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MONTHLY REVIEW
TWELFTH

FEDERAL

RESERVE

DISTRICT

Fe d e r a l R e s e r v e B a n k

J a n u a r y 1 954

of

S a n Fr a n c is c o

r e v ie w o f b u s in e s s c o n d it io n s

business situation in the Twelfth District at the
T
start of the new year provided a fairly sharp contrast
with conditions in early 1953. A year ago the economy of
the District exhibited strong upward tendencies with ex­
pansion occurring in a wide range of activities. Consumer
and business demands for District production were high
and rising; business inventories were being accumulated
at a fairly rapid pace; Government procurement programs
had not quite reached peak levels and additional expan­
sion in District industries was under way to take care of
the demands from the military agencies. At the start of
the current year, however, the situation was significantly
different. Consumer and business demands had weakened
considerably from earlier peak levels; the decline in con­
sumer demand reflected the drop in consumer incomes as
layoffs and reduced weekly hours lowered total pay rolls.
Also, consumer stocks of durable goods were high and the
desire to acquire additional items of household equipment
and automobiles was less intense than in earlier periods.
A sharp reduction in demand for inventories and a mod­
erate tapering off in plant and equipment expenditures
have lowered business demands significantly from pre­
vious peak levels. A run-off of some types of defense
contracts and the reduction in general Federal Govern­
ment activities reduced the demands of the Government
for District products and services.
By the end of 1953, however, the shifts and changes
had not driven the level of District business activity below
the corresponding period of 1952, although since mid1953 they had been instrumental in narrowing the margin
of gain. In December business activity was still ahead
of the same period a year earlier. Nonagricultural employ­
ment, for example, (the most comprehensive measure of
over-all economic activity available for the District) in
December was still slightly ahead of December 1952;
in the second quarter it had been 5 percent above the
second quarter of 1952. Thus, while activity remains high
in the District, sufficient elements of weakness have ap­
peared to reduce the level somewhat and to change sig­
nificantly the tone of the over-all situation.
h e

Nonagricultural employment exhibits declining trend

Employment levels in nonfarm activities in the District
have shown a tendency in recent months to decline con­
siderably more than the usual seasonal amounts. During




most of the period after Korea the general rise in activity
minimized the seasonal declines. However, since last sum­
mer when employment reached a peak, seasonal declines
have been accentuated by weakness in a number of nonseasonal industries. Strikes in the aircraft and metal proc­
essing industries, which affected employment totals in the
three closing months of the year, have also contributed to
declining employment levels.
In December, nonagricultural employment was off
nearly 2 percent from the September peak, although the
total was still ahead of December 1952 by a small mar­
gin. The major nonseasonal declines have occurred in
durable manufacturing industries and in employment at
Federal defense establishments throughout the District.
Principal gains over the previous year have taken place
in the service industries and in real estate and finance
activities. The gains in the service and finance and real
estate fields reflect the large increases in population which
continue in the District and which require added employ­
ment in these lines.
Mining activity rises but expanding
supplies darken outlook

The opening of a new major copper mine in Nevada
and sustained activity at the Arizona and Utah copper
mines raised the level of employment in the District’s nonferrous mining industry in the latter months of the year.
Continued high demand for District output of copper has
been the major sustaining force in the District’s metal
mining industry throughout all of 1953. Lead and zinc

Also in This Issue

The Situation and Outlook for
Important Twelfth District
Field C r o p s .............................. 4
Accelerated Amortization in the
Twelfth D istric t.......................... 10
Supplement

California Agriculture and International
Commodity Developments

2

FEDERAL RESERVE B A N K OF S A N FRA N C ISCO

mines have faced depressed markets since late in 1952 and
cutbacks in output have lowered employment at these
operations substantially. For example, in Idaho where
lead and zinc production rank ahead of any other state
in the District (and nation), mining employment in late
1953 was about 17 percent behind the same period in
1952, while in Utah and Arizona, major copper centers,
mining employment was up 1 and 5 percent, respectively.
In 1954, however, the copper industry will face a
greatly expanded supply situation both as to District pro­
duction and available world supplies. The new ore body
in Nevada which opened last November will add some
2,500 tons monthly to District production, and two addi­
tional projects in Arizona will add further substantial
quantities in 1954. In addition, in December the govern­
ment of Chile released to the world market its monthly
production of some 30,000 tons of copper which had been
held off the free market under various restrictions since
early 1952. These supply factors combined with a slack­
ening in demand will undoubtedly have a depressing in­
fluence on copper prices and on the output of the District
industry in the months ahead if the general level of busi­
ness activity continues to taper off.
Manufacturing industries reflect weakening
tone of business activity

