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M O N T H L Y R E V IE W O f Financial, Agricultural, Trade and Industrial Conditions in the Sixth Federal Reserve District F E D E R A L R E S E R V E O F A T L A N T A T h is re v ie w re le a se d f o r p u b lic a tio n f a m o r a in e p a p e r * o f J u n e SO. A T L A N T A , G A ., J U N E 30, 1932. VOL. 17, No. 6 NATIONAL SUMMARY OF BUSINESS CONDITIONS Prepared by Federal Reserve Board Volume o f p ro d u c tio n in b a sic in d u s tr ie s a n d e m p lo y m e n t at factories d e c re a s e d f u r t h e r in M ay, a n d w h o le sa le p ric e s declined. F o re ig n w ith d ra w a ls o f g o ld , w h ic h h a d b e e n in large volum e in M ay a n d th e f i r s t h a lf o f J u n e , p r a c tic a lly stopped a f te r th e m id d le o f th e m o n th . P ro d u c tio n a t m in e ? a n d f a c to r ie s d e c lin e d f u r t h e r in M ay, a n d th e B o a r d ’s se a s o n a lly a d ju s te d in d e x o f in d u s tr ia l p ro d u c tio n showed a re d u c tio n f ro m 64 p e r c e n t o f th e 1 9 2 3 -2 5 a v e r a g e in April to 61 p e r c e n t in M ay. O u tp u t o f c o a l w a s s u b s ta n tially re d u ced , p a r tic u la r ly in th e a n th r a c i t e f ie ld s ; sh ip ments o f iro n o re show ed le s s th a n th e u s u a l s e a s o n a l i n crease, p ro d u c tio n o f iro n a n d s te e l d e c lin e d , a n d a c tiv ity at textile m ills a n d sh o e f a c to r ie s w a s f u r t h e r c u rta ile d . I n the autom obile in d u s tr y o u tp u t in c r e a s e d c o n s id e ra b ly . I n the first p a r t o f J u n e a c tiv ity in th e s te e l a n d c o tto n in d u s tries was re p o rte d to h a v e d e c lin e d f u r t h e r , w h ile o u t p u t o f automobiles c o n tin u e d a t a b o u t th e sa m e r a t e a s in th e l a t t e r part of M ay. F u rth e r re d u c tio n in e m p lo y m e n t a n d e a r n in g s o f f a c t o r y workers a c c o m p a n ie d th e s m a lle r v o lu m e o f m a n u f a c t u r ing o u tp u t in M ay, p a r tic u la r ly in th e s te e l a n d m a c h in e ry industries, a n d in th e te x tile a n d c lo th in g tr a d e s . E m p lo y ment a t a u to m o b ile p la n ts a n d in th e se a s o n a lly a c tiv e fo o d industries show ed a n in c re a s e . Value o f b u ild in g c o n tr a c ts a w a r d e d , a c c o rd in g to r e p o r t s to the F . W . D o d g e C o rp o ra tio n , a f t e r in c r e a s in g s o m e w h a t in April a n d M ay, d e c lin e d s lig h tly in th e f i r s t h a lf o f J u n e , reflecting c h ie fly s m a lle r a w a rd s f o r p u b lic w o rk s a n d o t h e r non-residential b u ild in g . Production and Employment Distribution R a ilro a d f r e i g h t t r a f f i c d e c re a s e d f u r t h e r in M ay , t h e la r g e s t re d u c tio n b e in g in s h ip m e n ts of coal a n d m is c e lla n e o u s f r e i g h t . S a le s o f d e p a r t m e n t s to r e s in le a d in g c itie s , w h ic h h a d in c re a s e d s u b s ta n tia lly d u r in g A p ril, w e re s m a lle r in 'M a y . Wholesale Prices P ric e s o f c o m m o d itie s a t w h o le sa le w e re 1.7 p e r c e n t lo w e r in M ay t h a c c o rd in g to th e B u r e a u o f L a b o r S ta tis tic s . T h e re w e re la rg e d e c re a s e s in p ric e s o f m a n y d o m estic a g ric u ltu ra l p r o d u c ts a n d o f h id e s a n d te x tile s . P ric e s o f p e tro le u m p r o d u c ts a d v a n c e d . D u rin g th e f i r s t th r e e w e e k s o f J u n e , m a r k e t q u o ta tio n s f o r a n u m b e r o f n o n -a g ric u ltu ra l com m o d itie s w e re r e l a t i v e l y ^ e a d y , a n d p ric e s o f s u g a r, m e a ts , a n d liv e sto c k in c re a s e d . P r ic e s o f w h e a t, a f t e r c o n sid e ra b le flu c tu a tio n s , w e re a t u n u s u a lly lo w lev e ls a t th e b e g in n in g o f th e t h ir d w e e k in J u n e . ' Bank C re d it W ith d ra w a ls o f g o ld f r o m t h e U n ite d S ta te s c o n tin u e d th r o u g h M a y a n d th e f i r s t hfcif o f J u n e , a n d th e c o u n tr y ’s sto c k o f m o n e ta ry g o ld d e clin ed b y $435,000,00j0 b e tw e e n M ay 4 a n d J u n e 15. A f t e r t h a t d a te t h e r e w a s n o f u r t h e r d e c lin e in t h e - t o t a l sto c k o f-ln o n e ta r y g o ld , c o n tin u e d g o ld e x p o rts r e p re s e n tin g Igold p re v io u s ly e a r m a r k e d b y fo r e ig n c e n t r a l b a n k s . D u r in g th e f i r s t p a r t o f M ay c o n tin u e d p u rc h a s e s o f U n ite d S ta te s G o v e rn m e n t, S e c u r itie s t h e R e se rv e B a n k s e n a b le d m e m b e r b a n k s j u r t h e r to r e d u c e t h e i r d is c o u n ts ; in l a t e r w e ek s, h o w e v e r, f u n d s r e le a s e d t h r o u g h thefce p u rc h a s e s w e r e a b s o rb e d b y th e d e m a n d f o r g o ld f o r e x p b rt, a n d t h e r e ■fras a lso k d e c re a s e in m e m b e r b a n k r e s e r v e b a la n c e s. L o a n s a n d in v e s tm e n ts o f ‘ r e p o r tin g m e m b e r b a n k s in le a d in g c itie s , w h ic h h a d d e c lin e d s h a rp ly e a r lie f in t h e y e a r, sh o w e d w id e f lu c tu a tio n s a f t e r t h e in id d le o f iMay. I n th e m id d le o f J u fie t o t a l lo a n s a n d in v e s tm e n ts w e re l a r g e r th a n a m o n th e a r lie r , th e in c re a s e in h o ld in g s o f U n i t e d S ta te s s e c u ritie s b e in g m o re t h a n S u ffic ie n t t o o f f s e t d e c lin e s in o t h e r in v e s tm e n ts a n d in lo a n s . M o n e y r a t e s in th e o p e n m a r k e t re m a in e d a t lo w lev e ls. R a te s o n p rim e c o m m e rc ia l p a p e r w e re r e d u c e d t o a r a n g e o f 2 % - 2 % p e r c e n t in t h e se c o n d w e e k o f J u n e . PERCENT taGOfT » r B A N K INC3USTRIAL PRODUCT 0M nSffi* for FRASER o ^ fa d u a tr t o i p r o d o e tio n .^ m d M te d Digitized ~ “ 1H0 130 120 110 120 E l M IPLO Y M E NT FAACTORY 110 110 100 * 100 90 \ s \ 60 70 60 60 50 50 f o r w u o iw l w t o t t o n . \ 2 Index of United States Bureau of Labor Statistics. adopted by bureau.) L atest figures May 64.4. M O N T H L Y R E V IE W (1926—100. base Monthly averages of daily figures fo r 12 Federal Reserve Banks. L atest figures are averages for firs t 20 days in June. SIXTH DISTRICT SUMMARY Business statistics for the Sixth District indicate that during May there were gains recorded in building contract awards, sales of life insurance, in pig iron production in Alabama, in member bank borrowings, and in government security purchases by the Federal Reserve Bank, but retail and wholesale trade declined and there was a further de crease in textile mill activity. Department store sales in this district during May de clined 2.8 per cent from April, and were 29.9 per cent less in dollar amount than in May last year. Sales by reporting wholesale firms declined 7 per cent from April to May, and were 29.6 per cent less than a year ago. For the first five months of 1932 department store sales were 24.0 per cent, and wholesale trade 28.2 per cent, less than in that part of 1931. Life insurance sales increased over April in Geor gia, Florida, Mississippi and Tennessee but decreased in Alabama and Louisiana, and for the six states averaged 2.1 per cent greater than in April, but were 28.7 per cent less than in May last year. Debits to individual accounts in May were 29.6 per cent less than a year ago. Building permits reported by twenty cities declined from April to May and averaged 36.4 per cent less than in May last year, but contract awards in the district as a whole increased 3.1 per cent over April, but were 46.5 per cent smaller than a year ago, not allowing for lower building costs. In Florida and in that part of Tennessee located in the Sixth District May contracts were more than double those in April, and were also greater than in May, 1931. Pig iron production in Alabama increased 8.6 per cent from April to May, but was 60.2 per cent less than a year ago, and there was a decline in furnace activity. Coal pro