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MONTHLY BUSINESS REVIEW Covering financial, industrial, and agricultural conditions in the Fourth Federal Reserve District D. C. WILLS, Chairman of the Board and Federal Reserve Agent Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland Vol. 7 Cleveland, Ohio, March 1, 1925 General The general business situation contin ued to be satisfactory during the past month, although in some lines the usual February dullness has recently brought about a lull. Production in basic indus tries continued to increase during January, showing a gain of 8 per cent over December, 5 per cent over a year ago, and 34 per cent over the summer months of 1924. The steel industry was operating at almost full capacity dur ing January, pig iron output being about 90 per cent greater than last July. A real improvement has been shown by the oil industry, due for the most part to a decline in pro duction, which had previously exceeded demand, and to a consequent rise in crude oil and gasoline prices. An analysis of the trend of wholesale prices during the past months brings to light some interesting facts bear ing upon the situation of the farmers. The Bureau of Labor’s index number of all commodities (1913-100) stood at 160 in January, as compared with 145 in June, the low point of 1924. During the same period, the index of prices of farm products rose from 134 to 163, and that of foods from 136 to 160. It is noticeable that the gains in farm products and foods were nearly twice that of all commodi ties, and also that the index of prices of farm products in January was actually higher than that of all commodi ties. This is the first time that this has occurred since March, 1920. During the intervening months, the index of farm products has been anywhere from 2 to 31 points below that of all commodities, and has averaged about 15 points below. Financial Conditions Bills discounted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland declined seasonally after the first of the year, but have increased slightly during the past three weeks. On February 11 they amounted to 33 millions, as against 29 millions on January 14. A c ceptances and government securities held have shown a declining tendency since the first of the year, acceptances on February 11 amounting to 37 millions and government securities to 45 millions. It is noticeable that, although both bills discounted and acceptances have for the most part been running behind last year, government securities held have been three times as great as a year ago. As a result, total earning assets on February 11 amounted to 117 millions as compared with 107 millions on February 13, 1924. For the Federal Reserve System, the most noticeable No* 3 development of the past few months has been the decline in gold reserves, which stood at 2896 millions on February 11 as compared with 2953 millions on January 14 and 3168 millions on July 23, 1924, the high point of last year. Bills discounted, after a seasonal decline during early Jan uary, advanced to 332 millions on February 11, the high est figure since December 24. Holdings o f government securities, which totaled 390 millions on February 11, have declined fairly steadily since September 17, 1924, when they amounted to 619 millions. Acceptances held on the other hand, rose from 18 millions on August 13 to 390 millions on December 24, but had fallen to 324 millions on February 11. Loans and discounts of reporting member banks in the Fourth District stood at 1170 millions on February 4, as compared with 1140 millions on January 7; 1114 mil lions on February 6, 1924, and 1163 millions on May 14, the high point of last year. Demand deposits stood at 1015 millions on February 4, which is high compared to most of last year, and time deposits amounted to 707 mil lions on the same date, this being the highest figure on record. For the System, loans and discounts have shown an upward trend since the middle of last year, amounting to 13,113 millions on February 4. This figure has been ex ceeded only once, and that by the figure of January 14, which was 13,123 millions. As compared with a year ago, loans and discounts have increased 1181 millions, 900 millions of which represents an increase in loans secured by stocks and bonds. Demand deposits on February 4 amounted to 13,040 millions, a decrease of 240 millions from the preceding month, but an increase of 1765 mil lions over a year ago. As in the Fourth District, time deposits stood at the highest figure on record on Feb ruary 4, amounting to 4900 millions. Savings deposits of 69 banks in the Fourth Federal Reserve District amounted to $825,337,096 on January 31, 1925, an increase of 0.04 per cent over the preceding month and of 8.4 per cent over January 31, 1924. Commercial failures in the Fourth District numbered 199 in January, as compared with 175 a year ago. Liabili ties, however, were less than last year, being $4,937,059, as compared