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RESERVE BANK OF SAN FRANCISCO TWELFTH FEDERAL RESERVE DISTR I CT t1p1LiL 1960 The Race Against the Flood of Checks Review of Business Conditions page 58 • • • page 63 The Race Against the Flood of Checks December 1959, theFederalReserveBank of New York, on behalf of the 12 Federal Reserve Banks, announced that 5 of the 36 Federal Reserve Bank offices would soon install electronic equipment to process checks. These pilot installations are part of a 6-year period of preparation in the race against the ever-growing flood of checks. Located at the head offices of the Federal Reserve Banks in Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, and San Francisco, the five installations will permit the testing of equipment supplied by several manufacturers beginning in the summer of 1960. Several of the remaining Federal Reserve Bank offices will receive preprinting and encoding equipment at a later date to help support the test operations. A substantial number of commercial banks will either have electronic check processing equipment in operation, in process of installation, or on order for delivery within the next 12-18 months. Banks have been faced for some years with a rapidly growing volume of checks. The number of checks written, based on the most frequently quoted figures, has increased from about 3.5 billion in 1939 to about 8 billion in 1952, and to roughly 12 billion in 1959. As far as anyone can tell, the volume of checks written each year may well continue to grow at the 1952-59 pace. The average check, from the time it is written until it comes back to the person who wrote it, passes through two to three banks. Some checks, of course, are deposited directly in the bank on which they are drawn, but some items pass through as many as five banks before reaching the office where the writer of the check has his account. Checks received at a bank for collection are sorted and then sent on to a Reserve Bank, another bank, or the drawee bank for collection, and eventually the individual item must be posted to the proper account. Since considerable handling and paper work is neces- I 58 N sary even in those cases where the check is deposited directly in the bank on which it is drawn, and more than two banks usually handle an item, a large volume of paper handling and recording results from the billions of checks written. The ever-growing volume of checks has created severe space, personnel, equipment, and management problems for banks. To indicate the magnitude of the problem, in 1959 the 36 Federal Reserve offices as a group handled over 3 billion checks, or about onefourth of the estimated total volume written on the nation's 22,000 commercial bank offices. The flow of checks through Federal Reserve offices has been increasing at a rate of about 6 percent a year during the 1950's, with a number of offices showing annual rates of increase of more than 10 percent. In the past 20 years many mechanical and semi-automatic devices have been developed which have speeded the operation and taken some of the drudgery out of check processing. However, the limitations of present equipment and procedures have made it increasingly difficult for banks to handle the flood of checks. Automation, in the form of electronic check-handling equipment, affords a number of advantages over present techniques. Even though the staff may be just as large when the new equipment has taken over because of continued growth in the volume of checks, the nature of the jobs will change. The average individual's contribution may involve more judgment and fewer repetitive, mechanical tasks than at present. The overall effect of these changes should be more attractive jobs with higher salaries and reduced turnover. The controls contemplated in the new equipment may also ease some of the supervisory and expediting problems. A very important consideration, too, is the probability that two to four times· the present volume could be handled in the existing floor space. Finally, MONTHLY REVIEW April1960 PRESENT PROCESSING PROCEDURE FINE SORTEO ITEMS FORWARD£ D TO DRAWEE BANK PROVING INCOMING CHECKS AND PARTIAL FINE SORT there is a reasonable prospect that operating costs per item, exclusive of floor space and personnel management expenses, will be lower with the new equipment than if the present equipment were to continue in use. The search for a vehicle Check processing has long been a favored study topic in banks. Just when the thought of electronic equipment first received serious consideration cannot be stated with certainty, but early 19 54 can be regarded as the beginning of a well organized campaign to develop techniques which would permit the closest approach to full mechanization of check processing. At that time the Bank Management Commission of the American Bankers Association created a technical committee for intensive study of the check mechanization problem. The most pressing problem was finding a way for electronic equipment to read a check so that it could be sorted, tabulated, and posted to the individual deposit account. After considering a variety of proposed