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MONTHLY BUSINESS REVIEW Covering financial, industrial and a g ricu ltu ra l c o n d itio n s V o l. 17 Cleveland, Ohio, December 31, 1935 N o. 12 15.2 per cent larg er than a year ago and the gain for the N L A T E November and the first three weeks of December seasonal influences caused an increase in some lines of year to date was 16 per cent. L arg er payrolls and increased trade of all types are reflected in these figures, which, how business activity and decreases in others, but the genera! level of trade and industrial operations was much above a ever, are affected by price changes. These have not been p ar year ago. The production index compiled by the Board of ticularly great in the past year, judging by the Bureau of G overnors of the Federal Reserve System was 97 per cent of Labor's wholesale price index and Fairchild's index of retail the 1923-25 monthly average in November compared w ith 95 prices. in October, 74 in November 1934 and 84 in December of th at T he number of commercial failures reported in this section year. B arrin g the abnormal peak of July 1933, when this in in November was little changed from last year, but in both dex touched 100, operations in the closing months of 1935 1934 and 1935 there have been relatively few failures com were at a higher rate than since 1930. pared with other years. Liabilities of defaulting concerns in T he fourth district, because of its close connection with the the first eleven months of this year were 37 per cent smaller automobile industry, has at least shared in this upw ard move- than in the same period of 1934. ment and in some fields output of local factories at the yearRetail trade, ju d g in g by departm ent store sales, increased end surpassed all records for corresponding periods. T he considerably more than seasonally in November and the table below shows the improvement in several business indi adjusted index of daily average sales, at 79.4 per cent of the cators im portant to this district in the first eleven months of 1923-25 average, was higher than since mid-1931 and was 1935 as compared with 1934. 11.5 per cent above a year ago. P relim inary reports of early Automobile production, U. S. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -f~ 38.6 December sales w ere favorable, although the increases were Building contracts aw arded, residential—-fourth no larg er than w ere shown in November. district . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . + 1 3 2 .8 T he year, as a whole, at least to December 1, has been Coal production—fourth district . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . — 0.5 one of rather constant improvement for most industries. A d 0.6 Coal shipm ents—Lake E rie ports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . — vancing the date of new-model introductions in the autom o 2.0 Commercial failures—fourth district . . . . . . . . . . . . + bile industry had a very noticeable effect on many lines D epartm ent store sales—-fourth district . . . . . . . . . . -f- 4.5 in this district, but w hether this has been borrow ed from the 10.3 Electric power p ro d u c tio n -fo u rth district . . . . . . . . + early p art of 1936 cannot in any way be ascertained at pres 3.6 F u rn itu re store sales—fourth district . . . . . . . . . . . . + ent. Iron ore receipts—Lake E rie ports . . . . . . . . . . . . + 27.7 P ig iron production— U nited States . . . . . . . . . . . . . . + 26.6 Shoe production— fourth district . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 “ 15.7 Steel ingot production—U nited States . . . . . . . . . . . . + 28.4 T ire production—U nited S tates1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . + 6.0 W holesale sales-—four reporting lines-—-fourth district ___ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ____. . . . . . . . . . . . . + 4.8 I ^Partly estimated. In addition to the foregoing, the Ohio S ta te U niversity employment index in this section w as higher in November than since 1930 and w as 14 per cent above November 1934. W hile estimates of the num ber of unemployed, particularly by areas, are difficult to obtain, the num ber of persons not regularly employed, judging by relief demands and the num ber engaged in W P A w ork, is still sizable. D ebits to individual accounts at banks in leading cities of the district in the four weefcs ended December 18 were I THE MONTHLY BUSINESS FINANCIAL In mid-December a slight increase in discounts of mem ber banks and in loans to industry was evident in condition figures of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland. H oldings of Governm ent securities and acceptances w ere unchanged in the four latest weeks to Dec. 18, being $218,025,000 and $444,000, respectively. Gold certificates on hand or due from the U nited States T reasury increased slightly in December and on December 18 they exceeded $500,000,000 for the first time. T he increase in this item in the past year has been over $100,000,000. E arning assets of the bank rose $5,500,000 in 1935, the bulk of w hich represented Governm ent securities, but they w ere acquired from another Federal reserve bank and did not increase the System ’s holdings of Government issues. Industrial advances rose over $850,000 in the year, but discounts for member banks declined over $300,000 and all but disappeared. In three recent weeks they am ounted to only $15,000. Member bank reserve deposits declined from $362,000,000 to $319,000,000 between November 20 and December 18, the bulk of the falling-off occurring in the latest week as banks added to their holdings of Governm ent securities at the time of the