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MONTHLY REVIEW B U S IN E S S FED ERA L RESERVE C O N D IT IO N S BANK IN T H E S IX T H R E S E R V E D IS T R IC T O F A TLA N TA O c to b e r 3 1 , 1938 There were further gains in September of about the usual seasonal proportions in the volume of trade, at both retail and wholesale, in the Sixth Federal Reserve District, and business failures declined in both number and liabilities. Pig iron production in Alabama increased substantially, following a large gain in August, and activity at textile mills increased seasonally. Value of construction contracts awarded increased in September, although a decline is usual at that time, and was substantially larger than a year ago. Contracts for residential construction, however, declined after reaching in August the highest level in nine years, and building permits also declined. Trade September sales by 49 reporting retail firms in creased 13.8 per cent in actual dollar amount over August. On a daily average basis, however, the increase in September, which had 25 business days, over August, which had 27, was 19.7 per cent, only slightly less than the usual seasonal rise. The daily average index, after adjustment for the seasonal trend, was 127.3 per cent of the 1923-1925 av erage, a decline of 0.4 per cent from August. Total sales in the first nine months of 1938 were 4.1 per cent less than in that part of last year. Preliminary reports for the first half of October indicate a decrease of less than 1 per cent com pared with that period a year ago. September inventories in creased slightly more than usual, but were 10 per cent smaller in dollar value than a year earlier. Wholesale trade, according to reports to the United States Department of Commerce by 154 firms in the Sixth District, increased further in September by 7.9 per cent, but was 12.2 per cent less than in September 1937. According to the in dex of the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, whole sale prices in September averaged 10.4 per cent lower than they were a year earlier. Wholesale inventories, reported by 60 firms, increased slightly in September but were 12.3 per cent smaller than for September last year. C O N D IT IO N O F 22 M EM BER BAN KS IN S E L E C T E D C IT IE S (In Thousands of D o llars) O c t. 12, 1938 $ 5 7 9 ,4 0 4 L o a n s a n d I n v e s tm e n ts — T o t a ls ............. 2 9 3 ,6 7 4 L o a n s — T o t a l........................................................... C o m m e rc ia l, in d u s tr i a l a n d 1 6 1 ,4 2 8 a g r i c u l t u r a l l o a n s .................................... 2,210 O p e n m a r k e t p a p e r ...................................... L o a n s to b r o k e r s a n d d e a l e r s 6 ,7 3 2 in s e c u r i t i e s ................................................... O th e r l o a n s fo r p u r c h a s i n g 1 4 ,4 2 7 o r c a r r y i n g s e c u r i t i e s ............................ 2 8 ,1 6 7 R e a l e s t a t e l o a n s ........................................... . 2 ,4 6 6 L o a n s to b a n k s ................................................ . . . 7 8 ,2 4 4 O th e r l o a n s ........................................................ , . . I n v e s tm e n ts — T o t a l ........................................... .. 2 8 5 ,7 3 0 U . S . d ir e c t o b l i g a t i o n s ............................ . . . 1 5 8 ,4 1 2 O b lig a tio n s g u a r a n t e e d b y U. S . , . , , , 4 2 ,1 4 7 O th e r s e c u r i t i e s .............................................. . . . 8 5 ,1 7 1 R e s e r v e w ith F . R. B a n k .............................. . . . 1 0 2 ,7 3 3 C a s h in v a u l t ........................................................ . . . . 1 1 ,8 4 0 B a l a n c e s w ith d o m e s tic b a n k s ............... . . . 1 3 9 ,1 9 7 D e m a n d d e p o s it s —a d j u s t e d .................... . . ■ 3 4 0 ,9 0 7 T im e d e p o s i t s ........................................................ . . . 1 8 5 ,3 4 0 U. S . G o v e r n m e n t d e p o s i t s ....................... . . . . 3 4 ,6 2 9 D e p o s its of d o m e s tic b a n k s ....................... . . . 