with $6,160,933 in 1924. For the United States, failures in January numbered 2317 as against 2108 last year, and liabilities were $54,354,032 as against $51,272,508 last year. t h e 2 m o n t h l y b u s i n e s s r e v i e w 5KSE5S59S9E5SE^^ES559959S95E9S55S5 Iron and Steel For the past sixty days steel mills have been running in a high speed way which has been remarkably sustained accord ing to past precedents, this being at 90 per cent or more of full rated capacity* Operations in this way have been made possible by the liberal specifications made by buyers against the heavy commitments entered into in November and December for prospective first quarter requirements. On the strength of this incoming tonnage, asking steel prices for sec ond quarter generally have been advanced by the pro ducers. Inasmuch as the tonnage now being shipped was entered on mill books $4 to $6 per ton below the pres ent market quotations, the question whether buyers will accept these new values when they come to cover for their second quarter needs is yet to be solved. As matters now stand, it is evident that secondary lines of manufacture which constitute a large fraction of steel consumer demand have not expanded in the same pro portion as have primary materials. Buyers apparently have been taking in a good deal of tonnage to build up depleted stocks and have been moving out finished stock in an increasing way, but it is no secret that their volume in this latter respect has failed to reach their earlier expecta tions. At the same time it is evident that some of these expectations for quick business expansion were overdrawn. Some large branches of consumption, such as the auto motive industry, have been pursuing an exceedingly con servative course in ordering material which under normal seasonal standards would soon give way to expanded buying. At the present time, the automobile industry is producing at the lowest rate since the spring of 1922, the usual time for the beginning of heavy deliveries being only a few weeks away. Railroad buying has continued on a reduced scale the past month, the smallest number of car awards having fallen in January since July. However, in recent weeks there has been a fair revival in this field and February orders are well in excess of January. New building steel requirements have kept up to a good tonnage on the average. An analysis of recent statistics of production shows how marked has been the acceleration of steel works activity. In January the country was making steel ingots at the annual rate of 48,140,000 tons. This is within 4 per cent of equaling the highest rate in history which was reached in March, 1924. Over the low point last summer in July, the increase was 115 per cent. Over December it was 13.3 per cent and over November, when the heavier buy ing developed, it was over 23 per cent. The pig iron output in January as compiled by IRON TR A D E R E V IE W was the highest for that month in the history of the industry. It shows that the furnaces then were turning out iron at the annual rate of 39,700,000 tons, the best gait since last March. The total output of the month was 3,369,425 tons, a gain of 14 per cent over December. On a daily basis January showed a recovery of 89 per cent from the low point in July. The number of active furnaces at the end of January had increased by 21 to a total of 251, representing 61 per cent of the gross list of furnaces in the country. The pig iron market during the past month has been characterized by more sluggish buying. Prices have been virtually stationary, although a few softer spots have ap peared, particularly in the East where the influence o f heavier offerings of foreign iron at quotations consider ably under the domestic level have been a great fa c tor. The price situation in the iron and steel market in general is registered by IRON TRADE R E V IE W ’S co m posite of fourteen iron and steel products. On February 18 this stood at $41.06, while one month previouslv it was $41.10. Automobiles The National Automobile Chamber o f Commerce estimates that production o f passenger cars amounted to 196,000 in January as compared with 287,000 a year ago, and that truck production amounted to 30,000 as against 29,000 last year. It will be seen that total production during the past month ran near ly 30 per cent behind January, 1924, and it may be added that the output was 7 per cent below that of the same month in 1923. As compared with December, 1924, p ro duction during January increased 8 per cent, but past years have usually shown a similar gain. According to Automotive Industries, there were 17 897,609 registered motor cars and trucks in the United States last year, this number being over 90 per ccnt of the cars operated in the world. The same source esti mates that 874,472 cars were discarded last year, the av erage life of a car being over 8 years. There is n o w something like one car for every six inhabitants in this