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M O N T H L Y R E V I E W O f Financial, A gricultural, T ra d e and Industrial C onditions in the S ixth Federal Reserve D istrict FED ER A L RESERVE B A N K O F A T L A N T A Vol. 22 No. 3 ATLANTA, GA., MARCH 81, 1937 N ATIO N AL SUMMARY OF BUSINESS CONDITIONS Prepared by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System V o lu m e o f p roduction , em p loym en t, and trade in creased m ore than se a so n a lly in F eb ru ary and w h o le sa le p rices o f in d u strial com m od ities con tin u ed to advance. Production and Employment T he B oard ’s in d ex o f in d u stria l production , w h ich m akes a llo w a n c e fo r ch an ges in th e num ber o f w ork in g d ays and fo r u su al sea so n a l varia tio n s, w as 1 1 6 per cent o f the 1 9 2 3 -1 9 2 5 average in F eb ru ary as com pared w ith 114 in Janu ary and an average o f 115 in the last quarter o f 1936. A t steel m ills a ctiv ity co n tin u ed to in crease in F ebruary and the first three w eeks o f M arch and, alth ou gh the grow th w as som ew hat less than sea so n a l, ou t put cu rren tly is at about th e p eak le v e l reached in the sum m er o f 19 2 9 . A u to m o b ile p rod u ction , w h ile fluctuating co n sid era b ly w ith strikes at im p ortan t p la n ts, h a s been larger fo r the year to date than in the co rresp o n d in g period last year. O utput o f p la te g la ss in F ebruary show ed a sharp rise from the lo w lev e l o f the tw o p reced in g m onths w hen strikes cu rtailed prod u ction . A t te x tile m ills and sh oe factories a ctivity con tin u ed at a h ig h le v e l, w h ile output at m eat-packing establish m en ts d eclin ed som ew h at further. M in eral p rod uction increased , reflecting ch iefly greater ou t put o f coal and a further rise in crude p etroleu m p rod u c tion. V alu e o f constru ction contracts aw arded th is year, accord in g to the F. W . D o d g e C orporation, has been co n sid era b ly larger than a year ago, reflecting an in creased v o lu m e o f p rivate resid en tial b u ild in g and other typ es o f private co n INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION In d e x o f p h y s ic a l v o lu m e o f p ro d u c tio n , a d ju ste d f o r se a s o n a l v a r ia t io n . m o n th s, J a n u a r y , 1929, to F e b r u a r y , 1937. 1923-1925 a v e ra g e = 100. B y ™ struction, w h ile the vo lu m e o f p u b licly -fin a n ced w ork h as been sm a ller. F actory em p loy m en t and p a y r o lls in creased from the m id d le o f January to th e m id d le o f F eb ru ary b y m ore than the u su al season al am ount. T h e num ber em p lo y ed in the m achinery in d u stries in creased co n sid era b ly and there w ere sm a ller in creases at a u to m o b ile and p la te g la ss factories. In the n on d u rab le g ood s ind u stries as a group there w as a season al rise in em p loym en t. Distribution D ep artm en t store sa les in creased from January to F ebruary and the B oard’s sea so n a lly adjusted in d ex advanced from 9 3 to 9 5 p er cent o f the 1 9 2 3 -1 9 2 5 average. S a les at variety stores also in creased m ore than sea so n a lly , w h ile m a il order sa les, la r g e ly in rural areas, sh ow ed less ex p a n sio n than is u su al at this tim e o f year. T o ta l freigh t-car lo a d in g s in creased in February and th e first h a lf o f M arch, o w in g in part to sea son al influences. Commodity Prices T h e g en eral le v e l o f w h o le sa le com m od ity p rices advanced fro m the m id d le o f F ebru ary to the third w eek o f M arch, reflecting p r in cip a lly fu rther su b stan tial increases in the p rices o f in d u strial materials.^ P rices o f iron and steel, non-ferrou s m etals, lu m b er, cotton, rubber, and h id es advanced co n sid e ra b ly and there w ere a lso in creases in the p rices o f cotton g o o d s, p aper, and fu rn itu re. W heat p rices advanced in re cent w eeks fo llo w in g a d eclin e in the latter part o f F eb ruary. Bank Credit On M arch 1, w hen the first h a lf o f th e recent in crease in reserve requirem ents w ent in to effect, ex cess reserves o f m em ber banks d eclin ed from $ 2 ,1 0 0 ,0 0 0 ,0 0 0 to about $ 1 ,3 0 0 ,0 0 0 ,0 0 0 . In th e n ext three WHOLESALE PRICES In d e x co m p ile d b y the U n it e d S ta te s B u r e a u o f L a b o r S t a t ist ic s, 1926 100. B y m o n th s, 1929 to 1931; b y w e e ks to date. L a t e s t fig u re i s f o r w ee k e n d in g M a r c h 13. 2 M O N T H L Y R E V IE W MONEY RATES IN NEW YORK M inimum rate on rediscounts fo r and advances to member banks by Federal Reserve Bank, and weekly prevailing rates on prim e commercial paper, 4 to 6 m onths, and prim e bankers* acceptances. 90 days. For weeks ending Ja n u ary 3, 1931, to M arch 27, 1937. w eeks, w h ich in clu d ed th e M arch ta x c o lle c tio n p erio d , e x cess reserves sh ow ed m od erate flu ctu ation s around th e new le v el. In con n ection w ith th e in creases in reserve req u ire m ents th ere w ere som e w ith d raw als o f bankers’ b a la n ces from city banks bu t p ra c tic a lly n o b o rro w in g b y m em ber banks from the R eserve B anks. H o ld in g s o f U n ited States G overnm ent o b lig a tio n s at rep o rtin g m em ber banks in le a d in g cities d eclin ed b y $ 2 8 0 ,0 0 0 ,0 0 0 in the fo u r w eeks en d in g M arch 17, a part o f the d e c lin e reflecting la rg e m atu ri ties o f T reasury B ills. C om m ercial lo a n s in creased further at rep ortin g banks and on M arch 17 w ere a b o v e la st y ea r’s h ig h le v e l reached on D ecem b er 3 0 . L oans to brokers and d ealers in secu rities increased sh a rp ly . Money Rates S in ce the b eg in n in g o f M arch the rate o n 90-d ay bankers’ accep tan ces advanced fro m 5 /1 6 o f 1 per cent to 9 / 1 6 o f 1 per cen t and com m ercial paper rose from a flat % per cent to a range o f betw een % per cent and 1 per cent. B ond y ie ld s, w h ich u n til re cen tly had been n ear the extrem e lo w p o in t reached la st D ecem ber, advanced b y betw een ^ an d V2 Per cen t an ^ on M arch 2 4 w ere at about th e le v e ls p rev a ilin g ea rly in 1 9 3 6 . SIXTH DISTRICT SUMMARY T rade at both retail and w h o le sa le in the S ix th D istrict con tin u ed in F ebru ary at r e la tiv e ly h ig h le v e ls, and te x tile activity, b ased on the d a ily average rate o f cotton co n su m p tion , reached in F ebruary th e h ig h est le v e l on record. L ife in su ran ce sa les in creased over th o se in January, and the d a ily rate o f prod u ction o f p ig iro n and co a l a lso in creased , and a ll o f these series o f figu res w ere h ig h er than in F eb ruary, 19 3 6 . W h ile th e v a lu e o f b u ild in g perm its in creased over January, contracts aw arded d eclin ed 4 9 .5 per cent, and both p erm its and contracts w ere sm a lle r than a year ago. T h e p rice o f cotton reached ab ou t th e m id d le o f M arch th e h igh est le v e l in n e a r ly seven years. D epartm ent store sa les in creased 8 .6 per cent in d o lla r v o lu m e from January to F eb ru ary. T h e d a ily average, how ever, rose 13.1 per cent, b ecau se o f the shorter m onth, and the F ebruary u n ad ju sted in d ex o f d a ily average sa les is the h igh est fo r that m onth in the series. Stocks a lso in creased, and the c o llectio n ratio w as h ig h er than a m onth, or a year, earlier. W h o lesa le trade d eclin ed o n ly 1.5 p er cent in F ebruary, about th e sam e as the d ecrease at that tim e st FRASER year, and w as 2 7 .2 p er cen t greater than in F ebruary, Digitizedlafor MEMBER BANK RESERVE BALANCES 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 Wednesday figures of total m ember bank reserve balances a t Federal Reserve Banks, w ith estim ates of required reserves, Ja n u a ry 6, 1932, to March 24, 1937. 