December 15 financing and as seasonal demand for currency increased. Despite the drop, however, they remained much in excess of legal requirem ents. Note circulation of this bank increased over $15,000,000 from N ovember 20 to December 18 and b arrin g a few weeks in early 1933, when abnorm al conditions prevailed, note cir culation on the latest date represented a new high record; the increase in the past year, am ounting to over $40,000,000, represented in p art the issuance of reserve bank currency to replace national bank notes w hich were retired. Increased business activity also w as a factor. Since early November no Governm ent securities have been pledged by this bank as collateral for note circulation, it being backed almost one hundred per cent by gold certificates. M em ber B an k Credit. T he accom panying ch art shows revised figures for weekly reporting member banks in lead ing cities of this district since September 1934. T he new item, adjusted demand deposits, is not strictly comparable w ith previously published demand deposit figures, but it gives a m ore accurate picture of actual commercial deposits than was heretofore available. The Banking A ct of 1935 perm its banks to compute their demand deposits for reserve purposes by deducting from gross demand deposits balances due from banks and items in process of collection. In some cases relatively large am ounts of country funds are on deposit in financial centers. The demand deposit figure computed in this way for some country banks was below actual custom ers' balances and the relation between country and large city banks w as some w hat distorted. T he new adjusted demand deposit figure definitely excludes G overnm ent and interbank deposits. It it arrived a t by adding to all other demand deposits (gross de mand deposits less Governm ent and interbank deposits) de ferred credits and certified and cashier's checks outstanding and subtracting from the sum all cash items on hand or in process of collection. T he new figures are available back to Septem ber 5, 1934. Tim e deposits of these banks formerly- included tim e bal ances of other banks, but these are relatively small and are now included in ^interbank deposits as a separate item. As shown by the cRart, total credit extended ‘banks m REVIEW this district increased quite sharply in 1935, but the expan sion has been chiefly in holdings of Government securities, or those guaranteed by the Government. Total loans outstanding w ere slightly higher on December 18 than four weeks earlier and they w ere somewhat above the low point of the year in F ebruary, but they w ere down from the peak touched in June. Commercial loans were up seven per cent in the year and loans on real estate were up 11.2 per cent, but security loans w ere 8.2 per cent lower on December 18 than at the beginning of 1935, notw ithstanding a slight increase in recent weeks. Member banks’ hold* ings of G overnment securities rose quite sharply in m id-D e cember in connection w ith the G overnm ent financing. They were 14.2 per cent larger than at the beginning of the year, while holdings of other than Governm ent securities w ere little changed in the period. A djusted demand deposits of local re p orting member banks declined slightly in the four weeks ended December 18, but as shown on the chart, the increase so far this year has been considerable. Tim e deposits de clined $10,000,000 to $663,000,000 in the four latest weeks, but they rem ained slightly above last year at th at time. R e serves of member banks in the first half of December were estimated to be approxim ately $165,000,000, or 103 per cent, in excess of legal requirem ents. T his was a new high record. T here was a decline at the tim e of the December 15 G overn ment financing* MANUFACTURING, m in in g Iron and Steel F o r the first tim e since 1925 steel mill operations w ere at a higher rate in D e cember than in any other month of the year. G enerally operations decline tow ard the year end and while this year apparently is little different from others in this respect, the contraction did not develop until a new high rate for the year had been touched early in the month. In the second and th ird weeks of December steel ingot produc tion declined, but finishing mill operations were reported to be holding up well, either at or close to the highest levels of the year. The bulk of the improvement in the iron and steel industry this year com pared w ith last occurred in the closing six months. T he accom panying ch art shows the weekly rate of steel mill operations for the past several years and recently plants have been operating at the highest levels since 1930. As has been the case for some time there is still considerable variation in operating rates in principal steel centers. In this district Cleveland THE MONTHLY BUSINESS REVIEW heads the list because of the im portance of automobile de $13.29 in the week ended December 14, but declined to the mand to this section. In the week ended December 21 these November level the following week. mills were producing at 82 per cent of capacity compared T he automobile industry in November w ith 80 per cent in the corresponding week of November and Autom obiles and also in the first eleven months turned about 75 per cent a year ago when mills were active making out more cars than was expected by even m aterials for forthcom ing 1935 automobiles. T his year newthe more optim istic and com parison of current operations model automobile buying w as moved forw ard about two with previous periods indicated th at they were at record high months, but it has been well-sustained throughout the year. A t Youngstown, mills w ere