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MONTHLY REVIEW
OF
BUSINESS CONDITIONS
JOHN PERRIN» Chairman of the Board and Federal Reserve Agent
Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco
VoL V ili
San Francisco, California, December 20,1924
Summary of National Conditions
Production in basic industries and factory
employment continued at about the same level
in November as in October. There was a fur
ther slight rise in the general level of prices,
reflecting advances in nearly all groups of com
modities.
Production. Production of basic commodi
ties was at about the same rate in November
as in October, but owing to the smaller number
of working days not allowed for in the adjust
ment for usual seasonal variations the Federal
Reserve Board’s index of production declined
by about 2 per cent. Increased activity was
shown in the iron and steel industry and in cot
ton and woolen textiles, while production of
food, coal, lumber, paper, and automobiles de
clined. There was little change in the volume
of factory employment during the month.
Building contracts awarded declined somewhat
1919 1920
in November, but the total was considerably
larger than for the corresponding month of any
recent year.
Final estimates by the Department of Agri
culture of crop yields in 1924 showed a greater
aggregate production than in 1923 and an in
crease of about 9 per cent in the total value
of all crops. Yields of wheat, oats, cotton, po
tatoes, and hay were larger than in 1923, but
the production of com and tobacco was smaller.
Marketing continued in large volume during
November, and exports of agricultural products
were the largest for that month in any recent
year.
Prices. The level of wholesale prices, as
measured by the index of the Bureau of Labor
Statistics, advanced slightly in November, price
increases in most of the commodity groups be
ing nearly offset by a considerable decline in
the prices of animal products. During the first
half of December there were further advances
1921 1922 1923 1924
Frodati! ion in ILnfa Industrie«
SfaMfccomuditfefl comcted for semmai vaite&a ( 191*— 10#).
LUbM ficaie, November, 107.
No* 12
Wholesale Prices
Index of U.S. Bans« of Labor Ststtalcs ( 1913= 10*. b«e sieves* feyBeraea).
Latest ficaie, Noreatber* US,
nviMr awt tkm ragvkriy viO main it witkoat dwrte ■>— qyBm iio.
154
MONTHLY REVIEW OF BUSINESS CONDITIONS
in the prices of grains, flour, sheep, metals, and
lumber, while the prices of beef, hides, silk, and
brick declined.
Trade. Railroad freight shipments, though
smaller in November than in October owing to
seasonal influences, were in about the same
volume as in November, 1923. Wholesale trade
showed the usual decline in November, and was
about as active as a year ago. Sales of furni
ture and meat were larger than last year, while
D ecem ber, 1924
November and the middle of December, and
their holdings of acceptances also showed a net
increase, while United States security holdings
declined somewhat.
Firmer conditions in the money market dur
ing the last half of November and the first
half of December were indicated by higher
rates on bankers' acceptances and a rise of onehalf of one per cent in the rate on commercial
paper.
M IL L IO N S O F D O L L A R S
4000
3000
2000
1000
0
/ff
Á Discow
V
nptoftce
t í (SSec.
Total
5an¡in¡ Asseti
Lj
X ? <ü <
*
1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924
Factory Employment
Index for 33 Manufacturing Industrie« (1919—100). ÍJtett figure, November, 91.
Reserve Bank Credit
Weekly figures for 12 Federal Reserve Banks. Latest figure, December 17.
the volume of business in nearly all other lines Summary of District Condition»
was smaller. Retail trade was somewhat more
In November, 1924, there were five Sundays,
active during November, and sales of mail order five Saturdays and three holidays. The unusu
houses and chain stores were larger than last ally small number of business days adds diffi
year. Merchandise stocks at department stores culty to statistical analysis of commerce and
were slightly reduced and were 2 per cent industry. Available data, however, indicate
smaller than a year ago.
that improvement in business conditions, which
Bank Credit. Total loans and investments of has been in progress since mid-summer, con
member banks in leading cities continued to tinued during the month.
increase during the four weeks ending Decem
The improvement has recently been chiefly
ber 10th, and on that date were in larger volume reflected in commodity markets, and prices
than at any previous time. The increase during with few exceptions have moved upward. The
the period was chiefly in loans secured by general price level, according to the United
stocks and bonds, and accompanied continued States Bureau of Labor’s index number of
activity in the security markets. Commercial wholesale prices, advanced from 151.9 in Octo
loans showed a seasonal decline from the high ber to 152.7 in November (1913 prices = 100),
point of the year reached in the middle of No the latter figure being 5.2 per cent above the
vember, but continued above the level of a year low point of last June and 0.4 per cent above the
ago. Security holdings, after increasing rap figure for November a year ago. Of particular
idly since the spring of the year, reached a peak importance in this district was the further rise
on November 19th, and after that time showed in prices of general farm products, the larger
a slight decline. At the reserve banks, total part of the district’s crops now having been
earning assets increased considerably during sold on a steadily advancing market, at prices
the four weeks ending December 17th, reflect more nearly approximating the general level of
ing the seasonal demand for currency and the all prices than has been the case during the past
export of gold. The volume of discounts of the four years. The upward movement of prices
reserve banks increased between the middle of during November was not confined to agrieul
December, 1924
155
FEDERAL RESERVE AGENT AT SAN FRANCISCO
tural commodities and foods, however, nonagricultural commodities participating in the
movement more generally than at any time
since its beginning five months ago.