1 9 3 6 , and at the h ig h est le v e l fo r F eb ru ary sin ce 1930. L ife in su ran ce sa le s in crea sed fro m Jan u ary to F ebruary fo r the secon d tim e in seven years, and w ere 1 5 .9 per cent greater than a y ea r a g o . B ank d eb its to in d iv id u a l ac counts d eclin ed from Jan u ary, b ut w ere 1 8 .8 per cent greater than in F eb ru ary, 1 9 3 6 . A t w eek ly rep o rtin g m em ber b anks in le a d in g cities o f the D istrict in vestm en t h o ld in g s o f secu rities d eclin ed 5.3 m illio n s in the fo u r w eeks e n d in g M arch 1 0 , and lo a n s in creased slig h tly , b u t lo a n s w ere 4 8 .2 m illio n s, and in v est m ents 30.1 m illio n s, greater than a y ea r a g o . D em an d deposits-ad ju sted in crea sed fu rth er in th is fo u r w eeks p erio d , but d ep o sits o f th e U n ited S tates and in terb ank d ep o sits d eclin ed som ew h at. A t th e F ed era l R eserve B ank there w as an in crea se in th e sm a ll v o lu m e o f d isco u n ts, and m em ber bank reserve accou n ts in crea sed fo llo w in g the in crease in reserve req u irem en ts o n M arch 1. T h e v a lu e o f b u ild in g p erm its issu ed in F eb ru ary in creased 1 5 .2 p er cent over January, b ut th e to tal v a lu e o f contracts aw arded d eclin ed b y 4 9 .5 p er cent. F eb ruary p er m its w ere 6 .2 p er cent, an d to ta l con tract aw ards w ere 9 .4 p er cent, sm a ller than in F eb ru ary la st year. R esid en tial con tracts, h ow ever, in creased 1 5 .8 p er cen t over January and w ere 1 7 .9 p er cen t la r g er than a y ea r a g o . E m p lo y m ent d eclin ed som ew h at fro m D ecem b er to January, as it u su a lly d oes fo llo w in g th e C hristm as h o lid a y s, but num ber o f w orkers w as 1 0 p er cen t, an d p a y r o lls 1 9 .6 p er cent, greater than a y ea r a g o . On a d a ily a verage b asis, co n su m p tion o f cotton in th is D istr ic t in crea sed 1 p er cent from Jan u ary to F eb ru ary to th e h ig h est rate fo r an y m onth on record. O rders an d p ro d u ctio n at lu m b er m ills averaged h ig h er in F eb ru ary th is y ea r than la st, b ut there w as som e fa llin g off in the latter part o f th e m on th . C oal prod u ction averaged h ig h er in F eb ru ary in b oth A la b a m a and T en n essee than in Jan u ary, and w as greater than in F eb ru ary last year in A la b a m a , but som ew h at sm a ller in T en n essee. T o ta l p rod u ction o f p ig ir o n in A la b a m a d eclin ed in F e b ruary, but th e d a ily a verage rate in crea sed 3 p er cen t over Jan u ary an d w as 3 3 .7 p er cen t la rg er than a yea r ago. O p eration s at cotton seed o il m ills d eclin e d se a s o n a lly in F eb ru ary, but w ere su b sta n tia lly greater than in F eb ruary la st year. A fter rea ch in g in D ecem b er th e la rg est m o n th ly total on record, elec tric p ow er p ro d u ctio n d eclin ed 4 .1 per cent in Jan u ary but w as 9 .4 p er cent greater than a year earlier. M O N T H L Y FEDERA L RESERVE BANK OF ATLANTA (In Thousands of Dollars) March 10 Feb. 10 1937 1937 Bills Discounted: Secured by Govt. Obligations All O thers................................. Total Discounts.............. Bills Bought on Open M a rk e t.. Industrial Advances.................... U. S. Securities............................ Total Bills and Securities Total Reserves............................ Member Bank Reserve Account U. S. Treasurer—Gen. Account Total D eposits............................ F. R. Notes in actual circulation Commitments to make indus trial advances.......................... $ • 75 201 276 108 350 109,941 110,675 268,688 175,426 5,831 189,724 184,204 275 $ 60 $ 104 164 108 361 109,941 110,574 248,435 157,678 4,235 171,360 182,852 283 March 11 1936 55 12 67 164 870 100,209 101,310 199,240 122,917 2,633 132,761 160,756 387 FINANCE Reserve Bank Credit T o ta l earn in g assets o f the F ed eral R eserve Bank o f A tlan ta in creased slig h tly b etw een F ebruary 10 and M arch 10, but con tin u ed at about the lev el o f p reviou s W ed n esd ays sin ce the turn o f the year. D iscou n ts fo r m em ber banks in creased som ew hat the first w eek in M arch, and on M arch 10 w ere $ 1 1 2 ,0 0 0 larger than fou r w eeks ea rlier, and w ere a lso la rg er than a year ago. H o ld in g s o f purchased p ap er h ave rem ained at $108*000 sin ce M ay o f la st year. H o ld in g s o f U n ited States secu rities have am ounted to $ 1 0 9 ,9 4 1 ,0 0 0 sin ce th e first o f the year w hen this ban k ’s p a rticip a tio n in the S ystem ’s se cu rity h o ld in g s w as increased , and w ere 9 .7 m illio n s larger than on th e corresp on d in g W ed n esd ay a year a go. O ut stan d in g in d u strial advances fo r w ork in g ca p ita l d eclin ed $ 1 1 ,0 0 0 sin ce F ebruary 10, and at $ 3 5 0 ,0 0 0 w ere on M arch 10 co n sid era b ly less than h a lf the to ta l o f $ 8 7 0 ,0 0 0 a year earlier, and com m itm ents to m ake such ad van ces registered a further sm a ll decrease. O n e-h alf o f the 3 3 ^ * p er cen t in crease in reserve re quirem ents im p osed b y the B oard o f G overnors o f the F ed eral R eserve S ystem on m em ber banks becam e effective M arch 1, and m em ber bank reserves, w h ich had risen from 153.1 m illio n s on the first W ed n esd ay o f th e year to 1 5 8 .9 m illio n s on the last W ed n esd ay in F eb ru ary, rose to 1 7 5 .4 m illio n s in th e tw o fo llo w in g w eeks, and w ere 5 2 .5 m illio n s greater than a year ago. T here w ere d eclin es in th e last h a lf o f January and the first h a lf o f F eb ru ary in n et dem and d ep osits, and in the am ount o f required reserve, but in creases in actual reserves and in the estim ated ex cess, based o n d a ily average figures. In th e la st h a lf o f F ebruary, h ow ever, net dem and d ep osits in creased , and tim e d ep osits con tin u ed to in crease, resu ltin g in a sm a ll in crea se in re q u ired reserve. A ctu a l reserves d eclin ed slig h tly , h o w ever, and the estim ated excess in the la st h a lf o f February w as 4 3 .3 m illio n s, o r 3 7 .6 p er cent. F o llo w in g a d eclin e from 1 9 5 .5 m illio n s on D ecem b er 2 3 to 1 8 0 .7 m illio n s on January 2 7 , F ed eral R eserve n otes o f this ban k’s issu e in creased to 1 8 4 .2 m illio n s on M arch 10, h igh er b y 2 3 .4 m illio n s than a year ago. T o ta l d ep o sits w ere about 5 7 m illio n s, and total reserves 6 9 .4 m illio n s, greater than on the corresp o n d in g W ed n esd ay la st year. P rin cip a l item s in th e w eek ly statem ent are com p ared in an accom p an yin g tab le. Member Bank Credit B ecause o f a d eclin e in h o ld in g s o f in vestm en t secu rities, to ta l lo a n s and in vestm en ts at 22 w eek ly rep ortin g m em ber banks in th e S ix th D is trict d eclin ed 5 .2 m illio n s betw een F eb ru ary 10 and M arch 10, and w ere lo w er than on other W ed nesd ays O ctober 7, but 7 8 .3 m illio n s greater than on th e corDigitizedsin force FRASER % R E V IE W CONDITION OF 22 M EM BER BANKS IN SELECTED CITIES (In Thousands of Dollars) March 10 Feb. 10 March 11 1937 1937 1936 Loans and Investm ents.............. Loans—T o ta l.............................. On Securities............................ To Brokers and D ealers........ To O thers................................ Real E state Loans...................... Acceptances and Com’l Paper $ Loans to B anks........................... All Other Loans.......................... Investments—T otal.................... U. S. Govt. Direct Obligations Obligations Guaranteed by U.S. Other Securities...................... Reserve with F. R. B an k .......... Cash in V ault.............................. Balances with Domestic Banks. Demand Deposits—A djusted... Time Deposits............................. U. S. Govt. Deposits.................. Inter-bank deposits: Domestic. Foreign. . Borrowings—at F. R. Ba nk. . . . O ther.................... 582,366 $ 262,832 60,183 8,979 51,204 25,785 498,790 214,687 56,484 6,579 49,905 21,111 4,809 804 170,294 314,189 196,063 36,750 81,376 102,977 11,422 132,959 341,062 178,030 15,083 234,504 1,209 6,207 838 169,819 319,534 201,373 35,873 82,288 90,195 11,256 148,687 334,302 177,075 23,829 241,216 1,108 4,994 614 131,484 284,103 172,538 36,551 75,014 68,219 10,271 174,754 292,969 170,099 26,687 210,940 1,315 40 60 577,125 262,936 60,653 8,641 52,012 26,376 $ resp o n d in g rep ort date a year ago. S in ce January 6, total loan s, and “A ll O ther” lo a n s, in clu d in g lo a n s fo r co m m ercial, in d u strial and agricu ltu ral p u rp oses, h ave averaged som ew hat lo w er than th ey did in D ecem ber, fo llo w in g a rather stead y rise sin ce m id-year. On M arch 10, h ow ever, total lo a n s w ere 4 8 .2 m illio n s, and “A ll O ther” lo a n s w ere 3 8 .8 m illio n s, greater than at that tim e last year. L oans on secu rities h ave not ch an ged m a teria lly sin ce the first W ed n esd ay in January, and on M arch 10 w ere 4 .2 m illio n s greater than a year a go. R eal estate lo a n s have exh ib ited a slo w but stead y rise sin ce th e m id d le o f 1 9 3 5 . H o ld in g s o f accep tan ces and purchased com m ercial pap er in creased in F ebruary, but d eclin ed e a rly in M arch to the lo w est total sin ce A u gu st, and lo a n s to banks a lso rose som ew hat in F ebruary and th e first w eek in M arch. T o ta l h o ld in g s o f in vestm en t secu rities on M arch 10, at 3 1 4 m illio n s, w ere at the lo w est le v el sin ce June 10 last year, but w ere, n ev erth eless, 30.1 m illio n s greater than on the corresp on d in g report date in M arch la st year. T otal DEBITS TO INDIVIDUAL ACCOUNTS* (In Thousands of Dollars) Feb. 1937 Jan. 1937 Alabama—4 Cities...................... Birmingham............................ D othan..................................... M obile...................................... M ontgomery............................ $ 126,594 $ 73,866 2,892 30,905 18,931 Feb. 1936 164,389 $ 99,129 3 ,339 38,148 23,773 108,505 61,426 2,267 26,322 18,490 Florida—4 C ities........................ Jacksonville............................. M iam i....................................... Pensacola................................. T am pa...................................... 158,126 73,580 47,897 8,068 28,581 175,353 84,217 49,373 9,026 32,737 134,568 60,047 41,496 7,282 25,743 Georgia— 10 Cities...................... Albany...................................... A tlanta..................................... Augusta.................................... Brunswick................................ Columbus................................. Elberton................................... M acon...................................... Newnan.................................... Savannah................................. Valdosta................................... 256,503 4,614 172,383 15,739 2,410 13,208 1,011 13,688 2,001 28,158 3,291 297,712 5,818 193,671 21,275 2,514 15,067 1,086 16,444 2,525 34,830 4,482 216,172 2,864 143,182 15,943 2,080 10,303 704 10,841 1,511 25,990 2,754 Louisiana—New Orleans........... 210,389 237,417 173,229 Mississippi—4 Cities.................. H attiesburg.............................. Jackson.................................... M eridian.................................. Vicksburg................................. 45,598 4,826 24,354 9,398 7,020 51,686 4,715 29,285 9,910 7,776 35,702 3,889 18,764 7,398 5,651 Tennessee—3 Cities.................... Chattanooga............................ Knoxville.................................. Nashville.................................. 137,311 36,933 24,266 76,112 161,368 47,172 31,860 82,336 118,453 31,377 21,815 65,261 Total—26 Cities...................... $ 934,521 $ 1,087,925 $ 786,629 ♦ M o n t h ly tota ls are derived from w eekly reports b y p ro ra tin g figures for those weeks w hich do n ot fall entirely w ith in a sin gle calendar m onth. 4 M O N T H L Y investm en t h o ld in g s had risen to 3 3 7 .8 m illio n s, on O ctober 2 1 , b ut h a v e averaged lo w er each m on th sin ce th en . M ost o f th e recent d eclin e h as b een in h o ld in g s o f d irect o b lig a tio n s o f th e U n ited States w h ich am ounted on M arch 1 0 to 1 96.1 m illio n s, th e sm a lle st to ta l fo r a n y W ed n esd ay sin ce M arch 18 la st year. H o ld in g s o f secu rities gu aranteed by th e U n ited S tates w ere slig h tly h ig h er than on earlier W ednesdays th is year, but sm a lle r than th e a v erage fo r a n y m onth la st year ex cep tin g June. H o ld in g s o f O ther S ecu r itie s w ere lo w er on M arch 1 0 than on other W ed n esd ays sin ce A u gu st, but ab out 6 .4 m illio n s la rg er than a year a go. D em and dep osits-ad ju sted in creased furth er in th e fo u r w eeks en d in g M arch 10, w hen th ey w ere at a n ew h ig h le v e l and 4 8 .1 m illio n s greater than a y ea r ea rlier. T im e d e p osits a lso in creased s lig h tly over oth er recent rep ort dates and w ere 7 .9 m illio n s greater than a year a g o . D ep o sits o f other d om estic banks ro se fro m 1 7 7 m illio n s on th e la st tw o W ed nesdays in June to 2 4 1 m illio n s o n th e secon d and third W ed n esd ays in F eb ru ary, but h a v e sin ce d eclin ed som ew hat. T h ey w ere, h ow ever, o n M arch 10, 2 3 .6 m il lio n s greater than a yea r a g o . B a la n ces m ain tain ed b y these banks w ith corresp on d en t banks d eclin ed fro m the h ig h p o in t at about 17 5 m illio n s, on M arch 11 la st year, to 1 22 m illio n s on N ovem b er 1 0 ; sin ce that tim e th ey h ave risen to about 14 8 m illio n s on F eb ru ary 17, and d eclin ed to 1 33 m illio n s on M arch 1 0 , w hen th e ^ w ere 4 1 .8 m illio n s less than a year ago. P r in c ip a l item s in the w eek ly report are com pared in an a cco m p a n y in g ta b le. D eb its to in d iv id u a l accou n ts at 2 6 rep o rtin g cities, sh ow n in another ta b le, d eclin ed 14.1 p er cen t fro m Jan u ary to F ebru ary, but w ere 1 8 .8 p er cen t greater than in F ebruary 1 9 3 6 , and the la rg est fo r F eb ru ary sin ce 1 9 3 1 . AGRICULTURE T h e u n u su a lly w arm w eather o f Jan u ary and e a r ly F eb ruary w as fo llo w e d in the latter part o f F eb ru ary and ea rly M arch w ith lo w er tem peratures, and m ore r a in fa ll. C old w eather k ille d th e a b n o rm a lly ea r ly b lo o m and sm a ll fru it in the straw berry section s o f G eorgia and A la b a m a . F lo r id a, alth ou gh co o ler, escap ed fro st dam age. In the sou th ern and cen tral section s o f th e state sp rin g crop s are m o stly p lan ted , but w aterm elon s and cucum bers w ere s till b ein g p lan ted in the n orthern and w estern areas at th e m id d le o f the m onth. SUGAR MOVEM ENT—NEW ORLEANS—Pounds Raw Sugar Feb. 1937Jan. 1937 Shipments Stocks Feb. 1936 73,876,097 83,736,128 26,920,124 75,318,137 83,980,901 38,705,759 Refined Sugar 47,323,468 42,086,227 61,496,661 32,149,918 85,578,677 23,068,135 R IC E MOVEM ENT (Rice Millers' Association Statistics) February Aug. to Feb. Incl. Receipts of Rough Rice* Season 1936-37........................ Season 1935-36....................... 972,917 483,100 9,238,133 7,404,363 Distribution of Milled Rice** Season 1936-37....................... Season 1935-36....................... 1,109,334 1,069,756 6,824,932 5,656,404 Stocks: Feb. 28, 1937........................... Feb. 29, 1936........................... Rough 1,410,999 1,146,356 Clean 1,727,551 1,407,452 ls of 162 lbs. **P o c k e ts Digitized ♦B fora rre FRASER of 100 lbs. R ECEIPTS FROM SALE OF PRIN CIPA L FARM PRODUCTS Including Livestock and Livestock Products (In Thousands of Dollars) Jan. 1937 Jan. 1936 Jan. 1935 Jan. 1934 Alabama........................... F lorida.............................. Georgia............................. Louisiana.......................... Mississippi........................ Tennessee......................... $ T o ta l............................. $ 5,407 12,767 7,187 7,245 12,003 13,928 58,537 $ $ 8,267 10,343 6,664 3,550 .5 ,9 6 8 9,913 44,705 $ 4,732 9,835 6,319 8,889 6,371 8,352 $ 4,594 11,435 5,693 8,573 6,648 7,924 $ 44,498 $ 44,867 P ro sp ectiv e p ro d u ctio n o f a ll o ra n g es, in c lu d in g ta n g er in es, fro m th e 1 9 3 6 b lo o m , in F lo r id a , rem ains at 2 1 .2 m illio n b o x es, th e la rg est on record . L ast sea son p ro d u c tio n w as 18 m illio n b o x es. In d ica ted p ro d u ctio n o f F lo rid a g ra p efru it is th e sam e as e a r lie r estim ates, 1 7 .5 m illio n b o x es, a lso a record cro p , com p ared w ith 1 1 .5 m illio n b o x es la st sea so n . R a in fa ll w as g en era l over th e citru s b e lt dur in g F eb ru ary an d trees a re in g e n e r a lly g o o d co n d itio n . C ool w eather w as a p p a r e n tly b en eficia l to citru s fru it. C ash receip ts fro m th e sa le o f p r in c ip a l fa rm products, in c lu d in g liv esto ck and liv esto c k p rod u cts, d eclin ed from D ecem b er to January, b ut th e Jan u ary to ta l o f $ 5 8 ,5 3 7 ,0 0 0 fo r th e six states o f th is D istric t w as 3 0 .9 p er cent greater than in January, 1 9 3 6 and la rg er than fo r that m onth o f other recent years. I f G overn m en t p aym en ts, w h ich am ounted in Jan u ary to 6 .7 m illio n s , are ad d ed th e Jan u ary total w o u ld b e 4 5 .3 p er cen t la rg er than a year a g o , w hen G overnm ent p aym en ts w ere o n ly $ 2 2 3 ,0 0 0 . T h e a verage p rice o f m id d lin g co tto n o n th e ten d esig nated m arkets has stren gth en ed co n sid e r a b ly in recent w eeks. T h e a verage fo r Jan u ary at 1 2 .8 4 cen ts com p ared w ith 1 2 .6 0 cen ts fo r D ecem b er an d 1 2 .0 6 cen ts fo r N o v em ber, an d fro m an a v era g e o f 1 2 .7 5 cen ts on F eb ru ary 1 8 it rose in th e fo llo w in g th ree w eek s to 1 4 .1 5 cen ts on M arch 12, th e h ig h est, a cco rd in g to th e D ep artm en t o f A gricu ltu re, sin ce June 2 , 1 9 3 0 . H ea v y b u y in g fo r b o th d o m estic and fo reig n accou n t w as in d ica ted in th e D ep artm en t’s statem ent. R ep orts to th e D ep artm en t o f A g ricu ltu re in d ica te that farm ers in th is D istrict in ten d ed on M arch 1 th is yea r to p la n t som ew h at la rg er acrea g es than la st year in tob acco, p otatoes, oats and p ean u ts, b ut sm a lle r areas in other p rin c ip a l crop s. T h e to ta l fo r th e m o re im p o rta n t crop s, not in c lu d in g cotton a b ou t w h ich n o in fo r m a tio n is co llected b ecau se o f le g isla tiv e p ro h ib itio n , in d ica tes an average d e crease o f 2 .4 p er cen t th is y ea r fro m th e a crea g e harvested in 1 9 3 6 . T o ta ls fo r th e s ix states, b y cro p s, a re com p ared b elo w . (000 Omitted) Intended Acreage 1937 84,552,697 74,950,059 36,501,562 Receipts. Meltings Stocks. . R E V IE W Corn............................................... O ats............................................... Tame H a y .................................... Potatoes—W hite......................... Potatoes—Sweet......................... Tobacco........................................ Soybeans....................................... Cowpeas........................................ P eanuts......................................... Rice (Louisiana).......................... 14,752 733 4,407 196 441 229 757 912 1,272 436 Acreage Harvested 1936 15,345 678 4,463 170 440 193 773 995 1,232 445 Percent Change H — 3.9 + 8.1 — 1.3 + 1 5 .3 + 0.2 + 1 8 .7 — 2.1 — 8 .3 + 3.2 — 2 .0 T o ta l..................................................24,135________24,734________— 2 .4 TRADE Retail Trade T h ere w ere in crea ses in F eb ru ary in sa le s and stocks at rep o rtin g reta il firm s in th e S ix th D is trict, com p ared w ith Jan u ary an d w ith F ebru ary a year a g o , and th e c o lle c tio n ratio w as a lso h ig h er than fo r eith er o f th o se p erio d s. F eb ru ary sa le s w ere 8 .6 p er cen t la rg er than in January, M O N T H L Y 5 R E V IE W RETA IL TRADE i n T H E SIX TH D ISTRICT DURING FEBRUARY 1937 Based on confidential reports from 54 department stores C omparison o f N et Sales C omparison op Stocks February 1937 February 28, 1937 with: Year to date with: Same month Previous with same period Same month Previous a year ago M onth last year a year ago M onth + 1 0 .2 + 1 2 .6 + 4 2 .6 +6.9 .......... +3.4 + 1 0 .0 — 11.3 + 7.1 + 6.1 Atlanta (6 ).................................... Birmingham (4)............................ Chattanooga (3)............................ Jacksonville (3 )............................. Miami (—) .................................... Montgomery (3)............................ Nashville (4).................................. New Orleans (4)............................ Other Cities (24).......................... DISTRICT (54)............................ NOTE: + 1 2 .3 + 1 6 .0 + 3 2 .8 + 18.5 .......... +4.4 + 2 1 .0 — 7.6 + 5.1 + 8.6 + 1 3 .9 + 16.5 + 2 5 .6 +5.0 .......... +7.4 + 1 1.4 — 2.7 + 1 0.9 + 9.6 + 2 1 .2 +12.1 + 9 .4 +4.5 .......... + 28.5 + 1 3 .3 + 1 3.3 + 1 6.3 + 1 3 .6 C ollection R atio February January February 1937 1937 1936 + 8.8 + 7.7 + 1 6 .2 +8.1 .......... + 13.7 + 1 5 .4 + 2 1 .6 + 1 1 .2 + 1 0.9 36.4 40.5 27.9 30.7 35.5 32.6 33.5 36.5 29.5 .... .... .... 