duction in Alabama and Tennessee declined during the month and continued less than a year ago. FINANCE Reserve Bank The total volume of reserve bank credit outCredit standing at the Federal Reserve Bank of At lanta increased by nearly 42 millions of dol lars between May 4, when it was lower than on any Wednes day since August 5 last year, and June 8. Some of this in crease was due to an increase in discounts for member banks, but most of it was because of this bank’s participation in the Federal Reserve System's purchases of United States Gov ernment securities. Between the second Wednesday in May and the second Wednesday in June, there was an increase of $6,578,000 in member banks’ borrowings from the reserve bank, and on June 8 they were approximately three times as large as on the same report date a year ago. The increase over both of these comparative report dates is in discounts secured by United States Government obligations and in “All Others.” Holdings of bills bought in the open market continued to decline and were much less than a year ago. Holdings of United States Government securities have increased each week since May 4. Between that date and June 8 these holdings increased by 35 millions, and were then 27 millions greater than on the same report date last year. Accompanying the employment of funds in the purchase of Government securities, there has been a decline in cash reserves since May 11, and in the reserve ratio, both of which are at lower levels than a year ago. There were de clines in total deposits, and in member bank reserve deposits, from May 11 to June 8, and also decreases in both items compared with June 10 last year. Federal Reserve Note circulation also declined slightly and continued less than a year ago. Principal items in the weekly statement are shown com paratively in the table. (000 Omitted) June8,1932 M ayll,1932 Junel0,1931 Bills Discounted: Secured by Govt. O bligations_____ All O thers ____ __ ______________ Total Discounts -----------------------Bills Bought in open m ark et....... ....... U. S. Securities ____________ _______ Total Bills and Securities.-__ __ Total Reserves ____________________ Member Banks Reserve Deposits Total Deposits ____________________ F. R. Notes in actual circulation___ Reserve Ratio __________________ __ - $ 9,418 28,131 37,549 1,299 47,720 86,568 82,234 45,212 48,873 114,457 50.3 $ 7,873 23,098 30,971 1,570 17,307 49,848 123,089 46,804 51,816 115,663 73.5 $ 534 11,927 12,461 9,207 20,673 42,341 149,660 60,132 61,580 124,715 80.3 Condition of The volume of member bank credit outMember Banks in standing at 24 weekly reporting member Selected Cities banks located in Atlanta, New Orleans, Birmingham, Jacksonville, Chattanooga, Mobile and Savannah declined approximately 13 millions of dollars between May 11 and June 8, and was then nearly 33 millions less than on January 6, and 46 millions less than a year ago. Between May 11 and June 8 loans by these banks against security collateral declined only slightly, but “All Other Loans” were reduced by $6,556,000. Total loans on June 8 were $7,075,000 less than four weeks earlier, and $49,619,000 less than at the same time last year. Holdings of United States Government securities declined between May 11 and June 8, but were somewhat greater than a year ago, and investments in other bonds and securi ties increased slightly, but were less than on the same report date last year. Total investments were 5.9 millions less than four weeks earlier, and 3.6 millions greater than a year ago. There were declines between May 11 and June 8 in both demand and time deposits held by these weekly reporting member banks, and both classes of deposits continued to be less than at the same time last year. Balances held by these banks for correspondent banks, and balances maintained by them with their correspondents, declined and were less than at the same time a year ago. Borrowings by these banks from the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta increased by more than one-half between May 11 and June 8, and were substantially greater than a year ago. Principal items in the weekly report are shown compar atively in the table, and are followed by monthly averages of weekly figures for some of the more important items in the report showing their trends over the last year. M O N T H L Y 3 R E V IE W (000 Omitted) June8,1932 M ayll,1932 Junel0,1931 L o an s: On Securities .... ............... ........... .......... All Others ............................ ....... _____ Total L o a n s ______ _________ _____ U. S. Securities ~ --------- -------- --- _____ Other Bonds and Securities__________ Total Investm ents _________ _____ Total Loans and Investm ents.—__ __ _ Time Deposits .......................... -___ ... Demand Deposits ...................... ..... .... Due To Banks .................................. Due From Banks ................. ............ ........... Borrowings from F. R. B ank_________ 1981 May . . Ju n e . Ju ly . Aug. . Sept . Oct. . Nov. . Dec. . 1932 Jan . . Feb. . M arch A pril . May . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $110,446 222,061 332,507 86,835 85,278 172,113 504,620 193,499 222,866 77,671 59,972 22,486 $110,965 228,617 339,582 93,023 85,013 178,036 517,618 194,140 228,746 82,095 71,636 14,191 $116,280 265,846 382,126 80,395 88,103 168,498 550,624 227,431 305,783 117,859 87,781 1,980 Monthly Averages of Weekly Figures of R eporting Member Banks in Selected Cities. (000 Omitted) Loans on All O ther Invest- Demand Time Borrowings Securities Loans m ents Deposits Deposits from F . R. Bank $1,503 $115,937 $271,544 $175,038 $307,486 $227,729 1,910 226,625 177,587 302,461 265,159 116,353 1,018 299,850 233,277 178,487 266,415 114,134 6,109 234,860 263,851 173,'381 290,772 113,341 11,060 228,099 181,450 280,966 262,759 114,082 22,348 217,731 185,199 267,026 115,508 261,950 30,762 259,056 213,795 258,929 181,274 114,264 29,992 207,522 254,486 182,510 252,423 113,708 109,653 107,587 106,645 106,573 110,647 245,706 241,360 237,979 234,239 227,871 178,755 178,555 178,162 176,037 177,477 244,147 237,630 237,662 234,990 226,776 200,591 196,661 198,274 194,704 194,830 27,919 26,542 18,342 19,307 15,582 Deposits of All Member Banks T h e d a ily a v e r a g e o f d e m a n d d e p o s its o f a ll m e m b e r b a n k s in t h e S ix th D i s t r i c t d e c lin e d 4 .2 p e r c e n t f r o m A p r il t o M a y , a n d w a s 2 4 .9 p e r c e n t s m a lle r t h a n f o r M a y l a s t y e a r . D a ily a v e r a g e o f t im e d e p o s its d e c r e a s e d le s s t h a n o n e p e r c e n t f r o m A p r il t o M a y a n d w a s 9 .3 p e r c e n t b e lo w t h a t f o r M a y , 1 9 3 1 . C h a n g e s o v e r t h e p a s t y e a r a r e sh o w n in t h e ta b l e . 1981: M ay ~ —............................. ........................ _ ______ ._ Ju n e ................. Ju ly ... --------- ------- ....................... A ugust ~ ...... ............ - .... ........................ .. September ....................... ...................... O c to b e r... ................... — ............................ November — ----- ___ ___ December ............ ... ........ ......................... 1982: .. J a n u a ry ______ ____ - ... . _________ .. ____ F ebruary ......... __________ M arch __ A pril ------ —............. ....... ___________ May ...................................... .......................... Demand Deposits $504,938,000 491,843,000 480,816,000 467,814,000 453,797,000 436,299,000 418,720,000 417,991,000 Time Deposits $391,190,000 395,587,000 400,769,000 407,324,000 399,268,000 386,669,000 376,443,000 371,425,000 412,279,000 398,252,000 398,756,000 395,649,000 379,044,000 870,341,000 361,376,000 860,419,000 357,522,000 354,710,000 Savings Deposits S a v in g s d e p o s its h e ld a t t h e c lo s e o f M a y b y 63 r e p o r t i n g b a n k s s c a t t e r e d t h r o u g h o u t t h e d is t r i c t a v e r a g e d 2 .2 p e r c e n t le s s t h a n a m o n th e a r l ie r , a n d 1 3 .5 p e r c e n t le s s t h a n a y e a r a g o . A s m a ll in c r e a s e a t J a c k s o n v ille o v e r A p r il w a s m o r e t h a n o f f s e t b y d e c r e a s e s a t o t h e r p o in ts . C o m p a ris o n s o f r e p o r t e d f i g u r e s a r e s h o w n s e p a r a t e l y in t h e t a b l e f o r A t l a n t a a n d f o r c itie s i n w h ic h b r a n c h e s o f t h is b a n k a r e lo c a te d , a n d r e p o r t s f r o m b a n k s l o c a te d e ls e w h e r e in t h e d i s t r i c t a r e g r o u p e d u n d e r “ O t h e r C itie s .” (000 Omitted) April Num ber May 1932 of 1932 Banks A tlan ta . ----B irm in g h a m __ __ Jacksonville .... N a s h v ille ........ New O rleans ...__ O ther Cities — __ Total ............ .. 4 3 4 5 6 41 63 $35,003 17,416 13,463 24,556 46,202 73,740 210,380 Debits to individual Accounts $35,053 17,473 13,335 24,942 49,373 74,947 215,123 May 1931 $40,832 21,171 16,093 31,495 52,481 81,158 243,230 Percentage change May, 1932, compared w ith Apr. 1932 May, 1931 —14.3 — 0.1 — 0.3 —17.7 + 1.0 —16.3 — 1.5 —22.0 —12.0 — 6.4 — 9.1 — 1.6 —13.5 — 2.2 T o ta l d e b it s t o i n d iv id u a l a c c o u n ts a t 2 6 r e p o r t i n g c le a r i n g h o u s e c e n t e r s in t h e S ix th D ist r i c t d e c lin e d b y 1 9 .8 p e r c e n t f r o m A p r il to M a y , a n d w e r e 2 9 .6 p e r c e n t le s s t h a n in M a y l a s t y e a r . O n ly tw o r e p o r t i n g c itie s , N a s h v ille a n d J a c k s o n , r e p o r t e d g a in s o v e r A p r il, a n d d e c lin e s a r e s h o w n f o r a ll o f t h e c itie s c o m p a r e d w ith M a y , 1 9 3 1 . M o n th ly t o t a l s s h o w n in t h e t a b l e a r e d e r iv e d f r o m w e e k ly r e p o r t s b y p r o - r a t i n g f i g u r e s f o r th o s e w e e k s w h ic h do n o t f a l l e n ti r e l y w i t h in a s in g le c a l e n d a r m o n th . (000 Omitted) April, 1932 $106,208 66,632 1,691 23,505 14,380 95,665 49,876 18,814 4,640 22,335 186,209 2,996 117,418 15,014 1,870 8,438 612 9,376 899 26,973 2,613 287,354 25,037 3,332 12,324 5,864 3,517 104,862 27,458 21,836 55,568 $805,335 May, 1932 Alabama—4 cities _________ __ ____ $94,065 Birm ingham ............................ .. 58,900 1,598 Mobile ......... ............................... 21,157 Montgomery ............ ................. 12,410 Florida—4 cities .................. 81,269 Jacksonville ............................. . .... 43,126 Miami ........................................ 14,311 Pensacola ................................... ....... 4,006 T am pa ........................................ .. 19,826 Georgia—10 cities ........ .............. 169,361 A lbany _______________ . _ 2,308 A tlan ta ...................................... 109,723 12,172 A ugusta .................................... Brunswick .... ............................ 1,623 Columbus .................................. . 7,378 Elberton ... .................................. 564 Macon .... ............................. 8,416 Newnan ___________________ 850 23,934 Savannah ...... _......................... . Valdosta .......................... ...... 2,393 Louisiana—New Orleans _____ ____ 172,409 Mississippi—4 cities ................... 23,987 2,891 H attiesburg ______ ___ _____ Jackson ... _.............................. 12,507 5,521 Meridian .................................... 3,068 Vicksburg _______ ________ _ 104,695 Tennessee—3 cities - — 26,394 Chattanooga ............................ 21,529 Knoxville ................... ............... 56,772 Nashville .......... —.................... $645,786 Total 26 cities________________ May, 1931 $153,740 105,517 2,535 28,571 17,117 117,119 62,967 21,139 5,989 27,024 221,252 2,885 139,594 17,827 2,469 11,362 714 12,831 1,308 29,253 3,1)09 255,952 33,710 4,819 18,578 6,084 4,229 135,615 39,542 25,995 70,078 $917,388 AGRICULTURE M o s t s e c tio n s o f t h e S ix th D i s t r i c t h a v e r e c e iv e d r a in s d u r i n g M a y a n d e a r l y J u n e w h ic h h a v e b e e n b e n e f ic ia l, b u t r e p o r t s f r o m T e n n e s s e e in d ic a te t h e n e e d o f f u r t h e r r a in s . I n c e n t r a l a n d s o u t h e r n G e o r g ia a n d in m o s t o f F l o r i d a r a i n s h a v e b e e n e s p e c ia lly n e e d e d b e c a u s e o f t h e lo n g d r o u g h t. S ta p le c r o p s in F l o r i d a h a v e s h o w n m a r k e d im p r o v e m e n t, d r o p p in g o f c i t r u s f r u i t h a s b e e n c h e c k e d a n d t h e l a t e t r u c k c r o p s h a v e b e e n h e lp e d b y t h e s u p p ly o f m o is t u r e . D r y w e a t h e r a n d a p h is c a u s e d m o r e t h a n t h e u s u a l a m o u n t o f d r o p p in g d u r i n g t h e f i r s t h a l f o f A p ril, b u t t h is h a s b e e n c h e c k e d s in c e t h e r a in s , t h e c o n d itio n o f t h e t r e e s h a s im p r o v e d , a n d t h e r e h a s b e e n a d d itio n a l b lo o m . T h e c o n d itio n o f p e a c h e s d e c lin e d f u r t h e r d u r i n g M a y , a n d o n J u n e 1 t h e c o n d itio n a n d p r o s p e c tiv e p r o d u c tio n w e r e c o n s id e r a b ly b e lo w t h e c o r r e s p o n d in g tim e a y e a r a g o , a s i n d ic a te d in t h e s e f i g u r e s : Condition Ju n e 1 (% of Norm al) 1932 1931 77 Alabam a . ______ 21 82 Florida _________ 24 82 Georgia ---- ______ 27 75 Louisiana ______ 23 82 23 Mississippi 82 Tennessee ............... .. 13 .... Total ---------------- Production (Bushels) Forecast 1932 1931 289,000 1,530,000 29,000 92,000 2,250,000 9,134,000 56,000 352,000 176,000 1,060,000 360,000 . 2,820,000 3,160,000 14,988,000 Percentage Comparison —81.1 —68.5 —75.4 —84.1 —83.4 —87.2 —78.9 H a r v e s ti n g o f w h ite p o t a t o e s in F l o r i d a w a s a b o u t o v e r a t t h e m id d le o f J u n e , a n d m o v e m e n t o f o t h e r v e g e t a b l e a n d t r u c k c r o p s h a d p a s s e d t h e p e a k . I n t h e t a b l e a r e s h o w n th e a c r e a g e , y ie ld a n d e s t im a te d p r o d u c ti o n o f v e g e t a b l e c r o p s i n t h e o t h e r s t a t e s o f t h e d i s t r ic t , t a k e n f r o m r e p o r t s is s u e d b y t h e U n ite d S t a te s D e p a r t m e n t o f A g r i c u lt u r e . Acreage 1932 A labam a: 1,500 Cucumbers . Snap Beans ...__ 1,800 Potatoes _____ 10,200 G eorgia: Cucumbers ...__ 1,600 Tomatoes ---- __ 1,200 Lim a Beans ...__ 2,100 Snap Beans __ 4,100 A sparagus —__ 4,350 Potatoes _____ 1,250 L ouisiana: 1,000 Cucumbers ... 1,400 Tomatoes — __ 6,880 Snap Beans Potatoes _____ 20,000 M ississippi: Tomatoes ---- __ 10,000 Snap Beans ___ 4,200 Potatoes _____ 1,800 1931 1,700 900 14,600 Yield per Acre (Bushels) 1932 1931 Production Forecast (Bushels) 1932 1931 155 77 105 180 70 140 1,400 1,000 1,680 2,500 4,000 2,500 80 65 60 70 15* 135 60 60 50 55 29* 180 1,130 1,500 7,650 30,800 77 92 70 65 95 98 64 92 77,000 129,000 482,000 1,300,000 107,000 147,000 490,000 2,834,000 9,600 3,200 1,900 135 70 90 113 60 108 1,350,000 294,000 162,000 1,085,000 192,000 205,000 232,000 139,000 1,071,000 128,000 78,000 126,000 287,000 65,000* 169,000 306,000 63,000 2,044,000 84,000 60,000 84,000 138,000 116,000* 450,000 4 M O N T H LY R E V IE W T ennessee: Snap Beans ___ 1,080 Potatoes _____ 1,500 Tomatoes _____ 8,730 100 Green Peas ___ 1,800 2,200 9,000 120 65 85 — 50 60 45 —. 70 70,000 128,000 --------5,000 108,000 99,000 --------8,000 ♦Crates. Correction: The acreage planted to cantaloupes in Georgia this year, erroneously stated in last m onth’s Review, is 1,000 acres, compared with 800 acres in 1931, 750 acres in 1930, and with 600 acres in 1929. May May May May Ju n e Ju n e Ju n e Average of Cotton Prices a t Ten Designated Spot M arkets (Cents P er Pound) 1931 1932 . 5.41 May 8 _____________ _____ __ _ 5 — . 5.36 May 15 _____________ _________ 12 .. . 5.50 May 22 ____________ ____ ___ „ 19 .. . 5.36 May 28 ____ __ _____ _________ 26 . . 4.87 June 4 __________ ________ 8.16 3 . 4.76 June 12 ................... ......... ........ . 9 . . 4.99 Ju n e 17 _____________________ 17 9.31 8.80 8.54 7.97 8.07 8.21 Sugar Cane and Sugar Following are figures taken from the final report of the United States Department of Agriculture in regard to sugar production in Louisiana during 1931, as compared with previous years. 