Productive activity was well maintained dur
ing November. The mines of the district were
operated on full producing schedules, and an
increasing amount of new development work
was undertaken. Expansion in the demand for
lumber at a time when weather conditions were
forcing some curtailment of output has resulted
in material increases in the volume of unfilled
orders held by lumber mills. Less than sea
sonal activity in the flour milling industry was
reported during the month, the small supply
and high price of wheat having discouraged
production of flour in excess of immediate de
mands. Flow of petroleum in California has
continued to decline, but at a slower rate than
the decline in shipments, so that stored stocks
reached another record figure, 96,774,598 bar
rels, on December 1st. Activity in building
construction declined by less than the usual
seasonal amount from October to November
and the number and value of building permits
taken out in anticipation of future construc
tion work has been large. The values of build
ing permits issued in Los Angeles and San
Francisco were $9,700,000 and $6,300,000, re
spectively, in November, 1924, compared with
$13,500,000 and $3,800,000 in November, 1923.
If figures for Los Angeles be excluded, the
value of permits issued in principal cities of
the district was 11.7 per cent greater in No
vember, 1924, than in November, 1923, al
though not all of the cities included reported
increases. The volume of employment in prin
cipal industries of the district declined season
ally during November, and continued less than
one year ago when unemployment figures were
unusually small.
Signs of increasing business activity, present
in commodity markets and in industry, were
lacking in the field of distribution during No
vember. The value of trade at wholesale com
pared unfavorably with the figures for Novem
ber, 1923, eight of the eleven lines of trade
which report the value of their sales to this
bank showing a decline over the year period.
Sales at retail, as reflected in sales of 35 depart
ment stores in seven cities of the district, were
also smaller in value than one year ago, and
the indicated rate of stock turnover was below
that of the previous year. The lack of marked
improvement in distributive activity is not
surprising, however, when it is remembered
that the mid-summer depression was not so
acute in this as in other branches of business,
and that improving business conditions are
normally reflected last in the market for con
sumers* goods.
Credit requirements for financing current
business operations have changed little during
the past month, and reporting member banks
have again found it advantageous to employ a
large part of their loanable funds in the invest
ment market. As a result of an increase of
$12,000,000 in investments of 66 reporting
member banks in principal cities of the district,
their total loans and investments reached the
highest figure on record, $1,470,000,000, on
December 10th. At the same time their bor
rowings from the Federal Reserve Bank de
clined to $3,000,000, the lowest point since a
separate report of this item was first made in
1919. Total earning assets of the Federal Re
serve Bank increased during this period, how
ever, to the highest figures of the present year,
additional purchases of acceptances in the open
market more than offsetting declines in total
discounts and in holdings of government secu
rities. Total discounts remained at the lowest
levels since 1917. Interest rates, in the pres
ence of a supply of loanable funds in excess of
current commercial demand for credit, have re
mained relatively low.
Agriculture
The annual December reports of the United
States Department of Agriculture confirm that
which had previously been assumed, namely,
(A) Grain and Field Crops— Twelfth Federal Reserve District and the United States*/ — ■— ■T welfth Diitrie)
U nit
1924
1923
W h e a t ...................................................................................................bushels
71,000
144,191
Barley .................................................................................................bushels
20,444
46,192
29,132
37,249
Oats ..................................................................................................... bushels
C o m ..................................................................................................... bushels
12,815
14,554
H a y , T a m e . . . ...................................................................................tons
12,694
14,990
Potatoes . ............................................................................................ bushels31,934
35,323
Hice .....................................................................................................bushels
4,497
5,470
B e a n s ......... .............. ...........................................................................bushels
3,630
5,725
Cotton ......... ................ ...................................................................... bales
171
132
Sugar B e e t s ............. ........................................................................tons
1,625
2,137
1924
872,673
187,875
1,541,900
2,436,513
97,970
454,784
33,936
13,327
13,153
7*478
■United States
1922
1923
867,598
797,381
197,691
182,068
1,305,883
1,215,803
3,053,557
2,906,020
89,250
95,882
416,105
453,396
33,717
41,405
16,004
12,793
10,140
9,762
5,183
7,006
156
D ecem ber, 1924
MONTHLY REVIEW OF BUSINESS CONDITIONS
that while crops produced in this district dur
ing the past year were generally smaller in
volume than the average for recent previous
years, prices were such that aggregate returns
to farmers of the district were not much below
those of years when yields were more abun
dant.
The continued strength in prices of general
farm products throughout the period of har
vesting and of heavy marketing immediately
following the harvest, has been of particular
significance because assuring receipt by the
farmer of a large part of the increased value of
his crops. Reports from all sections of the dis
trict indicate that farmers this year sold a
larger proportion of their crops immediately
after the harvest than has been their practice in
recent previous years. In some sections and in
many individual cases a considerable part of
the amounts realized has necessarily been used
to liquidate debts carried forward from past
years.
Figures showing total district and United
States yields of ten of the more important grain
and field crops for 1924 and 1923 are given in
table “A.” Percentage figures of increases or
decreases in production and total value and
actual figures of farm prices during the present
year as compared with 1923 are presented in
the following table :
Farm Valuef
December 1,
1924
1925
Percentage increase
or decrease ( — )
1924 compared
with 1923
U nit
Farm Price
December 1,
1924
1923
— 25.5* bu.
— 34.4* bu.
— 7.8* bu.
$1,305 $ .855
1.161
.70i
.58*
.44*
W heat ......... $ 93,640 $125,701
B arley .......... 20,871
31,809
O ats ............. 18,255
19,803
15,937
13,986
13.9
bu.
1.38ff
1.0811
H ay, T a m e .. 211,433
P otatoes . . . . 27,124
Corn .............
176,984
27,702
19.5
— 2.1
ton
bu.
8.90*
.54*
8.90*
.50*
Rice ...............
7,465
6,126
21.8
bu.
1.66fl
1.121
B eans ...........
C otton .........
17,375
21,720
22,492
21,950
— 32.8
— 1.0
bu.
lbs.