2 1 6 ,3 2 4 B o rro w in g s : F ro m F . R. B a n k ............... F ro m O t h e r s ......................... F E D E R A L C h a n g e F ro m : M o n th A g o Y ear A go + 1 7 ,3 9 6 + 9 ,2 4 2 + 2 6 ,5 9 3 + 1 7 ,4 7 4 + 7 ,0 0 2 — 225 + 2 2 ,0 1 7 — 2 ,2 3 3 + — 633 — 158 + 278 — 724 + 2 ,4 3 6 + 8 ,1 5 4 + 8 ,9 6 2 + 625 — 1 ,4 3 3 + 7 ,8 1 6 + 43 — 3 ,0 3 2 + 734 — 727 + 1 1 ,3 8 5 + 1 2 ,5 9 3 Banking Total loans and investments at 22 weekly re porting member banks in leading cities of the Sixth District have continued the expansion begun in July. On October 12 they were 17.4 millions of dollars larger than four weeks earlier, and had increased 39 millions since July 6, the lowest point in two years. Of this increase, the larger part has been in holdings of investment securities, which have risen 23.4 millions since July 6, while loans have increased 15.7 millions. In this period of a little more than three months, loans for commercial, industrial and ag ricultural purposes increased 11.3 millions, Other loans in creased about 6 millions, and there were small increases in real estate loans and loans to brokers and dealers in secur ities, but loans to banks, other security loans and purchased paper declined. In investments, 13.7 millions of the increase was in direct obligations of the United States, 3.6 millions in those guaranteed by the United States, and 6.1 millions in Other Securities. Total loans on October 12 were larger than a year ago by 17.5 millions, and investments were 9.1 millions larger. Demand deposits-adjusted have continued in recent weeks at a level higher than the averages for previous months; time deposits have declined slightly since mid-September and on October 12 were less than a year earlier, but deposits of correspondent banks were the largest on October 12 in a year and a half. The statement of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta in recent weeks has shown little fluctation in discounts for member banks. Total reserves of the bank increased about 25.3 millions in the four weeks ended October 12. There has recently been a further increase in Federal Reserve note cir culation, and member bank reserve deposits also increased in the first two weeks of October to a higher level than at any time since the April reduction in reserve requirements. Estimates based on the latest available figures of deposits indicate that member bank reserve deposits on October 12, amounting to $170,268,000, were about 38.3 millions of dollars, or 29 per cent, in excess of legal requirements. Es timated excess reserves averaged nearly 40 millions in Au gust but declined in September to about 31 millions. Agriculture Favorable weather conditions during Sep tember resulted in an increase of 6.2 per cent in the estimated production of cotton in the six states of this District, according to the October 1 report of the 883 — 1 ,0 4 0 — 1,112 — 1 ,4 5 1 — 48 + 9 ,1 1 9 — 1 0 ,4 8 2 + 8 ,7 8 8 + 1 0 ,8 1 3 — 4 ,7 6 9 — 818 + 2 5 ,0 5 5 + 9 ,2 9 5 — 786 + 1 9 ,3 9 1 + 1 9 ,2 9 8 — 699 — 31 1 C O N D IT IO N O F F E D E R A L R E S E R V E BAN K O F ATLA N TA (In Thousands of D ollars) ,O c t. 12 C h a n g e F ro m : _________________________________ 1938______ M o n th A g o Y ear A go B ills D is c o u n te d ................................................... B ills B o u a h t in O p e n M a r k e t .................... I n d u s tr ia l A d v a n c e s ......................................... U n ite d S ta t e s S e c u r i t i e s .............................. T o ta l B ills a n d S e c u r i tie s ....................... T o ta l C a s h R e s e r v e s ........................................ F . R. N o te C ir c u la t io n .................................... M e m b e r B a n k R e s e r v e D e p o s its ............. U . S. T r e a s u r e r — G e n e r a l A c c o u n t. .. T o ta l D e p o s its ................................................... C o m m itm e n ts to M a k e I n d u s tr ia l $ 593 19 186 10 4,5 2 1 1 0 5 ,3 2 0 2 6 6 ,3 9 4 1 4 6 ,0 7 8 1 7 0 ,2 6 8 3 4 ,6 9 8 2 1 9 ,4 6 8 175 12 + 68 — 6 ,6 7 5 — 6 ,5 9 4 + 2 5 ,2 7 1 + 5 ,4 9 0 + 1 1 ,7 0 9 — 36 + 1 3 ,8 7 1 — 756 — 79 + 30 — 6 ,4 6 9 — 7 ,2 7 4 + 7 ,3 0 1 — 2 2 ,8 8 7 — 6 ,3 9 7 + 3 1 ,1 4 5 + 2 5 ,7 3 8 — — + 3 135 2 B u s i n e s s C o n d it i o n s D EBITS T O IN D IV ID U A L A C C O U N T S ( I n T h o u s a n d s o i D o lla r s ) S e p t_________________ A u g . _______________________________________19 38 ______________ 19 38 ALABAMA B ir m in g h a m ..............................................$ D o t h a n ........................................................ M o b ile .......................................................... M o n tg o m e r y ........................................... FLO R ID A J a c k s o n v il le .............................................. " M ia m i............................................................. P e n s a c o l a ................................................... T a m p a ........................................................... G E O R G IA A l b a n y ........................................................ A t l a n t a ........................................................ A u g u s t a ...................................................... B r u n s w ic k ................................................. C o lu m b u s ................................................... E l b e r to n ...................................................... M a c o n ....................... ................................... N e w n a n . . ................................................. S a v a n n a h ................................................... V a l d o s t a ...................................................... LO U ISIA N A N e w O r l e a n s ............................................ M IS S IS S IP P I H a t t i e s b u r g .............................................. J a c k s o n ........................................................ M e r id i a n ...................................................... V i c k s b u r g ................................................... TEN N ESSEE C h a t t a n o o g a ............................................ K n o x v ille ............... ................................... N a s h v ill e ................................................... in th e S e p t. 1937 7 1 ,1 5 5 2 ,7 8 2 3 3 ,4 8 8 1 6 ,8 6 8 8 8 ,3 1 5 4 ,0 6 4 4 2 ,5 6 7 2 3 ,4 6 8 6 0 ,9 7 4 3 1 ,3 6 8 7 ,5 9 9 2 2 ,9 1 1 6 2 ,2 6 1 3 1 ,9 6 3 8 ,6 9 0 2 3 ,0 9 7 6 7 ,2 6 0 2 7 ,6 1 8 9 ,0 1 6 2 5 ,0 8 5 4 ,9 5 4 1 8 2 ,7 8 3 1 5 ,7 5 1 2 ,2 3 7 1 2 ,9 1 5 1,051 1 4 ,1 1 6 1 ,6 4 3 2 8 ,8 5 9 4 ,6 7 0 3 ,9 3 6 1 8 4,4 5 1 1 4 ,3 3 6 2 ,2 8 7 1 1 ,7 8 5 880 1 2 ,2 6 8 1 ,4 0 9 2 6 ,6 1 0 1 0 ,1 0 0 4 ,8 0 7 1 7 0 ,1 1 4 1 8 ,2 6 9 3 ,0 3 2 1 5 ,6 0 0 1 ,2 2 9 1 6 ,1 2 4 1 ,9 4 7 3 4 ,8 0 4 4 ,2 9 3 2 2 7 ,0 5 6 2 2 0 ,6 3 8 2 4 9 ,3 7 7 4 ,9 0 4 3 4 ,6 9 0 1 0 ,6 5 7 7 ,2 9 8 3 ,9 0 4 2 5 ,1 2 6 8 ,1 0 9 5 ,3 2 3 5 ,4 3 6 2 5 ,9 5 9 1 1 ,0 3 1 8 ,4 6 3 4 0 ,8 2 1 2 7 ,7 1 2 8 0 ,7 0 9 3 7 ,7 7 1 2 6 ,7 4 0 7 2 ,1 5 9 4 1 ,4 5 1 2 9 ,6 6 9 8 1 ,0 2 7 7 5 ,6 1 2 3 ,7 0 4 3 8 ,7 8 6 2 2 ,3 4 0 $ TO TA L 2 6 C i t i e s .................. .. .$ 9 5 6 ,7 6 0 $ 9 1 1 ,9 2 9 " M ia m i f ig u r e s in c lu d e d e b i ts fo r 3 a d d i tio n a l r e p o r t in g b a n k s , w ith A u g u s t. S ix t h $ 1 ,0 1 0 ,0 2 5 b e g i n n in g United States Department of Agriculture, compared with the estimate a month earlier, and the estimates for hay in creased 2.9 per cent and those of peanuts 5.7 per cent. Esti mated production of corn, pecans, potatoes, tobacco, apples, pears and grapes declined in September. While the esti mates for most crops in these states indicate increases over 1937, production of wheat was 15 per cent smaller, and other estimates show decreases of 36.1 per cent in cot ton, 24.6 per cent in pecans, 40.6 per cent in apples and 23.5 per cent in grapes. In Louisiana rice production is expected to be about 3 per cent larger than last year, and sugar cane increased 22 per cent. The October 1 condition of sugar cane was somewhat higher than a year ago, and the estimated production of sugar is 513,000 tons, an increase of 27.3 per cent over the 1937 production of 403,000 tons. The first estimate of Florida citrus fruits for the 1938-39 season indicates a total crop of 50.5 million boxes. Of this total, 29.5 million boxes are oranges, an increase of 2.8 mil lion boxes, or 10.5 per cent, over production in the 1937-38 season, and 21 million boxes are grapefruit, an increase of 6.4 million boxes, or 43.8 per cent, over the 14.6 million boxes produced last season. The season is unusual, with a rather early crop from the normal bloom and a late crop of June bloom fruit which is the heaviest in years, and which will probably not begin to move much before March. Continued dry weather in September checked some of the damage done to cotton in Georgia by the boll weevil, result ing from wet and cool weather in July and early August, but heavy injury to late cotton had already occurred. The estimate for Georgia, which declined 6.5 per cent from Au gust 1 to September 1, was further reduced by 1.4 per cent on October 1. For the six states of the District, however, the combined estimates increased 6.2 per cent. The estimates by states are compared in the table. Estimated receipts from the sale of principal farm prod ucts, including livestock and livestock products, increased substantially in August, with the movement of crops, and F ed era l R eserve D is t r ic t C O T T O N P R O D U C T IO N •— 000 B a le s 1 9 38 E s tim a te s S e p t. 1 O c t. 1 ............................................... 