1930 1929 61 367,386,649 183,693 65 399,217,475 199,609 2,559,067 149,217 16,886,749 25 6,207,872 293,310 2,917,925 155,446 19,619,018 24 5,773,085 266,875 Raw Sugar May, 1932 April, 1932 May, 1931 115,031,527 51,977,345 163,682,120 41,961,777 94,794,134 14,573,359 132,840,547 38,356,991 107,042,614 18,210,032 74,419,854 9,306,004 90,504,130 106,958,447 108,416,711 93,338,093 73,980,900 73,126,420 Refined Sugar May, 1932 April, 1932 May, 1931 119,352,448 32,796,163 99,729,045 24,991,352 104,617,458 24,564,064 77,508,638 25,919,777 65,108,945 18,066,504 55,009,523 18,085,323 Rice Movement—New Orleans April, 1932 May, 1932 May, 1931 ____________________________________ 1931 Factories m aking su g ar_________ 59 Sugar made—pounds ______ __ 313,233,530 156,617 tons ____________ Cane used fo r su g a r: Tons _____________________ 2,232,180 Acres _____________________ 148,119 14,644,784 Molasses made—gallons _______ Factories m aking siru p------------24 4,544,896 Sirup made—gallons ___ ____ ___ Cane used for sirup—tons-------233,399 Sugar Movement—Pounds R eceipts: New Orleans Savannah — MeltingB: New Orleans Savannah — Stocks: New Orleans Savannah — Shipm ents: New Orleans Savannah ----S tocks: New Orleans Savannah ----- Rough Rice—Barrels Receipts ___________ Shipm ents -------- -----Stocks _____________ Clean Rice—Pockets Receipts Shipments Stocks ___ 55,316 43,720 26,677 48,747 43,485 15,081 29,257 25,159 21,997 75,195 79,628 127,609 80,976 76,537 132,042 49,977 88,718 85,211 Rice Millers* Association S tatistics (Barrels) May Receipts of Rough Rice: Season 1931-32 ................ ...................... . 703,227 Season 1930-31 .............. ............................ 519,573 Distribution of Milled Rice: Season 1931-32 __ _________________ 697,817 Season 1930-31 ____ ______ __________ 617,121 Stocks of Rough and Milled Rice: Ju n e 1, 1932_________ __ ____________ 1,824,612 Ju n e 1, 1931____ ___ ________________ ___ 1,292,671 Aug. 1 to May 31 9,150,078 9,452,624 8,551,417 9,112,084 Fertilizer After increasing in April, against the usual seaTag Sales sonal trend, because of gains reported for Ala bama, Mississippi and Tennessee, sales of fer tilizer tax tags by the state authorities in the six states of this district averaged 80.9 per cent less in May and were 30.3 per cent less than in May, 1931. Increases in Florida over April, and in Tennessee over May last year, were more than outweighed in the district average by declines for the other states. Prior to this year March has usually accounted for a large percentage of the annual total, and with the passing of the planting season, sales of fertilizer tags decline mate rially. For the ten months’ period, August through May, there has been an average decrease of 43.3 per cent in these six states compared with that period of the season before. Figures in the table are from those compiled by the National Fertilizer Association. Alabam a ______ Florida _____ __ Georgia _______ Louisiana _____ Mississippi ....... Tennessee _____ Total _______ May 1932 3,200 35,289 5,803 450 3,600 11,882 60,224 (Short Tons) A pril May Aug. 1 to May 31 Percentage 1932 1931 1931-32 1930-31 Comparison 98,850 8,800 204,450 417,900 —51.1 16,060 38,360 339,794 419,179 —18.9 18,110 138,766 356,170 688,413 —48.3 1,095 7,800 52,230 96,468 —45.9 35,500 9,600 85,051 195,720 —56.6 19,068 10,442 123,599 —48.3 63,910 316,044 86,407 1,101,605 1,941,279 —43.3 TRADE There was a decline of 2.8 per cent in sales during May by 38 department stores in the Sixth District reporting to the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, and a decrease of 29.9 per cent compared with May last year. An increase of 16.9 per cent at Nashville in May as compared with April, which was partly seasonal, was more than offset by decreases at other points. For the first five months of 1932 sales by these reporting department stores have averaged 24 per cent less than in that part of 1931. Stocks of merchandise on hand at the close of May were 5.9 per cent smaller than a month earlier, and averaged 18.7 per cent less than a year ago, and stock turnover for the month, and for the five-month period, was somewhat less than for those periods last year. Accounts receivable for May were 0.3 per cent smaller than for April and 18.6 per cent less than for May a year ago, and collections in May declined 5.9 per cent from April and were 26 per cent smaller than in May, 1931. The ratio of collections during May to accounts receivable and due at the beginning of the month for 31 firms was 28.1 per cent; for April 29.1 per cent, and for May last year 31.3 per cent. For regular accounts the ratio for May was 30.1 per cent, for April 31.1 per cent, and for May last year 33.5 per cent, and for in stallment accounts the ratio for May was 14.5 per cent, for April 15.1 per cent, and for May last year 17.4 per cent. All of these statistics are based upon reports in dollar amounts, and the percentage comparisons make no allow ance for the changing level of prices. Detailed percentage comparisons for the month are set out in the table. Retail Trade RETA IL TRADE IN THE SIXTH DISTRICT DURING MAY, 1932 Based on confidential reports from 38 departm ent stores Comparison of N et Sales Comparison of Stocks May 1932 May 1932 Ja n . 1 to May 31, 1932 May 31, 1932 May 31, 1932 R ate of Stock T urnover w ith w ith w ith same period in with w ith May May Ja n . 1 to May 31 April 30, 1932_______1931 1932 1931 1932 May 1931_________ April 1932________ 1931_________________May 31, 1931 A tlan ta (3) ---------------- ---- —20.0 — 1.1 —19.3 — 6.7 — 2.5 .37 .34 1.83 1.69 Birm ingham (4) --------------—37.8 — 2.7 —29.9 ■ —20.4 -f- 1.0 .23 .20 1.05 1.00 C hattanooga (5) ---------- ---- —28.7 —12.4 —17.2 —31.0 —24.0 .20 .18 .86 .90 Nashville (4) ________ ___ —31.0 + 16.9 —28.9 —17.3 — 8.7 .27 .22 1.14 .94 New Orleans (5 )_____ ___—31.3 — 4.0 —22.8 —19.7 — 6.0 .21 .19 .97 .94 O ther Cities (17)_____ ___ —34.2 —10.2 —27.6 —20.9 — 3.4 .23 .17 1.06 .85 DISTRICT (38) ______ ___ —29.9 — 2.8 —24.0 —18.7 — 5.9 .25 .22 1.13 1.05 N o t e : T h e r a t e o f s t o c k t u r n o v e r is th e r a t io o f s a le s d u r i n g g iv e n p e r io d to a v e r a g e s t o c k s o n h a n d . M O N T H L Y Wholesale Trade T h e r e w a s a f u r t h e r s e a s o n a l d e c lin e in t h e v o lu m e o f s a le s r e p o r t e d f o r M a y b y 1 1 2 w h o le s a le f i r m s in e ig h t d i f f e r e n t lin e s o f t r a d e c o m p a r e d w ith A p r il, a n d a d e c r e a s e o f 2 9 .6 p e r c e n t c o m p a r e d w ith M a y , 1 9 3 1 . A ll o f t h e s e v e n lin e s o f w h o le s a le t r a d e sh o w n in t h e a c c o m p a n y in g s t a t e m e n t s h o w d e c r e a s e s f r o m A p r il to M a y , b u t t h e r e w a s a n i n c r e a s e in s a le s o f sh o e s, n o t s h o w n in t h e s t a t e m e n t b e c a u s e o f t h e s m a ll n u m b e r o f f i r m s r e p o r t i n g . C o lle c tio n s r e p o r t e d b y f u r n i t u r e a n d e le c t r i c a l s u p p ly f i r m s in c r e a s e d f r o m A p r i l to M ay. F o r t h e f i r s t f iv e m o n th s o f 1 9 3 2 t o t a l s a le s b y a ll r e p o r t i n g w h o le s a le f i r m s h a v e a v e r a g e d 2 8 .2 p e r c e n t le s s t h a n in t h a t p a r t o f 1 9 3 1 . T h e p e r c e n ta g e c o m p a r is o n s w h ic h fo llo w a r e b a s e d u p o n d o lla r a m o u n t s a n d m a k e n o a llo w a n c e f o r t h e d i f f e r e n t le v e l o f p r ic e s . Percentage Jan.-M ay, pared w ith in Sales by L ines: Groceries ____ D ry G o o d s___ H ardw are ___ F u rn itu re Electrical Supplies S tationery ______ Drugs T otal- Comparison 1932, com same period 1931 —25.3 —27.1 —29.7 —39.9 —40.2 —22.2 —21.2 —28.2 W HOLESALE TRADE IN MAY, 1932 Sixth Federal Reserve District* Percentage change May,1932 N umber of compared with ________________________________ Firm s________April 1932________May 1931 All Lines Combined: Sales ...... .......... ............ ............ 