The declining demands noted earlier in this discussion
have had their major impact on the District’s manufac­
turing industries and particularly on the producers of
durable goods. The durable goods industries were the
principal areas of strength as the defense program ex­
panded and consumer and business demand reacted to the
impetus of greater military outlays. In recent months the
easing defense program, the mild slippage in consumer
spending, and the reaction of business to declining sales
have had a greater effect upon the durable goods indus­
tries than other sectors of the economy, and they now
constitute the primary sources of weakness. Total manu­
facturing employment in the District in December was
less than
percent behind December a year earlier, a
contrast with the nearly 7 percent gain over year-ago
levels recorded in June and July. Nationally, the decline
in manufacturing was significantly larger. In July manu­
facturing employment in the nation was 11 percent above
the level of July the year before and in December the
number of workers was 3 percent below December 1952.
This difference is largely accounted for by the fact that
those durable goods industries most severely affected by
the recent downturn are more important in the nation
than in the District, especially in so far as consumer dur­
able items of production are concerned.
In contrast to the general weakening tone in most dur­
able product lines has been the continued strength in air­
craft and parts manufacture and a recent firming tendency
in the markets for District forest products. Aircraft and
parts production has continued to rise, in part reflecting
some shifts in Air Force procurement that have proved
favorable to District producers. Improvement in the mar­




January 1954

kets for District lumber and plywood, while not removing
the industry from its position as a major source of weak­
ness in the late months of the year, has imparted a note
of strength in this area of District manufacturing activity.
Lumber and plywood close year on brighter note

In lumber and wood products, employment continues to
reflect the basic market weakness that has confronted the
industry over much of the second half of the year. In
December, employment in the industry in Washington
was more than 8 percent behind December 1952; in Ore­
gon the decline was not quite 7 percent; in Idaho and Ari­
zona it was down 17 and 3 percent, respectively; and in
California the number of workers was just slightly under
the year-ago level. Developments late in the year in the
lumber and plywood segments of the industry, however,
presented a somewhat different view than that obtained
from the employment situation by itself. The pickup in
the construction field in the late months of the year has
had a definite firming effect on the markets for District
lumber products. Production cutbacks since mid-year in
the Douglas fir region and the bringing of production of
western pine into better balance with orders and ship­
ments have also contributed greater strength in the mar­
ket. In addition, Canadian Douglas fir producers have
recently shifted more of their output to markets in the
United Kingdom with a resultant cutback in their ship­
ments to eastern United States markets and a firming of
prices quoted on eastern shipments by District producers.
In the plywood industry the recovery which started in
early November has continued into December, with
further price advances and a general pickup in the rate
of operation of District mills. Industry feeling in both
lumber and plywood is one of relative optimism, a
sharp contrast with the pessimistic feeling a scant month
or two ago. The construction revival and the high level of
building permit authorizations in the past several months
along with the favorable reaction of buyers to lower price
levels have caused the industry to look ahead to 1954 with
confidence of maintaining high rates of production and
employment.
Aircraft shows continued strength

District aircraft and parts manufacture represents a
major departure from the declining trend exhibited by the
durable goods industries generally. Employment in air­
craft production, after discounting the effects of the strike
against a major producer, was up substantially in Novem­
ber and December from the same period a year earlier,
about 8 percent in California and more than 20 percent
in Washington. However, in Arizona, the only other area
of significant aircraft and parts manufacture in the Dis­
trict, employment in the industry in December fell to a
level 46 percent below December a year before. This
latter reflects the completion of a major conversion and
modification contract and there are no signs of a resump­
tion of this activity in the foreseeable future. The over-all
industry outlook, however, is for continued expansion at
least through the first quarter of the year and existing

January 1954

M O N T H L Y R E V IE W

backlogs of orders on hand should keep the industry
operating at very high levels for an indefinite period.
Other durables reflect recent slackening of demand