1 ,0 8 5 .............................................. 27 .............................................. 866 .............................................. 700 M is s is s ip p i................ ............................................ 1 ,7 0 0 T e n n e s s e e ................ ............................................... 500 S ix S t a t e s ............. .............................................. 4 ,8 7 8 U n ite d S t a t e s . . ...............................................12,212 1937 P r o d u c tio n 1 ,0 2 5 27 878 647 1 ,5 4 3 473 1 ,6 3 1 40 1 ,5 0 0 1 ,1 0 4 2 ,6 9 2 661 4 ,5 9 3 1 1 ,8 2 5 7 ,6 2 8 1 8 ,9 4 6 was 1.3 per cent larger than in August 1937. For the first eight months of 1938, however, these receipts, together with Government payments, were 12.1 per cent less than in that part of last year. Prices of farm products, according to the index of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, increased 4.6 per cent between August 20, when they were the lowest in about four years, and September 24, but declined 2.2 per cent in the two weeks following. Industry Increased industrial activity in September was indicated by further increases in the value of construction contracts awarded, in the rate of cotton con sumption, and in production of pig iron. Total contract awards in September were 8.1 per cent larger than in Au gust, and 83.6 per cent greater than a year ago when there was a decline of 45 per cent from August to September. Residential contracts declined in September, however, and the increase was in other classes of awards. There were substan tial gains over August in the totals for Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi, and increases over September last year oc curred in all of the six states of the District. Value of build ing permits issued at 20 reporting cities declined 22 per cent, and was 3.0 per cent less than in September last year. Press reports early in October indicated increased buying of lumber by railroads and industrial consumers, and in orders placed by retail yards. Orders booked in the week ended October 8 by lumber mills reporting to the Southern Pine Association were 41 per cent larger than in the correspond ing week a year ago. Cotton mills in Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee consum ed an average of 6,981 bales of cotton for each of the *25 business days in September, an increase of 6.7 per cent over the average for August and the largest since September last year but 9.5 per cent less than for that month. Operations at cotton seed oil mills showed a further substantial increase in September with the increased movement of cotton. Following an increase of 69 per cent from July to Au gust, the daily rate of pig iron production in Alabama in creased further in September by 35 per cent. September out put was more than twice that in July, and was the largest since last October. Fifteen of the eighteen Alabama furna ces are operating, and press reports indicate a strong de mand for steel products. Coal production in Alabama and Tennessee has recently increased but continues less than a year ago. The announcement late in September of an addi tional Government loan on rosin was followed by consider able strength in rosin quotations, and a slight rise in the price of turpentine, which had in the last week of the month reached the lowest level on record. Electric power produc tion in this District increased 9.6 per cent in August to the highest point in available records, and employment and payrolls increased 3.9 per cent, and 6.0 per cent, respec tively, in August. B u s i n e s s C o n d it i o n s in th e SIX T H D IS T R IC T BU SIN ESS S T A T IS T IC S SA LES STO CKS C o lle c J a n .- S e p t ., S e p t. 1 9 38 tio n In cl. C o m p a r e d C o m p a r e d R a tio S e p t. 1 9 38 C o m p a r e d S e p t. w ith w ith w ith 1938* A u g . 1938 S e p t. 1 9 37 Y e a r A g o S e p t. 1937 R E T A IL TR A D E A t l a n t a ................................. + 1 6 .7 B ir m in g h a m ....................... + 1 5 .9 C h a t t a n o o g a ..................... + 43.1 M o n tg o m e ry ..................... + 3 5 .4 N a s h v ill e ............................ + 2 1 .9 N e w O r l e a n s .................... — 8 .2 O th e r C i t i e s .......................+ 2 4 .4 D IST R IC T (4 9 F i r m s ) . + 1 3 .3 + 0 .0 2 — 6 .7 — 3 .8 + 5 .5 — 7 .0 — 5 .4 — 1 2 .3 — 5 .9 — 1.8 — 6.6 W H O LESA LE TRAD E G r o c e r i e s ............................ + 5 .3 D ry G o o d s .......................... + 2 1 .4 H a r d w a r e ............................ + 5 .7 E le c tric a l G o o d s .......... + 3 . 8 D r u g s .................................... + 1 1 .4 F u r n i t u r e ............................ + 1 6 .3 S h o e s ...................................... — 2 .6 T O T A L ...............................+ 7 .9 — 1 5 .8 — 6.8 — 1 3.1 — 1 2.1 — 8 .3 — 5 .7 — 1 6 .6 — 1 2 .2 — 1 3 .8 C O M M E R C IA L F A IL U R E S — D IST R IC T N u m b e r ( A c t u a l ) ....................... L i a b il iti e s .........................................$ 54 748 C O N T R A C T S A W A R D ED — D IS T R IC T .........................................$ 2 7 ,5 4 8 R e s i d e n t i a l ...................................... 6 ,0 9 5 A ll O t h e r s ......................................... 2 1 ,4 5 3 A l a b a m a ........................................... 4 ,4 8 8 F l o r i d a ................................................. 6 ,8 4 3 4 ,5 7 0 G e o rg ia . 8 ,9 1 3 L o u i s i a n a ............................ 6 ,9 3 7 M is s is s ip p i......................... 3 ,3 82 T e n n e s s e e .......................... B U ILD IN G PERM ITS— 2 0 C IT IE S ............................ A t l a n t a ................................. B ir m in g h a m ....................... J a c k s o n v il le ....................... N a s h v ill e ............................ N e w O r l e a n s .................. 15 O th e r C i t i e s ............... -T o n s A l a b a m a ............................................ C O A L P R O D U C T IO N — T o n s A l a b a m a ............................................ T e n n e s s e e ......................................... — 9 .2 — 6 .9 + 1-2 — 6 .3 — 4 .1 $ -10.2 -21.8 -10.0 —11.6 $ 2 5 ,4 9 3 8 ,8 6 3 1 6 ,6 3 0 2 ,9 7 6 8 ,9 0 2 5 ,0 1 8 4 ,9 1 5 2 ,0 6 3 5 ,8 7 1 33 256 $ 1 5 ,0 0 8 6 ,5 4 1 8 ,4 6 7 1 ,0 6 3 5 ,6 3 4 2 ,5 1 6 3 ,9 4 3 2 ,0 2 7 2 ,6 1 9 $ 510 5 ,2 9 3 5 4 .1 $ 1 6 5 ,2 8 9 5 8 ,4 0 9 1 0 6 ,8 8 0 2 1 ,1 4 5 5 1 ,5 6 5 3 2 ,1 9 2 3 7 ,6 0 3 2 0 ,9 3 9 3 4 ,6 3 9 $ 264 2 ,3 9 9 $ 1 8 6 ,9 4 2 6 1 ,1 0 6 1 2 5 ,8 3 6 2 2 ,9 9 8 7 1 ,2 8 7 2 3 ,1 9 4 5 1 ,1 3 6 2 1 ,8 1 8 2 8 ,9 3 8 4 ,9 8 4 342 165 721 313 346 3 ,0 9 7 6 ,3 9 4 367 186 493 1 ,2 6 8 470 3 ,6 1 0 5 ,1 4 0 356 313 513 119 422 3 ,4 1 6 4 3 ,7 2 1 2 ,7 9 4 1 ,9 8 4 7 ,4 2 3 2 ,4 5 9 3 ,6 3 1 2 5 ,4 3 0 $ 5 1 ,0 8 6 3 ,8 1 6 2 ,9 1 1 4 ,0 7 9 3 ,9 1 0 3 ,6 3 9 3 2 ,7 3 1 196 150 221 1 ,2 5 4 1 ,9 3 0 850 440 840 370 1,102 7 ,4 7 2 3 ,0 5 8 9 ,1 0 4 3 ,7 7 3 S e p t. 1938 A ug. 1938 469 3 S IX T H D IS T R IC T B U SIN E SS IN D E X E S (1923-1925=100 except a s noted) S e p t. 1938 A u g . 19 38 1 1 9 .7 2 3 9 .9 1 0 5.4 9 7 .6 9 4 .8 9 4 .5 1 9 3 .4 8 7 .6 6 3 .2 7 2 .0 9 5 .4 1 2 7 .3 2 3 7 .5 1 0 8 .7 1 0 2.7 1 0 3.0 1 0 2.7 1 2 8 .2 2 3 5 .9 1 0 9.5 8 2 .1 8 6 .7 1 2 2.3 1 3 1 .7 2 3 4 .1 1 1 5.6 1 0 6.8 7 4 .0 1 2 4.0 7 3 .3 6 4 .5 5 8 .2 6 2 .8 6 7 .1 1 1 0.9 6 8 .9 6 0 .9 5 1 .2 5 6 .2 8 2 .2 1 3 2.4 8 2 .4 6 8 .9 7 1 .3 6 9 .1 6 9 .8 1 1 2.7 7 1 .2 6 2 .0 5 4 .4 5 9 .8 6 9 .2 1 1 6 .7 7 2 .5 6 2 .8 5 1 .7 5 7 .3 7 7 .5 1 2 0.4 8 0 .0 6 6 .3 7 9 .0 4 8 .8 9 3 .0 8 5 .1 9 7 .1 1 0 7.9 7 3 .2 5 0 .1 7 6 .6 8 0 .5 8 3 .5 9 6 .9 9 9 .2 1 2 4.8 7 8 .5 4 3 .4 7 2 .6 6 3 .2 7 8 .9 6 5 .1 6 1 .4 7 5 .3 7 8 .2 1 0 7 .0 1 0 5 .9 4 2 .8 4 6 .6 4 0 .2 2 3 .2 3 8 .8 3 7 .7 6 2 .7 1 0 5.1 4 7 .2 R E T A IL S A L E S * — U n a d ju s te d D IST R IC T (2 8 F i r m s ) ............................................. A t l a n t a ............................................................................... B ir m in g h a m .................................................................. C h a t t a n o o g a ................................................................ R E T A IL ST O C K S *— U n a d ju s te d D ISTR IC T (2 4 F i r m s ) .............................................. (000 Omitted) S e p t. J a n ^ - S e p t., In c l. 1937 1937 1938 76r 780r $ R e s e r v e D is t r ic t B ir m in g h a m .................................................................. C h a t t a n o o g a ................................................................ N a s h v ill e .......................................................................... N e w O r l e a n s ................................................................ 21.0 — 1 2 .3 ed eral R E T A IL S A LE S *— A d ju s te d D ISTR IC T (2 8 F i r m s ) ........................................... 8 0 .3 3 6 .2 4 1 .2 5 7 .4 - 3 0 .3 - 4 .8 — 3 .3 — 1 4 .0 — 7 .0 F N e w O r l e a n s ................................................................ 24. i 2 9 .4 2 9 .1 2 7 .6 -10.0 —10.0 — 1 7 .2 —20.0 A ug. 1 9 38 S e p t. 1 9 38 2 5 .7 2 8 .7 2 8 .1 - 1 4 .0 - 6 .3 - 1 6 .7 - 1 8 .4 - 9 .1 - 7 .5 — 9 .2 S ix t h (0 0 0 O m itte d ) A uc^.-S ept.., In c l. S e p t. 1 937 1 937 c o n s u m p t io n — B a le s A l a b a m a ........................................... G e o r g i a .............................................. T e n n e s s e e ......................................... T o ta l 3 S t a t e s ............................ 56 105 14 175 54 108 15 177 60 116 17 193 110 212 29 351 125 230 32 387 — T o n s * ................................................... 237 91 334 328 413 54 79 77 B ir m in g h a m .................................................................. C h a t t a n o o g a ................................................................ N e w O r l e a n s ................................................................ R E T A IL ST O C K S *— A d ju s te d D ISTR IC T (2 4 F i r m s ) .............................................. B ir m in g h a m .................................................................. C h a t t a n o o g a ................................................................ N e w O r l e a n s ................................................................ W H O LE S A L E S A LE S — T o t a l................................. D ry G o o d s ..................................................................... CO N TR A C TS A W A R D ED — D IS T R IC T .......... R e s id e n tia l..................................................................... 101.8 9 8 .1 4 7 .2 68.6 M is s is s ip p i..................................................................... 1 4 1 .7 2 5 9 .8 6 1 .0 B U ILD IN G P ER M ITS—2 0 C it ie s ....................... 4 4 .3 B ir m in g h a m .................................................................. J a c k s o n v il le .....................:. .......................................... .. , N e w O r l e a n s ................................................................ 15 O th e r C i t i e s ........................................................... . . . P IG IRO N P R O D U C TIO N — ALABAMA* C O TT O N CO N SU M PTIO N — 3 S T A T E S * ... cotton cotton seed crushed FERTILIZER TA G SALES— T o n s T o ta l 6 S t a t e s ................................. 56 22 EM PLO YM EN T— (A v . fo r 1 9 3 2 = 1 0 0 ) . F l o r i d a ............................................................................... * G e o r g i a , A la b a m a , L o u is ia n a a n d M is s is s ip p i. M is s is s ip p i..................................................................... A ug . 19 38 18 FA RM IN C O M E*— Six States. $ 4 7 ,5 2 2 A l a b a m a ........................................... 4 ,9 9 2 5 ,0 4 8 F l o r i d a .............................................. G e o r g i a ............................................ 2 2 ,7 0 5 L o u i s i a n a ......................................... 4 ,3 2 0 3 ,9 1 9 M is s is s ip p i....................................... T e n n e s s e e ...................................... 6 ,5 3 8 e l e c t r ic (000 Omitted) J u ly A ug . J a n .- A u g ., In cl. 1 9 38 1937 1 938 1 9 37 $ 2 9 ,0 8 7 3 ,0 1 8 2,886 1 0 ,9 0 8 2 ,0 1 8 2 ,8 7 5 7 ,3 8 2 $ 3 2 9 ,7 1 8 3 9 ,7 7 7 7 5 ,6 9 4 6 3 ,6 0 6 3 7 ,1 8 2 4 5 ,8 8 4 6 7 ,5 7 5 $ 3 8 1 ,1 1 6 4 8 ,8 5 1 9 4 ,1 3 9 6 8 ,2 4 5 4 3 ,3 6 1 5 6 ,1 1 3 7 0 ,4 0 7 1 ,9 6 2 ,1 6 0 6 5 4 ,8 4 1 9 6 9 ,4 2 4 1 ,0 4 7 ,7 8 7 8,022 4 6 ,7 8 9 1 3 4 ,5 7 7 1 ,0 0 8 ,4 5 9 7 4 6 ,5 3 7 5 ,6 8 9 ,4 6 0 3 1 9 ,2 4 8 3 ,2 9 4 ,7 1 7 4 2 7 ,2 8 9 2 ,3 9 4 ,7 4 3 1 ,8 6 1 ,0 1 0 6 0 6 ,0 6 1 1 ,1 4 1 ,7 0 4 1 ,0 9 4 ,1 1 2 4 7 ,6 0 0 9 1 3 ,5 5 9 5 ,6 6 4 ,0 4 6 3 ,1 6 4 ,4 1 9 2 ,4 9 9 ,6 2 7 $ 4 6 ,9 0 4 5 ,1 4 0 3 ,9 2 3 2 0 ,9 6 1 5 ,1 4 9 5 ,0 5 7 6 ,6 7 4 . S ix S t a t e s .................................................................. . . . PA Y R O L LS— (A v . fo r 1 9 3 2 = 1 0 0 ) A l a b a m a .......................................................................... M is s is s ip p i..................................................................... T e n n e s s e e ....................................................................... S ix S t a t e s .................................................................. 