112 — 7.0 —29.6 Stocks on hand ......................... 25 — 5.0 —14.6 Accounts receivable ............... 51 — 2.5 —16.1 55 — 8.0 —28.2 Collections ............ .................... Groceries Sales _____________________ 26 — 7.0 —23.3 A tlan ta -------------------------3 — 4.0 —27.3 Jacksonville ____________ 4 — 3.2 +14.7 New Orleans - ..................... 5 — 8.7 —20.7 Vicksburg .... ........................ 3 — 6.2 —49.3 Other Cities ........................ 11 — 8.6 —29.0 Stocks on hand............ ................. 4 — 3.0 —22.4 Accounts receivable ............... 13 — 2.0 — 8.6 13 — 4.3 —21.3 Collections ............ ............. ...... Dry Goods: Sales ............ .............................. 20 — 9.0 —31.4 Nashville ....__________ ___ 3 —16.6 —40.9 17 — 7.0 —28.7 Other Cities ........ ................. Stocks on hand------------- --- 9 — 4.2 —18.5 Accounts receivable ............ . 10 — 2.0 —21.2 ‘Collections _______ _____ ___ 12 — 7.1 —24.3 H ard w are: Sales _____________________ 26 — 7.0 —29.2 Nashville ________ ___ ____ 3 — 5.2 —12.4 New Orleans ....................... 5 — 6.7 —39.4 O ther Cities ________ ___ 18 — 7.6 —27.0 Stocks on hand.... .................. 6 — 7.2 — 9.7 Accounts receivable ............... 14 — 3.2 —12.3 Collections ..................... ......... 15 —18.8 —31.7 F u rn itu re : Sales _____________________ 12 —11.3 48.9 A tlan ta ............. ................... 5 — 7.4 —50.5 O ther Cities _______ ____ 7 —12.4 —48.3 Stocks on hand------------ ----6 — 0.7 —12.3 Accounts receivable ............... 7 — 3.3 —38.1 Collections ____________ ____ 6 + 9.2 —33.3 Electrical Supplies: Sales _____________________ 14 — 5.3 —46.6 New Orleans ______ _____ 4 — 5.7 —63.9 Other Cities ............ .......... 10 — 5.1 —31.3 Stocks on hand___________________ ____ ___ Accounts receivable -............. 3 — 3.0 —24.2 Collections ________ ___ ___ 4 -j- 4.6 —55.0 D ru g s: Sales _____________________ 8 — 6.9 —28.3 Accounts receivable ............... 4 — 1.1 — 2.9 Collections ................................. 5 — 6.3 —25.2 Statio n ery : Sales _____________________ 4____________— 1.6____________—12.6 * Based upon confidential reports from 112 firm s. Life Insurance S a le s o f n e w , p a id - f o r , o r d i n a r y l if e i n s u r a n c e in c r e a s e d o n a n a v e r a g e o f 2 .1 p e r c e n t in M a y o v e r A p r il, i n t h e s ix s t a t e s o f t h is d i s t r ic t , b u t w e r e 2 8 .7 p e r c e n t le s s t h a n in M a y , 1 9 3 1 . A t t h e s a m e tim e 5 R E V IE W l a s t y e a r t h e r e w a s a g a in o f 0 .5 p e r c e n t in M a y o v e r A p ril. F o r t h e f i r s t f iv e m o n th s o f 1 9 3 2 t h e r e h a s b e e n a n a v e r a g e d e c r e a s e o f 1 6 .5 p e r c e n t c o m p a r e d w ith t h a t p a r t o f 1 9 3 1 . T h e f i g u r e s in t h e t a b l e b e lo w , t a k e n f r o m th o s e c o m p ile d b y t h e L if e I n s u r a n c e S a le s R e s e a r c h B u r e a u , in d ic a te t h a t f o r t h i s p e r io d t h e f i g u r e s f o r G e o r g ia , F l o r i d a a n d T e n n e s s e e a r e s o m e w h a t b e t t e r t h a n t h e a v e r a g e f o r t h e six s t a te s . (000 April 1932 $ 3,350 3,937 6,849 4,308 1,842 6,028 $26,314 May 1932 ..$ 3,214 Alabam a 4,083 Florida Georgia . 7,287 4,245 Louisiana Mississippi 1,979 6,057 Tennessee — Total — __ $26,865 Omitted) Ja n . through May Percentage May 1931 Comparison 1931 1932 —23.0 $ 5,157 $ 17,069 $ 22,155 —13.0 5,418 21,162 24,335 —12.6 10,179 35,308 40,400 6,379 27,359 —20.5 21,746 —19.4 2,752 9,685 12,010 —15.4 7,791 31,937 37,754 —16.5 $37,676 $136,907 $164,013 Grain Exports-—New Orleans (Bushels) July 1 through May 31 May May 1930-31 1931 1931-32 1932 7,144,385 7,952,719 645,652 1,098,855 W heat ... . 98,758 13,699 95,754 19,265 Corn 404,099 124,233 .. 53,703 15,295 O ats -------_____ _____ , 112,285 Barley ...... 1,127,849 7,367,376 Total ______ 718,620 8,564,857 INDUSTRY Building and Construction F o llo w in g a g a in in A p r il to t h e l a r g e s t t o t a l s in c e N o v e m b e r, b u ild in g p e r m i t s a t r e p o r t i n g c itie s o f t h e S ix th D i s t r i c t d e c lin e d in M a y , b u t t h e r e w a s a s m a ll in c r e a s e in t o t a l b u ild in g a n d c o n s t r u c t i o n c o n t r a c t s a w a r d e d in t h e d i s t r i c t a s a w h o le . B o th s e r ie s o f f i g u r e s c o n tin u e le s s t h a n f o r t h e c o r r e s p o n d i n g m o n th a y e a r a g o . P e r m it s is s u e d d u r i n g M a y f o r t h e c o n s t r u c t i o n o f b u ild i n g s w i t h in t h e c o r p o r a t e l im i ts o f t w e n ty r e p o r t i n g c itie s t o t a l e d $ 1 ,3 7 1 ,9 1 5 , a d e c r e a s e o f 4 0 .3 p e r c e n t c o m p a r e d w ith t h e t o t a l f o r A p r il, a n d 3 6 .4 p e r c e n t le s s t h a n f o r M a y , 1 9 3 1 . E i g h t r e p o r t i n g c itie s h a d i n c r e a s e s o v e r A p r il, a n d f iv e i n c r e a s e s o v e r M a y l a s t y e a r w e r e r e p o r t e d . C u m u la tiv e t o t a l s f o r t h e f i r s t f i v e m o n th s o f 1 9 3 2 f o r t h e s e t w e n t y c itie s a m o u n t t o $ 7 ,5 3 1 ,9 9 7 , w h ic h i s 4 4 .3 p e r c e n t le s s in d o l la r a m o u n t t h a n t h e t o t a l o f p e r m i t s is s u e d a t th e s e c itie s d u r i n g t h e s a m e p a r t o f 1 9 3 1 , a n d 6 6 .0 p e r c e n t s m a lle r t h a n f o r t h a t p a r t o f 1 9 3 0 . C o m p a ris o n s f o r t h e m o n th a r e sh o w n b y c itie s in t h e t a b l e fo llo w in g . City Num ber May 1931 Value May 1932 Alabama 3 A nniston ______ Birm ingham .... .. 137 Mobile ________ 21 Montgomery ___ __ 70 Florida Jacksonville ___ __ 369 Miami .................. 313 25 Miami Beach __ .... Orlando ----------- .. 24 Tam pa ________ __ 208 ♦Lakeland ______ 5 Georgia A tlanta _______ __ 285 76 A ugusta — ......... 18 Columbus .......... .. Macon ............... .... 161 16 Savannah _____ Louisiana New Orleans __ __ 83 A lexandria ____ .. 62 Tennessee __ 202 C hattanooga ___ 9 Johnson City 25 Knoxville .......... Nashville ... ... 122 Total 20 Cities_ 2,229 Index N u m b e r___ 1932 1931 Percentage change in value 15 234 48 142 $ 260 77,427 71,803 25,340 $ 17,860 304,302 40,060 83,780 — — + — 98.5 74.6 79.2 69.8 303 325 39 57 294 8 133,405 104,088 186,350 6,990 42,763 1,325 120,435 221,917 123,275 18,450 84,786 1,820 + — + — — — 10.8 53.1 51.2 62.1 49.6 27.2 366 99 57 209 20 120,466 24,229 9,196 19,459 13,470 367,396 44,498 29,165 78,887 58,615 — — — — — 67.2 45.6 68.5 75.3 77.0 137 53 84,554 18,422 197,373 19,344 — 57.2 — 4.8 247 4 46 147 2,842 79,611 15,600 30,450 308,032 $1,371,915 12.2 175,387 3,450 40,812 126,848 $2,156,640 19.2 — 54.6 +352.2 — 25.4 +142.8 — 36.4 * Not included in totals or index numbers. C o n t r a c t a w a r d s i n t h e S ix th D i s t r i c t d u r i n g M a y , a c c o r d in g t o s t a t i s t i c s c o m p ile d b y t h e F . W . D o d g e C o r p o r a tio n a n d s u b d iv id e d i n to d i s t r i c t f i g u r e s b y t h e F e d e r a l R e s e r v e B o a r d ’s D iv is io n o f R e s e a r c h a n d S ta ti s t i c s , s h o w e d a f u r t h e r g a in o f 3.1 p e r c e n t o v e r A p r il, fo llo w in g a n in c r e a s e in A p r il o v e r M a r c h o f 4 0 .8 p e r c e n t. M a y f i g u r e s w e r e t h e l a r g e s t s in c e O c to b e r , b u t 4 6 .5 p e r c e n t le s s t h a n i n M a y , 1 9 3 1 . R e s id e n tia l c o n t r a c t s d e c lin e d f r o m A p r il t o M a y , b u t 6 M O N T H L Y R E V IE W other classes of awards increased 9.7 per cent. Cumulative totals for the first five months of 1932 show decreases of 43.2 per cent in residential contracts, of 69.8 per cent in others, and a decline of 65.5 per cent in total awards, com pared with that part of 1931. May totals for Florida and Tennessee were more than double those for April in those states, and were also greater than for May last year. Com parisons for the month are shown in the table. Parts of the figures for Louisiana and Mississippi apply to other Federal Reserve Districts. May 1932 Sixth D istrict—T o ta l- .