country. From the foregoing statistics, it would appear that the present rate of production—approximately 2.400,000 cars per annum—is nearly three times the number required to replace discarded cars, and under present conditions the remainder would necessarily have to be made up by sales to new purchasers, either here or abroad. As far as domestic consumption is concerned, there has been considerable speculation as to when the "saturation point” would be reached, and only future developments can determine this It may be pointed out, however, that the states having the greatest number of cars per capita have approximately one car for every three inhabitants, and it may be further stated that even if a point of saturation were reached the normal growth of population in this country would allow for a certain increase each year in domestic p urchases. With regard to foreign consumption, the fact that only one-tenth of the total number of cars are used in foreign countries would indicate the possibility o f large potential buying power abroad which might develop at some time in the future. From this point of view future automobile exports from this country will be watched with increasing interest. * Tires "^he genera! situation continues to be satisfactory in the tire industry of the Fourth District. Manufacturers report that the industry is on a sound basis and that the volume of business in 1925 so far has been about the same as during the latter part o f 1924 and better than a year ago. In general, no great THE MONTHLY BUSINESS changes have taken place during the past few months, although one manufacturer reports a decided increase in sales during January as compared with November and December. The price of crudc rubber eased off slightly during Jan uary, standing at .349 dollars per pound on February 6 as compared with .390 the preceding month. On February 13, however, the price had advanced to .361 dollars per pound. The present price is nearly 40 per cent higher than last year at this time. There have been no recent changes in tire prices. Employment in the Akron tire factories remains about the same as during the previous months. The supply of labor is sufficient It is reported that the demand for balloon tires is becoming more and more pronounced. More automobile companies are now equipping new cars with these tires, or at least offering them optionally. Although January figures are not yet available, the latest report of the Rub ber Association of America shows that shipments of bal loon inner tubes for December amounted to 427,111, the highest figure yet recorded. This figure represents an increase of 4 per cent over November, 65 per cent over June, and nearly 400 per cent over March, 1924, the earliest date available. In December, shipments of high pressure inner tubes were only about 9 times as great as those of balloon tires, while in June they were over 14 times as great. Stocks of balloon inner tubes showed a slightly declining tendency during November and December, and at the close of the year the supply on hand was estimated to be sufficient for 2.0 months as compared with 1.9 months in the case of high pressure inner tubes. Production of high pressure inner tubes in December, 1924, amounted to 4.259,609 as compared with 4,226,841 in November and 3,288,665 in December, 1923. Shipments decreased from 4,339,207 in November to 3,727,998 in De cember. In December, 1923, they aggregated 3,548,704 tubes. Inventory on December 31 stood at 7,418,729 as compared with 6,781,922 in November and 6,318,446 in December of the preceding year. REVIEW 3 In view of the fact that the bituminous coal industry has long been suffering from a productive capacity greatly in excess of actual needs, considerable interest attaches to the announcement made recently that plans are prac tically complete for the consolidation of about 80 coal com panies in West Virginia, having a capitalization of around $ 100,000,000. Estimated production of anthracitc for the four weeks ending January 31 amounted to 7,058,000 net tons, as com pared with 7,399,000 net tons during the corresponding period last year. The total estimated bituminous coal production for 1924 amounted to 483 million tons, a decrease of 81 millions from 1923, but a substantial increase over 1921 and 1922. Anthracite output amounted to 90 million tons, slightly less than for 1923. Bituminous production figures for states in the Fourth District are as follows: Pennsyl vania, 1924— 124 million tons; 1923— 172 million: Ohio, 1924— 29 million; 1923— 41 million: Kentucky, 1924—45 million; 1923—slightly under 45 million; West Virginia, 1924— 110 million; 1923— 108 million. Production of beehive coke, according to the Geological Survey, reached the highest total during the week ending February 7 since last April. The output for 1925 up to February 7 aggregated 1,447,000 net tons, as compared with 1,449,000 in 1924. Oil The past month has seen a marked change for the