28.6 40.0 35.0 36.0 29.3 37.6 34.5 33.7 30.0 40.8 35.0 35.1 The collection ratio is the percentage of accounts outstanding and due at the beginning of the month which were collected during the month reported on. and 6.1 per cen t larger than in F eb ru ary la st y ear. T h e m onth w as shorter b y o n e b u sin ess d a y than January, or F ebruary, 19 3 6 , and th e u n ad ju sted in d ex of d a ily average sa les increased from 6 3 .5 p er cent o f th e 1 9 2 3 -2 5 average fo r January to 7 1 .5 p er cent fo r F eb ru ary. T h is is the h ig h est in d ex fo r F eb ru ary in the series. F or the tw o m onths o f 1 9 3 7 , com b in ed sa le s h ave b een 9 .6 p er cent larger than in that p eriod la st year. S tock s o f merchan* d ise on hand at th e c lo se o f F eb ru ary averaged 1 0 .9 per cent larger than a m onth ea rlier, an d 1 3 .6 p er cent larger than a year ago. T h e in crease in stocks is p ro b a b ly due in som e m easure to th e ea rlier date o f E aster th is y ear. T he co lle c tio n ratio o f 3 6 per cent fo r F eb ru ary com p ares w ith 3 3 .7 per cent fo r January, and w ith 35.1 p er cen t fo r F e b ruary, 1936. In February the ratio for regular accounts w as 4 3 .2 p er cen t, and that fo r in sta llm en t accou n ts 1 3 .2 p er cent. A statem ent b y th e U n ited S tates D ep artm en t o f C om m erce in d icates that d a ily a v erage sa le s o f gen era l m er ch an d ise in sm a ll tow n s and rural areas o f th e S ou th w ere 7 .7 p er cen t larger in January th is year than la st. O ther re g io n s reported larger ga in s, and the a v erage fo r the co u n try w as 1 0 .9 per cent. P ercen tage com p arison s in the ta b le are based u p on fig ures reported in actual d o lla r am ounts and m ake n o a llo w ance fo r changes in p rice le v e ls. T h e in d ex es o f d a ily average sa les, and o f stock s, on p a g e 8, are b ased u p on re ports from a sm a ller num ber o f firm s w h o se figu res have been reported over a lo n g p erio d o f tim e. Life Insurance F ebruary sa les o f new , p aid -fo r, o rd in ary life in su ran ce in th is D istrict in creased 6 .8 per cent over January and w ere 1 5 .9 per cent greater than a year ago, and fo r the tw o m onths o f 1 9 3 7 have been 11.2 per cent greater than in th ose m onths last year. A v a ila b le figures p rior to 1931 sh ow in creases each year from January to F eb ru ary, back to 1 9 2 3 . B eg in n in g in 1 9 31, h ow ever, th ese sa les h a v e decreases in F eb ru ary, excep t in 1933 and 1 9 3 7 . F ig u res in the ta b le are from th ose co m p iled b y th e L ife In su ran ce S a le s R esearch Bureau. SALES OF N EW PA ID -FO R ORDINARY L IF E INSURANCE (In Thousands of Dollars) February January February 1937 Alabam a....................................... Florida.......................................... Georgia......................................... Louisiana...................................... Mississippi.................................... Tennessee..................................... Total Six S tates...................... United S tates.......................... $ $ 3 ,3 3 1 5 ,2 3 7 6 ,1 7 9 3 ,8 6 8 2 ,3 6 0 5 ,2 6 3 2 6 ,2 3 8 4 8 7 ,8 1 9 1937 $ $ 3 ,0 5 4 ,3 8 5 ,3 1 4 ,4 3 2 ,3 5 5 ,0 3 1936 8 9 2 1 4 4 2 4 ,5 7 8 4 6 2 ,3 6 7 $ $ 2 ,7 3 7 3 ,9 5 0 5 ,2 5 0 3 ,9 1 5 1 ,9 3 6 4 ,8 5 8 2 2 ,6 4 6 4 6 0 ,4 6 3 WHOLESALE TRADE IN SIX TH D ISTR IC T DURING FEBRUARY 1937 Based on confidential reports from 70 firms. Percentage Comparisons Jan.-Feb. Incl. Number Feb. 1937 with: Feb. with same Jan. of Firms 1936 period last year 1937 All Lines Combined: + 27.5 + 27.2 — 1.5 70 + 2 3 .0 + 8.3 24 Groceries: +13.1 — 0.8 + 15.8 14 — 1.3 + 4.6 3 — 3.1 Jacksonville....... + 17.8 + 19.2 Other Cities 11 — 0.2 Dry Goods: + 2 2 .9 + 12.3 14 — 6.1 + 10.7 + 5.8 + 3.3 Nashville............ 3 + 14.7 + 2 6 .0 — 8.5 Other Cities 11 + 27.4 + 35.9 7 Hardware: + 3 6.6 + 3 5 .8 — 12.8 24 + 2 8 .0 + 35.8 + 4.4 3 Nashville............ + 40.1 — 9 .0 + 38.5 4 New Orleans. . . , + 35.1 + 3 5.8 17 — 16.9 Other Cities + 4.9 9 Stocks......................... + 5.9 Furniture: +47.7 + 39.5 + 5.3 5 +30.1 + 8.4 3 Electrical Supplies: + 7 7 .0 + 79.8 + 65.5 3 Drugs: + 8.6 + 9.3 7 — 0.5 COLLECTION RATIO* February 1937 79.6 33.0 45.8 42.7 January 1937 80.1 35.5 48.5 38.1 February 1936 62.6 38.0 38.0 38.3 46.0 51.0 51.0 T o ta l.................. *The collection ratio is the percentage of accounts and notes receivable out standing at the beginning of the month which were collected during the month Wholesale Trade February sales by 70 reporting wholesale firms in the District declined 1.5 per cent over the month, and were 27.2 per cent greater than a year ago, and the index number for February, at 76.5 per cent of the 1923-25 average was the high est for the month since 1930, when it was 76.8 per cent. Stocks increased from January to February and were 23 per cent larger than a year ago. The collection ratio, at 5 1.0 per cent, was the same as for January, but 10.9 per cent higher than for February, 1936. Reported figures are compared in the table, and index numbers appear on page 8. Commercial Failures The number of business failures in the Sixth District, according to Dun’s Review, was 2 1 in February, 3 1 in January, and 2 1 in February, 1936, and liabilities for February amounted to $251,000 against $249,000 in January and $108,000 a year ago. In 1936 there were 294 failures in the District, and liabilities totaled $4,216,000, the smallest in many years. EMPLOYMENT There were small declines in employment and payrolls, at firms in the Sixth District reporting to the United States M O N T H LY 6 B U IL D IN G P E R M IT S — F E B R U A R Y 1936 P ercentage C h a n ge in V a lu e 19,121 81,317 40,428 65,757 — 11.7 + 5 4 8 .5 + 1 8 6 .5 + 170.2 359,071 865,843 534,052 98,431 332,545 250,595 938,606 386,840 54,331 54,3 90 + 4 3 .3 — 7 .8 + 38.1 + 8 1 .2 + 5 1 1 .4 155 27 102 189 27 300,340 34,472 40,435 52,464 3 9 ,8 30 174,455 113,035 58,843 28,963 112,988 + — — + — 7 2 .2 6 1 .5 31 .3 81.1 64.7 94 66 87 53 282,240 34,803 144,950 22,724 + + 94 .7 53 .2 Tennessee C h a tta n o o g a ................ Johnson C i t y ............... K n o x v ille ................... N a s h v ille ..................... 279 13 97 143 250 2 42 109 254,938 24,110 314,598 131,018 239,961 2,000 97,763 1,949,648 T o ta l 20 C i t i e s ----- 3,217 2,798 4 ,53 6,97 6 4 ,83 6,71 5 Num ber 1937 1936 A la b a m a A n n is t o n ..................... B i r m in g h a m ................ M o b i l e ......................... M o n t g o m e r y ................ 26 424 24 115 18 259 30 105 F lo rid a Ja c k so n v ille ................. M i a m i ......................... M i a m i B e a c h .............. O r la n d o ....................... T a m p a ........................ 487 650 80 68 171 523 550 70 45 155 209 31 79 129 32 L o u isia n a N e w O rle a n s................ A le x a n d r ia ................... G e o rg ia A t l a n t a ....................... A u g u s t a ....................... C o lu m b u s .................... M a c o n ......................... V a lu e 1937 $ 16,878 527,369 115,835 177,704 $ + 6 .2 + 1105.5 121.8 — 93 .3 — 6 .2 Bureau of Labor Statistics, from December to January, as there usually are, the decrease in number of workers being 1.2 per, cent and in payrolls 2.6 per cent. January employ ment and payrolls were, however, at higher levels than January of other recent years, as indicated in these per centages : J a n u a ry 1937 C o m p a re d w ith : J an u a ry J an u a ry J an u a ry J a n u a ry J an u a ry Num ber E m p lo y e d W e e k 's P a y ro ll 1936........................... ..................... + 1 0 . 0 19 35................................................ + 1 3 . 