$6,884,095 Residential ______ . 1,568,010 All Others —.......... 5,316,085 S tate T otals: Alabam a — ______ $ 320,100 Florida .................... . 2,213,500 Georgia ........... ........ 1,490,600 Louisiana ................ 1,141,000 Mississippi _______ _ 545,400 Tennessee (6th dist.) 1,764,100 April Percentage May Percentage 1932 Comparison 1931 Comparison $6,678,020 + ■ 3.1 $12,876,971 —46.5 1,832,765 — 14.4 3,070,858 —48.9 4,845,255 + 9.7 9,806,113 —45.8 $ 552,200 — 42.0 1,012,700 +118.6 2,816,600 — 47.1 1,518,500 — 24.9 865,200 — 37.0 772,100 +128.5 $1,572,900 2,084,200 4,356,100 3,783,700 972,500 1,618,000 —79.6 + 6.2 —65.6 —69.6 —43.9 + 9.0 Total contracts awarded in the 37 states east of the Rocky Mountains have increased each month since January, and in May were 20.1 per cent greater than in April, and 72.4 per cent greater than the low point in January, but were 52.2 per cent less than in May, 1931. In May residential contracts declined but there were increases over April of 29.5 per cent in non-residential building and 30.5 per cent in public works and utilities. For the first five months of 1932 total contracts have averaged 62.5 per cent less than during that part of 1931, residential contracts have been 66.6 per cent less, non-residential building 54.4 per cent less, and public works and utilities 66.3 per cent smaller. Lumber According to press reports the demand for South ern Pine lumber continues very light. There was some indication of improvement the first part of June but this proved to be only a temporary spurt. There was some increase in inquiries from the railroads during the latter part of May, but there has been no change in the buying practices of the retail yards, and the industrial trade con tinues slow. During the five-week period ending June 4 average production by mills which reported for the same weeks last year was fractionally larger than the volume of business booked. Orders for this period averaged about 33 per cent less than a year ago, while production was 28 per cent smaller. Comparisons of current weekly figures with those for the same weeks a year ago are shown in the table. Week E nded: May 7 May 14 May 21 May 28 Ju n e 4 Num ber of Mills __ 101 106 __ 108 __ 100 ___ 104 (In thousands of feet) Production Orders 1932 1931 1932 1931 29,639 21,065 29,348 20,958 22,176 80,603 21,986 31,744 30,419 22,593 31,782 21,903 22,491 38,416 19,765 27,615 28,091 20,981 28,095 18,228 Consumption of Cotton Unfilled 1932 56,343 57,204 58,380 54,999 55,125 Orders 1931 91,537 92,923 92,062 87,537 80,444 There was a further decline of 9.5 per cent in the consumption of cotton, from April to May, in the United States, and May showed a decrease of 28.6 per cent compared with that month last year. In the cotton growing states May consumption de creased 7.7 per cent from April, and was 20.5 per cent less than in May, 1931, and in other states there was a decrease of 19.3 per cent from April to May, and a decline of 56.8 per cent compared with May a year ago. For the ten months of the cotton season August through May, the total consumption by American mills has been 2 per cent less than in that part of the season before, a gain of 2.4 per cent for the cotton growing states being more than offset by a decrease of 18.7 per cent for other states. Exports of cotton declined 8 per cent from April to May, but were 49.2 per cent greater than in May, 1931, and for the ten months’ period exports have totaled 7,897,453 bales, a gain of 26.5 per cent over that part of the previous season. Stocks of cotton at the end of May declined seasonally from April, but were greater than a year ago. There were declines of 3.4 per cent for the cotton states and of 17.7 per cent for other states, in the number of spindles active in May as compared with April, and decreases of 5.9 per cent for the cotton states and of 40 per cent for other states compared with May last year. Comparisons for the month are shown in the table. U nited States (Bales) Cotton Consumed ________________ Stocks _______________ ___________ In Consuming E stablishm ents___ In Public Storage and a t Compresses __________________ E xports __________________________ Im ports ______________________ __ Active Spindles—N um ber ________ Cotton Gowing States (Bales) Cotton Consumed ________________ Stocks __________ __ _____ ________ In Consuming E stablishm ents___ In Public Storage and a t Compresses _______________ ___ Active Spindles—N um ber ............... . O ther States (Bales) Cotton Consumed ________________ Stocks ____________________ __ ___ In Consuming E stablishm ents___ In Public Storage and a t Compresses ___________________ Active Spindles—Num ber _________ May, 1932 332,439 9,071,993 1,463,389 A pril, 1932 367,280 9,696,904 1,532,967 May, 1931 465,363 6,747,633 1,257,616 7,608,604 500,871 22,664 21,639,352 8,163,937 544,563 15,720 23,409,246 5,490,017 335,796 15,189 26,379,092 287,655 8,295,443 1,146,675 311,773 8,934,515 1,212,576 361,680 5,999,230 909,570 7,148,768 16,030,742 7,721,939 16,596,850 5,089,660 17,031,080 44,784 776,550 316,714 55,507 762,389 320,391 103,683 748,403 348,046 459,836 5,608,610 441,998 6,812,386 400,357 9,348,012 In the three states of this district for which separate figures are compiled by the United States Census Bureau, May consumption was 3.1 per cent less than in April, and 15.9 per cent smaller than in May, 1931. For the ten months of the cotton season a gain of 5.4 per cent over that part of the season before shown for Alabama was slightly more than sufficient to offset decreases of 2.3 percent for Georgia and 2.7 per cent for Tennessee. Comparisons for these states are shown in the table following. 19321932 (Bales Consumed) MayA pril May Aug. 1 through May 31 1931 1931-32 1930-31 46,164 Alabam a _______ 43,44943,728 80,686 Georgia ________ 64,50866,901 Tennessee _______ 8,6159,707 11,797 Total ___ ____. 116,572 120,336 138,647 458,311 750,496 122,257 1,331,064 434,820 768,153 125,681 1,328,654 Cotton Manufacturing For the first time in thirteen months the production of cotton cloth by mills report ing to this bank showed a decrease in May compared with the corresponding month a year ago. Stocks on hand increased in May over April, and were larger than a year ago, but other items revealed decreases, and all items reported by cotton yarn mills show declines, as indicated by the percentage comparisons which follow. N um ber of Mills Cotton Cloth: Production ....... ............. ..... Shipments ____ __ _______ Orders booked __________ U nfilled orders _________ Stocks on hand__________ Num ber on payroll______ ... ..........1 Cotton Y arn : Production ................. ..... ... Shipments ------ ------- ------Orders booked ............. ...... Unfilled orders _________ _______ Stocks on hand .............. ... Num ber on payroll_______ Cotton Seed and Cotton Seed Products Percentage change May 1932, compared w ith May 1931 A pr. 1932 16 15 10 13 13 15 — 4.4 —16.8 — 6.1 — 6.4 + 5.1 — 2.5 — 4.8 —22.9 —34.3 — 5.6 + 24.0 — 1.5 10 10 5 7 9 9 — — — — — — —17.9 —23.8 —32.1 — 9.7 —10.4 — 2.9 6.1 2.8 9.8 5.2 2.7 2.1 Operations of cotton seed oil mills in Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi during May showed a further sea sonal decline as compared with earlier months of the current season, but were at a considerably higher level than in May last year. Cumulative totals for the season, August through May, however, for these states, show declines in the amount of seed received and the amount crushed, in the production of cake and meal, hulls and of linters, but a small increase in the production of crude oil. Stocks of seed on hand at the end of May were substantially larger than a year ago, and stocks of cottonseed products were also greater, excepting those of cake and meal which were smaller. For the country as a whole increases are shown in all of these cumulative totals, and stocks at the end of May were also greater than those held a year ago with the exception of cake and meal. In the first two columns of the table are shown combined totals for Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi, and in the last two columns are totals for the country as a 7 M O N T H L Y R E V IE W whole, from the figures compiled by the United States Census Bureau. Cotton Seed and Cotton Seed Products * Sixth D istrict United States Aug. 1 to May 31 Aug. 1 to May 31 1931-32 1930-31 1931-32 1930-31 Cotton Seed, T ons: 5,513,977 4,650,935 1,833,209 ,803,488 Received a t m ills___ 5,123,761 4,650,773 1,834,110 ,736,220 Crushed 398,200 45,578 10.739 71,049 On Hand May 31___ P roduction: -570,:,223,381 570,143,671 1 ,623,687,841 1,420,617,591 Crude Oil, lbs---------2,306,815 2,130,624 809,790 762,129 Cake and Meal, tons.. 1,448,094 1,285,785 515,590 489,237 Hulls, tons _________ 835,791 812,317 326,065 295,913 L inters, bales Stocks a t Mills, May 31: 60,499,991 17,387,852 5,527,919 Crude Oil, lbs------------------ 19,,853,253 150,165 224,282 76,701 51,856 Cake and Meal, to n s___ 201,405 83,096 16,173 81,393 Hulls, tons ----------------270,527 248,728 83,661 89,609 Linters, bales * Georgia, Alabam a, Louisiana and Mississippi. Electric Power Total production of electric power for public use in the six states of this district declined 4.4 per cent in April as compared with March, and was 9.4 per cent less than in April, 1931. April was 3.2 per cent shorter than March. Production of current by the use of water power, which in both months accounted for 67.7 per cent of the total, was also 4.4 per cent smaller than in March, and was 8.1 per cent less than a year ago, and pro duction of power by the use of fuels declined 4.3 per cent from March to April and was 12.1 per cent less than a year ago. Consumption of coal in the production of electric power declined 28.3 per cent from March to April, consump tion of fuel oil declined 5.6 per cent, while the use of natural gas increased 1.7 per cent, but all of these were consumed in smaller amounts than in April, 1931. Cumulative totals for the first four months of 1932 show declines of 6.4 per cent in total current produced for public use, 3.4 per cent in that produced by water power, and 12.1 per cent in that produced by the use of fuels. Comparisons for the month are shown below and are taken from figures compiled by the United States Geological Survey. Apr. 1932 440,192 297,927 142,265 Mar. 1932 460,262 311,572 148.690 Production of Electric C urrent in thousands of k.w. h o u rs: T o ta l. By use o f: W ater Power __________ Fuels ----- -------------- -----Fuel Consumption by Public Utility Power P la n ts: 13,574 9,729 Coal—tons 189,934 179,383 Fuel Oil—bbls. ..... 1,396,299 1,420,248 N atu ral Gas—000 N ote: April figures prelim inary—M arch figures slightly evised. Apr. 1931 485,859 324,093 161,766 11,557 190,309 1,654,459 Bituminous Total production of bituminous coal in the Coal Mining United States during May, reduced somewhat because of the observance of the Memorial Day holiday on May 30 in some fields, amounted tol8,394,000 net tons, according to the preliminary estimate by the United States Bureau of Mines. This represents a decrease of 9.4 per cent from the output in April, and was 35 per cent less than in May, 1931. The month was 1.6 per cent shorter in number of working days than April, and 0.4 per cent shorter than May last year, and daily average produc tion was, therefore, 8 per cent smaller than in April and 34.8 per cent less than in May last year, as indicated in these figures: May, 1932 April, 1932 May, 1931 Total Production (tons) ........ .......... . 18,394,000 _____________ 20,300,000 ___ __________ 28,314,000 Number of working days 25.3 25.7 25.4 Average per w orking day (tons) 727.000 790.000 1,115,000 Total production of bituminous coal during the first five months of 1932 is placed at 126,849,000 tons, a decrease of 21 per cent from the total of 160,612,000 tons produced during that part of 1931. Weekly production figures for Alabama averaged about 5 per cent smaller in May than in April, and 36.4 per cent less than for May last year, and in Tennessee May produc tion declined about 4.1 per cent from April and was 33.8 per cent less than a year ago. Current weekly figures are shown comparatively in the table. Week E n ding: May 7 ____________ _______ May 14 ___________ .............. May 21 ___________ .....____ May 28 ______ ____ .......... Digitized for Ju FRASER n e 4 ........................ _____ (In thousands of tons) Tennessee Alabama United States 1932 1931 1931 1932 1931 1932 4,475 4,295 4,298 4,250 8,635 6,715 6,783 6,628 6,481 6,585 150 153 143 163 244 244 240 226 ---- 47 49 47 44 __ 80 78 64 63 .... Pig Iron Statistics compiled and published by the Iron Production Age indicate a further decline in the total pro duction of pig iron in the United States during May amounting to 8.1 per cent, and the decrease in the daily average output from April to May was 11.1 per cent. Compared with May, 1931, current production was 60.7 per cent less. There was a reduction of 7 in the number of fur naces active on June 1, compared with a month earlier, and a decline of 52 compared with that date a year ago. In Alabama there was a further increase of 8.6 per cent in total production in May, following a gain of 4 per cent in April over March. Because of the different number of days in these months, however, the daily average output increased 7.5 per cent in April over March, and gained 5.1 per cent further in May. May output was, however, 60.2 per cent less than in May last year. The number of furnaces active on June 1 was 4, compared with 7 active a month earlier, and 13 at the same time in 1931. Press reports state that May shipments were below those of April, buying was ex tremely light, and a large part of the May movement was against old contracts. Current sales continue to be confined to small lots. The quotation of $11 per ton for Southern deliveries remains firm. Cumulative totals of production during the first five months of 1932 in the United States amounted to 4,540,750 tons, a decrease of 52 per cent compared with output during that part of 1931, and production during the first five months of 1932 in Alabama amounted to 396,733 tons, a decline of 53.7 per cent compared with the same period in 1931. Comparisons for the month are shown in the table, and index numbers appear on page 8. United S tates: Production—tons ____ ___ _____ ...... ...... Average per day—tons________ ............ ^Active furnaces __ __ ____ ____ A labam a: Production—tons —....... —........... ........... . Average per day—tons....... ...... _______ *Active furnaces ___ _________ ______ May 1932 April 1932 May 1931 783,554 25,276 53 852,897 28,430 60 1,994,082 64,325 105 76,918 2,481 4 70,838 2,361 7 193,445 6,240 13 *First of following month. Naval Stores There was a seasonal increase in receipts of both turpentine and rosin at the three principal mar kets of the district during May, over the months immediately preceding, but May receipts of turpentine were 26 per cent, and those of rosin 24.2 per cent smaller than in May, 1931. Turpentine receipts were smaller than for May of any other year since 1921, and rosin receipts were the smallest for that month since 1926. Stocks of both commodities increased from April to May, but by a much smaller percentage than receipts. Supplies of turpentine were also somewhat greater than a year ago, but stocks of rosin were slightly smaller than for May, 1931. Rains over most of the naval stores belt in recent weeks have counter acted to some extent the deficiency in moisture which has existed since last fall, and have also reduced the danger from forest fires. Comparisons of receipts and stocks for the month are shown in the table. Receipts—Turpentine (1) Savannah -----------------Jacksonville _________ Pensacola _____ __ ____ Receipts—Rosin (2) Savannah ______ Jacksonville ____ May 1932 April 1932 May 1931 13,006 10,713 3,691 7,162 7,576 2,280 17,779 14,726 4,521 27,410 17,018 37,026 43,442 37,994 10,091 28,340 28,667 7,063 57,016 50,288 13,515 T otal......... ........ ..... 