alternatives, it was decided to adopt a common machine language for checks. Briefly, the common machine language concept meant that each check would have inscribed on it a set of symbols which would permit electronic equipment to identify the bank on which the check was drawn, the account number of the depositor who had issued the check, and the amount of the check. A number of factors had to be considered in adopting a common language. Among them were: accuracy with which the information could be read by humans as well as machines; the degree of precision required in placing the information on the checks; the feasibility and cost of printing; present check practices of bank customers; and durability of the encoded information. After discussing the problem with printers and manufacturers of equipment and consulting with Federal Reserve Banks, the technical committee decided on magnetic ink character printing as the vehide to carry the common machine language needed. Magnetic ink contains iron-oxide. When it passes through electronic equipment, an electronic charge is passed over the ink, making it possible for the equipment to read the characters. The 59 FEDERAL RESERVE BANK OF SAN FRANCISCO decision to adopt magnetic ink characters, reached in mid-1956, marked the beginning of an accelerated program for equipment design. The technical committee then developed the specifications for placing the language and the precise format of the symbols. A special type font, E-13-B, was adopted in 1958. The characteristics of a fully imprinted and encoded check are shown in the accompanying specimen.* Underlying the successful use of the common language for checks are several important assumptions. The plan looks forward to each bank preprinting its checks with the bank's A.B.A. number and routing symbol in magnetic ink. In addition, it is anticipated that ultimately most banks will have an attachment on their tellers' or bookkeepers' adding machines which will encode the amount of the check in the appropriate place. This information permits the electronic devices to sort and tabulate the items by bank as part of the clearing process. The first time a check is processed under these assumptions will be *The exact details required for imprinting checks may be found in The Common Machine L anguage for M echanized Check Handling, American Bankers Association, 12 East 36 Street, New York 16, N. Y. the only time any purely manual operation is necessary. Electronic equipment will then carry on the process until the check is received by the drawee bank. The program also contemplates the imprinting of magnetic ink account numbers by banks on their checks so as to facilitate internal bank bookkeeping. Electronic high-speed equipment and check processing Electronic check processing has a number of features that alter the framework of operations from the primarily manual procedures in use now. Electronic equipment can read a check much more rapidly than the human eye: a rate of 20 checks per second is considered attainable. Electronic controls plus high-speed sorting equipment can provide much more rapid sorting than the human eye plus a purely mechanical aid. Sorting rates of 36,000 checks an hour or 10 per second have been specified for some equipment. Computers can add more rapidly than the new equipment can sort, and listing devices can keep pace with the sorters. At this bank, the pilot system supplied by the National Data Processing Corporation JOHN H. DEPOSITOR No. /Oof ADDRESS CITY, STATE NAME OF YOUR BANK CITY, STATE ···oooo ~ q s qoo.,• Routing Symbol 60 Bonk Codes for Internal Transit Bookkeeping Number Amount Coding )> "C ~. "() NEW PROCESSING PROCEDURE (). 0 STORAGE BY OFFICE 3: 0 z-t ::I: ,... -< "'m < m ~ FORWARDING TO ORAWE[ OFFICES 0. FEDERAL RESERVE BANK OF SAN FRANCISCO will include three primary units-a dictionary look-up computer and two sorters. The computer, in addition to performing calculations, can control three sorters, each performing different operations simultaneously, as well as the associated listing equipment. The computer is the main difference between present techniques and the new procedures. The computer will control the sorters and listers and perform the necessary calculations. It has a memory unit for storing information needed for the control operation as well as the calculations. Auxiliary devices include bank code and routing symbol preprinting equipment, amount encoders, and several amount encoding proof machines. These accessory devices are needed now, and probably will continue in use at a gradually declining rate, because many checks will not be preprinted or encoded in the early stages of the operation. When this equipment is fully tested and operating with a high proportion ( 75 percent or more) of fully imprinted, encoded checks, it will replace about 35 proof machines, the type of equipment currently in use. 62 Some remaining problems The program outlined so far may sound as if all problems have been solved, but like all new procedures of this complexity a host of problems remains. Since checks are involved, the Federal Reserve Banks have found it necessary to require higher