9 1934........................... ..................... + 1 9 . 7 1933................................................ + 4 0 . 8 1932........................... ..................... + 2 8 . 6 + 1 9 .6 + 3 3 .1 + 4 4 .4 + 9 2 .5 + 4 9 .8 INDU STRY After declining each month since last July, the value of building permits issued at twenty reporting cities in the District increased 15.2 per cent from January to February. The February total was 6.2 per cent smaller than in Feb ruary, 1936, but larger than in that month of other years since 1929. The combined total of $8,475,869 for the first two months of 1937 was also smaller than for that period last year, by 8.2 per cent, but larger than those months of other years since 1929. Of the twenty cities, there were only seven decreases from January to February, and six decreases compared with February last year, one of which, that at Nashville, was due to a large total last year includ ing a large public building. Comparisons for the month are shown in an accompanying table. B U IL D IN G A N D C O N S T R U C T IO N C O N T R A C T S A W A R D E D F . W . D o d g e C o rp o ra tio n F igu re s Feb. 1937 Jan. 1937 Feb. 1936 11 ,4 11 ,200 2 2 , 585 ,600 12 , 588 ,490 4 ,9 5 6 ,9 0 0 6 ,4 5 4 ,3 0 0 4 ,2 8 0 ,3 0 0 18,305,300 4 ,20 3,06 7 8,3 8 5 ,4 2 3 S ta te T o ta ls : A la b a m a .............................. F lo r id 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 sse e ............................. 1,14 4,40 0 3,6 5 7 ,8 0 0 2 ,2 7 0 ,5 0 0 1,58 9,00 0 1,69 8,00 0 3,2 4 8 ,0 0 0 1,78 0,20 0 14,560 ,0 00 2 ,2 5 8 ,3 0 0 1,76 9,10 0 1,78 0,70 0 2 ,5 2 2 ,3 0 0 1,54 2,40 0 4 ,7 4 5 ,3 0 0 1,86 0,90 0 2 ,9 9 4 ,3 0 0 1,422,500 1,85 7,40 0 37 E a ste rn S tate s— T o t a l ......... R e s id e n t ia l........................... N o n -R e s id e n tia l................... P u b lic W o r k s a n d U t ilit ie s ... 188,590,800 63 ,0 11 ,7 00 6 5 ,9 5 1 ,3 0 0 5 9 ,6 2 7 ,8 0 0 2 4 2 ,84 4,000 78 ,423,700 9 5 ,9 68 ,9 00 6 8 ,4 5 1 ,4 0 0 142,050,200 31,175,500 62 ,6 1 0 ,9 0 0 48 ,2 6 3 ,8 0 0 S ix th D is tr ic t T o t a l ................. R e s id e n tia l........................... A ll O t h e r s ............................ R E V IE W The value of building and construction contracts awarded in the Sixth District, according to statistics compiled by the F. W. Dodge Corporation and subdivided into district totals by the Division of Research and Statistics of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, declined by onehalf from January to February, and was 9.4 per cent less than in February, 1936. Residential contracts, however, in creased 15.8 per cent over January, and were 17.9 per cent greater than a year ago, while “Other” contracts declined 64.7 per cent from January, and were 23 per cent less than in February last year. “Other” contracts in February were the smallest since April, 1935, and the total for the month was the smallest total since August, 1935. Figures for the first two months of 1937 show gains of 5.7 per cent in total, and 32.7 per cent in residential, awards, but a decrease of 1.8 per cent in “Other” contracts, compared with that period a year ago. Increases over January in Tennessee and Georgia were outweighed by decreases in the other four states, and decreases compared with February last year in Alabama, Florida and Louisiana, more than offset increases in Georgia, Mississippi and Tennessee. In the 37 Eastern States all classes of contracts declined from January to February but were larger than a year ago, residential con tracts in both February and January being more than dou ble those in February and January, 1936. Press reports indicate that “the Southern Pine market continues generally strong, although there are some reports of a slight slowing up in the demand for retail yard stock. Box factories continue active buyers of low-grade stock, and the railroads and industrials are having difficulty in placing their schedules.” In the last two weeks of Febru ary, orders at mills reporting to the Southern Pine Asso ciation were somewhat less than production, and in the week ending February 27, orders, shipments and produc tion were somewhat below the corresponding week last year. For the four weeks, however, orders averaged 5.3 per cent, shipments 20.7 per cent, production 4.8 per cent, and unfilled orders 25.7 per cent, greater than in the same weeks a year ago. Consumption of cotton by American mills amounted in February to 664,439 bales, a slight decline from January, but 28.8 per cent greater than in February last year, and the highest total, according to the Census Bureau, on record for the month. The previous high for February was 594,720 bales, in 1929. February was shorter than Jan uary, however, and daily average consumption increased 2.1 per cent. Of the total consumption, 553,553 bales, or 83.3 per cent, were consumed by mills in the cotton grow ing states, and 110,886 bales in the remainder of the country. In the seven months of the current cotton season, C O T T O N C O N S U M P T IO N , E X P O R T S , S T O C K S , A N D A C T IV E S P IN D L E S U N I T E D S T A T E S — B a le s Feb. 1937 Jan. 1937 Feb. 1936 C o tto n C o n s u m e d .................... S t o c k s ...................................... I n C o n s u m in g E sta b lis h m e n ts I n P u b lic Sto ra ge an d at C o m p re s se s....................... E x p o r t s .................................... A c tiv e Sp in d le s— N u m b e r ........ 664,439 8,02 1,93 3 2 ,05 6,14 4 67 8,06 4 8,84 5,65 3 2,06 6,30 2 5,965,789 462,517 24,5 36 ,2 54 6,779,351 538,280 24 ,3 64 ,8 02 515,977 8,65 2,83 7 1,405,329 7 ,2 4 7 ,5 0 8 406,022 23 ,3 4 7 ,8 5 0 C O T T O N G R O W I N G S T A T E S — B a le s C o tto n C o n s u m e d .................... S t o c k s ...................................... I n C o n s u m in g E sta b lis h m e n ts I n P u b lic Sto ra ge a n d at C o m p re s se s ............................. A c tiv e S p in d le s— N u m b e r ........ 553,553 7,57 5,92 9 1,719,741 564,874 8,43 8 ,4 8 2 1,748,008 431,387 8,3 0 5 ,4 6 4 1,181,055 5,856,188 6,690,474 7,124,409 17,760,252 17,662,922 17,215,076 M O N T H LY August through February, total consumption has been 4,512,634 bales, a gain of 27.8 per cent over that part of the previous season. Mills in the cotton states have con sumed in this seven months period 3,772,715 bales, or 83.6 per cent of the total. The increase over that part of the previous season in the cotton states was 27.5 per cent, and in other states 29.4 per cent. February exports of cotton amounted to 462,517 bales, a decrease of 14.1 per cent from January, but 13.9 per cent larger than in February last year, and for the seven months of the season total exports have been 3,897,599 bales, a de crease of 11.6 per cent compared with that part of the 1935-36 season. According to the Census Bureau, Febru ary exports were valued at $31,719,000, compared with $36,581,000 for January and with $25,920,000 in February last year, and for the seven months period exports were valued at $261,303,000, against $283,744,000 for that period a year ago. Stocks of cotton held by mills at the close of February were 46.3 per cent larger than at that time last year, while stocks in storage and at compresses were 17.7 per cent smaller. Active spindles have increased in number each month since May, and in February the total was 5.1 per cent larger