91,527 64,070 120,819 Stocks—Turpentine (1) Savannah _________ __ _ Jacksonville ____ _____ Pensacola ...... —--- ------- 8,588 43,416 21,892 5,905 40,570 22,472 24,145 23,127 18,976 T otal____________ 73,896 68,947 66,248 Stocks—Rosin (2) Savannah ____________ J acksonville --------------Pensacola ------------------ 172,197 163,299 14,976 170,226 151,771 15,224 178,545 131,806 41,197 T otal____________ 350,472 337,221 351,548 (1) Barrels of 50 gallons. (2) Barrels of 500 pounds. M O N T H L Y 8 R E V IE W MONTHLY INDEX NUMBERS T h e f o llo w in g i n d e x n u m b e r s , e x c e p t t h o s e o f w h o le s a le p r ic e s , a r e c o m p u te d b y t h e F e d e r a l R e s e r v e B a n k o f A t l a n t a m o n th ly . T h e in d e x n u m b e r s o f r e t a i l a n d w h o le s a le t r a d e a r e b a s e d u p o n s a le s f ig u r e s r e p o r t e d c o n f id e n tia lly b y r e p r e s e n t a t i v e f irm s in t h e lin e s o f t r a d e s in d ic a te d , a n d t h e o t h e r s e r i e s o f i n d e x n u m b e r s a r e b a s e d u p o n f ig u r e s r e p o r t e d t o t h e b a n k o r c u r r e n t l y a v a ila b le t h r o u g h t h e d a ily o r t r a d e p r e s s . T h e s e i n d e x n u m b e r s , e x c e p t a s i n d i c a t e d i n t h e f o o t- n o te s , a r e b a s e d u p o n t h e m o n th ly a v e r a g e s f o r t h e t h r e e y e a r p e r io d 1 9 2 3 -2 5 a s r e p r e s e n t e d b y 1 0 0 . DEPARTMENT STORE TRADE 6th DISTRICT A t l a n t a .................................................................. B ir m in g h a m .......................................................... C h a tta n o o g a ........................................................ N a s h v ille ................................................................ N e w O r le a n s ........................................................ O th e r C itie s ........... ............................................... D IS T R I C T ............................................................. WHOLESALE TRADE 6th DISTRICT G r o c e r ie s ................................................................ D r y G o o d s ............................................................. H a r d w a r e .....................>...................................... F u r n i t u r e ................................................................ E le c t r i c a l S u p p lie s .......................................... S t a t i o n e r y ............................................................. D r u g s ........................................................................ T O T A L ................................................................... LIFE INSURANCE SALES 6th DIST. A la b a m a .................................................................. F lo r i d a ..................................................................... G e o r g ia ......-........................................................... L o u is ia n a ................................................................ M is s is s ip p i ............................................................. T e n n e s s e e ............................................................. T O T A L ..................................................................... BUILDING PERMITS 6th DISTRICT A t l a n t a ................... .............................................. B ir m in g h a m .......................................................... J a c k s o n v ille .......................................................... N a s h v ille ................................................................ N e w O r le a n s ........................................................ ( 1 5 ) O th e r C itie s ............................................. D I S T R I C T (2 0 C i ti e s ) .................................. CONTRACTS AWARDED 6th DISTRICT R e s id e n tia l ............................................................. A ll O t h e r ................................................................ T O T A L ..................................................................... WHOLESALE PRICES U. S. (* ) A L L C O M M O D IT IE S ..................................... F a r m P r o d u c t s .................................................. F o o d s ........................................................................ O th e r C o m m o d i t ie s .......................................... H id e s a n d l e a t h e r p r o d u c ts ..................... T e x tile p r o d u c ts .......................................... F u e l a n d lig h t i n g .......................................... M e ta ls a n d m e t a l p r o d u c ts ..................... B u ild in g m a t e r i a l s ........................................ C h e m ic a ls a n d d r u g s .................................. H o u s e f u r n is h in g g o o d s .......................... M i s c e ll a n e o u s .................................................. M a r. 1932 A p r il 1932 M ay 1932 M a r. 1931 A p r il 1931 M ay 1931 1 3 8 .1 64 .3 54 .8 68 .1 6 1 .3 63 .5 7 2 .8 1 3 5 .8 5 9 .2 6 0 .2 6 3 .6 6 2 .2 6 2 .4 7 1 .8 1 3 4 .3 5 7 .6 5 2 .7 7 4 .3 5 9 .7 5 6 .0 6 9 .8 1 5 5 .5 9 2 .5 64 .1 9 4 .2 7 5 .7 8 1 .7 9 0 .1 1 7 6 .7 8 6 .7 7 2 .8 9 7 .0 8 6 .3 8 4 .7 9 7 .6 1 5 7 .6 9 2 .5 7 4 .0 1 0 7 .7 8 6 .8 8 3 .0 9 6 .7 4 6 .5 4 0 .6 4 1 .5 3 7 .9 4 4 .0 4 0 .0 7 3 .5 4 5 .1 4 2 .7 3 7 .8 4 1 .4 3 7 .0 4 4 .3 4 6 .2 6 5 .7 4 3 .0 3 9 .7 3 4 .4 3 8 .5 3 2 .8 4 1 .9 4 5 .5 6 1 .1 4 0 .0 6 6 .4 5 1 .8 5 6 .1 7 0 .0 7 0 .5 6 1 .7 8 8 .4 6 2 .6 6 5 .7 5 3 .2 5 9 .0 6 0 .1 7 2 .1 5 5 .7 8 7 .3 6 3 .0 5 9 .8 4 8 .3 5 5 .5 5 9 .2 6 6 .4 5 2 .0 8 5 .0 5 8 .5 6 4 .1 7 9 .2 8 4 .3 7 7 .1 3 6 .4 7 2 .5 7 3 .0 57 .9 7 1 .7 8 0 .0 7 2 .3 5 0 .2 6 6 .0 6 8 .2 5 5 .5 7 4 .4 8 5 .1 7 1 .3 5 4 .0 6 6 .3 6 9 .6 7 8 .6 9 8 .3 9 7 .2 8 8 .3 7 9 .7 8 4 .5 8 8 .5 8 5 .6 1 0 8 .3 1 0 4 .0 1 0 9 .0 7 2 .6 9 3 .4 9 7 .1 8 9 .1 9 8 .7 1 1 8 .8 1 0 7 .1 7 5 .1 8 5 .3 9 7 .6 29 .9 4 .6 1 5 .5 1 1 .0 1 0 .3 9.9 1 2 .5 1 0 .3 6.2 1 3 .6 1 7 .6 2 8 .1 2 6 .7 2 0 .4 7 .8 5 .2 1 6 .2 4 8 .6 6 .6 1 1 .8 1 2 .2 2 6 .1 18 .9 2 3 .0 3 2 .2 2 6 .5 1 8 .6 2 2 .1 1 5 .8 2 5 .7 2 8 .8 8 1 .2 2 0 7 .7 1 9 .8 4 5 .8 2 3 .7 2 0 .5 1 4 .6 2 0 .0 1 5 .3 2 2 .7 2 1 .0 1 1 .6 1 4 .8 13 .5 13 .1 2 3 .0 1 9 .0 1 1 .2 2 5 .2 1 9 .6 2 2 .6 8 0 .8 5 7 .5 2 8 .1 4 9 .8 4 1 .2 2 1 .9 4 6 .5 3 6 .7 6 6 .0 5 0 .2 62 .3 70.9 77 .3 5 8 .7 67 .9 8 0 .8 7 3 .2 7 5 .3 7 7 .1 6 4 .7 6 5 .5 4 9 .2 6 1 .0 7 0 .9 7 5 .0 5 7 .0 7 0 .2 8 0 .3 7 2 .5 7 4 .4 7 6 .3 6 4 .7 6 4 .4 4 6 .6 5 9 .3 7 0 .4 7 2 .5 5 5 .6 7 0 .7 8 0 .1 7 1 .5 7 3 .6 7 4 .8 6 4 .4 7 6 .0 7 0 .6 7 7 .6 7 7 .2 8 7 .6 7 0 .0 6 8 .3 8 6 .4 8 2 .5 8 2 .9 8 8 .0 7 2 .0 7 4 .8 7 0 .1 7 6 .3 75 .9 8 7 .5 6 8 .2 6 5 .4 8 5 .7 8 1 .5 8 1 .3 8 7 .9 7 1 .5 7 3 .2 6 7 .1 7 3 .8 7 5 .1 8 7 .6 6 7 .4 6 5 .3 8 5 .0 8 0 .0 8 0 .5 8 6 .8 7 0 .5 9 6 .1 1 1 3 .9 1 0 6 .6 1 5 3 .3 1 2 7 .0 5 7 .0 1 5 0 .8 7 2 .3 8 9 .2 8 5 .9 1 2 7 .2 9 7 .5 3 4 .9 8 8 .6 6 5 .4 8 2 .3 8 2 .8 1 2 6 .4 8 6 .6 2 8 .2 8 1 .5 9 6 .5 1 0 9 .8 1 0 9 .9 1 3 8 .7 1 2 8 .1 6 7 .3 9 8 .5 1 0 0 .1 1 1 1 .8 1 1 6 .7 1 4 3 .6 1 2 6 .4 7 4 .4 6 3 .8 9 1 .6 1 0 3 .7 1 0 3 .5 1 3 4 .3 1 1 8 .5 6 5 .2 5 4 .6 3 2 .4 2 9 .3 2 8 .5 3 0 .5 2 6 .2 3 3 .1 6 8 .0 7 4 .5 6 7 .6 8 4 .6 6 6 .7 8 3 .3 5 1 .8 4 8 .7 4 5 .6 8 3 .7 8 1 .6 7 5 .8 COTTON CONSUMED U n ite d S t a te s ..................................................... C o tto n - G r o w in g S t a te s .................................. G e o r g ia ............................................................. A l a b a m a ............................................................. T e n n e s s e e .......................................... ............. A ll O t h e r S t a t e s .................................................. E x p o r t s ..................................................................... PIG IRON PRODUCTION: U n ite d S t a te s ..................................................... A la b a m a ....... ..................................... .................. UNFILLED ORDERS—U. S. STEEL CORPORATION .................................... (* ) C o m p ile d b y t h e B u r e a u o f L a b o r S t a ti s t i c s . Base 1 9 2 6 - -100.
@FedFRASER