumer instalment loans outstanding at the end of March were 5 percent lower than at the end of 1953. With the exception of direct automobile and direct consumer goods loans, repayments exceeded exten sions. Although consumers were repaying their debts at a slower rate this year, they were managing to cut the amount they owed department stores from the peak level of 1953. The spotty character of District business conditions shows up in such economic measures as bank debits to demand deposit accounts, measuring roughly total spend ing, which in turn reflects changes in income. For the Dis trict as a whole, debits during the first quarter of this year were 3 percent greater than those for the corresponding period last year, and when adjusted for seasonal variation were one percent above those for the last quarter of 1953. Rates of change for this year’s first-quarter debits over those for a year ago ranged from a 15-percent decline in Meridian, Mississippi, to a 16-percent growth in Valdosta, Georgia. By states, the rate of increase over a year ago was greatest in Florida, where a 6-percent gain was recorded. Increases of 4 percent were reported for both Georgia and Tennessee. Debits rose 2 percent in Alabama and one per cent in Louisiana, but there was a decline of 5 percent for the Mississippi reporting cities. In each state, some cities reported substantial increases and others registered declines. In general, debits compare unfavorably with those of a PERCENT CHANGE IN BANK D EB ITS FIRST QUARTER I9 5 3 “ 54 _________ —10 - 5 __________ 0 +5 +10 A R E A S W IT H B A L A N C E D LABO R SU PPLY ATLANTA J A C K S O N V IL L E A R E A S W IT H M O D E R A T E LABO R SU R P LU S B a n k A n n o u n c e m e n ts On A p ril 20, the Metropolitan Bank of M iam i, M iam i, Florid a , was admitted to membership in the Federal Reserve System. Officers of the bank include T . T . Scott, President; Scott L . M oore, Executive Vice President; Clarence B . Beutel, Vice President and Cashier; Ronald N . Aursw ald, Assistant Vice President; and Francisco Grovas, Assistant Cashier. The capital stock of the bank amounts to $1,500,000 and surplus and undivided profits to $446,000. The Bank of D ickson, D ickson, Tennessee, opened for business A p ril 1 as a nonmember bank and began remitting at par for checks drawn on it when received from the Federal Reserve B a n k. Officers of this bank are Hugh Wynns, President; Wayne Sensing, E x e c utive Vice President; and Glenn Hamilton, Cashier. It has a capital of $100,000 and surplus of $100,000. M IA M I N A S H V IL L E S st e a M a M im m m mm M O B IL E BATON NEW ROUGE O RLEANS B IR M IN G H A M MACON K N O X V IL L E V5y7s. SAVAN N AH CO LU M BU S mm&m JA C K SO N A U G U ST A A R E A S W IT H S U B S T A N T U LABOR SU RPLU S mm CHATTANOOG A A N N IS T O N G A D SD EN -10 * • 1 i l l -5 ---- 1 1 -i - 1— 1— 1— 1— 1— 1— 1— 1— 1— 0 . 4 . +5 +10 year ago in those areas whose economies depend primarily upon certain types of agriculture or upon textiles and metal manufacturing and those areas where large-scale private or Government construction projects caused a boom but are now completed or nearing completion. In cities classed as areas of balanced labor supply, the rise in debits averaged 6 percent. In areas described as having a moderate labor surplus, debits averaged 1.9 percent higher than last year’s but in those areas with a substantial rate of surplus, checks and other withdrawals from demand deposit accounts were 3 percent below those for the first quarter of last year. There was a wide range of variation in behavior, of course, in each group. Demand for bank credit rem ains strong despite declines in economic activity in some areas of the District. Total loans at member banks throughout the District aver aged about the same as they did in the last quarter of 1953, although they were lower than last year in Birmingham and in the Macon, Savannah, and South Georgia areas of Georgia. As in the case of other economic indicators, how ever, there were downtrends in some types of credit. In addition to the first-quarter decline in consumer instalment credit that occurred at all banks, member banks in leading cities had smaller amounts of business loans on their