better in the status of the oil business generally. Whereas a month ago production of crude oil was high and stocks of crude above ground and refined products at refineries were such as to hold down the market considerably, production has now fallen off, several advances have occurred in the posted price of crude oil, and the market for refined products is strong. The first indication of a definite falling off in crude pro duction came about a month ago, when the output of the new Wortham field in Texas began to decline. It had beep expected that this field would reach a peak of around 200,000 barrels a day by the middle of February but instead of that it began to fall off until on February 15 it Coal Preliminary estimates of the Geological was producing around 70,000 barrels a day. Production and Coke Survey indicate that the January pro in the other flush fields in the Mid-Continent also de duction of bituminous coal amounted to clined,of and 51,900,000 tons, an increase 12 as pera result there have been increases through cent over December. Production has de out the country in the posted price of crude oil, the price clined steadily since the week ending January 17, but for the top grade advancing to $2.35 a barrel. This is the a decline is usual at this season, and the output for 1925 highest point reached since May, 1923. up to February 7 compared favorably with preceding years The increases in the cost of the raw material from which with the exception of 1924. In the Fourth District, mines gasoline is made has been followed by sympathetic in generally were operating at lower capacity on January 31 creases in the retail prices of gasoline which have been as compared with four weeks earlier. Mild weather dur made generally over the country. ing the first half of February has enabled householders in the Fourth District to burn less coal than usual at this Agriculture, While complete figures on the acreage time of year, but some increase in industrial consumption Live-Stock, of winter wheat in the Fourth District has been noted. Canning are not available, incomplete reports in According to the Coal Age the wholesale price of bitumi dicate a slight increase over a year ago. nous coal was $2.05 per ton on February 6. a decrease of The present high prices of wheat, rye, 3 cents from the previous month and of 21 cents from and corn have caused the Department of Agriculture to last year. issue a word of caution against an undue increase in the THE 4 MONTHLY BUSINESS acreage of the major crops. This note of warning against overproduction applies most strongly to the wheat crop. The growers of hard spring wheat are cautioned not to increase production above domestic requirements, and the Department’s report sets forth that the acreage of last year, if an average yield be had, should about equal such requirements. The report suggests that an increase in the acreage of the corn crop is also believed to be in advisable, as the indicated reduction in the feeding de mands for the coming year would render such increase unnecessary. While the stocks of old corn on farms are smaller than usual at the beginning of the new crop year of 1925, the report states that the acreage of 1924, given an average yield, should be well over three billion bushels, a sufficient amount to supply the needs of the country for both feed ing and commercial purposes. The shortage of live-stock on farms in the Fourth Dis trict appears, from reports of the various State Depart ments of Agriculture, to be somewhat greater than that of the country at large. This is especially notable in the case of hogs, the Fourth District showing a decrease of approximately 25 per cent from a year ago against a country-wide decrease of 18 per cent. Cattle, other than milch cows, show a decrease of about 7 per cent in the Fourth District, compared with a United States decrease of about 5 per cent. There has been a considerable de cline also in the price per head of horses, mules, milch cows, and other cattle; while sheep and hogs have ad vanced. Canning companies in the district report a good vol ume of business, with prices holding firm. Final fig ures are not yet available, but packers report that the pack on all items, with the exception of peas, was con siderably short of the five-year average. The result has been high markets for all canned goods, and the scarcity of other vegetables has created an unusually good demand for peas, the price remaining firm despite the unusually large pack. Tobacco An important sale of burley tobacco was announced by the Burley Tobacco Growers Co-operative Association on January 29. The sale involved about 60,000,000 pounds, mostly of the 1923 crop, and the purchase price was reported to be approxi mately $15,000,000, or 25 cents a pound on the average. Total sales by the Association since December 1 have aggregated 172,000,000 pounds, including the last of the 1922 crop, and some 60,000,000 pounds of the 1924 crop. The