The impact of recent weakening in the business situa­
tion has been particularly noticeable in several District
industries producing durable goods. These industries
until quite recently were the major sources of business
strength but in the latter months of the past year became
the principal area of weakness. In the primary metals
industry operating rates fell well below the previous year
in the closing months of the year, especially in the steel
industry in California and Utah but also to some lesser
extent in aluminum in the Pacific Northwest. Steel com­
panies, particularly smaller mills with a restricted range
of output, are finding it difficult to fill order books for
the early months of the present year. Metal fabricators
and machinery manufacturers were generally cutting back
on production as orders slackened off, reflecting reduced
Government buying and the heavy inventory position of
business firms. Less buying of durable household equip­
ment by consumers has had a direct impact upon pro­
ducers of electrical appliances and television receivers
and in the furniture field where activity was substantially
lower than a year before. Motor vehicle assembly plants,
however, where activity fell 3 or 4 percent behind the
previous year in November, have experienced a pickup
in levels of operation as work on new models has gotten
under way.
Nondurables generally show steadier trend

District employment in nondurable goods manufactur­
ing has generally held substantially more stable than in
the durables segment. These industries have reacted less
than the durable goods sector to changes in consumer
incomes during recent years and the postponement of
purchases or consumption is not as important a factor as
for items of greater durability. Consequently, the fluctua­
tions in employment and output have been less severe than
those described for the durable goods industries. Employ­
ment in nondurables in the late months of the year aver­
aged slightly more than 1 percent above the comparable
period a year before.
This movement in the aggregate levels of nondurables
employment, however, tends to mask some movements of
significance within particular industries. Considerable
strength late in the year was evident in printing and pub­
lishing and in the chemical industry. The paper industry
continued to show moderate gains over the previous year
and in Washington recovered most of the employment
losses recorded early in the fourth quarter. In textiles and
apparel some modest weakness appeared in November
and December when employment fell below the compar­
able months of 1952. Apparel producers expect no sig­
nificant change in this situation in the first quarter of the
current year, although there appears to be some possibility
of moderate improvement. In petroleum a rather sharp
rise in stocks brought about by a combination of too
much production and fairly heavy importations of foreign




3

crudes earlier in the year has resulted in significant out­
put cuts in recent months. Demand, however, has re­
mained high and steady and prices have shown no ten­
dency to decline, in contrast to the price declines that
have occurred in other areas of the United States. Activity
in food processing plants, after allowance for the highly
seasonal character of the industry, remained relatively
stable as some recent weakness shown in California
was substantially offset by gains in the Pacific Northwest
and Utah.
Weekly hours show decline in
manufacturing industries

Cutbacks in the average length of the work week of
production workers in manufacturing industries have
been quite general in the District, a further reflection of
the declining trend in over-all levels of activity. In No­
vember the average work week in the District was 39.6
hours compared with an average of 40.0 hours in October
and 40.1 hours in November 1952. The number of hours
worked per week has fallen consistently below the pre­
vious year in each month since July both in the District
and in the nation. In relative terms, the decline has been
considerably larger nationally than in the District— 3.2
percent in November in the nation compared with a Dis­
trict decline of 1.3 percent from year-ago levels. Declines
in hours have been general throughout the District but
the largest reductions have taken place in the Pacific
Northwest, reflecting to a large extent the weakness in
lumber where activity is well below the year before.
Unemployment up sharply
in District

The degree of utilization of the District’s labor force
in the face of the general sliding off in economic activity
has declined substantially in recent months. Total unem­
ployment in the District in the late months of the year
rose to a level approximately 30 percent above the same
period in 1952. It must be recalled, however, that while
these increases are substantial on a percentage basis the
jobless total is still relatively small on an historical basis.
It appears probable on the basis of preliminary data for
the late months of 1953 that the ratio of unemployment
to total labor force did not exceed 4 percent by very much.
This compares with a ratio of 3.9 percent in December
1952.
Insured unemployment, a less comprehensive measure
than total unemployment, shows the same upward trend
but a considerably larger percentage increase over a year
ago. This is due largely to the fact that employment de­
clines have been greatest in those activities covered by the
unemployment insurance laws. In December insured un­
employment in the District was more than 46 percent
ahead of December 1952 and reached a total in excess of
234,000 workers. In Utah, Oregon, Nevada, and Arizona
the rise from a year ago in insured unemployment ex­
ceeded 70 percent while in Washington, California, and
Idaho the increases were under 50 percent.