performance and reliability characteristics in the sorting equipment than is customarily needed in some other types of document processing. Consequently, each of the five systems being tested by the Federal Reserve Banks involves almost completely new "hardware." A test period will determine the suitability and economic feasibility of each of the designs. If past experience with new computer and document processing systems is any criterion, some changes in design or construction may be needed. At least as important as the equipment is the degree to which checks are preprinted with routing information and encoded with amounts. The American Bankers Association has pursued preprinting of checks with considerable vigor. Bank response has been very good, but not all elements of the problem are completely under their control. Redesign and printing of new stocks of checks issued by banks will take considerable time. F urthermore, bank customers in some important cases supply their own checks. Some of these organizations may have large stocks of checks, and it may be some time before they print a new stock. Until the various issuers and users of checks have preprinted a high proportion of the items and a significant percentage of banks use amount encoding equipment in the first handling of items, the flow of fully qualified documents will be too small for efficient utilization of the equipment. In December 1959, 13 percent of checks received at the head office of this bank were preprinted with routing information in magnetic ink. By the end of 1960, 25 percent may be preprinted, and it is expected that by mid1961 about 50 percent will be preprinted. The rapid rise anticipated in preprinting of checks reflects the fact that the program must be started well in advance of the installation of electronic processing equipment at commercial banks. Since almost all major banks in the Twelfth District have ordered or installed electronic processing equipment, the drive for preprinting is vigorous. Amount encoding, however, will come more slowly. While the outlines of a desirable solution to the check problem are at hand, the race is only about to begin. The long-run outlook is favorable since many banks, particularly those handling a large proportion of the checks written, are moving rapidly toward electronic processing. For the near future, however, success will depend in part on how rapidly banks which are not automating immediately MONTHLY REVIEW April 1960 add the necessary preprinted information to their checks and encode the dollar amount on items passing through their hands. Even banks which are not automating will find it to their advantage to have their checks preprinted and amount encoded. Checks which are ready for electronic processing will be handled with greater speed than at present. The sooner a bank receives checks drawn on it, the less difficulty it may have with overdrawn accounts and other customer errors. As the use of magnetic imprinting proceeds and higher percentages of fully qualified checks flow through the banking system, there may be special recognition of the lower cost and lesser difficulty of handling fully qualified checks in the form of lower charges to banks for handling these items or more prompt credit provided the depositing bank. The general public should receive better service as checks become an increasingly good substitute for currency, a matter always of concern to the central bank. The success of the contemplated arrangements, therefore, may provide benefits shared by everyone who uses banking services as well as reduce the check handling problem which has been growing steadily more burdensome. Review of Business Conditions estimates indicate that the national economy turned out goods and services at a rate of $498 billion in the first quarter of 1960. The half trillion dollar economy, which used to be accorded the same degree of awe as the 4-minute mile and the speed of sound, is now a benchmark rather than a dim and distant goal. Steel production, which was pressing the physical limits of capacity in January and February, has apparently overtaken the demand for steel inventories, and production fell to 92 percent of capacity in March and was scheduled for 80 percent in midApril. Automobile assemblies in March were up from February but 15 percent below the January high, and auto inventories rose to over 1 million units. The net effect on overall industrial production was a decline of 1 percent from February and of 2 percent from the January record. The weather seems to have been a major factor in the national economic picture, as severe storms and floods in the midwest and eastern sections of the country gave rise to ARLY E dislocation in a number of industries and markets. The weather was bad through March 15, when the employment statistics were gathered, and was an influence particularly in construction and trade. On a seasonally adjusted basis, overall employment declined while unemployment rose substantially to 5.4 percent of the labor force in March against 4.8 percent in February. Department store and auto sales improved after mid-month so that overall retail sales