5.2011
.24ff
4.00ff
.32fl
1000 om itted.
*1923 production of w heat, barley and oats combined was 23.8
per cent g reater than the five-year average,
fC alifornia. {W ashington, tld a h o .
(B) Movement o f Crops to M arket*
T W E L F T H F E D E R A L R E S ER V E D IS T R IC T
1924-1925
Season to
1923-1924
Season to
(19.5%) f
(11.0%)
6,632,831
(35.7%)
7,060,500 11,140,956
(15.2%) (26.0%)
W heat Exports^
N o v. 30, 1924 Nov. 30,1923
Portland and Puget
Sound ..........(bu.) 13,614,677 15,672,242
B arley E xp orts!
A pple Shipm ents
Twelfth District
(cars)
Orange Shipments§
California ...(cars)
Lemon Shipments§
California ... (cars)
1922-1923
Season to
Nov. 30,1922
13,968,174
(14.2%)
28,412
40,072
24,936
4,160
2,967
2,264
643
399
430
•Figures in parentheses indicate percentage of new crop only.
“
itage figures based on December 1st crop estimate.
i begins July 1st.
I Season begins Ksitmber 1st
Recent marketing trends of certain of the
district’s important crops, for which data are
available, are shown in Table “B.”
Weather conditions during the past six
weeks have favored the growth of winter grain
crops and have promoted normal seasonal agri
cultural operations.
Livestock—Animal Prod ucts
Condition of pastures and ranges has con
tinued to improve during recent weeks as nor
mal or greater than normal amounts of rain
have fallen over large areas of the district. The
presence of an adequate supply of moisture and
prevailing mild temperatures have stimulated
the growth of natural livestock feeds, the sup
ply of which had been seriously reduced during
the semi-drought which prevailed in many sec
tions during the first nine months of the year.
Improvement in range conditions has reduced
prospective needs for hay and other prepared
feeds during the forthcoming winter, and has
relieved a possible feed shortage in portions of
the Intermountain States. In general, the live
stock industry of the district is reported to be
entering the winter in satisfactory physical
condition.
No such general statement may be made con
cerning the financial condition of the industry.
Sheep raisers have had a satisfactory year, the
market for wool and lambs having been active
and prices relatively high. Demand for cattle,
on the contrary, has been unsteady in the face
of a possible oversupply, and liquidation,
which has been in progress during the past
three years, has continued. Beef cattle prices
are discussed in the “Prices” section of this
Review, page 157.
Receipts of cattle at the chief markets of
the district declined by more than seasonal
amounts during November, 1924, and were
smaller than in November, 1923. The number
of calves marketed increased slightly from Oc
tober to November, whereas the four-year aver
age of calf receipts shows a decline during this
period. Receipts of hogs and sheep apparently
followed normal seasonal trends during No
vember. Figures follow:
L IV E S T O C K R E C E IP T S A T E I G H T M A R K E T S
Calves
Hogs
Sheep
Novem ber, 1924.................... 98,525
O ctober,
1924.................... 113,168
N ovem ber, 1923.................... 101,593
Cattle
29,138
30,117
23,393
228,076
206,821
218,471
221,678
394,979
213,732
•F o u r-Y ear A verage
N ovem ber .........................
O ctober ........................ ..
21,337
25,025
180,565
148,918
226,086
369,747
96,913
97,085
*1921-1924.
Continued seasonal declines in butter pro
duction during November necessitated further
sales from cold storage.stocks held at the chief
markets of . the district, net withdrawals
December, 1924
amounting to 38.8 per cent of the total stocks
reported at the beginning of the month. The
volume of stocks held on December 1st of the
present year was 84.2 per cent greater than the
five-year average for that date. Cold storage
stocks of eggs continued to decline seasonally
during the past month.
C O L D S T O R A G E H O L D IN G S O F B U T T E R A N D E G G S
Dec. 1,
Nov. 1,
Butter (pounds)
1924
1924
*12th D istrict.
3,620,829
5,524,632
United States. 100,743,000 135,018,000
Five* Year
Dec. 1,
Average
1923
Dec. lstg
1,117,208
1,965,529
51,508,000 63,563,000
Eggs (cases)
fl2 th D istrict.
United States.
_____
157
FEDERAL RESERVE AGENT AT SAN FRANCISCO
125,409
3,101,000
253,537
5,267,000
194,810
4,028,000
X
2,971,000
*Four markets. fS ix markets. 81920-1924. JN o t available.
Prices
The upward movement of the general price
level which was sharply accelerated during Oc
tober continued during November, reaching,
according to the United States Department of
Labor’s wholesale price index, a level 5.2 per
cent above that of June, 1924 (the recent low
point), and slightly above that of November,
1923. The advance of the index during the
past month has been due only partly to in
creases in prices of farm products and foods,
prices of other important district products, such
as lumber and non-ferrous metals, excepting
silver, also strengthening materially.
The advance in prices for farm products, as a
group, during and since the harvest period has
been notably greater than the advance in the
general price level. Agricultural products are
now selling more nearly on a parity with other
commodity groups than at any time since the
beginning of the major price decline in 1920.
Correction of existing price maladjustments
has materially improved the financial position
of the agricultural industry of the Twelfth Fed
eral Reserve District in a year which otherwise
might have been a disappointing one because
of the generally small crops which were pro
duced. One important branch of the industry,
beef cattle raising, has not participated in the
general improvement. Prices for beef cattle,
which declined again during November, have
been low continuously for a period of four
years and the cattle raiser during all of this
period has been at a serious disadvantage when
exchanging his product for other commodities.