4

January 1954

FEDERAL RESERVE B A N K OF S A N FR A N C ISCO

THE SITUATION AND OUTLOOK FOR IMPORTANT TWELFTH DISTRICT FIELD CROPS
receipts in 1953 from Twelfth District farm mar­
ketings of field crops may about equal those received
in 1952, but the outlook for the year ahead is not so favor­
able. Present farm prices of major field crops with the
exception of cotton are below 1952 levels and are also
below parity (Table 1). However, general increases in
crop tonnage produced and marketed (Table 2) tended
to bolster cash receipts in 1953. During the first half of
1953, cash farm receipts from sale of District crops (in­
cluding fruits and vegetables) were 10 percent below cash
receipts during a like period in 1952, but for the period
January through November 1953 cash receipts were only
3 percent below those of a comparable period in 1952.
Furthermore, changes in cash receipts from 1952 were
not uniform among District states. Utah and Nevada suf­
fered substantial reductions in cash income due to drought
conditions which prevailed throughout 1953, but in
Washington and Arizona the value of crop marketings
through November 1953 increased 9 and 22 percent, re­
spectively, over the comparable period in 1952.1
a sh

District crop producers’ net realized incomes in 1953—
gross income minus production costs— are expected to
fall below those received in 1952 by about 7 percent. Some
farm production costs such as seed and rent have declined
slightly. However, fertilizer costs were about the same
as during 1952 and small increases have appeared in
maintenance and depreciation charges, operating costs
of motor vehicles, property taxes, farm mortgage interest
1 Increases occurred in these states partly as a result of the general and
greater than usual movement in wheat and cotton into the price support
program during the last quarter of 1953. A s explained later, proceeds of
price support loans are included in Government statistics on farm market­
ings. H ow ever, generally favorable growing conditions and larger crops of
wheat and fruit in W ashington contributed to the increase in that state.
A larger crop of cotton together with the continued high rate of growth in
agricultural resources bolstered crop receipts in Arizona.

T able 1
F a r m P r ic e s o f S e l e c t e d F ie l d C r o ps a n d S e e d s w i t h

payments, outlays for hired labor, and many of the smaller
miscellaneous items. National statistics indicate that in
1953 falling farm prices together with continued high pro­
duction expenses reduced average net farm income to
36 percent of gross farm income, the smallest proportion
in many years.
The principal determinants of prices and incomes re­
ceived by Twelfth District field crop producers are na­
tional and international in scope rather than strictly local.
Although field crops are an important source of District
agricultural income, the District accounts for a small pro­
portion of the total United States production of most field
crops. Total United States production of individual field
crops, prospective consumption of the individual crops in
domestic and foreign markets, potential carry-overs, and
total supply as well as the form and level of Government
price support operations are among the more important
factors affecting the returns to District producers from
sale of field crops. An even more fundamental factor is
the economic health of the general economy. Any general
decline in business activity vitally affects agriculture in
every area of the nation (Table 3 ).
In the last few years industrial production and dis­
posable consumer income have been very high, and in the
year ahead they are expected to remain at high, although
slightly reduced, levels. But the combined effect of (1 )
drastically reduced export demands for American farm
products during the last year and a half (Chart 2 ), (2) a
sustained high level of production, and (3) price support
operations of the Federal Government have resulted in
very large storage and carry-over stocks of wheat, corn,
cotton, and some other important commodities. The large
and increasing excess of supplies over disappearances in
domestic and foreign markets, in turn, has had the effect
of bringing commodity prices down near or below price
support levels.

C o m p a r is o n s
M o u n ta in 1 a n d P a c ific

C oast S ta te s, J a n u a ry

15, 1954

Percent change
United States
since
average price
t-------Jan. 15, 1954-------\ t-------Jan. 15, 1953-------as percent
of parity
Mountain
Pacific
Mountain Pacific
82
— 2.8
0
$ 2.06
W heat (b u .) . . . . , $ 1.98
99
— 14.8
5.202
Rice (cw t.) ............
89
.89
— 1*5.2
— 13.6
.78
Oats (bu.) ...............
— 18.4
85
— 17.0
1.29
1.12
Barley (bu .) ..........
+ 1.3
87
.304*
.312
+ 2.7
Cotton ( lb .) 3 ..........
72
.
52.90
51.00*
—
19.0
—
15.0
Cottonseed (ton) .
45
— 42.7®
1.064
— 59.2»
.62*
Potatoes (bu .) . . .
— 4.6
— 8.5
90
7.48
9.10
Beans, dr. ( c w t .) .
S eeds:
Alfalfa (cw t.) . . .
Alsike (cw t.) . . . .
Red clover (cw t.)
H ay (bale)
A ll (ton) ............
Alfalfa (ton) . . . .