in March were at about the level of the prior 2 months. Early April trade indications are even more encouraging. Housing starts were unchanged in March, although the value of new construction put in place declined. The stability in some factors previously declining, and signs of others beginning to increase, are some causes for cheer in the business outlook. The survey of consumer attitudes in January indicated that they were optimistic, and the level of expected business spending for plant and equipment is reported as very high. The prudent forecaster survey- 63 FEDE RA L RE SERVE BA N K Of SAN FRANCISCO ing the business scene, then, might describe it as "fair, but slightly cloudy." Unemployment rate up in nation; cutbacks seen in District payrolls The gains in employment that were registered in February over January were washed out in the March statistics. Total unemployment rose by 400,000, after seasonal adjustment. This represents the largest February to March increase since the end of World War II. Here again the weather played hob with statistics, for the March survey upon which this information is based was taken in the week of March 7-12, when storms gripped much of the industrial eastern portion of the nation and held down outdoor employment activities. Total civilian employment dropped by 735,000 in the month on a seasonally adjusted basis, with the decline divided almost equally between agricultural and nonagricultural employment. A large part of the increase in unemployment was due to reduced production in the automobile industry, as dealers' inventories rose sharply. Although estimates of District employment during March are not yet available, claims for unemployment insurance indicate that aircraft firms continued to reduce their payrolls. Recently announced changes in the Bomarc program will result in the release of perhaps 3,000 production workers. However, funds released from Bomarc allocations are largely being shifted to the Atlas and Minuteman projects and to the purchase of transport planes, reducing the net effect in the District of this shift in defense spending. The construction of four Bomarc bases originally scheduled to be built on the Pacific Coast will also be cancelled. District demand for metals eases 64 The weekly operating rates of western steel producers averaged about 80 percent of capacity in March, down 10 percent from the February level of operations. The stimulus to production provided by inventory accumulation has dwindled sharply in recent weeks, but there is nothing to suggest that final consumption may be faltering. Demand for brass mills' products remained slow as March ended, with both the United States customs smelters' and mine producers' copper quotations holding firm at 33 cents a pound. European demand contributed to the stability of the copper price as there was a "good" rate of consumption abroad and concern that political unrest in South Mrica might spread to Northern Rhodesia and the Belgian Congo, both major European copper sources. The expected spring upturn has yet failed to materialize, with producers blaming the weather's adverse effect on the automobile and housing industries, two major consumers of copper products. Prices for both lead and zinc were unchanged at the end of March. Demand for lead was quiet at 12 cents a pound, New York. Steel mills were fairly active buyers of westem prime grades of zinc at 13 cents a pound, East St. Louis, for their galvanizing operations. Lead and zinc interest centered on the Tariff Commission's report to Congress on aiding domestic mine production, which revealed a split decision. The two-member minority (four members felt the Commission was not authorized to make the decision) urged removal of import quotas and more effective import duties. Lumber and plywood markets still dorma nt Demand for western lumber and plywood continued at wintertime levels in recent weeks, especially in midwestern markets which were further disrupted by storms and floods. Prices remained steady, however, as mills expected orders to be swelled by the usual springtime upturn in construction. Orders came in slowly through the end of March and lumber production was increased less than seasonally during the month. Sawmills have been revising their April1960 MONTHLY REVIEW sales estimates downward, apparently, and are becoming more cautious about augmenting their aheady high levels of inventories. Total construction contracts rise during February The value of construction contracts in the District rose, as it normally does, during the month of February. Of greater import, however, is the fact that this total was up 8 percent from the same month of 1959 and that this increase is reflected in all 3 of the major categories of construction. The largest gain was in the area of public works and utilities, where contracts climbed 20 percent above the year-ago total. Most of this increase reflected larger contracts for construction by utilities, as those for street and highway construction continued to decline. Contracts for nonresidential construction rose by 11 percent, reflecting increases in the area of commercial and manufacturing