books in the middle of April than at the beginning D i s t r i c t F o r e i g n T r a d e The importance of foreign trade to District residents was again pointed up by the 1953 foreign trade figures. In that year more than 2 billion dollars worth of goods moved to and from foreign countries through the area’s ports. This total was reached in spite of a continued decline in both imports and exports. Exports showed a drop of 9 percent for the year, compared with 1952, and were 22 percent below the 1951 record. Imports declined almost 3 percent in 1952 and as usual remained about 24 percent less than exports at District ports. It must be remembered that these totals include some shipments to and from other Districts and that they do not include the Sixth District shipments that are moved through other American ports. As a result of shifts in the flow of trade, some areas in the District increased their foreign trade in 1953 in spite of the over-all decline. The Mobile customs area expanded its volume of both imports and exports, whereas Florida ports increased their import business but lost slightly in exports. Georgia ports did a larger business during 1953 although their total imports dropped off. As a result of these changes, Florida and Mobile increased their relative share of District imports and exports. In spite of these gains, however, the New Orleans area still moved more goods in both directions than all other District ports com bined. The Sixth District did not maintain its previous share of United States foreign trade. Many overseas markets that are important to Southern producers declined sharply during the year. More than one-third of the American cotton and rice crops, for in stance, have been exported in recent years. In 1953 the number of bales of cotton in foreign sales declined 30 per of the year. Part of this decline followed the customary seasonal pattern, but the total decline of 19 million dollars contrasted sharply with the 3-million-dollar increase during the comparable period of 1953. Inventory liquidation helped retailers reduce their loans by substantial amounts. On the other hand, manufacturers as a group expanded their borrowings from banks. Loans to sales finance companies were down as declining sales of durable goods reduced instalment credit demands. At banks in leading cities, growth in loans to purchase and carry securities and in loans to other banks somewhat offset the decline in business loans. According to a tabulation of new business loans made during the first half of March, there has been little change in average interest rates since the first half of December. Since total loans at all member banks throughout the Dis trict were slightly higher at the end of March than at the end of 1953, it may be assumed that the behavior of busi ness loans at the member banks in leading cities was not entirely typical of demand for credit at all banks. The decline in total deposits at member banks during the first quarter was moderate, compared with that which usually takes place at that time of the year. In practically all areas of the District, deposits at the end of March exceeded last year’s. V o l u m e S t i l l L a r g e cent from 1952, and foreign rice sales also dropped. To bacco, citrus, and soybean exports, however, increased and in the first quarter of 1954 cotton exports picked up. Southern pine and textile mill products are also impor tant District export items. Southern pine exports were off during the year although a temporary recovery occurred in July and August. Cotton textile exports declined sharply. In the last six months of 1953 exports through District ports seemed to stabilize. They did not decline as much as Foreign Trade Through District Ports M IL L IO N S O F D O L L A R S 1951 M IL L IO N S O F D O L L A R S 1952 1953 they had a year earlier and the total for the second half was above the 1952 second-half level. Imports have con tinued downward since early last year. The outlook is mixed, with possible increases in raw cotton exports set against possible declines in textiles and other products. Jo h n S. • 5• C u r t is s F e w e r F a c t o r y J o b s : Despite the recent lull in economic activity, employment in the Sixth District