Among the more important individual prod
ucts of this district, noteworthy price gains
were recorded during November for lambs,
wool, wheat, rice, copper, lead, zinc, and lum
ber. Details of price movements for a selected
group of products of the district, and represen
tative index numbers of the general price level
are presented in Table “C.”
Industrial Activity
Industrial activity in this district was main
tained at moderately high levels during No
vember. Seasonal curtailment of output in
some important industries was offset by
marked increases in mineral production and
greater than seasonal activity in building.
Attempts of public and private agencies to
eliminate, in so far as possible, seasonal peaks
and troughs in building construction appear to
be meeting with some success, as indicated by
the fact that building has continued active dur
ing the present winter season. The volume of
building in prospect, as indicated by the num
ber and value of building permits issued in 20
cities of the district during November, is also
large. Decreases as compared with the previ
ous moitth (20.7 per cent in number of permits
issued and 9.6 per cent in their value) averaged
slightly less than the estimated seasonal de
cline. Compared with the high figures of a year
ago, building permits during November, 1924,
were smaller by 5.9 per cent in value and by
21.9 per cent in number. In all such compari
sons of November, 1924, with November, 1923,
however, it must be remembered that there
were but 22 business days, including 5 Satur
days, in November of this year whereas there
were 24 working days, of which but 4 were Sat
urdays, in November, 1923. The value of build
ing permits in Portland, San Francisco, and
Seattle during November, 1924, was materially
<C) Commodity Prices—
Commodity
U nit
Wholesale Prices ( U . S. Bureau of L a b o r) 1913— 100..................................
Purchasing Power of Farm Products ( U . S. Department of A griculture)
1913=100 ...............................................................................................................
H o g s ............................. W eekly average price at Chicago.........................
L a m b s .......................... W eekly average price at Chicago.........................
W h e a t ........................ .Chicago contract price for December wheat.
R i c e ......... ..................... California Fancy Japan............................................
W oo! ............................. Average of 93 quotations at Boston..................
Copper .
.............Electrolytic, m onthly average at New Y o r k .. .
Silver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . M onthly average at N ew Y o rk .
Lum ber (S o ftw o o d)..W e ek ly Index, U . S.* . . . . . . . .
*A* published by the "L u m b e r Manufacturer and Dealer.**
100 lbs.
100 lbs.
100 lbs.
bu.
cental
lb.
lb.
lb.
oz.
Dee. 5,1924
One Month Ago
One Year Ago
153.0
152.0
152.0
86
$9.75
9.00
14.85
1.5 4^-1.5 6
7.00
96.64#
13.64#
8.69#
69.30#
30.61
91
$10.00
9.30
13.75
1.47^-1.5054
5.75
89.29#
12.93#
8.24#
70.83#
29.86
73
$9.65
7.00
12.75
1.03K-1 0 5 K
5.20
78.28#
12.73#
6.85#
63.82#
31.38
158
MONTHLY REVIEW OF BUSINESS CONDITIONS
greater than in November, 1923, in contrast
with the decline reported for the district as a
whole.
Recent trends of activity in the building in
dustry in this district, as shown by monthly and
year-to-date comparisons of building permit
figures for 20 cities, are indicated in the fol
lowing table:
Month in 1924 compared
with lim e Month in
-1923 Monthly
Year*to*date
No.
Value
No.
Value
N ovember - -2 1 .9 % — 5.9 % — 4.3% — 5.8%
O ctober .- -1 9 .5 % — 20.1% — 2.5% — 5.8%
September.
1.4%
9.6 % — 0.1% — 3.9%
A ugust . .- - 0.2 % — 15.1% — 0.3% — 5.4%
J u ly .........- - 5.5% — 3.4% — 0.4% — 3.8%
June
---------0.5% — 3.8%
-15.6% — 28.59M a y .........- -12.6% ■— 18.7%
3.7%
1.9%
A pril
- 2.2 % — 2.4%
8.2%
8.1%
M arch . . .
1.5% — 2.1%
12.1%
12.1%
F e b ru a ry .. 26.3%
18.5%
19.3%
22.5%
J a n u a r y .. . 12.6%
27.0%
27.0%
12.6%
Month in 1924
compared with
preceding
Month
No.
Value
-2 0 .7 % — 9.6%
- 4.3% — 6.4%
10.1% — 1.5%
12.1%
11.4%
3.5%
9.3%
- 8.9% — 11.6%
-1 1 .5 % — 7.6%
- 8.7% — 12.2%
11.0%
15.1%
5.1%
2.8%
14.9% — 9.3%
D ecem ber, 1924
construction of a reinforced concrete factory
building rose 2 points during November, reach
ing 197 on December 1, 1924, compared with
198 on December 1, 1923, and a peak of 206 in
June, 1923.
An advance of 19.1 per cent over October
figures in the volume of new orders received at
nearly 200 reporting lumber mills in this dis
trict was the outstanding feature of the lum
bering industry during November. The total
of orders received exceeded the total of lum
ber cut during the month by 12.4 per cent and
total shipments by 21.4 per cent, the latter
excess resulting in a marked advance in volume
of unfilled orders held by the mills. UnfavorM IL L IO N S O F B O A R D F E E T
The United States Bureau of Labor Statis
tics' index of the cost of building materials
advanced 0.6 per cent during November, but at
172 for that month was 5.0 per cent lower than
a year ago. The Aberthaw index of the total
cost of labor and materials employed in the
Lumber Production. Orders Received, and Shipments in Twelfth
Federal Reserve District as Reported by Four Lumber
Associations, 1923-1924
Bnildinf Permits Issued in 20 Principal Cities, Twelfth Federal
Reserve District, 1923-1924
(D) Building Permits—
November, 1924
N o.
Vaine
B e r k e le y ...........