w orking at 56 per cent, un levels for this season of the year. A ccording to the D epart changed in the latest month, but this com pared w ith 41 per m ent of Commerce, 398,024 cars and trucks were made in the U nited States in November, com pared w ith 275,021 in cent a year ago. W heeling plants have been unusually active O ctober and 83,482 in November last year. M ore cars were throughout most of the year and in the latest week were made in the single m onth than in the entire fourth quarter operating at about 80 per cent. A t P ittsburgh, which is larg e of 1934 and, excluding 1929, November production figures ly a heavy steel center, operations have lagged behind the w ere larger than in any previous first month of new -car national average this past y e a r ; in the latest week they were at 40 per cent of capacity, while in November they were 46 production. T he latest m onth’s output was 156 per cent in per cent and a year ago they were 26. The entire steel in excess of the 292,817 cars made in Jan u ary 1935. In the first eleven months of 1935 assemblies at domestic dustry in the week ended December 21 was operating at 52 plants totaled 3,602,090 cars and trucks, a gain of 38.6 per per cent down from 57 per cent in two weeks, but activity cent from the same period of 1934 and this number compared continued much above last year at that time. Daily average steel ingot production in November, 121,279 w ith 1,920,000 units in the entire year 1933 and 3,356,000 units in 1930. W ith December partly estimated, output for gross tons, was the largest for any November since 1929, the entire year should be close to 4,000,000 units, the best The gain over October was five per cent. T he m onth’s output, since 1929, when 5,358,000 cars were produced. The industry 3,153,247 tons, was 1.1 per cent higher than O ctober’s and this year has had the advantage of two sets of new models 96 per cent ahead of last year. In the first 11 months, 30,313,and while output in the fourth quarter m ight have been 507 tons w ere made, an increase of 27.2 per cent over the stepped up at the expense of early 1936, no inform ation on first 11 months in 1934. W ith December estimated, a gain in this point is available. In this connection it is encouraging steel production of 30 per cent from 1934 has occurred and th at sales recently have continued at very satisfactory levels, output was only 19 per cent below 1930, which was regarded according to reports. D espite the unusually heavy production, as a good year in the steel industry. many dealers w ere unable to keep up w ith orders. D aily average pig iron production in November, 68,876 In mid-December new-model production was at a higher gross tons, was 7.9 per cent above October, and highest since rate than in any week since output of the 1936 cars started. October 1930. Total output for the month, 2,066,294 tons, T his high rate was unparalleled in any previous year and at was 116 per cent higher than in November 1934. F or 11 months, output of 18,924,987 tons was 26.6 oyer the same p er approxim ately 100,000 units, was only 12,000 units a week below the high point of 1935 touched in April. iod in 1934. T here was a net gain of six blast furnaces in op W hile the recent increase has been chiefly in passenger car eration in November, 122 being active at the month end. production, which in November was 338,425 units, almost Currently, iron and steel demand rem ains stronger, despite seven times w hat it was a year ago, truck output was up 73 inventory and the custom ary year-end influences. Automotive per cent in the latest month from 1934 and a gain of 24 per requirem ents are heavy; railroads have placed some large cent was reported for the eleven-month period. Passenger car orders, and are preparing for more buying in early 1936. production up to December 1 was 45 per cent ahead of the S tructural w ork is increasing, due mainly to the G overn corresponding interval of 1934. m ent’s w ork relief program getting under way. R u b b er an d O perations in the rubber and tire industry P rices are firm, and a few advances have been made in Tires in November continued at about the same some of the less im portant finished steel products, although level as in October, ju d g in g by reports such products as bars, shapes, plates, sheets and strip have been reaffirm ed for first quarter. S teel’s scrap price com from m anufacturers in this section and rubber consumption in the entire industry in the latest month. A slight increase in posite rose from $13.12 in the week ended November 23 to tire production was reported at some plants in early Decem ber, but this had little significance because m anufacturers generally build up inventories at this season in preparation for spring. A ctivity in the industry as a whole in recent weeks compared favorably w ith last year at this time and it was estimated th at dollar sales for the entire year may ex ceed 1934 by approxim ately 15 per cent. Profits are unsatis factory partly because of the price situation, which, however, w as more stable recently than at any previous time this year. Replacement tire sales declined more than seasonally in November, but the falling-off was balanced by the marked increase in original equipment sales to automobile m anufac turers. T he plan of dealer buying for spring delivery was still in vogue, but reports indicated th at orders have not been re ceived in the same volume this fall as in other previous years. THE 4 MONTHLY BUSINESS Employm ent at rubber factories in this district in N ovem ber was slightly less than in October, but was 5.1 per cent above a year ago. The increase at tire factories was 3.4 per cent, while