has remained high. During Febru ary, nonfarm employment in District states amounted to 4,150,000, a larger figure than a year earlier and higher than the average for 1953, which was a record year. These comparisons, however, are somewhat misleading since they obscure a marked lack of uniformity within the aggregate. Nonmanufacturing employment in February was slightly above the year-earlier level, but the number of workers in manufacturing was smaller. On a seasonally adjusted basis, factory employment was down 3 percent from the July 1953 peak, a downturn which has been more moderate to P e r c e n t C h a n g e in S e a s o n a lly A d ju ste d Manufacturing Employment F e b r u a r y 1 9 5 4 fr o m J u ly 1 9 5 3 — r ..r " i ™|— KOOCC&J ' 1 APPAREL 1 CHEMICALS ■ SIXTH DISTRICT g■FOOD □ UNITED STATES _ CH PAPER FAB. METALS TEXTILES tssssslBB LUMBER a FURN. PRIMARY METALS TRANS. EQUIP. ___i -1 date than that which occurred in the first eight months of the 1948-49 recession. Nationwide, the decline from July amounted to 9 percent and was running ahead of the 1948-49 drop. The District thus managed to retain nearly all its relatively greater-than-national post-World War II gains. Factors which in recent years led to a rapid industrial development in the District apparently were responsible in large part for the different behavior of manufacturing em ployment here during the July 1953-February 1954 period, compared with the rest of the country. It can also be traced directly to sharper declines in durable goods pro duction, which is more important (percentagewise) na tionally. Above-average employment losses occurred, even in District states, in such hard goods as primary and fabri cated metals, lumber, and transportation equipment. Cut backs in fabricated metals were responsible for nearly one-quarter of the reduction in the District’s factory job total and reflected curtailment in defense production. Of the District’s “big three” industries, only in food processing was employment higher in February than in July; in lumber and textiles, declines that had been going on for some time continued, accounting for one-half of the total decrease. Cautious buying, decreased demand, and more recently a squeeze between rising cotton costs and low yarn prices were behind the setback in textiles, whereas the weakness in lumber, especially Southern pine, stemmed from overproduction and inadequate demand. Industries M o r e U n e m p l o y m e n t such as apparel and paper products that had gained in importance in relation to total employment in recent years trimmed their labor forces only slightly. Manufacturers in general cut the average number of hours worked between July 1953 and February 1954, but the rate of decline in hours was less than that in numbers employed. We find important variations among individual states. Georgia’s experience in terms of relative factory employ ment reductions corresponded to that of the District; Ten nessee, Mississippi, and Alabama had deeper cuts. The opposite situation prevailed in Florida, and Louisiana showed an increase. Comparing data for February 1954 with a year ago reveals a somewhat similar relationship. Divergencies in Florida and Louisiana were attributable to the relatively lesser importance in these states of indus tries which had deeper employment losses. It is natural to turn from employment to unemployment trends, but such figures by states are not available. A fairly good measure of unemployment, however, can be obtained from data on continued claims under the state unemploy ment insurance programs despite incomplete coverage of workers and other limitations. During February, insured unemployment totaled 179,200 in the District, more than 75 percent higher than a year ago. This was equivalent to about 6.5 percent of covered employees, a percentage lower than that reached at the peak of the 1949 downturn. The pattern in the District so far during 1954 has cor responded closely to that for the whole country. DifferManufacturing Employment and Insured Unemploym ent ences were marked, however, among states and localities. Chattanooga, with 9.3 percent of its work force unem ployed in February, was classified by the Department of Labor as the District’s