prices being received compare favorably with those of last year and of 1921, although not as high as in 1922. The Commissioner of Agriculture's report of tobacco sales at independent warehouses in Kentucky shows that about 35,000,000 pounds of burley were sold for growers and dealers during January at an average of nearly 22 cents a pound. Due to the sales above noted and to the prices being received, tobacco growers have recently felt somewhat more encouraged, and efforts to cut out the 1925 crop have Been largely abandoned. The desirability of re REVIEW ducing acreage is being pointed out, however, as stocks o f burley on hand are still of considerable volume. Production in 1924 of all types of tobacco in the United Slates amounted to 1,243,000,000 pounds, according to the United States Department of Agriculture, as compared with 1,515,000,000 pounds in 1923. Building Building permits of 163 cities, as re ported by Bradstreet’s, amounted to $211,465,883 in January, a decrease o f 3.3 per cent from a year a pared with December, there was a sea sonal falling off. In the Fourth District, permits of 13 cities aggregated $13,424,048 in January, an increase of 8.5 per cent ov er a year ago, but a decrease of 33 per cent from December. The greatest increases over last year were shown by A kron, with 342.2 per cent, and Canton, with 163.9 per cent, while Wheeling, with 76.2 per cent, showed the greatest decrease. Building Operations January 1925-1924 No. Permits p er Cent , onrIssufd ValuationInc. or Dec. Akron............... 1925 180 Canton.......... 96 99 504,582 C in cin n ati..... Dayton............ Erie.................. L e x in g to n ..... Pittsburgh....... Springfield........ 302 859 292 123 58 41 389 28 270 809 277 139 56 40 355 27 1,354,970 4,833,008 1,005,600 353,801 80,345 63,295 3,296,852 57,850 Toledo............. 175 206 372,892 713,927 Wheeling.......... Youngstown... 60 104 78 143 125,921 302,625 528,320 522,400 Cleveland*----Columbus........ 1924 1925 124 1,072,307 1924 242,510 342 * 191,195 163*9 816,120 5,626,305 658,400 676,325 252,467 88,650 2,004,184 51,805 66 0 — 14*1 52* — 17*4 — 68*2 — 28 6 64*5 n 7 — *7 *8 — 76 ? — 42^1 2,707 2,623 13,424,048 12,372,608 Total........... ♦Includes East Cleveland, Lakewood, and Shaker Heights Building Materials The lumber situation appears to be b e t ter than for some time past. Prices are firm, labor conditions are good, and de mand has increased during the last few weeks. In some sections excessive rains have held up operations to a certain extent. In gen . eral, however, this has not proved to be a materially de pressing factor. Although buying is still on a hand-tomouth basis, orders slightly exceeded production in the case of about 375 mills in the country during the four weeks ending February 7. Reports indicate that the building brick industry in the Fourth District has undergone considerable improve ment as compared with last fall. The brick plants in the District operated on close margins last year, and al though no radical price changes are anticipated, the pres ent tendency is toward higher prices. Cement production for January amounted to 8,916,000 barrels, or V/2 per cent more than January, 1924. Of this amount, 808,000 barrels were produced by Ohio, W estern Pennsylvania, and West Virginia as compared with 779.000 barrels in January of last year. Stocks on hand in the country are now at a high point, being almost equal to the peak of 1924, which occurred in March. Shipments during January amounted to 5,108,000 barrels as com THE MONTHLY BUSINESS pared with 5,210,000 barrels during January, 1924. The Aberthaw index of industrial building costs re mained unchanged at 197 on February 1. A comparison of the cost of various building materials in Pittsburgh and Cleveland shows that between October 1, 1924, and January 1, 1925, there were six advances and one decline in Pittsburgh, while sixteen remained sta tionary. In Cleveland, there were four advances and no declines, with ten remaining stationary. The advances occurred mostly among several kinds of lumber. Shoes After moving at about the same pace for several months, the boot and shoe trade in this District showed improve ment during January. Buying is still hand-to-mouth, but orders have been more frequent and factories are consequently busier than a month or two ago. The employment situation is also reported to have improved. Prices are higher than last year, the price of sole leather being 50 cents per pound on February 13 as compared with 48yi cents the month before and 43% cents a year ago. The price of hides re ceded slightly from January but is about 25 per cent over a year ago. Sales of reporting wholesale shoe firms in this Dis trict showed an increase of 9 per cent over January, 1924, although there was a decrease of 35 per cent from December. Final figures furnished by the Bureau of the Census place the production of boots and shoes of about 1,200 factories in the