22.1 11.2 8 7 .6 4 9 .4 2 6 .9 5 6 .5 100.0 5 6 .8 2 3 .8 12.6 5 9 .9 1 9 9.8 3 6 .5 6 5 .9 S e p t. 1937 1 2 3 .8 2 3 6 .4 112.1 1 0 1.5 1 0 1.9 100.0 110.8 1 0 8 .7 66.6 6 5 .8 9 7 .7 6 5 .1 101.8 102.6 4 5 .7 2 3 .0 21.1 6 2 .4 1 8 .8 3 2 .8 6 2 .4 8 5 .6 6 3 .4 9 6 .7 14 7.2 1 6 6 .7 1 3 9.0 1 4 4.0 1 3 8 .0 1 5 0.6 1 3 1.6 1 4 4.6 1 6 2 .6 1 8 0 .3 1 5 3 .6 1 7 2 .0 A u g . 1938 Ju ly 1938 A u g . 1937 120.6 11 4.1 8 8 .5 1 2 7 .9 1 1 6 .0 1 2 1.5 101.6 120.0 1 1 4.6 1 1 5 .5 1 5 1 .9 9 8 .0 1 4 9.6 1 2 9 .0 1 1 8 .0 1 4 0 .5 1 3 8 .9 1 7 4.3 7 4 .5 1 6 3.8 149.1 1 2 8.5 155.1 1 5 4.5 1 5 9 .3 73 .1 1 5 8 .3 1 4 7 .3 1 2 5 .9 1 3 9 .5 1 4 5 .8 2 4 1 .7 8 4 .5 1 9 6.5 1 5 9 .0 1 6 1.9 1 8 2.4 1 8 5.1 3 3 3 .9 3 6 7 .2 2 4 7 .4 5 8 1 .7 9 1 .9 2 6 9 .3 3 2 0.1 3 8 0 .5 2 5 3 .1 3 2 9 .1 3 6 5 .1 1 9 6.3 5 6 2 .3 8 2 .3 2 1 9 .9 2 9 2 .1 3 4 1 .9 2 3 6 .8 2 7 3 .7 3 6 6 .2 2 5 0 .8 6 0 1 .4 1 2 3.9 2 1 4 .5 2 9 1 .4 2 3 7.1 3 5 1 .6 9 0 .4 1 3 2.5 1 1 6.6 101.0 po w er P R O D U C TIO N — kw Hours A l a b a m a ........................................... F l o r i d a ................................................ G e o r g i a ............................................. L o u i s i a n a ......................................... M is s is s ip p i...................................... T e n n e s s e e ...................................... T o ta l S ix S t a t e s .................... B y W a te r P o w e r ....................... . B y F u e l s ........................................... 2 6 6 ,7 5 1 7 4 ,6 9 2 1 4 8 ,6 0 0 1 5 4 ,8 9 3 5 ,9 5 2 1 6 8 ,9 6 2 8 1 9 ,8 5 0 5 1 2 ,2 6 4 3 0 7 ,5 8 6 2 6 2 ,9 3 2 7 4 ,2 4 6 1 1 7 ,9 5 3 1 4 9 ,7 2 6 5 ,3 3 4 1 3 7 ,9 4 7 7 4 8 ,1 3 8 4 6 0 ,3 6 3 2 8 7 ,7 7 5 2 1 8 ,6 3 4 7 4 ,4 7 4 1 5 0 ,6 7 4 1 6 0 ,1 5 6 a r m in c o m e tro m c r o p s , liv e s to c k a n d liv e s to c k p r o d u c t s . F ig u r e s fo r G o v e r n m e n t p a y m e n ts fo r J u ly a n d A u g u s t s e p a r a t e l y n o t a v a i l a b l e , =*= r e v is e d . for rFRASER Digitized E L E C T R IC P O W ER P RO D U C TIO N * A l a b a m a .......................................................................... F l o r i d a ............................................................................... L o u i s i a n a ....................................................................... M is s is s ip p i..................................................................... T e n n e s s e e ....................................................................... S ix S t a t e s .................................................................. By W a te r P o w e r ................................................... . By F u e l s ..................................................................... . . . *Indexes of retail sales, electric power and pig iron production and of cotton consumption are on a daily average basis, r = revised. B u s i n e s s C o n d it i o n s 4 INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION in th e S ix t h F ed era l R eserve D is t r ic t N a tio n a l S u m m a r y o f B u s in e s s C o n d itio n s P r e p a r e d b y th e B o a r d o f G o v e rn o rs o f th e F e d e r a l R e s e r v e S y s te m I N September industrial production and employment continued to advance, and there was also an increase in the volume of retail trade. Building activity con tinued at the increased level reached in August, reflecting a large volume oi awards for publicly financed projects. P r o d u c t io n I n d e x o f p h y s ic a l v o lu m e o f p r o d u c tio n , a d ju s te d fo r s e a s o n a l v a r i a ti o n , 1 9 2 3 - 1 9 2 5 a v e ra g e = 1 0 0 . B y m o n th s , J a n u a r y , 1 9 3 4 , to S e p te m b e r, 1 9 3 8 . FREIGHT-CAR LOADINGS FE* CENT PSR CENT I n d e x o f t o t a l lo a d in g s o f r e v e n u e f r e i g h t , a d ju s te d f o r s e a s o n a l v a r i a ti o n , 1 9 2 3 - 1 9 2 5 a v e ra g e = 1 0 0 . B y m o n th s , J a n u a r y , 1 9 3 4 , to S e p te m b e r, 1 9 3 8 . WHOLESALE PRICES Volume of industrial production increased further in September and the Board’s seasonally adjusted index advanced to 90 per cent of the 1923*1925 average as compared with 88 per cent in August. There was a substantial rise