at plants making miscellaneous rubber products the gain was 27 per cent. Some increase in the number of hours worked was reported at tire factories in early Decem ber, but little change in the number of employees was indi cated. It was largely seasonal and represented m anufacturing for inventory purposes. Crude rubber consum ption by m anufacturers in the U nited S tates in November was estim ated to be 42,778 long tons, approxim ately the same as in October, but up 23 per cent from November last year. Im ports of crude rubber in the month were 28,836 long tons, a drop of 16 per cent from Oc tober and of 20.4 per cent from November 1934. Continuing the trend of earlier months this year, consumption exceeded im ports and domestic stocks of crude rubber on hand were reduced to 303,162 tons. T his was 16.4 per cent under last year at this time. Coal M ore coal was produced in this district in November than in any corresponding month since 1930. Daily average produc tion was up slightly from October, but the increase was less than usual by reason of the fact that considerable coal m ining was done in October. T he Coal Conservation A ct, which became effective November 1, was largely responsible for this spurt, although demand to r fuel has increased this fall in com parison with other recent years. O utput in November was 12,453,000 tons in this district, a gain of 6.3 per cent from the corresponding month of 1934, but in the entire country the m onth’s production w as up seven per cent. In the first eleven months, fourth district mines produced slightly less (0.5 per cent) coal than in the com parable period last year while at all mines in the country output in the same interval was up 2.1 per cent. Demand for household coal has been light this year and w ith the Lake shipping season closed coal shipm ents have declined except to industrial and utility users. W hile takings by these groups have not actually increased in recent weeks, in the past several months there has been a marked expansion in these fields. Coal shipm ents from Lake E rie ports for the year were less than one per cent below those of 1934. T his was better than was expected earlier in the season, for ca rry over of coal this spring at upper Lake ports was large. The shipping period was longer than usual this yean REVIEW P rices have not been particularly steady recently although no m arked weakness was apparent. Stocks of coal above ground are still larg e0 Clothing A lthough some variation w as evident in branches of the industry, textile and d o th ing m anufacturers finished the year in a better position than in 1934. Rising raw m aterial prices, p ar ticularly wool and silk, have stim ulated clothing purchases and advance buying has been better this fall than in 1934. M anufacturers’ inventories are slightly larg er than a year ago. O perations at men’s clothing plants in November and December were at relatively higher levels, com pared w ith last year, than in other factories. Employm ent at these plants in November was 25 per cent ahead of last year and for the eleven-month period averaged 12 per cent higher than in the corresponding interval of 1934. Sales of men’s clothing this fall, both at wholesale and retail, have been in satisfac tory volume, according to reports. A t fourth district rep o rt ing departm ent stores in November they w ere 8.5 per cent ahead of the same month of 1934 and men’s furnishing sales were up 16.3 per cent. It was stated that sales of heavy cloth ing have been slow this fall, but the w eather was unusually mild until recently. A t women’s and miscellaneous clothing factories in O hio the number of employees declined six per cent from October to November, but in the later month it was 9.6 per cent above a year ago and for the eleven-month period averaged four per cent better than in 1934. Sales of women’s and misses’ cloth ing at local stores in November were slightly smaller than a year ago, but the decline was entirely in coats and suits. D ress sales w ere larger than in November last year. A t reporting w earing apparel stores in this section total sales were up nine per cent in the m onth and two per cent for the year to date from corresponding periods of 1934. R egarding spring orders, some companies reported an in crease while others say little change is evident from last year. Sales of spring textiles to m anufacturers, however, are considerably above this time in 1934. Other Manufacturing L ittle change, other than seasonal, was evident in the smaller m anufacturing lines of this district in the four latest weeks, but gains continued to be shown from last year in all fields. A decided increase in wholesale jew elry sales w as reported in November in contrast w ith last year, in preparation for a more active C hristm as season. T he year as a whole has been one in which operations in most lines have been better than in any recent year, in some cases back to 1929, Auto Parts and Accessories. F u rth e r increases in activ ity at local parts and accessory plants w ere reported in late November and the first half of December and operations were at a much higher rate than in any corresponding period of recent years, dating back to 1929. Sizable gains in sales and employment have been recorded in this field; in November, at 29 plants reporting to the Ohio S ta te U niversity Bureau of Business Research, the number of employees w as up 26 per cent from last year and a gain of 3.7 per cent w as re ported for the first eleven months. In addition there has been a marked increase in the number of hours worked. Sales for the year w ere estim ated to be about 35 per cent above 1934 and profits have increased in most