United States in December at 24,602,393 pairs as compared with 25,322,211 pairs in November and 22,676,436 pairs in December, 1923. Production in the Fourth District fell off 2l/2 per cent from November. Textiles Reports indicate that the spring move ment in textiles is broadening, but that buying is conservative and in small lots. The silk market has been active, there being a good demand for raw silk; on the other hand, the wool market in general is quiet, even with a slight decrease in prices. It is stated that the new woolen goods season for the fall of 1925 is very slow. Jn the Fourth District, textile manufacturers emphasize the fact that buying is still cautious, and, if anything, is tending to become more so. In general, no marked changes in the volume of business have taken place during the last month. Some improvement, however, is noted in knit goods as compared with a few months ago and with this time last year. Activity in worsted goods also ap pears to be slightly greater than was the case several months ago. Wholesale dry goods sales in this District during Jan uary showed a decline of about 20 per cent both from December and from January of last year. The decrease from a year ago is disappointing, in view of the fact that December showed a 12 per cent increase over the pre ceding year. Prices of some materials have stiffened during the last month. On February 6, silk stood at 6.48 dollars per pound as against 6.23 dollars a month previously. In REVIEW 5 creases have also taken place in raw cotton, cotton goods, and worsted yarn. Prices of woolens, on the other hand, showed a softening tendency after the sharp advance of preceding months. The Fairchild index of average do mestic wool prices rose from 103.7 on June 21, 1924, the low point of the year, to 145.2 on January 31, 1925, but declined to 142.1 on February 14. General Manufacturing An analysis of reports from numerous manufacturers in the Fourth District indicates that on the average there has been but little change in conditions dur ing the past month. Some improve ment has taken place in a few lines, while in a few others a slight decline in business from January is reported. A number of manufacturers report their plants working at capacity. As compared with several months ago, there has been a noticeable change for the better in nearly all lines, particularly in the paint and boxboard industries and certain lines of machinery manufacture. The general feel ing appears to be one of waiting for the usual spring in crease in business, and in some cases advance buying is reported to be in good volume. With reference to prices, the number of lines reporting an upward trend is about equal to that reporting no change, while there were no instances of any actual de cline. In one or two instances prices were stated to be materially higher, but in most cases whatever advances that have occurred have been slight. Employment conditions are very much the same as during the last month or two. In some lines, however, a betterment is reported, and in general more men are employed than was the case last fall. Retail Trade Department store sales in the Fourth District in January were 2 per cent be low those of a year ago. Three cities— Akron, Cleveland, and Columbus— showed increases. Stocks on hand in creased 2.4 per cent over last year. This bank’s index num ber of department store sales in the Fourth District stood at 92 in January, being exceeded in 1921, 1922, and 1924. For the past seven years, index numbers for January were as follows: (1919-1923 equals 100) 1919, 68; 1920, 95; 1921, 98; 1922, 74; 1923, 88; 1924, 94; 1925, 92. Sixteen wearing apparel firms in this District showed an increase of 3.4 per cent in sales as compared with last year, and a gain of 1.3 per cent in stocks on hand at the end of the month. Wholesale Trade A comparison of sales of wholesale lines in this District during January, 1925, with a year ago reveal erable disparity as between the different lines. Sales of reporting wholesale shoe firms increased 9.1 per cent, and those of drug firms in creased 0.9 per cent, while hardware and groceries showed slight declines and dry goods a decrease of 22.2 per cent. As compared with December, large decreases were shown by shoes and dry goods, and a smaller decline by gro ceries, while drugs and hardware increased slightly. THE 6 MONTHLY BUSINESS Retail Trade Sales Percentage Wholesale Trade and Chain Store Sales Decrease SALES STOCKS* Jan., 1925 Jan., 1925 compared with compared with Jan-> 1924 Jan., 1924 Percentage Increase or Decrease Increase or No. of Reports REVIEW D E P A R T M E N T STORES Akron........................ 5 6 .8 Canton..................... 3 — 7 .6 Cincinnati................ 7 — 4 .9 Cleveland................ 6 0 .6 Columbus................ 6 12.9 Dayton..................... 5 — 4 .7 New Castle.............. 3 — 8.9 Pittsburgh............... 8 — 4.8 Toledo....................... 