21.20
14.50«
28.10

26.50
15.00
28.70

— 28.1
— 42.0
— ’11.4

— 22.3
— 40.0
— 27.9

59
48
67

21.40
21.80

22.80
24.30

— 24.4
<— 23.0

— 25.5
— 23.8

96
..

1 In addition to Arizona, U tah, Nevada, and Idaho, Mountain states include
M ontana, W yom in g, Colorado, and N ew M exico. Since variations of aver­
age prices among these states are small, they may be considered fairly rep­
resentative of the District states included.
2 California only.
8 American Upland cotton.
4 December 15, 1953.
5 December 15, 1952.
6 Idaho only.
S ource: Agricultural Prices, United States Department of Agriculture.




T able 2
P roduction of S elected F ield C rops a n d S eeds w i t h
C o m p a r is o n s , T w e l f t h D is t r ic t , 1953
1953
production
(in thousands)

W heat (b u .) ...........................
Barley ( b u . ) .............................
Oats (bu.) ................................
Rice (bag) ...............................
Cotton ( b a l e ) ...........................
Potatoes (bu.) ......................
Sugar beets (ton) ...............

31,235
11,948
2,756
123,136
6,239

H ay:
A ll (ton) .............................
Alfalfa (ton) ......................
Dry edible beans (bag) . . .
D ry field peas ( b a g ) ............

14,648
6,966

f----- Percent change since—
1952
1942-51

+

+
—

7
2
7
2
2

+
+ 10

—

+ 33

+1
+2
+5
+ 19

:*

Seeds
Alfalfa (lb .) ........................
Alsike clover (lb .) ..........
Red clover (lb .) ............... ,
Ladino clover ( l b . ) ..........

,

80,005
8,452
10,453
6,913

— 7
— 12
— 3
— 43

+

31

+ io
—
5
+ 55
+ 153
+ 18
+ 37
+
+
—
—

5
10
3
51

+ 176
+ 30
2

+ 126

1 Production and comparisons for W ashington, O regon, Idaho, and Cali­
fornia.
2 Less than 1 percent.
Source : Crop Production, 1953 Annual Summary, United States Department
of Agriculture.

January 1954

5

M O N T H L Y R E V IE W

C hart 1

C hart 2

INDEXES OF PRICES RECEIVED BY FA R M E R SUNITED STATES, 1949-1953

AGRICULTURAL EXPORTS, UNITED STATES-1915-19531

(1910-1914 =*100)

1 Years begin with July.
Source: United States Department of Agriculture, Foreign Agricultural
Service, Foreign Agricultural Trade.
Source : United States Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Agricultural
Economics, Agriculture Prices.

Price support operations for field crops

In the past year Government policy toward agriculture
and price support operations of the Commodity Credit
Corporation have had a profound effect upon the situation
and outlook for field crops. This condition appears likely
to continue in the year ahead. Supplies of most of the
crops eligible for price support have been accumulating
under the price support program (Table 4 ). On Novem­
ber 30,1953, loans and inventories of the CCC amounted
to $5.2 billion compared with $2.2 billion a year earlier.
President Eisenhower found it necessary in January this
year to ask Congress to increase the statutory debt limit
of the CCC above the present $6.75 billion.
Within the period of a crop season the greater the vol­
ume of a commodity impounded by the CCC, the smaller
is the quantity of the commodity held in private hands or
in “free” supply. Crops which appear short or near a
shortage of free supplies, relative to the market for them,
tend to approach or exceed the effective support price. As
indicated in Table 4, the free supply of several crops is
relatively small when compared with anticipated utiliza­
tion. Free supplies of wheat appear particularly short.