first major substantial labor surplus area, and Anniston and Talladega (Alabama) were added to the list of smaller regions in this classification. There appeared to have been a substantially more-thanseasonal rise in insured unemployment during January, but the further advance during February and a slight esti mated fall in March appeared to be normal, that is, both corresponded closely to average changes for the same months in the last six years. If present trends continue, the tide of unemployment may well be receding. H arry B randt • 6 • Sixth District Statistics Condition of 27 Member Banks in Leading Cities Instalment Cash Loans (In Thousands of Dollars) Lender Federal Credit Unions . . State Credit Unions . . Industrial Banks . . . . Industrial Loan Companies Small Loan Companies. . Commercial Banks . . . Volume Percent Change March 1954 from Feb. March 1954 1953 + 24 + 14 + 29 + 14 —12 + 76 —2 + 13 — IS + 11 —5 + 19 Lenders Reporting . . 33 . . 15 . . 5 . . 9 20 . . . . 31 Outstandings Percent Change March 1954 from March Feb. 1954 1953 +22 +1 +2 +3 — 35 +3 +8 +0 —10 —3 —1 +6 Retail Furniture Store Operations Number nf Stnrps Reporting Item Cash sales ............................................................. . Instalment and other credit sales . . . . Accounts receivable, end of month . ., . Collections during m o nth ............................... . Inventories, end of m onth............................... . 127 127 128 128 102 „Pereue,!t “ anje March 1954 from Feb. 1954 Mar. 1953 — 14 —4 —1 —4 — 13 +8 + 10 —1 —1 +9 +5 +8 W holesale Sales and Inventories* Sales Inventories Percent change Percent change No. of No. of Mar. 1954 from Mar. 311954 from Firms Firms Report Mar. Feb. 28 Mar. 31 Report Feb. Type of 1954 1953 ing 1954 1953 ing Wholesaler +8 + 23 —7 +4 5 6 Automotive supplies . . . . —0 +5 3 Electrical— Full-line . . . + 35 +8 +8 + 55 4 “ Wiring supplies . 5 —8 —22 7 +7 + 14 8 “ Appliances . . . —5 5 —1 + 13 . . 10 +1 —4 +4 —8 +4 8 Industrial supplies . . . . 19 4 —2 +8 — 16 +9 5 Jewelry................................ . . +7 —1 —1 7 8 Lumber and bldg. mat’ ls . . —2 +8 — 17 3 +9 Plumbing & heating supplies . 4 —2 +5 6 +5 + 13 Refrigeration equipment . . 6 + 16 + 12 5 Drugs and sundries . . . . —8 +2 15 + 15 10 Dry goods........................... +i +4 30 —3 —7 + 12 Groceries— Full-line . . . . 48 +8 +2 “ Voluntary group . 3 + 25 —8 + 15 —i “ Specialty lin e s. . 7 4 7 —5 —5 +5 Tobacco products . . . . . 10 +1 . . 11 + 15 +9 10 +3 —1 Miscellaneous . . . . —1 —2 + 10 110 T o ta l.................................... . . 173 +1 *Based on information submitted by wholesalers participating in the Monthly Wholesale Trade Report issued by the Bureau of the Census. Departm ent Store Sales and Inventories* Percent Change Inventories Sales Mar. 1954 from Mar. 31, 1954 from 3 Months Mar. 1954 from Feb. Feb. 28, Mar. 31, 1954 1953 1953 1954 1953 Place — 14 —10 +5 —7 ALABAMA ...................... + 22 — 14 —1 1 +4 —6 Birmingham . . . . +20 — 17 — 7 M o b ile ........................... + 2 1 —9 —8 Montgomery . . . . + 27 —4 —4 —i FLORIDA ........................... + 19 +i —7 —6 +4 —i i Jacksonville . . . . +33 + 12 —3 —3 +2 +7 —3 —3 Orlando............................ + 25 —3 —3 St. Ptrsbg-Tampa Area + 23 —6 St. Petersburg . . + 15 —5 —7 —i i —2 +31 —0 +27 — 7 —6 +6 G EO R G IA ............................ —3 +29 —5 —5 +6 —1 —7 —7 Augusta........................... + 26 —8 —5 Colum bus..................... + 19 +9 — io — 15 M a c o n ........................... +27 — 13 +9 —3 + 14 — 23 — 13 —8 —8 Savannah** . . . . + 24 —9 —2 + io +4 LO U IS IA N A ...................... + 18 —10 —5 +6 +2 Baton Rouge. . . . + 24 —10 —2 +6 New Orleans . . . . + 15 + 11 —9 —6 +7 —1 M ISSISSIPPI . . . . + 26 —7 —1 1 +8 —1 Jackson ........................... + 25 —10 —7 Meridian** . . . . + 30 —12 —6 +7 —5 TENN ESSEE . . . . + 26 —20 — 13 +8 +4 B r is t o l * * ...................... + 28 Bristol-Kingsport—20 —12 Johnson City** . + 24 — 16 —8 Chattanooga . . . . + 25 —6 —1 + ii —20 K n o x v ille ...................... + 22 +4 —1 1 —8 —5 N a s h v ille ...................... + 30 —6 +7 D IS T R IC T ........................... + 2 2 —9 —1 ^Includes reports from 125 stores throughout the Sixth Federal