cases. THE MONTHLY BUSINESS Brick and Tile. A seasonal falling-off was evident in the brick and tile industry in recent weeks but operations con tinued above a year ago in most sections. In October, produc tion of local plants was over four times w hat it was a year ago and yet only 12 per cent of the machine capacity was being used, China, Pottery A contraction in operations at china and pottery plants in this section was reported in the four latest weeks, p art of which was indicated as being seasonal. Despite the drop, activity was about the same as a year ago at this time. Employment was approxim ately the same as in N o vember 1934, while for the first eleven months an average increase of three per cent was reported. China sales for the year to date w ere larger than in 1934, one estim ate being ten per cent. Glass. M akers of glass and glass products have benefited from the im provement in the automobile, furniture, canning, and residential building industries during the year and sub stantial gains in sales, employment and payrolls have been experienced. P late glass producers have gained most, chiefly because of the sharp rise in automobile production and the increase in the use of safety glass, which requires double the am ount of plate glass. States w ith more than 45 per cent of total car registrations now require safety glass to be used on new cars. P late glass production in the first ten months of the year was nearly double the same period of 1934. W indow glass production this year has been about 15 per cent ahead of 1934, in part because of the improvement in construction and home renovizing, and shipm ents this year have been at the highest level since 1929. Sales of glassw are and containers also have been larger this year than in 1934 and at a rate which exceeded even the year 1929. In November a contrary to seasonal increase in employment was reported by the industry as a whole and for the first eleven months an average gain of 20 per cent was shown from the same period of 1934* Metal Products. Employm ent at local factories increased 8.2 per cent from O ctober to November and in the latest month was 31 per cent above November 1934. Gains w ere general in all branches and indexes in November w ere higher than since late 1930, Machine Tools. New domestic orders for machine tools received in November, according to the N ational M achine Tool B uilders’ A ssociation, w ere in about the same volume as in O ctober, but a drop in foreign buying was reported. T otal orders w ere nearly twice as large as w ere received in N ovem ber 1934, and they were 98.6 per cent of the monthly average shipm ents in 1926. Domestic sales have held up recently, the drop from the high point of the year being entirely a result of a contraction in foreign purchases. Small tool sales have held up very well this fall and, while foundry equipment orders declined in November, they w ere still about 25 per cent larg er than in the corresponding m onth of 1934* P aint. T his is a dull season for paint m anufacturing, but plant operations have been m aintained at reasonably high levels. Inventories are being built up for spring selling. T he year 1935 was considerably above 1934 from the sales stand point, all consum ing lines contributing to the increase. Paper, Boxboard. A slackening in paper and boxboard sales was reported in early December, but they continued substantially above last year. Inventories of paper are larg er REVIEW than a year ago, but the increase was reported as being in keeping w ith the g reater activity 0 Shoes. Local shoe factories in the first half of December were engaged in the production of spring lines, orders for which have been received in considerably larger volume than a year ago. November production at fourth district factories was 22.5 per cent ahead of November 1934 and for this year to date a gain of 15.7 per cent was reported. Shoe prices in November were little changed from a year ago, despite the sharp increase in hide and leather prices. Raw m aterial in ventories are larg er than a year ago. TRADE R etail D aily average dollar sales at reporting departm ent stores in the fourth district in N ovem ber increased more than seasonally from October and w ere 11.5 per cent g reater than in N ovem ber 1934. T he seasonally adjusted index advanced nearly five points to 79A per cent of the 1923-25 monthly average and was higher than since A ugust 193L W hile these sales are affected by price changes, F a irc h ild s index on December 1 was less than one per cent higher than a year ago at that time, although an increase of 3.2 per cent has occurred since A ugust of this year. So far as individual cities w ere concerned gains were wide spread, ranging from seven per cent in Cincinnati and Toledo to 12 per cent in A kron and P ittsburgh, 15 per cent in W heel ing and the group of smaller cities, and 30 per cent at Y oungstown. In the individual departm ents, w ith the excep tion of piece goods, knit underw ear and women’s coats, gains, some of them sizable, w ere shown. Sales in the first eleven months of the year w ere 4.5 per cent larger at reporting stores than in the same period of 1934 and gains w ere shown in all cities except A kron. Re ports of December pre-C hristm as buying indicated that the gains of November w ere being continued in most cases. Basement sales represented a smaller share of total store sales in November than a year ago and the increase in base ment departm ents was smaller than in total store volume. The ratio of credit to total sales in November was p rac tically unchanged from October at 58.6 per cent, but was two points higher than in November 1934. T he increase from