buildings. Gains extended even to residential construction, which moved up 2 percent during February. This was chiefly the result of increased contracts for larger residential units, along with transient quarters, e.g., motels, hotels, etc., as contracts for one- and two-family homes continued to decline. The price of FHA-insured mortgages rose to $96.50 per $100 in March, suggesting that conditions in the mortgage market have eased somewhat, presumably due to the fact that demands for funds from other sectors of the economy have not been as great as anticipated earlier. This "ease'' has not been reflected as yet in FHA applications, however. Twelfth District applications for new housing rose slightly during February, as they normally do, but were still 31 percent below the corresponding month of last year. Farm prices continue to strengthen in March, butFor the third consecutive month, farm prices firmed in March as severe weather over much of the country reduced marketings. Since the first of the year, prices received by farmers have risen considerably more than the prices they pay, turning the terms of trade in the farmers' favor, though less so than in March 1959. Despite recent improvement, farm prices are lower than a year ago, and this is reflected in smaller receipts that farmers received from marketings during January and February of 1960. Prices received by farmers for important farm commodities in the District strengthened during March but were generally below year-ago levels, except for fresh vegetables, navel oranges, and lambs. Up sharply during March were prices received for winter potatoes and navel oranges, both of which rose by 32 percent. Contrary to the farm income situation nationally, cash receipts of District farmers for the first 2 months of 1960 were higher than a year earlier. All District states except Washington and Oregon showed increases, but the bulk of the rise occurred in California and Arizona, where heavy marketings of beef cattle from feedlots was an important factor contributing to the increased cash receipts in these states. Field crop acreage planted in the District will total 21.3 million acres, according to farmers' production plans, with the largest increases in acreage expected for grain sorghums, hay, and cotton. In this District, cotton farmers usually plant nearly all of the acreage they are allotted, with underplanting amounting to only about 1 percent. Choice of Plan B under the cotton price support program ( 40 percent increase in acreage above basic allotments in exchange for a lower level of support) was common among District cotton producers. The District is allocated about 6 percent of the nation's basic cotton acreage but accounted for 26 percent of the increase in acreage available for planting because of the election of Plan B. District plantings will probably be about 30 percent greater than basic acreage allotments and about 6 percent larger than in 1959. 65 FEDERAL RESERVE BANK OF SAN FRANCISCO The heavy participation of District cotton growers in Plan B will have implications for commercial banking facilities in the District if the market price remains above the minimum level of support, as it did in 1959. This would mean that cotton would move through commercial channels rather than into government hands and that the financing of the marketing of District cotton would rely heavily on the resources of commercial banks. The value of the District cotton crop exceeds $400 million. Reta il sales increase in the District Sales of retail stores 1 in the District in February were 8 percent above the same month in 1959. The better showing was accounted for almost entirely by automobile and automotive accessories sales, which were above those of last year. Sales of automobiles, lumber, building materials, and hardware were up in February over January 1960, but sales of furniture and appliances dropped. As is normal in February, sales of soft goods dropped below the January level. The decline was approximately the same as last year. District department stores, however, showed an increase of 7 percent over February 1959 and sales of apparel stores were up 6 percent. In March, department store sales showed a 1 percent decline from the comparable period last year. If allowance were made for the fact that Easter falls 3 weeks later this year, sales in March would show an improvement over last year. Department store sales the first week of April were up over last year even after adjustment for Easter. New car registrations in California averaged 2,370 per business day for the first 21 days of March. This represents an increase of 12 percent over average daily registrations in March 1959 and a gain of the same proportion over average registrations in February of this year. 66 1 District retail firms operating 1-10 stores. Tax borrowings boost business loans in March In March, total loans of Twelfth District reporting member banks rose by $117 million, only about one-third of the increase in March 1959. This reflects, in part, the fact that business firms borrowed less to meet quarterly tax payments due in March than they did last year. Even so, commercial