Reserve District. **ln order to permit publication of figures for this city, a special sample has been constructed which is not confined exclusively to department stores. Figures for non department stores, however, are not used in computing the District percent changes. Percent Change April 21, 1954, from April 15 Mar. 17 1954 1953 April 2 1954 Mar. 17 1954 April 15 1953 2,983,679 1,289,314 1,310,743 3,082,732 1,301,330 l,3 22 j7 2 3 2,895,700 1,234,115 1,255,866 —3 —1 —1 +3 +4 +4 767,504 776,418 716,052 —1 +7 15,218 14,142 15,202 +8 +0 33,770 86,831 10,490 396,930 1,694,365 33,953 86,733 17,645 393,832 1,781,402 35,307 102,934 3,811 382,560 1,661,585 —1 +0 — 41 +1 —5 —4 — 16 * +4 +2 578,728 846,730 268,907 511,157 46,048 678,461 838,594 264,347 486,587 45,695 693,200 715,082 253,303 491,635 45,556 — 15 +1 235,819 Demand deposits adjusted . 2,206,078 Time deposits........................... 586,135 U. S. Gov’t deposits . . . 75,648 Deposits of domestic banks 628,478 17,000 *100 percent or over. 245,014 2,190,155 580,647 91,221 713,851 25,500 251,589 2,126,006 562,118 105,526 642,931 —4 +1 Item Loans and investments— Loans— N et................................. Loans— G r o s s ........................... Commercial, industrial, and agricultural loans Loans to brokers and dealers in securities . Other loans for pur chasing or carrying securities........................... Real estate loans . . . Loans to banks . . . . Other loans ........................... Investments— Total . . . . Bills, certificates, and notes .......................... U. S. bonds ...................... Other securities . . . . Reserve with F. R. Bank . Cash in V a u l t ...................... Balances with domestic — 17 + 18 +6 +4 +1 +2 +5 +1 +1 — 17 11,000 —6 +4 +4 — 28 —12 —2 — 33 + 55 Debits to Individual Demand Deposit Accounts ________________________________ (In Thousands of Dollars)________________________________ Percent Change Mar. 1954 from 3 Months March Feb. Mar. 1954 from 1953 1954 1953 1953 March 1954 February 1954 30,208 477,892 20,299 23,779 191,541 103,228 35,208 26,095 379,569 17,565 20,595 160,900 86,174 31,427 31,705 449,270 18,689 24,468 174,576 91,915 36,404 482,580 503,092 770,270 102,521 61,177 116,395 221,728 77,701 442,262 425,788 659,008 86,118 52,334 99,495 199,544 65,711 477,288 442,973 683,892 93,808 54,549 101,026 208,158 78,596 +9 + 18 + 17 + 19 + 17 + 17 + 18 —1 40,467 1,359,221 83,672 12,697 79,609 4,614 28,262 13,674 81,992 10,863 31,580 126,625 19,059 35,697 1,180,614 75,183 12,862 68,839 4,339 24,040 12,284 72,526 10,309 27,704 112,635 16,990 41,889 1,282,892 90,324 12,064 79,108 4,746 25,875 14,340 81,118 10,273 27,864 126,771 16,212 + 13 +15 —3 —3 +7 + 11 —1 —7 +5 —10 . 47,027 . 147,271 . 54,712 . 1,054,591 41,957 126,959 48,737 927,853 43,346 143,226 56,078 956,727 + 12 + 16 + 12 + 14 ALABAMA . Birmingham . . . . Montgomery . . . . Tuscaloosa* . . . . FLORIDA Jacksonville . . . . Greater Miami* . . . , . Pensacola . . . St. Petersburg . . . West Palm Beach* . . GEORGIA . Brunswick . . . . . Columbus . . . Gainesville* . . . . , . . . Savannah . LOUISIANA Alexandria* Baton Rouge Lake Charles New Orleans M ISSISSIPPI Hattiesburg . . . . . . . . . . , . . . . 21,577 . . . . 22,346 20,723 , 163,538 143,553 155,685 28,239 25,685 32,975 Meridian . . . Vicksburg . . . . . 15,086 17,279 15,191 TENN ESSEE Chattanooga . . . . 229,692 196,431 213,018 Knoxville . . . . 153,918 140,692 159,668 438,994 Nashville . . . . . 493,338 415,586 SIXTH DISTRICT 32 Cities . . . . . 6,518,183 5,647,843 6,106,856 UNITED STATES 345 Cities . . . . 171,260,000 141,933,000 153,356,000 *Not included in Sixth District totals. + 16 + 26 + 16 +15 + 19 + 20 + 12 + 11 + 16 +6 + 18 + 11 + 13 +5 + 14 + 12 + 12 —5 +6 +9 —3 + 10 + 12 —3 +1 + 14 + 13 +9 + 12 +15 +7 +6 +1 —3 +9 —5 +1 —4 +0 +7 —6 +5 +3 +4 +5 +9 +9 +1 +7 +5 +5 —3 +4 —3 —9 + 11 —0 —8 —0 +8 + 11 —2 + 18 + 16 +8 —2 + 10 +3 +3 —3 +1 + 14 + 10 + 14 +4 +5 — 14 + 15 — 15 +7 + 17 +9 + 19 +8 —4 + 12 +1 —2 + 15 +7 +3 +2 +1 +1 +8 • 7 • +6 + 13 +3 +2 —6 +7 Sixth District Indexes UNADJUSTED District Total Alabama . Florida . . Georgia . . Louisiana . Mississippi Tennessee . SEASONALLY District Total Alabama . Florida . . Georgia . . Louisiana . Mississippi Tennessee . Manufacturing Employment 1 9 4 7 -4 9 = 100 Manufacturing Cotton Payrolls Consum ption** Feb. 1954 Jan. 1954 Feb. 1953 Feb. 1954 Jan. 1954 Feb. 1953 Mar. 1954 Feb. 1954 Mar. 1953 ......................112 ......................104 ......................140 ......................113 ......................108 ......................106 ......................I l l ADJUSTED ......................112 ......................103 ......................132 . . . . 