than a year ago. Cotton mills in Georgia consumed 130,709 bales in Feb ruary, those in Alabama 71,112 bales, and those in Ten nessee 15,577 bales. The total of 217,398 bales for the three states was somewhat smaller than for January or December, and was slightly less than the total for June, 1933. For each of the 24 business days in February, how ever, there were consumed 9,058 bales, a daily rate higher than has been recorded for any previous month. The cumulated total for the seven months of the season is 1,489,465 bales, larger by 29.3 per cent than in the cor responding part of last season. After reaching in December the highest level on record, total production of electric power for public use in the six states of this District declined 4.1 per cent in January, but was 9.4 per cent greater than in January, 1936. An increase of 21 per cent in January production in Georgia was more than offset by decreases in the other five states. January production was smaller than a year ago in Florida and Louisiana. The rate of January production, reflected in daily average figures, was somewhat lower than in the last four months of 1936, September, with only thirty days, having recorded the highest daily average rate on record. Production by use of water power accounted in January for 68.4 per cent of the total, the highest percentage since COTTON SEED C o tto n Seed— T o n s R eceived a t M i l l s ....... C r u s h e d ..................... O n H a n d Feb. 2 8 ....... Prod u ctio n C ru d e Oil, lb s ............ C a k e a n d M e a l, t o n s . . H u lls, t o n s ................. Lin ters, b a le s ............. S to c k s a t M i ll s Feb. 28 C ru d e Oil, lb s ............ C a k e a n d M e a l, to n s.. H u lls, t o n s ................. Lin ters, b a le s ............. May, 1935. In December it was 64 per cent, and in Jan uary last year 65.3 per cent. Weekly reports of the Bureau of Mines indicate that coal production in Alabama in the four weeks ending February 27 averaged 278,000 tons per week, a gain of nearly 6 per cent over January and 9.4 per cent larger than a year ago, and in Tennessee the February average of 119,000 tons per week is only slightly larger than in January and 4 per cent less than in the corresponding period of 1936. For the eight weeks of 1937, Alabama production has averaged 11.4 per cent, and that in Tennessee 0.1 per cent, larger than in that part of last year. Preliminary figures for the United States indicate a total production in February of 41,740,000 tons, a gain of 2 per cent over January, and 1.4 per cent larger than a year ago. Daily average production, how ever, increased 7.1 per cent over January and was 5.6 per cent larger than in February, 1936, which had one more business day. Total production of pig iron in Alabama, according to Iron Age statistics, declined 7 per cent from January to the shorter month of February, but the daily average rate in creased 3 per cent from 6,774 tons per day in January to 6,975 tons per day in February, the highest recorded since June, 1930. In the two months of 1937, Alabama produc tion has amounted to 405,308 tons, the largest for those months since 1930. At the close of February there were 15 furnaces active, the same as for the three previous months, and compared with 12 active a year ago. Early in March one additional furnace was blown in, making a total of 16. Press reports indicate a fair run of new business in both pig iron and steel; that shipments are moving steadily and mills are having difficulty filling specifications against or ders already on file. Wage increases ranging between 10 and 15 per cent and affecting 22,000 workers were reported to become effective March 16. Price quotations in the Iron Age indicate the current price in Birmingham District has been increased to $20.38 per ton, compared with $17.38 in early February, and with $15.50 a year ago. February receipts of both turpentine and rosin declined further to the lowest for the season. Stocks of turpentine were the smallest since September, 1934, and stocks of rosin were the lowest since June, 1929. Quotations for tur pentine on the Savannah Market have declined from 45% cents per gallon on January 8, the highest in nearly a year, to 3914 cents on March 13, the same as at that time last year. The average of quotations for the thirteen grades of rosin also declined from $11.08 per 280 pounds on Jan uary 8, the highest in about ten years, to $9.31 on March 6 and rose slightly the following week to $9.49, which com pares with $4.50 on the same Saturday a year ago. Feb ruary receipts and stocks are compared in the table. A N D COTTON SEED PRODUCTS S ix th D is tr ic t* U n ite d States A u g . 1 to Feb. 28 A u g . 1 to Feb. 28 1936-37 1935-36 1936-37 1935-36 1,806,992 1,520,608 292,688 1,325,093 1,221,279 149,347 4,3 2 8 ,7 0 3 3,78 0,41 9 570,210 3,565,444 3 ,2 8 3,21 4 371,805 7 R E V IE W N A V A L STO RES M O V E M E N T T u rp e n tin e (1) R o s in (2) Feb. 1937 Feb. 1936 Feb. 1937 Feb. 1936 Receipts: S a v a n n a h .................................. 931 J ac k so n v ille ............... ............... 796 P e n sa c o la .................. ............... 277 625 632 185 11,308 12,539 1,449 11,457 10,387 1,504 468,256,795 379,555,162 1,132,769,388 989,491,414 6 6 1 ,9 6 6 5 4 2 ,2 4 5 1 ,6 9 2 ,5 6 6 1 ,4 8 5 ,5 9 1 399,307 368,686 321,389 271,251 963,519 927,523 848,353 743,379 15,899,617 72,433 61,638 58,012 20,483,461 114,485 24,374 42,848 38,917 ,7 24 198,768 149,604 210,641 89,497 ,9 26 321,843 154,085 176,016 A lab am a, Lo u isian a, Digitized for♦Georgia, FRASER and M ississip p i. T o t a l .................. 2,004 1,442 25,296 23,348 Sto ck s: S a v a n n a h .................. J a c k so n v ille ............... P e n sa c o la ................... 25,006 38,967 21,097 41,416 50,249 33 ,620 58,916 48,689 20,636 70,860 99,219 52,559 128,241 222,638 T o t a l .................. (1) B a rre ls of 50 gallons. 85,0 70 125,285 (2) B a rre ls of 500 pounds. 8 M O N T H LY R E V IE W MONTHLY INDEX NUMBERS COMPUTED BY FEDERAL RESERVE BANK OF ATLANTA M O N T H L Y A V E R A G E 1923-1925 = 100 D ec. 1936 Jan . 1937 Feb. 1937 D e c. 1935 Ja n . 1936 Feb. 1936 328.3 187.3 137.1 164.6 161.0 187.1 145.7 77.5 63.4 62.9 72.8 84.7 173.4 95.0 87.7 79.3 73.1 95.1 283.8 138.6 123.1 141.8 138.1 157.5 115.9 61.2 56.9 53.5 65.4 71.2 147.8 80.0 59.0 69.2 75.8 197.8 204.0 105.6 93.3 83.1 108.1 172.0 81.5 78.9 84.9 80.3 92.6 154.5 85.0 72.0 71.3 77.9 90.1 173.9 88.9 74.7 81.4 110.1 194.3 107.6 80.3 83.9 86.7 107.2 100.9 67.3 35.2 50.1 54.0 61.2 107.4 61.9 52.9 51.6 50.1 63.5 114.9 64.5 61.5 59.6 60.9 71.5 92.2 50.7 45.7 58.9 50.4 58.6 91 .7 54.9 50.5 47.1 46.8 57.0 92.3 56.6 56.2 52.6 53.8 61.6 Atlanta (3 firms) ...................................................................................... Birmingham (3 firm s)............................................................................. Chattanooga (3 firm s)............................................................................ N ashville (3 firm s)......................................... ......................................... New Orleans (4 firm s)............................................................................ D I S T R I C T (25 firm s)........................................................................... 