5 — 4 .2 $ — 13.1 Wheeling.................. Youngstown............ 3 — 3 .0 Other Cities’" * . . . . 7 3 .2 District..................... 63 — 2 .0 U. S. A v e r a g e .... .. — 0 .6 *At end of month **Includes Erie, Portsmouth, Springfield, and Lima. No. of Reports G R O C ER IES A k r o n ..................... — 4.1 — 1.6 — 4.9 0.1 0 .2 3 .2 12.4 9 .7 — 2.5 5 .0 .... 4 .9 2 .4 0 .3 Cincinnati............. Cleveland.............. Columbus.............. Erie......................... Lexington.............. Pittsburgh............. Toledo.................... Youngstown......... Other Cities*. . . . d i s t r i c t .......... Dry Goods-District. Drugs-District.......... Hardware-District.. Shoes-District........... ♦Includes Butler ~ W E A R IN G APPAREL Cincinnati................ 4 — 3 .7 — 14.1 Cleveland................. 3 9 .6 20 .2 Other Cities*"'*. . . 9 — 1.1 — 11.8 District..................... 16 3 .4 1.3 *** Includes Akron, Canton, Columbus, Dayton, Pittsburgh, and Toledo. SALES SA LES Jan., 1925 Jan., 1925 compared with compared with Jan., 1924 Dec., 1924 3 3 4 3 4 3 7 3 3 23 8.1 — 6 .0 — 4 .9 — 7 .4 — 7 .7 — 12.6 12.5 — 7.5 — 13.9 — 7 .3 — 19.5 — 9 .8 — 13.2 4 .6 — 9 .0 1 .9 1 4 .6 — 12.3 — 8 .3 — 7 .7 56 19 16 18 6 — 4 .3 — 22.2 0 .9 — 1 .0 9.1 — 7 .4 — 2 1 .6 3 .7 0 .2 — 3 5 .3 wuiiuciisviue, Dayton, Dover Greensbure, Ironton, Lima, Mansfield, Massillon, Portsmouth’ Springfield, Steubenville, Umontown, Warren, Pa.,* Wheelinff’ and Xenia. Xenia. C H A IN STORES** Drugs-District............ Groceries-District . . . 3 5 7.4 — 19.3 12.6 —3.1 ** Sales per individual unit operated. Index Numbers of Trade in the Fourth Federal Reserve District (Average Monthly Sales Wholesale Department Drugs Stores (15 firms) (55 firms) 110 92 109 94 106 178 January, 1925 . . . January, 1 9 2 4 ... December, 1924. for the Five-Year Period 1919-1923, Inclusi Wholesale Wholesale Wholesale Dry Goods Groceries Hardware (18 firms) (53 firms) (17 firms) 68 80 93 87 84 94 87 86 93 - 100 ) Chain Drugs (3 firms) 97 91 106 Debits to Individual Accounts (In Akron........................ Butler, Pa................ Canton...................... Cincinnati................ Cleveland............ .. • Columbus................ Connellsville, P a .. . D ayton..................... Erie, Pa..................... Greensburg, Pa. . . Homestead, P a .. . . Lexington, K y........ Lim a.......................... Lorain....................... Oil City, Pa............. Pittsburgh, P a... . Springfield............. Steubenville............ Toledo..................... Warren................... Wheeling, W . Va. Youngstown.......... Zanesville T otal.................... 1 4 weeks ending Feb. 11, 1925 72,398 8,944 42,961 317,459 576,612 122,495 4,222 60,285 28,982 20,052 3,654 32,795 16,371 6,205 12,910 911,972 19,548 9,762 164,808 12,346 38,280 58,587 10,967 ,552,615 2 4 weeks ending Jan. 14, 1925 75,797 10,222 45,044 374,464 698,524 134,558 4,464 71,357 29,745 21,329 3,836 29,200 17,405 6,164 12,047 917,011 20,991 11,343 175,954 13,159 45,654 69,088 10,917 2,798,273 thousands 3 4 weeks ending Feb. 13, 1924 61,725 8,807 38,481 279,477 526,331 113,849 4,275 58,879 25,847 20,475 3,632 29,914 16,187 4,893 12,605 762,821 17,183 9,564 158,231 13,052 41,938 55,129 11,091 2,274,386 of dollars) 4 % inc. or dec. col. 1 over col. 2 — 4 .5 — 12.5 — 4 .6 — 15.2 — 17.5 — 9 .0 — 5 .4 — 15.5 — 2 .6 — 6 .0 — 4 .7 12.3 — 5 .9 0 .7 7 .2 — 0 .5 — 6 .9 — 13.9 — 6 .3 — 6 .2 — 16.2 — 15.2 0 .5 — 8 .8 5 % inc. or dec. col. 1 over col. 3 17.3 1.6 11.6 13.6 9 .6 7.6 — 1.2 2 .4 12.1 — 2.1 0 .6 9 .6 1.1 26.8 2 .4 19.6 13.8 2.1 4 .2 — 5 .4 — 8.7 6 .3 — 1.1 12.2 1925 to date (Jan. 1 to Feb. 11) 1924 to date (Jan. 3 to Feb. 13) 109,290 14,431 67,802 503,476 939,531 191,635 6,343 102,973 44,421 29,897 5,572 48,915 25,220 9,530 19,156 1,371,701 30,899 15,648 271,273 19,548 63,037 101,540 16,709 100,238 14,036 62,715 440,524 843,203 179,922 6,669 97,405 43,140 33,019 5,575 43,805 24,519 7,825 21,064 1,170,918 27,672 15,274 245,185 19,980 67,441 90,234 17,373 4,008,547 3,577,736 8 % inc. or dec. col. 6 over col. 7 9 .0 2.8 8.1 14.3 11.4 6.S — 4 .9 5.7 3 .0 —9.5 — 0.1 11.7 2 .9 21.8 —9.1 17.1 11.7 2 .4 11.0 —2.2 —6.5 1 2.5 —3.8 12.0 T HE M O N T H L Y B U S I N E S S R E V I E W 7 9B BBB 9BSBBB 9SBSB9SS!aBBB BBSBSBS99B9BB9BB!9BB BBBBB BBBK National Summary of Business Conditions (By the Federal Reserve Board) tH hn of 22 b ilk cwrwttij for seasonal v t r iit e (1919-100). Latest figure— January; 126. w holesale mces Further growth in production during January carried the output of bask commodities to the highest point readied since the spring of 1923. Employ* ment at industrial establishments increased slightly, bat remained below the level of • year ago. Prices of farm products continued to advance and there were smaller increases in the wholesale prices of most of the other groups of commodities. Production Production in bade industries, after a rapid increase in recent months, ad vanced 8 per cent