113 ......................I l l ......................108 ......................I l l 112 114 108 139 116r 105r 113r 115 152 135 193 152 150 153 154 153 137r 192r 152 151r 151 156r 154 140 186 158 142 161 156 94 94 97 96 109 94 98 iio 113 90 124 89 142 107 114 106r 130r 113 108r 115 114 151 135 180 150 156 156 156 151 135 178r 150 156 156r 157 152 140 174 156 148 165 158 90 91 105 105 140r 113 109r 106 113 112 103 131r 113 lllr 107r 114 Mar. 1954 1STRICT S A LES - . . ,. A t l a n t a l ................................ Baton Rouge ....................... . Birm ing ham ........................ . Chattanooga ........................ . Jackson .................................... . Jacksonville . . . . ,. K n o x v ille ......................... . M aco n ...................................... M ia m i...................................... N a s h v ille ................................ New Orleans.......................... St. Ptrsbg-Tampa Area . T a m p a ....................................., 1STRICT STOCKS* . . . 117p 120 p 107 105 116 103 101 118 116 127p 112 117 135 12 1 141 123 116 107r 114 12 1 lllr 104 129 117 123r 116 133 133 118 139r 128r 12 1r 107r 118r 134 114r 108r 119 125r 130r 125r 124r 140r 129 143r Mar. 1954 HOp 108p 92 97 106 95 93 106 100 133p 100 108 139 115 147 Unadjusted Feb. 1954 101 94 83r 90 95 85r 79 98 89 134r 87 105 127 99 138r R e se r v e B ank C itie s • B ranch B ank C itie s h i D istr ic t B o u n d a ries ■ — B ranch T e rr ito ry B o u n d a ries B o a r d o f G o v e r n o rs o f th e F e d e r a l R e se r v e S y s te m Feb. 1954 Mar. 1953 196 248 183 141 195 369 12 1 123 151 180 164 203 339 137 71 83 Mar. 1954 Feb. 1954 Mar. 1953 82p 79p 88 p 84 90 83 84 82 91 89 92 93 87 64 72 71 92 p 91p 97p 95 106 98 97 92 103 103 97 106 103 98 103 91 80 200 114 72 86 88 Other District Indexes Mar. 1953 125r 118r 106 117r 130 llO r 104 118 123r 142r 118r 124 150 122 149r !To permit publication of figures for this city, a special sample has been constructed that is not confined exclusively to department stores. Figures for non-department stores, however, are not used in computing the District index. *For Sixth District area only. Other totals for entire six states. **D aily average basis. Sources: Mfg. emp. and payrolls, state depts. of labor; cotton consumption, U. S. Bureau Census; construction contracts; F. W. Dodge Corp.; furn. sales, dept, store sales, turnover of dem. dep., FRB Atlanta; petrol, prod., U. S. Bureau of Mines; elec. power prod., Fed. Power Comm. Indexes calculated by this Bank. O Mar. 1954 Furniture Store S a le s * / * * 110 Department Store Sales and Stocks** Adjusted__________ Mar. Feb. 1954 1953 Construction Contracts Mar. 1954 Adjusted Feb. Mar. 1954 1953 Construction contracts* . . . R esid en tial................................ Mar. 1954 250 214 277 Unadjusted Feb. 1954 187r 177r 195 Mar. 1953 153 176 135 Petrol, prod, in Coastal Louisiana and Mississippi**. 139 119 Furniture store stocks* . . . . Turnover of demand deposits* . 20.4 10 leading c it ie s ..................... 21.5 Outside 10 leading cities . . 17.2 134 107 20.5 21.4 17.2 145 128 19.2 Feb. 1954 Jan. 1954 Feb. 1953 Feb. 1954 191 Jan. 1954 190 142 141 142r 119r 156r 108r 93r 137r 103r 102 r 158r 141 123 147 139 140r 122 12 1r 151 158r 107r 92r 138r 104r 20.2 16.4 16.9 Elec. power prod., total** . . . Mfg. emp. by type 122 12 1 Fabricated metals..................... 145 150 111 111 Lbr., wood prod., furn. & fix. 87 Paper and allied prod. . . . 140 Primary metals.......................... 97 95 Trans, equip................................. 167 r Revised p Preliminary 87 141r 96 96 179r 140 120 20.6 22.0 110 86 141 98 95 172 136 104 20.3 21.6 16.7 110 87 141r 97 96 179r 146 130 19.4 20.7 16.1 Feb. 1953 185 10 1 162r
@FedFRASER