last year was about equally distributed between installm ent and regular 30-day sales. The dollar value of stocks increased 3.2 per cent in November from October, slightly more than seasonal, but at the month end the value of stocks was only 2.5 per cent higher than on N ovember 30, 1934. A larg er volume of sales TB M MONTHLY BUSINESS has been made on about the same average value of stocks this year than in 1934, the stock turnover rate for the ten months, F ebruary through November, being 3.24 as compared w ith 3.08 in the preceding year. Collections improved in November and in the month were 15 per cent larger than in November 1934. M ost of the gain was on regular accounts, the ratio of collections to accounts receivable at the beginning of the month being 47.3 at all reporting stores com pared w ith 44.8 a year ago. D ollar sales of all reporting wholesale firms in this district were larger in N o vember than in any corresponding month since 1930 and the gain from November 1934 was 7.9 per cent. W hile declines occurred from October in all lines, this was seasonal and it was reported that retailers bought more goods for the holiday season than in the past live years. W holesale hardw are sales w ere 18.8 per cent larger in November than a year ago; drug sales were up 14 per cent; dry goods 9.1; and grocery 1.9 per cent in the same period. In the first eleven months of the year total sales of all lines were up 4.8 per cent, the gain reported by hardw are com panies being 8.6 per cent, grocery 5.1, dry goods 2.8 and drugs 2.2 per cent. Collections have been good recently. W h olesale CONSTRUCTION Construction contracts aw arded in this district in Novem ber w ere down from the high level of October for twro rea sons. In the first place the October total was large because the contracts for two large Federal housing projects in Cleve REVIEW land w ere aw arded in th at month and in addition there is generally a falling-off in construction activity as the w inter season approaches. In contrast w ith a year ago a gain of 47 per cent was evident in the November figures, w hich totaled $14,265,000 in the fourth district. Gains from last year were shown for each m ajor classification except public utilities, whereas declines from October occurred in each group except nonresidential construction. Residential building contracts aw arded in this section in November w ere 89 per cent larg er than in the same m onth oi 1934 and for the year to date an increase of 133 per cent was evident. T otal construction in the eleven-month period was up 13 per cent from last year, the relatively smaller increase being due to the fact th at a larg er volume of Federal projects was aw arded in the early p art of 1934 than this year. Contemplated construction of all types reported in this sec tion in November was smaller than a year ago due to a de cided falling-off in heavy public w orks and utility classifica tions. Contemplated residential and nonresidential building reported in November was nearly double th at reported in N o vember 1934. AGRICULTURE The 1935 tobacco selling season in this section opened in L exington on Decem ber 3 w ith large offerings of tobacco, the quality of which was somewhat disappointing. F ine cigarette tobaccos w ere not as plentiful as usual, according to reports, and prices at opening sales w ere about equal to last year. U p to December 14 over 14,500,000 pounds were sold on the L exington floors, which was somewhat more than was dis posed of in the corresponding period last year. T he av er age price for this entire am ount was $20.82 a hundred pounds, which com pared w ith $20.25, the average price received in the first two weeks of last y ear’s selling season. T he rise was somewhat more than is indicated by these figures for, according to reports, m ore than the usual percentage of medium -grade tobacco has been offered. P rices have im proved somewhat from the opening levels and the am ount of tobacco offered for sale also has risen. W hile burley tobacco prices are better than since 1929, the situation is dominated by the large stocks in hands of domestic dealers and m anufacturers. T he 1935-36 indicated supply of this type is about equal to years' consumption at the cu rren t rate. Tobacco THE MONTHLY BUSINESS F ourth D istrict B usiness Indexes D ebits to Individual Accounts (Thousands 4 weeks ended Dec. 18, 1935 A k r o n . . . . . . . . . . 3 50,934 B u tle r .......... 7,965 C a n to n ......... 32,282 C in cin n a ti...... 292,160 C lev e la n d ....... 486,409 C o lu m b u s....... 152,863 D a y to n ......... 47,849 20,666 E r i e . ........... .. F r a n k lin ........ 2,878 Greensburg. . . . . 5,478 H a m i lt o n . . . . . . . 8,737 H o m e stea d ...... 2,111 L ex in g to n ....... 23,755 L im a ........... 10,303 Lo rai n ............. 3,328 M id d letow n ..... 8,408 Oil C i t y . . . . . . . . 8,829 P ittsb u rg h ...... 670,929 S p rin g field ...... 13,786 S teu benville..... 7,033 T o l e d o ____. . . . . 103,858 Wa rr en ......... .. 7,017 W h ee li n g ........... . 27,839 Y oun gstow n .... 36,026 Z an esv ille....... 6,430 T ot a l. . . . . . . . 3 2 , 0 3 7 , 8 7 3 (1923-25 *= 100) of Dollars) % Year to date Year to date change Jan. 2, 193S Jan. 3, 1934 from to to 1934 Dec. 18, 1935 Dec. 19, 1934 + 25.5 £595,041 3524.238 + 2 7 .2 85,014 78,220 + 3 2 .2 350,778 295,477 + 21.4 3,313,038 2,860,622 +29.1 5,450,556 4,617,649 + 1 4 .7 1,806,645 1,407,714 + 2 0 .9 576,185 472,820 + 1 3 .6 251,195 219,869 + 14.3 33,242 29,703 + 2 4 .8 64,752 57,172 + 22.3 101,430 89,793 + 2 1 .0 25,466 21.880 + 37.2 229,442 200,639 + 37.8 107,822 89,535 + 3 5 .6 39,077 31,326 + 3 7 .9 88,035 72,808 + 17.2 103,621 83,332 — 0 .7 7,452,624 6,589,486 + 19.3 164,402 140,839 + 2 7 .9 80,247 69,743 + 35.5 1,098,615 994,090 + 31.8 79,366 70,085 + 1 8 .0 334,508 316,611 + 29.2 442,786 378,313 + 13.7 76,129 67,329 + 15.2 322,950,016 319,779,293 % change from 1934 + 1 3 .S + 8.7 + 1 8 .7 + 15 . 