116.0 63.0 40.0 55.7 60.7 116.7 119.7 67.2 63.4 62.7 60.9 73.0 106.0 55.7 51.9 65.4 56.6 65.8 99.7 61.0 56.7 54.1 51.4 62.6 96.1 59.0 57.9 55.4 53.8 62.9 W H O L E S A L E T R A D E — S IX T H D IS T R IC T — T O T A L .. . . Groceries (18 firm s)................................................................................. D ry Goods (14 firm s)............................................................................. Hardware (25 firm s)............................................................................... Furniture (7 firm s).................................................................................. Drugs (7 firm s)......................................................................................... 77.5 58.6 60.6 87.8 7 7 .7R 56. 2r 62.4 93.5 79.5 98.5 76.5 55.8 58.6 81.5 83.6 98.2 63.1 52.1 53.8 69.0 61.4 90.6 59.8 51.9 46.3 69.1 51.2 91.3 59.0 48.9 52.2 59.9 61.3 89.8 58.5 45.1 74.2 57.9 69.9 53.8 53.5 62.5 49.1 88.5 67.4 61.0 54.0 55.9 72.1 60.4 83.7 80.3 80.0 62.9 64.3 54.9 40.8 69.6 57.7 62.5 47.5 51.8 53.9 40.4 66.7 57.2 61.8 44.3 51.6 37.0 35.0 11.0 21.1 15.2 41.0 19.6 19.7 55.7 15.8 59.1 17.5 14.1 47.4 40.3 19.4 35.6 43.6 20.7 21.9 53.6 29.2 5.2 9 .8 36.9 159.0 27.0 39.0 18.9 9 .4 34.0 62.1 27.8 53.5 43.0 11.3 5.5 30.5 307.3 11.3 40.8 A ll O thers................................................................................................... 53.4 38.1 63.6 64.4 30.5 86.9 32.5 35.3 30.6 58.1 36.6 7 2.4 55.8 19.6 79.5 35.9 30.0 39.8 W H O L E S A L E P R I C E S — U N IT E D S T A T E S f A L L C O M M O D I T I E S ......................................................................... Farm Products.......................................................................................... Foods........................................................................................................... Other Commodities................................................................................. Hides and leather products......................................................... Textile products............................................................................... Fuel and lighting............................................................................. Metals and metal products.......................................................... Building materials................................................ .......................... Chemicals and drugs*...................................................................... Housefurnishing goods.................................................................. M iscellaneous................................................................................... 84.2 88.5 85.5 82.2 99.7 76.3 76.5 89.6 89.5 85.3 83.2 74.5 85.9 91.3 87.1 83.4 101.7 77.5 76.6 90.9 91.3 87.7 86.5 76.2 86.3 91.4 87.0 84.1 102.7 77.5 76.8 91.7 93.3 87.8 87.9 77.3 80.9 78.3 8 5.7 78.7 95.4 73.2 74.6 80.8 78.2 83.5 78.8 97.1 71.7 75.1 86.7 85.7 80.5 81.4 67.4 80.6 79.5 83.3 79.0 96.1 71.0 76.1 86.7 85.5 80.1 81.5 134.5 168.4 67.3 178.7 219.6 167.1 131.7 165.0 65.6 172.1 213.4 167.7 129.0 161.7 64.2 167.7 206.8 156.5 97.0 C O T T O N E X P O R T S — U N IT E D S T A T E S ................................ 115.7 104.8 P I G IR O N P R O D U C T IO N — U N IT E D S T A T E S ................... 104.3 86.5 107.5 90.4 D E P A R T M E N T S T O R E T R A D E —S IX T H D IS T R IC T D a ily Average S a le s — U n a d ju s te d Atlanta (3 firm s)...................................................................................... Birmingham (3 firm s)..........................................\ . .............................. Chattanooga (4 firm s)...................................................................... Nashville (4 firm s)................................................................................... New Orleans (4 firm s)............................................................................ D I S T R I C T (30 firm s)........................................................................... 88.1 D a ily Average S a le s— A d ju s te d * Atlanta (3 firm s)...................................................................................... Birmingham (3 firm s)............................................................................. Chattanooga (4 firm s)............................................................................ N ashville (4 firm s)................................................................................... New Orleans (4 firm s)............................................................................ D I S T R I C T (30 firm s)........................................................................... 110.2 87.9 98.6 93.6 111.0 86.1 •97.8 M o n th ly S to c k s — U n a d ju s te d Atlanta (3 firm s)...................................................................................... Birmingham (3 firm s)............................................................................. Chattanooga (3 firm s)............................................................................ N ashville (3 firm s)................................................................................... New Orleans (4 firm s)............................................................................ D I S T R I C T (25 firm s)........................................................................... M o n t h ly S to c k s — A d ju s te d * L I F E IN S U R A N C E S A L E S — S I X S T A T E S — T O T A L A labam a..................................................................................................... Flo rid a......................................................................................................... Georgia....................................................................................................... Louisiana.................................................................................................... M ississippi................................................................................................. Tennessee................................................................................................... B U IL D IN G P E R M IT S —T W E N T Y C IT IE S — T O T A L A tlanta........................................................................................................ Birm ingham ............................................................................................... Jacksonville............................................................................................... N ashville..................................................................................................... New Orleans.............................................................................................. Fifteen Other C itie s ................................................................................ C O N T R A C T A W ARD S— S IX T H D IS T R IC T — T O T A L . . . C O T T O N C O N S U M P T IO N — U N IT E D S T A T E S .................. Cotton-Growing States........................................................................... * Adjusted for Seasonal Variation. 68.8 100.2 103.6 77.9 64.9 100.8 79.1 78.7 80.1 70.0 68.8 59.4 59.3 55.1 69.8 fCompiled by Bureau of Labor Statistic*. 1926-100. 21.1 88.8 85.5 80.6 81.0 67.5 68.1 100.2 48.0 124.8 167.9 115.0 114.7 145.2 54.1 148.8 194.5 138.2 126.0 49.0 127.9 159.4 124.5 90.1 172.8 105.7 79.1 100.4 84.1 70.5 70.1 67.8 68.4 61.0 65.1 121.8
@FedFRASER