Some tightness already has occurred in the free supply of
cotton and, as a result, spot prices of cotton have recently
moved up from a low reached about mid-December to
slightly above the effective loan level. However, there are
several ways in which these free supplies could be either
increased or decreased during the remainder of the mar­
keting season. They could be decreased by continued net
movement of free stocks into the price support program
or by a greater than expected demand in domestic or for­
eign outlets. Further build up in CCC inventories of 1953
crops is limited by the fact that for most crops other than
cotton January 31, 1954 was the last date for securing
CCC loans on the 1953 crop. On the other hand, free sup­
plies in relation to utilization could be increased by use of
CCC supplies for export or domestic markets instead of
free supplies or by repayment and redemption of price
support loans.

7.8
7.4

The comparatively rapid movement of eligible crops
under price supports during the latter part of 1953 may
have bolstered District cash farm receipts in 1953 at the
expense of such receipts during the beginning months of
1954. This possibility arises from the inclusion in De­
partment of Agriculture statistics on cash receipts from
farm marketings of the proceeds from Government price
support loans. Although most crops are harvested in the
latter half of the calendar year, products of the harvest
usually are available for sale and distribution until the
succeeding harvest. Hence, farm receipts from the sale of
crops are distributed between two calendar years. Cash
returns from District farm marketings during the first
half of 1953 were 10 percent below the same period in
1952. However, by November 30 such receipts for the
year were only 2.7 percent below the same period a year
before. Since a larger than usual proportion of the 1953
crop apparently was disposed of by farmers in the year in
which it was harvested either through actual sales or
entry into the loan program, a smaller than usual pro­
portion of the crop may be available for sale by farmers
in the first part of 1954.

1 Cash receipts from marketings of crops include receipts from fruits and
vegetables and, therefore, is not strictly representative of gross income
from field crops.
Source : Farm Income Situation, United States Department of Agriculture.

The large private and public stocks have made manda­
tory the declaration of marketing quotas on cotton and
wheat. Marketing quotas on these crops were overwhelm-

T able 3
C a s h R eceipts fro m F a r m M a r k e t in g s of C rops w i t h
C o m p a r is o n s — T w e l f t h D is t r ic t a n d U n ite d S ta t e s
January through N ovem ber, 1953

Cash receipts1
Jan.*Nov.
1953
(in million»
o f dollars)

Arizona ...........................................
California .........................................
Idaho ................................................
Nevada ..............................................
Oregon ..............................................
Utah ..................................................
Washington ....................................

288.8
1,460.4
184.8
4.9
214.9
34.6
385.7

Twelfth D is t r ic t ...........................
2,574.1
United States ............................... 12,543.6




Percent change
Jan.-Nov. 1953 from
/--------Jan.-Nov. of------->
1952
1951
+ 2 1 .9
— 6.3
— 3.3
— 30.1
— 14.9
— 21.4
+ 9.0

+ 6 0 .7
+ 1.0
+ 1 1 .7
— 6.8
+ 1.0
— 17.1
+ 1 9 .1

—
—

+
+

2.7
2.8

6

January 1954

FEDERAL RESERVE B A N K OF S A N FR A N C ISCO

ingly approved by producers of these two commodities,
which means that acreage planted to these crops will be
reduced in 1954 and Government loans on 1954 wheat
and cotton will be forthcoming at 90 percent of parity.
Marketing quotas on rice were considered during the
final quarter of 1953, but late in December 1953 the
United States Department of Agriculture announced
that there would be no marketing quotas and no acreage
allotments on the 1954 rice crop. At the same time, however, the Department warned against undue expansion
of rice acreage. Rice, a basic commodity, will continue to
be supported at 90 percent of parity. Although price supports on feed grains other than corn are not mandatory,
they have been extended at 85 percent of parity for the
1954 crops of oats, barley, rye, and grain sorghums. National average support prices for current and prospective
crops of a number of commodities are indicated in Table 5.
The remainder of this article will be devoted to a discussion and analysis of the situation and outlook for individual field crops.