Boise .................
F resno .............
Long Beach . .
Los Angeles . .
O akland ...........
O gden ..............
Pasadena .........
Phoenix ...........
Portland ..........
R e n o ..................
Sacramento . . .
Salt Lake C ity .
San Diego . . . .
San Francisco .
San J o s e ...........
Seattle ...............
Spokane ...........
Stockton . . . . . .
r*
334
55
107
385
3,648
942
26
247
110
1,010
13
216
85
497
707
74
748
157
97
210
$
9,668
$28,604,132
805,081
39,768
103,778
938,566
9,754,196
2,104,741
61,800
1,067,798
195,722
2,118,340
31,070
292,742
332,604
1,289,712
6,358,729
323,560
1,902,415
158,475
242,285
482,750
November, 1923
N o.
Value
227
79
198
475
5,595
1,041
38
329
59
1,191
21
312
102
465
786
93
785
160
114
310
$
730,235
26,359
382,598
1,925,828
13,512,042
2,336,472
93,625
1,668,641
80,397
1,672,145
46,650
464,476
526,650
984,499
3,850,265
204,370
1,147,805
181,563
221,044
336,241
$30,391,905
able weather in Pacific Northwestern produc
ing regions forced general curtailment of
production, and total lumber cut during Novem
ber, 1924, at 554,406,000 board feet, was 10.1
per cent and 16.8 per cent smaller in volume
than in October, 1924, and November, 1923, re
spectively. Shipments declined by 8.0 per cent
during the month. Figures follow (000 omit
ted) :
Nov.. 1924 Oct., 1924 N ov., 1923
(board feet) (board feet) (board fed)
622,369
666,753
Production ........................ 554,406
Shipments ......................... 513,569
558,294
574,877
O r d e r s ................................. 623,446
523,433
572,966
Unfilled O r d e r s ............... 445,126
384,503
462,251
N o. of M ills Reporting.
183
189
203
Oct., 1923
(board feet)
697,490
591,241
602,940
466,581
209
Increasing activity in this country and rela
tive inactivity in foreign countries character
ized the market for lumber during November
and the first half of December.
Reports show that mineral producers of the
Twelfth Federal Reserve District were active
both in the extraction of ore and in the devel
opment of new properties during November.
Activity in mining in this district during recent
months has been stimulated and maintained by
rising metal prices influenced by strengthening
world markets for copper, lead, and zinc. The
average level of prices for silver has also been
sufficiently high to encourage production of
December, 1924
159
FEDERAL RESERVE AGENT AT SAN FRANCISCO
this metal. Silver mines, and mines in which
silver is one of two or more ore products, have
generally been active. Quotations for copper,
lead, and zinc rose slightly during November,
while silver prices declined.
Figures of national production of copper, sil
ver, and zinc during October (the latest com
plete figures available) and September, 1924,
and October, 1923, follow :
N A T I O N A L P R O D U C T I O N O F N O N -F E R R O U S M E T A L S
Copper (lbs.) (mine pro
duction) ..........................
Silver (oz.) (commercial
bars) ..................................
Zinc (tons) (s la b ).............
Oct., 1924
Sept., 1924
Oct., 1923
137,924,000
127,346,000
132,934,701
5,620,000
42,488
5,457,359
40,852
5,428,071
42,098
Figures for lead are not available.
Average daily production of petroleum in
California again declined during November,
total production averaging 592,234 barrels
daily. This was less than in any month since
February, 1923, when the rapidly increasing
flow which culminated in the peak output of
858,750 barrels per day for September, 1923,
had been in progress for five months. Stored
stocks of petroleum increased 1.8 per cent dur
ing November, consumption as indicated by
shipments and other withdrawals from stocks
having declined more than production.
Although production of gasolene at Califor
nia refineries decreased by 4.0 per cent during
October, consumption declined more rapidly
than output and stored stocks of gasolene rose
8.8 per cent during the month. At 277,887,576
gallons on November 1, 1924, they were 75.4
per cent larger than the 158,441,451 gallons held
one year previous.
Figures of the California oil industry are
presented in the following tables :
Millers have smaller stocks of wheat than usual
and have been manufacturing flour to meet
current needs only. Output of 16 reporting
companies decreased 30.9 per cent during No
vember (only 22 working days, including 5 Sat
urdays) as compared with October and, at 403,681 barrels, was 48.1 per cent and 28.9 per cent
below the figures for November, 1923, and the
five-year average for November, respectively.
Millers’ stocks of flour also declined, indicating
that curtailment of production was relatively
greater than reduction in volume of sales dur
ing the month. Reported stocks of flour on
December 1st were slightly less than the fiveyear average for that date. Mills ground more
wheat than they purchased during November,
and their wheat stocks, at 2,734,512 bushels on
December 1st, were smaller than on December
1st a year ago, or the five-year average for that
date. Figures for the 16 reporting milling com
panies follow:
r
Five-Year
O utput (b b ls .)-------
Nov., 1924
403,681
Flou r ( b b l s .)...
503,371
W h eat ( b u . ) . . . . 2,734,512
*Peak of production.
tStocks (refined products excluded) held by the principal market*
ing companies at all points in all Pacific Coast territory, in
cluding British Columbia.
{Comparable figures not available.
5December stocks.
GASOLENB
Oct., 1924
Sept., 1924
Oct., 1923
Sept., 1923
( gallons)
(rallón»)
(ralloni)
(callous)
Refinery Output, 98,045,453 102,118,190 119,134,600 103,618,605
Stored Stocks*.. 277,887,576 255,326,763 158,441,451 144,099,126
*A* of the last day of the month at California refineries only.
Stocks held at distributing points are not included.