and industrial loans accounted for $86 million of the March loan increase. Metal manufacturers were heavy borrowers during the month, as were the other mining and manufacturing groups. Public utilities, transportation companies, and the "all other types of business" classification also increased their bank borrowings. Food processors and commodity dealers continued to liquidate their bank debt during the month as they have each month this year. As automobile sales picked up in March, reporting bank loans to consumers rose, reflected in the increase of $25 million in the "other loan" category, which is composed primarily of consumer loans. Contrary to the usual seasonal pattern, real estate loans declined $12 million during March-the only loan category to show a drop. In the first week of April, total loans continued to rise and loans outstanding were $49 million above the year-end, completely offsetting the loan decline which occurred in January. Demand deposits adjusted increased by $73 million in March, the first monthly increase registered in 1960. The ratio of bank debits to demand deposits was up 6 percent over March 1959, indicating a more intensive use of funds. Total time deposits in March dropped slightly below the February level, although for the first time this year banks had an increase, $9 million, in savings deposits. This improvement in attracting savings appears to have been short-lived, for in the first week of April savings deposits held by District reporting banks dropped $6 million. April1960 MONTHLY REVIEW In March, District reporting banks' holdings of United States Government securities declined for the third consecutive month. The $237 million reduction, however, was less than in the preceding 2 months. Reductions occurred in all maturities-short-, intermediate-, and long-term. In the first 2 weeks of April there was a tum-about in bank holdings of Governments, the first weekly increases in 1960. Interest rates on business loans hold steady In spite of the general decline in short-term interest rates during the first quarter of 1960, a sampling of rates charged by District banks on short-term loans made during the first 15 days of March 1960 showed an average rate of 5.72 percent, about the average rate on loans made the first half of December 1959. For the nation as a whole, there was a very small decline. In the District the only rate decline by size category was on loans of $100,000-$200,000. The small average rate change from the last quarter of 1959 conceals shifts in the distribution of loans made at each rate of interest. In March, only 1.2 percent of all loans carried rates under 5 percent compared with 2.5 percent of all loans in December. There was a small increase in loans made at rates of 5 percent but less than 6 percent. A small gain in the proportion of loans made at rates over 6 percent was accounted for mainly by an increase in the number of loans under $10,000 which bore this higher interest charge. Lull in municipals market nears end The municipal bond market was characterized by a light supply of new issues during February and March. This has permitted some slight price rises and clearing up of old inventories. Developments in the latter part of March indicate that this quiet period is coming to a close, with several important issues scheduled for the near future. Only two issues of any size were floated in the District in March, both by units which make frequent trips to the money market. . The Los Angeles County Flood Control District sold $10 million of general obligation bonds at a net interest cost of 3.626 percent, slightly lower than the rate paid on an issue of $21 million last October. The other issue was a flotation of $100 million of construction and veterans bonds by the State of California. Because of the lightness of the March calendar, these bonds sold quickly at a net cost of 3.949 percent as opposed to the 4.02 percent rate paid by the State for funds in January. These two issues alone accounted for more than a quarter of all municipal issues in the nation in March. A significant development in the municipal market was the announcement by the State of California of its intention to alter its marketing policy in an attempt to secure more favorable rates on smaller issues to be offered at times determined . by the market, rather than the present more or less quarterly blocks of $50-100 million. The April calendar for the District includes $52 million of school district and publicly owned utility district issues. A special bond issue for $62 million is being readied for April or May offering by the Oroville-Wyandotte Irrigation District in California. The bonds will finance a water and power project with a private utility contracting to take the electric power generated by the installation. 67 FEDERAL RESERVE BANK OF SAN FRANCISCO BANKING AND CREDIT STATISTICS AND BUSINESS INDEXES-TWELFTH DISTRICT 1 (lndeltell: 194.7-1949 =100. Dollar amount. in 111illlons of dollars) Condition items of all member bankss Ylllll' and Month Loans and diseounte 1929 1933 1939 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 2,239 1,486 1,967 . 