Another large wheat crop in 1953 accompanied by an
exceptionally large carry-over has provided the United
States with a record supply of 1.7 billion bushels of
wheat.1 This is 8 percent above the previous record set in
1942. A number of problems are presented by this situation. Among them, adequate storage is of increasing concern. Although the storage situation was not considered
acute in the Pacific Northwest, some of the wheat produced in that area was piled on the ground. Despite enactmen, of marketing quota», a continued need in 1954
for additional grain storage facilities in the Pacific Northwest is expected The United States Maritime Commission recently authorized the use of 135 ships of the Pacific
Northwest mothba
fleet for grain storage. This action
will aid greatly in alleviating the storage problem which
is expected with the harvest of the 1954 gram crops in
that area The 1953 storage problem was more severe
in several other producing areas and is expected to
continue m 1954. Officials of the Department of Agriculture have attempted to alleviate the storage situation
1The

supply of 1.7 billion bushels consists of a carry-over at the start of the
current crop year (July 1, 1953) of 562 million bushels, the 1953 crop of
1,168 million bushels, and imports of possibly 5 million bushels.

by indicating a willingness to guarantee occupancy and
returns on new storage facilities in the hope of encouraging construction. As of January 14, the Department of
Agriculture had accepted applications under this program
for a total of 274 million bushels of additional storage
capacity. The construction of additional facilities is also
encouraged by Federal legislation which permits amortization deductions over a period of 60 months for grain
storage facilities completed after December 31, 1952.
Another and perhaps more important problem involves
the necessity of finding or developing new outlets for
wheat if the size of carry-over stocks is to be reduced,
The large inventories which accumulated soon after the
beginning of World War II were reduced principally by
subsidizing the use of wheat for feed. The possibility of
expanding the consumption of wheat for feed purposes
at the present time, however, does not appear nearly as
feasible as during the 1942-45 period because of the large
supply of feed grains. Furthermore, the outlook for wheat
exports from the United States is for continued readjustment from a record volume of world trade in wheat to
lower levels, partly as a result of very large world production and supplies of wheat,
^ large proportion of United States wheat exports has
been made to International Wheat Agreement countries.
'phe current export quota for the United States under the
new international Wheat Agreement is 209.6 million
bushels. The volume of exports under the Agreement so
far indicates that the United States may be experiencing
difficulty in finding “wheat dollars” available in Agreempr,t imnnrtino- rnnntnV<;
In
^ ,„ e
ected wheat
^
JW A ^ Commodit Credit Corporation has instituted
a
designed to increase the movement of wheat
intQ
t How
the intent of the Government in
initiati
the new
m is t0 suppIement rather than
substitute for scheduled exports under the IW A . In line
whh ^
H tfae c c c js
itted t0 sell in
rt
at a ¡ce bdow the United Stateg market
ice but has
been directed nQt tQ seU at
kes legs than the
ice of
wheat ^
under ^ I W A _ There ¡g SQme f
howeVer,
^
^
program may weaken ^ IW A as there appar_
ently exists Very little price advantage for nations which
«
,
t
ta h ta
import Wheat Under tile I W A .

T a b le 4
S upply

and

E xpected

D is a p p e a r a n c e

of

S elec ted C rops w i t h

D ata

on

P r ic e S u p p o r t A c t iv it i e s

U n i t e d S t a t e s , 1953-54 C r o p Y e a r

(in millions)
Total
supply1
W h ea t ( b u ) .........................................................................................
Corn (bu .) .........................................................................................
Oats (bu.) ...........................................................................................
Barley (bu.) .........................................................................................
Grain sorghums (bu.) ......................................................................
Cotton (bale) .......................................................................................

1,735.0
3,977.0
1,512.0
317.0
115.0
22.1

CCC
stocks2
901.0
670.0
48.0
32.0
26.0
7.7

Free
supply3
834.0
3,307.0
1,464.0
285.0
89.0
14.4

Expected
utilization4
950.0
3,072.0
1,301.0
263.0
111.0
12.6

Free supply
minus
expected
utilization

Last date
1953 crop
can be placed
under supports

— 116.0
+ 2 3 5 .0
-j-163.0
+ 22.0
22.0
+
1.8

January 31, 1954
M ay 31, 1954
January 31, 1954
January 31, 1954
January 31, 1954
April 30, 1954

1 Stocks on hand at the beginning of the crop year in addition to 1953 production.
2 Stocks of the Commodity Credit Corporation at the beginning of the crop year plus 1953 crop entries under the price support program through D ecem ­
ber 15 except cotton which includes entries through January 8.
8 Difference between total supply and C CC stocks.
4 Official U S D A estimates which include expected disappearance in domestic and export outlets during the 1953-54 crop year.
Source: Various publications, United States Department of Agriculture.