Flour markets have been unsettled during
recent weeks, rising wheat prices being fol
lowed by sharp advances in the price of flour.
Average!
Nov.
567,562
522,390
2,919,099
560,189
4,150,492
505,672
3,290,501
*As of the first day of the following month.* 11920-1924.
TH O U SAN D S OF B A R R E L S
9 0 0
/
Stored <— New Wells —
A v erti«
Stocks at
Daily
Average
Daily
Daily
Consumption
End of
ProducProduction (Shipments)
Montht
Number
don
(barrels)
(barrels)
(barrel«)
Opened (barrels)
96,774,598
62
33,130
N o v., 1 9 2 4 ... 592,234
534,107
95,030,777
84
21,534
O ct., 1 9 2 4 ... 603,115
587,505
t
93
139,960
Sept., 1923*.. 858,750
*
89,274,2445
111
99,797
N o v., 1 9 2 3 ... 746,595
t
Nov., 1923
777,795
Stocks*
P ETR O LEU M
Indicated
Oct., 1924
510,214
500
IKSOFFI w
V
r-s -.
\
OUI
\
V
put
or ■‘LOUR
100
1923
1924
Monthly Flour Ontpot, and Stocks of Wheat and Flour at End of Month
of 16 Reporting Milling Companies
The 1924 canned and dried fruit packing sea
son has been completed in this district and re
ports indicate that an average canned fruit
pack of generally good quality was produced
and that dried fruit output, while smaller than
in 1923, was larger than had been expected
early in the season. The market position of
both canned and dried fruits has improved dur
ing recent months and prices generally are at
higher levels for canned fruits and are more
easily maintained for dried fruits than one year
ago-
160
MONTHLY REVIEW OF BUSINESS CONDITIONS
The volume of employment decreased during
November, due to declines in employment in
agriculture, building, and other seasonal occu
pations. Unemployment generally continued
slightly larger in volume than one year ago.
Changes in consumption and distribution of
electric energy in the Twelfth District during
October, 1924, as compared with October, 1923,
and September, 1924, are shown by the accom
panying tables, compiled from reports of 20
companies operating in the several states of the
district. Figures follow:
D ecem ber, 1924
4.0 per cent smaller than in November, 1923.
Bank debits at 21 centers (including figures for
Phoenix, Arizona, only available for the past
two years) of the district were 2.3 per cent
larger during the first eleven months of 1924
than during the first eleven months of 1923 (see
Table “E”).
MILLIONS OF DOLLARS
Percentage Increase or Decrease (— ) in Volume of Sales
October, 1924, compared with October, 1923*
Total
Agricul' '
Manu- Industrial
ture
Mining factoring
Sates
39.4
3.6
— 5.7
11.8
California .........................
(— 34.3)
(3.8)
(0.1) ( — 5.4)
Pacific N o rth w e s t........... — 48.9
25.2
12.0
— 13.2
(— 94.6)
(2.2)
(7.3) (— 5.2)
Intermountain States . . .
28.5
— 28.3
5.2
2.4
( — 36.8) ( — 18.2) (— 13.5) ( — 15.5)
Tw elfth D i s t r i c t .............
38.5
1.0
0*2
4.9
_____
( — 36.0)
( — 0.7)
(2.2) (— 6.9)
•Figures in parentheses indicate percentage increase or decrease
(— ) October, 1924, compared with September, 1924.
Number and Distribution of Industrial Consumers and Actual
Volume of Sales
Number of
Industrial Consumers
Industrial Sales K. W . H .
Oct.,
Oct.,
Oct.,
Oct.,
1924
1923
1924
1923
C a lifo rn ia .................. 83,483 74,390
284,580,780 254,468,584
Pacific Northwest . .
14,440 12,532
76,861,932
88,638,237
Intermountain States
5,344
5,181
60,035,612
58,581,407
Tw elfth D istrict . . .
103,267
92,103
421,478,324
401,688,228
General Bnsiness and Trade
Partly as a result of the small number of full
business days in November, 1924, debits to indi
vidual accounts (bank debits) at banks in 20
principal cities of this district (probably the
best single available index of general business
activity), declined by more than the usual sea
sonal amount during November, 1924, and were
8.6 per cent smaller than in October, 1924, and
(£) B ank Debits*—
------- Novembi
1924
16,480 $
Berkeley ........... $
11,269
B o ise ...................
37,908
Fresno ..............
40,784
Long B e a c h ....
Los A n g eles.... 707,973
111,279
Oakland ............
25,956
Ogden ...............
28,519
Pasadena ..........
24.078
Phoenix ............
156,501
P o rtlan d .............
8,056
Reno ..................
41,179
Sacramento ----65,314
Salt fake C it y ..
43,733
San D ie g o ........
790,866
San Francisco
25,390
San J o s e .............
171.275
Seattle ................
44,500
Spokane .............
24,516
S to ck to n .............
36,678
Tacom a ...............
13.041
Yakim a ..............
,425,295
*000 omitted.
f --
1923
17,787
11,788
59,920
59,160
722,857
114,110
34,405
31,188
24,365
162,622
11.517
49.826
66,203
47,820
785,434
23,474
174.742
51,628
26.400
37,567
12,880
$2,525,673
Eleven Months—
*
1924
1923
$
191,414 $ 187,768
126,267
136,612
365,138
561,047
558,276
648,060
8,119,116
7,629,731
1,353,513
1,331,737
257,704
314,953
353,897
343,558
228,717
210,460
1,778,585
1,697,253
87,803
113,036
478,486
476,249
694,207
683,039
526,671
503,497
8,882,449
8,646,221
251.421
247,770
1,980.066
1,862,680
519,006
543,926
259,273
267,829
438,743
424,305
114,670
112,149
$27,565,422
$26,941,880
Figures for Phoenix, A rizona, are not included.