in January and was 34 per cent above the low point of last summer. The most important factor hi the increase in the level of production since August has been the greater activity in the iron and steel industry, but in January the output of lumber, minerals, food product* and paper, and the mill consumption of cotton also showed considerable increases. The woolen industry was somewhat less active in January and output of automobiles, though larger than in December, was considerably smaller than a year ago. Further increases during the month in employment in the metal, textiles and leather industries were largely offset by seasonal declines in the number employed in the building materials and food products industries. Building activity, as meas ured by contracts awarded, though less in January than during the closing months of 1924, was near the high level of a year ago. Trade Index «f V. 1 Bureau of Labor Statistics (1913—100* baso adopted by Bureau). Latest figure January, 100. W kUr t p rw foe 12 Federal Rtsenre banks. Latest figures—February 10. MEMBER SANK CftEOtT SMMtor kUb* te IM !«*• figures—February It. Railroad shipments were in record volume for this time of year, and load ings of merchandise and miscellaneous products were particularly heavy. Whole sale trade in January, however, was slightly smaller than in December. Sales of groceries, shoes, and hardware were in smaller volume, while sales of dry goods and drugs increased. Department store sales in most districts were somewhat smaller than a year ago, but sales of mail order houses were con siderably larger. Prices Wholesale prices, as measured by the index of the Bureau of Labor Sta tistics, rose 2 per cent during January to the highest level in four years. The increase of 10 per cent in the index since last June represents an advance of 19 per cent in prices of agricultural commodities and 3 per cent in other commod ities. In die first half of February prices of grains, wool, coal, and lead de clined, while petroleum and gasoline prices advanced sharply, and cotton, silk, and rubber showed smaller increases. Bank Credit Loans and investments of member banks in leading cities, following the rapid growth during the last half of 1924, declined by about 9100,000,000 be tween the middle of January and the middle of February. The decrease repre sents a reduction in the holdings of investments, chiefly at banks in New York, partly offset by an increase in loans. Loans on stocks and bonds in creased, though less rapidly than in the latter part of 1924, while loans for commercial purposes declined slightly from the high level reached in the middle of January. Net demand deposits, owing largely to decreases at New York city banks, declined sharply from the high point reached in the middle of January. At the Federal Reserve banks the seasonal liquidation resulting from the return flow of curency from circulation came to a dose by January 21, and during the following four weeks there was an increase in total earning assets. This increase reflected largely the demand for gold for export, which led member banks to increase their discounts at the reserve banks. Reserve bank hold ings of United States securities declined further, while acceptances showed relativdy little change for the period. Money rates, after remaining comparatively steady during most of Jan uary, showed a firmer tendency during the early part of February, when rates for prime commercial paper advanced to 3H per cent Indexes of National Business Conditions The base (100) for all the charts except the first is the monthly average for the 5 years 1919-1923 inclusive. For the first chart, the base is the monthly average for the three years 1921-1923. "VOLUME OF CHECK 1920 B U IL D IN G P E R M IT S *2" CENT ISO rcR CAR CENT 1(0 19 Z 1 19 2 0 PEH C SX! COAL PRODUCTION PEH CENT rtft LO A D IN G S t3 2J 19 2 2 19 2 4 '92' CENT 2SO 15 2 5 PIG IRON PRODUCTION re H C EN T u o j i zo o 20 0 ! ! i! ISO A- ISO If O 1 J 7 W / SO J t A > w K 10 0 * IOO V I / A V y L F t V i 3 y,0 19 2 i 9 22 f 323 0 2 + 1923 1320 <921 1D2Z LATEST 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 0 0 O '■ 1. ; V v M e m b e r B a n k Credit. Jan u ary, L o a n s 113, In v e s tm e n ts 135. M e m b e r B a n k D ep o sits. Jan uary, D e m a n d 120, T im e 163. C h e ck P a y m en ts (e x ce p t N . Y . ) D e c e m b e r , 125. C om m ercia l Failures. Jan uary, 180. R e ta il T ra d e . D e ce m b e r , 184. W h o le s a le T r a d e . D e ce m b e r , 89. ) 9 2.3 192.4- I9 Z 5 F IG U R E S 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. B u ild in g P erm its. Jan uary, 129. Car L o a d in g s . Jan uary, 110. E x p o rts o f M e rch a n d ise . Jan uary, 94. B itu m in o u s C oa l P ro d u ctio n . Jan uary, 130. P ig Ir o n P r o d u ctio n . Jan uary, 134. A u to m o b ile P r o d u ctio n . Jan u ary, m . >9 13 pa ym ents ^ 0 1 4 i9£ 5 ;
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