in pig iron production and output of steel ingots continued to increase, averaging 45 per cent of capacity. In the first three weeks of October activity at steel mills showed a further increase and was at a rate of about 50 per cent of capacity. Plate glass production continued to advance rapidly in September. Output of lumber and cement was maintained, although at this season activity in these in dustries usually declines. Automobile production in September remained at about the same low rate as in August. In October, however, output increased rapidly as most manufacturers began the assembly of new model cars. In the nondurable goods industries there were substantial increases in activity at meat-packing es tablishments, sugar refineries, and tire factories. Output of shoes declined some what. Textile production, which had been rising sharply since spring, showed little change in September, although an increase is usual. Activity increased fur ther at silk mills, but at woolen mills there was a decline, and at cotton mills output did not show the usual seasonal rise. At mines, coal production increased considerably in September and there was also an increase in output of copper. Crude petroleum output declined as wells in Texas were shut down on both Sat urdays and Sundays, whereas in August only Sunday shutdowns had been in effect. Value of construction contracts awarded, which had increased considerably in August, showed little change in September, according to figures of the F. W. Dodge Corporation. Awards for private residential building continued at the advanced level prevailing since early summer and contracts for public residential projects were also maintained following a rise in the previous month. Other public projects continued in substantial volume. E m ploym ent Employment and payrolls increased further between the middle of August and the middle of September, reflecting principally increases at manufacturing con cerns. Employment rose sharply at automobile factories and increased moderately in other durable goods industries. At factories producing nondurable goods there was slightly more than the usual seasonal rise in the number employed. D is t r ib u t io n Distribution of commodities to consumers showed a more than seasonal rise in September. There were increases in sales at department and variety stores and mail order sales increased. Department store sales for the first three weeks of October showed somewhat less than the usual seasonal rise. Freight car loadings continued to increase in September and the first half of October, reflecting chiefly a further rise in shipments of coal and miscellaneous freight. C o m m o d it y I n d e x e s c o m p ile d b y U . S . B u r e a u o f L a b o r S ta t is tic s , 1 9 2 6 = 1 0 0 . B y w e e k s , 1 9 3 4 , to w e e k e n d in g O c to b e r 15, 1938. P r ic e s Prices of a number of industrial raw materials, particularly hides and copper, advanced from the middle of September to the third week of October. Crude oil and gasoline prices, on the other hand, werei reduced. Livestock and meat prices showed large seasonal declines in this period. In the first half of October there were sales of many finished steel products at prices below those announced for the fourth quarter, but in the third week of the month it was reported that prices had been restored to former levels. MEMBER BANK RESERVES AND RELATED ITEMS Bank C r e d it During the four weeks ended October 19 there were further substantial increases in the gold stock of this country. As a result largely of these gold acquisitions and of net expenditures by the Treasury from its deposits with the Reserve Banks, excess reserves of member banks increased to a total of $3,270,000,000 on Octo ber 19. Demand deposits at reporting banks in 101 leading cities were also increased by the inward gold movement and on October 19 amounted to $15,750,000,000, the largest volume ever reported by these banks. Following substantial increases during September, reflecting purchases of new issues of United States Government obligations, total loans and investments at reporting banks showed little change during October. M oney 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 Wednesday figures, January 3, 1934, to October 19, 1938. R ates and B o n d Y ie l d s The average yield on long-term Treasury bonds declined from 2.48 per cent on September 27 to 2.28 on October 21. Yields on Treasury notes and Treasury bills also declined in the period.
@FedFRASER