Trade at wholesale continued sluggish dur
ing November, the total value of sales declining
seasonally from October levels and comparing
unfavorably with the figures reported for No
vember a year ago. Eight of the eleven lines
of wholesale trade concerning which reports
are received by this bank, showed declines in
value of sales during November, 1924, as com
pared with November, 1923. Percentage de
creases over the year period were generally
larger during November than during October,
when only seven lines reported decreases as
compared with a year ago. Comparisons are
as follows:
W H O LESALE TR A D E
Percentage increase or
decrease ( — ) in the value
of sales during Nov., 1924»
N o. of
compared with
Finns
Nov., 1923 Oct., 1924
Agricultural Implements .................. 18
— 12.3p
— 20.8p
Automobile Supplies .......................... 17
— 14.3
— 7.4
Automobile Tires .................................20
16.6
13.9
D rugs .......................................................
6
0.8
— 18.4
D ry G o o d s .............................................. 15
— 13.0
— 23.5
Electrical Supplies ............................... 9
7.8
— 1.7
Furniture ................................................ 17
— 15.1
— 16.8
Groceries ................................................ 27
— 12.4
— 9.2
Hardware ................................................21
— 14.1
— 16.6
Shoes ........................................................ 15
— 15.9
— 17.2
Stationery .............................................. 28
— 5.6
— 12.3
p Prelim inary.
The volume of trade at retail, as indicated by
the value of sales (retail prices have been com
paratively stable) of 35 reporting department
stores in seven cities of the district, declined 8.5
per cent during November, 1924, as compared
December, 1924
with October, 1924, a seasonal movement, and
was 1.4 per cent less than in November, 1923.
Stocks of goods held by reporting department
stores had approximately the same value on
November 30, 1924, as on November 30, 1923,
and the annual rate of stock turnover at 2.77
for November, 1924, was slightly less rapid
than the rate (2.83) for November, 1923. Com
parisons are as follows:
R E T A IL TRA D E
Los A ngeles .............
O akland .....................
Salt Lake C ity ...........
San F r a n c is c o ...........
S e a t t l e ..........................
Spokane ......................
Twelfth D istrict* . . .
161
FEDERAL RESERVE AGENT AT SAN FRANCISCO
Percentage increase
or decrease (■—) in
value of sales
Nov., 1924,
No.
compared with
of
Nov.,
Oct.,
Stores
1923
1924
6
— 4.0
— 7.9
4
3.4
— 13.9
4
1.5
— 11.1
10
2.2
— 5.1
5
0.3
— 6.7
5 — 12.4
— 17.0
35
— 1.4
— 8.5
Percentage increase
or decrease(—) in
value of stocks
Nov., 1924,
compared with
Nov.,
Oct.,
1923
1924
1.9
4,3
— 3.9
— 1.6
2.3
— 6.2
0.6
0.8
—0.9
0.3
— 8.2
—0.9
— 0.09
1.1
•F ig u res for one store included in d istric t figures n o t included in
figures for cities shown above.
MILLIONS OF DOLLARS
On November 30,1924, savings deposits in 71
banks in seven cities of the district were 0.09
per cent larger than on October 31, 1924, and
8.7 per cent larger than on November 30, 1923.
Figures follow (000 omitted) :
SA V IN G S A C C O U N TS
Oct.,
of
Nov.,
1924
Banks
1924
Los A ngeles . . 13 $ 332,885 $ 334,506
90,333
7
91,271
Oakland* . . . .
52,566
52,254
P ortland ......... 9
29,274
29,059
Salt Lake City 8
421,454
422,793
San F rancisco! 14
69,271
70,151
Seattle ............. 14
18,745
18,722
Spokane .......... 6
Per Cent increase
or decrease (—)
Nov., 1924,
compared with
Nov., Oct.,
Nov.,
1924
1923
1923
8.9 —0.4
$305,501
1.0
85,949
6.1
6.9 —0.5
48,881
7.9 — 0.7
26,931
8.7
0.3
388,797
1.2
11.7
62,767
9.2 —0.1
17,140
T o t a l f ........... 71 $1,017,135 $1,016,149 $935,966
~87
0.09
•In c lu d es one bank in B erkeley which was form erly a branch of
an O akland bank.
tT h e consolidations of reporting banks have reduced th eir num
ber, b ut have not affected the value of reported figures for
com parative purposes.
Percentage increases or decreases (—) in the
number and liabilities of business failures in
the Twelfth Federal Reserve District follow:
Nov., 1924, compared with
Nov., 1923
Oct., 1924
— 16.8
N um ber of B usiness F a ilu res........................ — 1.5
Liabilities of B usiness F a ilu res.................. 11.8
— 15.01
Banking and Credit Situation
There was little change in the demand for
credit in this district during November and
early December. Accompanying a slight de
cline in commercial activity, commercial loans
of reporting member banks in the principal
MILLIONS OF DOLLARS
4 0 0
3 0 0
Net Sales of 35 Department Stores in Twelfth Federal Reserve District
Registrations (sales) of new automobiles in
six states of this district, which is an indication
of the amount and availability of community
purchasing power, were less by approximately
16 per cent during the first ten months of 1924
than during the first ten months of 1923, the
larger part of the decline being reported from
California. Figures follow:
R E G IS T R A T IO N S O F N E W A U T O M O B IL E S
Passenger
Commercial
Jan. 1 to Nov. 1,
Jan. 1 to Nov. 1,
1924
1923
1924
1923
A rizona ..............................
8,791
8,750
C alifornia ........................ 149,342
Idaho ..................................