8 + 18.0 + 28.3 + 2 1 .9 + 14 .2 + 11.9 + 13.3 + 1 3 .0 + 1 6 .4 + 14.4 + 20.4 + 2 4 .7 + 2 0 .9 + 24.3 + 13.1 + 16.7 + 15.1 + 10. 5 + 1 3 .2 + 5.7 + 1 7 .0 + 13.1 + 1 6 .0 (000 om itted) . Bank Debits (24 cities). . . . . . . . . . . „ . . . . . . . . Commercial Failures ( N u m b er ) . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 (L iabil ities). . . . . . . . . . . Sales— Life Insurance (O. & P a. ). . . . . . . . . . . ” — D epartmen t Stores (47 firms). . . . . . . . 55 — Wholesale Drugs (13 f i r m s ) . . .............. ” — ” Dry goods (10 f i rms) . . . . . . ” — ’* Groceries (30 f i r ms ) . . . . . . *' — ” Hardware (14 firms). . . . . . ” — 85 (All 67 firms). . . . . . . . . . . . ” — Chain Drugs (4 firm s)** .............. Building Contracts ( T o t a l ) .................. ” ( R es id en tia l)........... .. Production— Coal (O., W. Pa., E. K y . ) . — Cement (O., W. Pa., W. Va.). . . ” — Elec. Power ( 0 . , Pa., K v . ) * . . . . . ” — Petroleum ( 0 . , Pa., K y . ) * . . . . . . ” — S h o es........... .. ^October **Per individual unit operated. N ov., No v., N o v. , No v. , N o v ., 1935 1934 1933 1932 1931 76 63 52 49 66 48 57 60 134 131 20 67 50 111 146 88 89 86 109 93 83 67 75 59 79 93 82 75 72 76 51 47 43 36 48 71 67 56 62 52 75 57 63 57 45 71 65 56 61 51 91 67 74 67 78 30 20 35 29 30 18 9 9 17 10 69 66 64 63 65 57 20 63 64 33 168 137 144 124 139 118 114 109 101 121 66 49 54 48 45 Wholesale a n d R e ta il Trade (1935 c o m p a r e d with 1934) Percentage Increase or decrease SA LES SALES S TOC KS No vem ber first 11 N ovemb er 1935 months 1935 Fourth D istrict B usiness S ta tistic s f an .-N o v. N ov em ber % change Fourth District Unless 1935 from 1934 ‘ 1935 Otherwise Specified Bank D ebits— 24 cities. 32,051,000 + 2 0 . 2 321,120,000 Savings Deposits— end of month: i 41 banks, O. and P a . . . . . . . . . . . 3 698,448 + 6 . 2 Life Insurance Sales: + 2.1 860,224 Ohio and P a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 73,533 Retail Sales: 172,110 + 11.5 18,273 Dept. Stores— 49 firms. ... 3 8.457 Wearing Apparel— 12 firms. ..3 896 + 9 . 2 Furniture— 43 f i r ms . . . . . . . . . . . 3 802 + 2 4 . 7 8,104 Wholesale Sales: 14,696 1,409 + 1 4 . 0 Drugs-— 13 firms. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 1,259 + 9. 1 12,426 Dry Goods-—10 fi r m s. ......... . . . . 3 42,574 Groceries— 30 firms. . . . . . . . . . . 3 3,840 + 1 . 9 + 1 8 .8 14,045 Hardware— 14 f i rms . . . . . . . . . . . 3 1,465 + 4 6 .6 14,265 160,546 Building Contracts— total.. . . . . . 3 43,687 55 ” — Residential. $ 3,046 + 8 9 . 1 14 .55 1 Commercial Failures— Li abilities. $ 888 — 70 .1 70s — 19. S 834 ” ” Number Production: 18,925 Pig Iron, U. S . . . . . . . . . . . . . tons 2,066 + 11 5 . 9 + 95.7 30,344 Steel Ingot, U. S . . . . . . . . . 3,153 3,000,8222 338,4253 + 5 9 0 . 4 Auto-Pass. Cars, U. S . . . . . 660 ,86 7s 59,5992 + 7 2 . 9 Auto— Trucks, U. S . ............ + 6.3 130,137 Bituminous Coal. . . . . . . . . 12,453 6,965 685 + 7 1 . 7 Cement— O., W. Pa., W. Va. bbls. 1,407s + 1 6 .0 12,755* Elec. Power— O., Pa., Ky. Sic.w.h. 21,094^ Petroleum— O., Pa., K y . . . ,. bbls. 2,185s + 3 .3 3 s Shoes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . pair* + 22.5 1 ires, U. S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . casings Bituminous Coal Shipments + 26.2 L. E. Ports. ............ .. 35,514 4,654 Iron Ore Receipts: 19,890 L. E. P o r t s ............ 1,472 + 2 4 9 . 6 x not available 4 first 10 months *actual number C o n fid e n tia l ®October REVIEW % change from 1934 + 1 5 .7 + 1 .3 + 4.5 + 3 .1 + 3.6 + 2.2 + 2.8 + 5. 1 + 8.6 + 13. 2 + 1 3 2 .8 — 3 7 .4 + 2 .0 + 2 6 .6 + 28.4 + 4 5 .2 +24.1 — 0.5 — 1 .6 + 10 .3 + 7. S + 1 5 .7 — 0 .6 + 27.7 D E P A R T M E N T S T O R E S (49) A k r o n ......................... ................................ .. + 12.1 Ci n cin n at i................................................. .. + 7.2 Cl ev el a n d ............................. .. + 11. 1 Columbus. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . + 10 .5 Pi t t s bur gh. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . + 1 2 .0 T o l e d o . . . ................. + 7.2 W h ee li n g .......................... .................... + 1 4 .8 Yo un g st ow n . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . + 30.5 Other Cit ie s........................................... + 14 .9 D is t ri c t ............. + 11. 5 W E A R I N G A P P A R E L (12) Cincinnati. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . — 0.5 P it ts b u rg h ......... .. + 12. 7 Other Cities. ......................................... + 14.1 Di st ri ct . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . + 9. 2 F U R N I T U R E (43) Cincinnati. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . — 9. 1 Cle ve lan d ......... .. + 24 .1 C o lu m bu s ............. .. + 23.9 D a y t o n ........................... .. + 29.9 Tole do. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . + 4 3 .6 Other Cities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . + 49.6 Di s t ri ct . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . + 24.7 C H A I N ST OR ES * Drugs— District ( 4 ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . + 23.5 Groceries— District ( 5 ) . . . . . . . . . . . . + 3.8 W H O L E S A L E G R O C E R I E S (30) Ak r o n . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . + 15.2 Cl e v e l a nd. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . — 18.1 Er i e . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . + 2.7 Pi t t s burgh. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . + 7.9 To l e d o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . + 8.3 Other Cities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . + 11.8 D is t ri c t ......... .. + 1.9 W H O L E S A L E D R Y GO OD S ( 1 0 ) . . . . + 9.1 W H O L E S A L E D R U G S ( 1 3 ) . .............. .. + 14.0 WHOLESALE H A R D W A R E (14)... . + 18.8 *Per individual unit operated. + + + + + + + + + + 0.6 4.7 2 .5 4 .9 5.6 5.6 8.7 7.7 6.2 4.5 — 0.9 + 8.6 + 0.2 + 8.0 + 0.1 + 6.4 + 3 .1 +23.3 — 2.4 + 2 .5 — + + + 1.1 8.2 3.8 3. 1 + 9 .9 + 7. 2 + 11. 2 + 9. 9 + 10.9 — 7.6 + 11 .6 + 11.0 + 17.1 + 23.2 + 3.6 + + 8 .1 5.1 + — + + + + + + + + 30.2 6.4 6.5 2.1 9.8 8.8 5.1 2.8 2.2 8.6 — 2 .1 — 3.3 THE MONTHLY BUSINESS 8 REVIEW Summary of National Business Conditions By the Board o f Governors of the Federal Reserve System Industrial production and employment, w hich usually decline at this season* showed little change from O ctober to November. D istribution of commodities to consumers increased m ore than seasonally. Index o f industrial production, adjusted for se&° sonal variation. (1923-25 average = 100). L at est figure, November 97* Index of factory em ploym ent, adjusted for sea sonal variation. (1923-25 average = 100.) L at est figure, November, prelim inary $4.7o RA ILR O A D FR IilG H T-C A R LOA DINGS j 1 i V V Total 1929 '■^Merchandise V * V - '/ 1930 Indexes o f daily average number o f cars loaded* adjusted for seasonal variation. (1923-25 average 100.) L atest figure November, total 66P mer chandise 64. Index o f U nited States Bureau o f Labor S tatis tics. (1926 ax 100.) By months 1929 to 1931? by weeks 1932 to date. L atest figure for week ending December 14« 8&,&, Production and Employment T he B oard’s seasonally adjusted index of industrial production advanced from 95 per cent of the 1923-1925 average in O ctober to 97 per cent in N ovem ber. O utput of industries producing durable goods continued to increase sub stantially in November, while activity in most other industries declined som ew hat O utput of steel increased fu rth er during N ovember to a higher rate than in any previous m onth this year and this high level was m aintained during the first three weeks of December. Automobile production in November continued the sharp increase w hich began after the change to new models in September. A ctivity at silk mills and at woolen mills declined. Factory employment and payrolls, w hich usually decline from the middle of October to the middle of November, showed little change for th at period this year. Increases in employment w ere reported for the automobile, iron and steel, m achinery, railroad car, and cotton textile industries and at railroad repair shops. T here w ere larg er than seasonal declines at sawmills, shoe fac tories, silk and rayon mills, and establishm ents producing w earing apparel. V alue of construction contracts aw arded, as reported by the F. W . Dodge Corporation, continued to increase in N ovember and the first half of December, T here was a decline, largely seasonal, in residential building, w hile other types of construction showed an increase. Agriculture Crop production in 1935, according to final estim ates by the D epartm ent of A griculture, showed an increase of about 20 per cent in volume over the drought year of 1934, and the farm value of 64 crops am ounted to $5,120,000,000 com pared w ith $4,780,000,000 last season. T he cotton crop, w hich has been reduced in recent months by bad w eather, is now estim ated at 10,734,000 bales compared w ith the exceptionally small output of 9,636,000 bales in 1934. Cash farm income from m arketings of crops and livestock and from G overnment rental and benefit paym ents is estimated at about $6,800,000,000 for the calendar year 1935, as compared w ith $6,387,000,000 last year. D istribution F reig h t-car loadings decreased by less than the usual seasonal am ount d u r ing November, reflecting principally a sm aller decline in shipm ents of miscellane ous freight than is custom ary at this time of year. V alue of departm ent store sales, on a daily average basis, increased from October to November. Commodity Prices T he general level of wholesale commodity prices, after a decline during O ctober, increased during N ovember and showed little change d u ring the first two weeks of December. Bank Credit Excess reserves of member banks, w hich had increased to a new high level of $3,310,000,000 on December 11, largely as the result of continued gold im ports, declined considerably during the week ending December 18, as a con sequence of seasonal demands for currency and a large increase in T reasu ry balances w ith the Federal reserve banks, in connection w ith m id-December fiscal operations. Changes in condition of reporting banks in 101 leading cities d u ring the four weeks ending December 18 reflected principally the influence of new Gov ernm ent financing. These banks showed increases of $310,000,000 in holdings of U nited States G overnm ent securities, of $110,000,000 in loans to brokers and dealers in securities, and of $200,000,000 in U nited States Governm ent deposits. A djusted demand deposits showed a fu rth er grow th of $270,000,000 in the three weeks ending December 11 and declined by $250,000,000 in the following week, as a result of w ithdraw als for holiday currency demands, income tax payments, and the purchase of new G overnm ent securities.
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