7".866 u.s. Gov't securities Demand deposits adjustadJ Total time deposita 495 720 1,450 1,234 951 1,983 1,790 1,609 2,267 ... ... ...... 9,937 10,520 10,515 11,196 11,864 12,169 ll,870 12,729 13,375 Bank deblb lndeJC 31 cities'· • Bank rates on short-term buslnaes loans' Total nonagrlcultural employment .... .... .... .... ... 42 18 30 . ... . . ... 5:7i 142 143 143 143 144 144 144 144 145 145 164 164 163 164 166 164 163 161 164 165 .... .... 146 147 167 167 ... 3.66 3.95 4.14 4.09 4.10 4.50 4.97 4.88 5.36 4.97 1959 M a.rch ~ril ay June J uly Aug ust September Ootober November December 14,176 14,768 15,000 15,328 15,617 15,924 15,978 16,010 16,252 16,537 7,436 7,739 7,511 7,329 7,096 6,932 6,717 6,702 6,651 6,673 12,228 12,874 12,520 12,589 12,945 12,797 12,850 12,963 13,133 13,375 12,003 12,301 12,399 12,517 12,390 12,378 12,365 12,316 12,138 12,452 244 241 231 235 242 241 238 232 251 236 1960 January February March 16,354 16,388 16,660 6,304 5,976 5,707 12,971 12,493 12,553 12,111 12,017 11,986 239 244 249 .... ..... 5.21 .... .. .. 5.54 .... .. . 5.72 Industrial producllon (physical volume)• Lumber Crude 1929 1933 1939 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 HI 56 1957 1958 1959 95 40 71 114 113 115 116 115 122 120 106 107 116 87 52 67 98 106 107 109 106 106 105 101 94 92 117 114 114 118 1959 February March .April May J une J uly August September October November December 1960 January February 96 104 104 96 89 93 97 94 101 95 88 105 87 71 91 98 92r 91 .. Dap't store sal98 (value)• Retail food prie98 71 I 30 18 31 107 112 120 122 122 132 141 140 143 156 64 42 47 100 113 115 113 113 156r 153 154 161 161 162 154 153 156 158 123 123 123 123 123 123 123 123 123 123 153 158 161 124 123 112 114 118 123 123 . .. Waterborne Foreign Trade Index•• 10 Petroleum' Ylllll' and month Carloadings (number)• 102 52 77 98 100 100 100 105 121 130 137 134 143 152 156 154 163 132 140 150 154 172 189 203 209 237 8,839 9,220 9,418 11,124 12,613 13,178 13,812 16,537 . .. "57 ·ao 103 112 118 121 120 127 134 138 138 143 6,777 7,502 7,997 8,699 9,120 9,424 10,679 12,077 12,452 6,463 6,619 6,639 7,942 7,239 6,452 6,619 8,003 6,673 Total mf'g employment Ex porta Imports Cement SteeP Copper' Electric power Total Dry Cargo Tanker Total Dry Cargo ... .. . 24 125 146 139 158 128 154 163 172 142 138 103 17 80 115 116 115 113 103 120 131 130 29 26 40 120 136 145 162 172 192 209 224 229 190 110 163 91 186 172 141 133 165 201 231 176 186 150 247 7 107 80 194 200 138 141 178 261 308 212 221 243 108 175 129 146 123 149 117 123 123 135 124 72 95 142 163 206 314 268 313 459 582 552 682 128 103 112 116 122 119 124 129 132 124 130 55 27 56 112 128 124 131 133 145 156 149 158 174 97 145 140 142 163 166 187 219 216 218 283 57 103 733 1,836 4,239 2,912 3,614 7,180 10,109 9,096 11,083 118 111 113 115 117 129 92 92 92 92 93 92 92 92 91 91 91 126 128 130 128 128 136 136 132 132 133 131 142 171 178 188 186 192 191 176 186 154 152 187 192 213 216 205 79 11 13 15 148r 212r 138 140 144 148 138 118 76 36 40 43 40 242 250 250 254 269 267 256 248 249 257 ... 156 212 170 161 170 166 196 171 231 148 209 183 210 191 181 192 215 265 217 289 202 266 118 217 139 133 139 96 97 107 150 71 128 701 657 605 587 813 612 654 678 702 807 858 215 383 279 283 307 284 254 269 261 290 302 13,375 7,810 9,101 8,516 13,990 9,168 11,074 11,344 12,206 14,284 15,333 126 126 90 90 130 127 141 140 200p 209p 69 .. ... ... ... ... ... ... . .. . .. Ill Relined 78 50 63 116 100 ... . .. . .. ... . .. ... ... .. . . .. ... Tanker l.Adjusted for sea.sona.l variation, except where indicated. Except for department store statistics, all indexes are based upon data from outside sources, aa follows: lumber, California. Redwood Association and U.S. Bureau of the Census; petroleum, cement, and copper, U.S. Bureau of Mines; steel, U .S. Department of Commerce and American Iron and Steel Institute; electric power, Federal Power Commiasion; nonagricultural and manufacturing e mployment, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and cooperating state agencies ; retail food prices, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics ; carloadings, various I Annual figures are as of end of year, monthly figures as r ailroads and railroad associa tions; and foreign trade, U.S. Bureau of the Census. oflaat Wednesday in month. I Demand deposits, excluding interbank and U.S. Government deposits, less cash items in process of collection. Monthly d ata partly estimated. ' Debits to total deposits except interbank prior to 1942. Debits to demand deposits except U.S. Government and interban k deposits from 1942. • Daily average. • Average rates on loans made in five major cities, weighted by loan size categor;y. • Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Seattl.e indexes combined. • Commercial cargo only, m ' Not adjusted for seasonal variation. physical volume, for the Pacific Coast customs districts plus Alaska and Hawaii; starting with July 1950, "special category" exports are excluded because of security rea.solll!. lO Alaska a nd Hawaii are included in indexes beginning in 1950. p--Preliminary. r-Revised. 68
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