9,730
Oregon ............................... 30,411
U tah ................................... 10,755
W a s h in g to n ...................... 34,009
189,169
8,030
30,188
9,909
41,003
Total (6 s t a t e » ) . 343,038 287,049
*Washington not inchided. tNot available.
957
761
13,749 20,266
1,014
601
2,415
1,528
942
925
f
4,347
19,077* 24,081#
2 0 0
too
1 923
1924*
Total Reserves, Federal Reserve Note Circulation, Bills Discounted,
and Investments, Federal Reserve Bank of Saa Francisco
cities of the district decreased moderately dur
ing the latter part of November, but during the
early part of December the volume of these
loans advanced to approximately the level of a
month ago. A steady increase during the fiveweek period ended December 10th brought in
vestments of these banks to $422,000,000 and
total loans and investments to $1,470,000,000,
162
both record figures. Total deposits held by re
porting member banks declined by $19,000,000
or 1.3 per cent during the five weeks* period,
slight decreases in demand and government de
posits being but partly offset by a small in
crease in time deposits. Borrowings from the
Federal Reserve Bank by reporting member
banks again declined during the month, contin
uing smaller in amount than at any time since
the figures were first reported in 1919.
Changes occurring in principal items of the
combined statement of the 66 reporting mem
ber banks in this district during the month and
during the year are presented in the following
table (000,000 omitted) :
Change from
One Month
Ago*
T otal L oans ....................—
Commercial Loans .........
Investm ents .................. . +
D em and D eposits ........... —
T o tal D eposits ............... —
B orrow ings from Federal
R eserve B a n k ............... —
ConChange from dition
One Year
Dec. 10,
Ago*
1924
1
( 0.1% ) + 40 ( 4.0% ) $1,048
0
+ 22 < 2.7% )
831
12 ( 2.9% ) + 80 (23.4% )
422
10 ( 1 .2 % ) + 49 ( 6.5% )
806
19 ( 1.3%) + 170 (12.9% ) 1,483
6
(66.7% )
- - 3 1 (91.2% )
3
•In c rea ses are indicated by plus, decreases by m inus signs. N um
bers in parentheses indicate percentage changes.
MILLIONS OF DOLLARS
D ecem ber, 1924
MONTHLY REVIEW OF BUSINESS CONDITIONS
the five weeks under review total discounts of
the Reserve Bank reached the lowest point
(less than $7,000,000 on November 19, 1924)
since June, 1917. Anr increase in Federal re
serve note circulation during the five-week pe
riod reflected the usual increased demand for
currency at this season of the year.
Changes in significant items in the statement
of condition of the Federal Reserve Bank of
San Francisco during the month and during the
year are presented in the following table (000,000 omitted) :
Con*
Change from dition
One Y ear
Dec. 17,
Ago*
1924
Change from
One Month
Ago*
T otal E arn in g A s s e ts .... + 8
D iscounts ........................... — 3
Purchased A cceptances . + 1 7
Total Reserves ................. — 9 (
T otal D eposits .................. — 3 (
Federal Reserve N ote
Circulation ..................... + 4
( 7.9% )
(25.0% )
(60.7% )
3.0% )
1.8% )
+ 6
— 50
+10
— 2
+ 9
( 5.8% ) $109
(84.7% ) $ 9
(28.6% )
45
( 0.7% ) 288
( 5.7% ) 166
( 1.9%)
— 13
( 5.7% )
216
•In creases are indicated by plus, decreases by m inus signs. N um
bers in parentheses indicate percentage changes.
Interest rates on commercial paper and bank
ers* acceptances in the New York City market
increased slightly during the four weeks ended
December 13, 1924, a period when a contrary
movement is usual. Rates in the Twelfth Fed
eral Reserve District showed little or no change
during the same period. The following table
shows weekly interest rates on various types
of paper in the New York market, as reported
by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
Week
Ended
Dec. 13,
1924
Tim e M o n e y ................. 3 5 4 -3 ^ %
Commercial P aper . . . 3 ^ - 3 U %
B ankers' A cceptances.
2H %
Week
Ended
Nov. 15.
1923
1924
Low
3K - 3 ^ %
4#%
4}4%
3H %
3 X - 3 y3%
254%
Week
Ended
Dec. 15,
1923
5-5*4%
4 H -5 %
4%%
On December 3, 1924, the Treasury Depart
ment announced an issue of “United States of
America Four Per Cent Treasury Bonds of
1944-54”, dated December 15, 1924, maturing
December 15, 1954, but redeemable at the op
tion of the United States Government at par
Total Deposits, Loan« and Discounts, Investments, and Bills Payable
and accrued interest on or after December 15,
and Rediscounts of Reporting Member Banka
1944, and bearing interest at 4 per cent per an
Total earning assets of the Federal Reserve num, payable on June 15th, and December 15th
Bank were at the highest point of the current of each year, subscriptions to be paid for in
year on December 17th, the figure for that date, cash or by exchange of specified government
$109,000,000, being $8,000,000 or 7.9 per cent securities. Cash subscriptions were closed on
larger than on November 12,1924, and $6,000,- December 4th and amounted to $1,461,000,000*
000 or 5.8 per cent larger than on December 19, of which only about $225,000,000 were allotted.
1923. During the five weeks ended December Exchange subscriptions, estimated to have
17th there was an increase of $17,000,000 in amounted to $532,000,000, were received up to
holdings of acceptances purchased in the open the close of business December 20th and were
market, accompanied by a decline of $6,000,000 allotted in full. Total cash subscriptions in this
in holdings of government securities and of district amounted to $99,984,500, of which
$3,000,000 in member bank discounts. During $13*888^00 were allotted.
@FedFRASER