January 1954

M O N T H L Y R E VIE W

T able 5
A verage P ric e S u ppo rt L evel for S elected C rops
U n ite d S t a t e s — 1953 a n d 1954
United States
average
support price
1953 crop
W heat ( b u . ) .......................... . , .
Upland cotton (lb.) ..........
Cottonseed ( t o n ) ................. . . .
Rice ( c w t . ) .............................
, ,
Grain sorghums (cw t.) . .
Oats (bu.) .............................
Rye (bu.) ...............................
Flaxseed ( b u . ) ......................
Beans, dry edible (c w t .).
Corn (bu.) .............................

$ 2.21
.308
54.50
4.84
1.24
2.43
.80
1.43
3.79
7.79
1.58

Latest date
United States
for securing
minimum
Government
average
support price
loan
1954 crop
1953 crop
$2.20
January 31, 1954
... 1
April 30, 1954
September 15, 1954
. . . .1
.
.. 1
January 31, 1954
January 31, 1954
1.15
January 31, 1954
2.28
January 31, 1954
.75
1.43
January 31, 1954
January 31, 1954
3.14
1
January 31, 1954
.
..
M ay 31, 1954

] Not yet announced.
Source: Active and announced Price Support Programs approved by Board of
Directors, United States Department of Agriculture.

Acreage allotments and marketing quotas are expected
to result in reduced wheat production in 1954. It is pos­
sible, however, that this anticipated decrease in produc­
tion will not be sufficient to halt the accumulation of
wheat stocks. Based on 1943-52 average yields, 950 mil­
lion bushels of wheat would be produced on the national
allotment of 62 million acres.1 A crop of 950 million
bushels would result in little if any reduction in carry­
over stocks, as the total disappearance during the crop
year ending June 30, 1953 is estimated to have been
slightly above 1 billion bushels.
Wheat prices are expected to remain at or below the
effective loan rate, and returns during 1954 from diverted
wheat acreage planted to substitute crops probably will
be less than was obtained from the production of wheat
on the same acreage in 1953. Consequently, land devoted
to production of wheat in 1953 is likely to yield a smaller
net income this year.
Cotton

Marketing quotas on cotton were made necessary by
loss of some foreign markets for cotton,2 loss of some po­
tential domestic cotton markets to synthetic fibers,3 and
a series of large crops. The result has been the accumula­
tion of cotton supplies which exceed the “normal” supply4
by 4 million bales (500 pounds each) or nearly half the
annual domestic market requirements.
The United States has produced large crops of cotton
in every year since 1950, the last year in which marketing
quotas were in effect. For the last three years, production
has averaged considerably above the average level during
the period 1942-51. The largest crop in fifteen years—
16.5 million bales— was produced in 1953 despite a reduc1 Based on conditions as of December 1, 1953 a yield of 16.1 bushels per
acre is indicated for the 1954 winter wheat crop compared with an average
yield of 17.7 bushels for the period 1943-52.
2 United States exports of cotton declined 45 percent in the year ending
August 1, 1953.
3 In the United States cotton consumption per person is about the same now
as it was in 1916, but in the same period per capita consumption of all
fibers has increased nearly 13 percent. Cotton has been losing some of its
most important domestic outlets such as the tire cord market which for
30 years was the largest single use outlet for cotton. Now about threequarters of that market has been taken over by rayon and synthetic fibers.
4 “ Normal” supply is defined as total domestic and foreign sales plus 30 per­
cent of total sales to provide for reserves.




7

tion in acreage from 1952. An increase in yields more
than offset the acreage decline.
As originally announced, the marketing quota on cotton
was designed to reduce cotton production in 1954 by
about one-third or to about 10 million bales. In order to
accomplish such a decrease it was necessary to cut total
acreage about 27 percent. However, under the legislation
in effect when the quota was first announced, cotton pro­
ducers of the Twelfth District were more seriously affect­
ed than cotton producers of other areas. Allocation of
the national cotton quota to individual states was based
on average production in the years 1947-48 and 195053. Since cotton production in western areas has increased
rapidly in this period, required 1954 acreage reductions
in California and Arizona would have averaged about
50 percent of acreage in 1953 compared with 27 percent
in the nation as a whole.
In January this year Congress passed an amendment
to the law affecting cotton marketing quotas which in­
creases the total cotton quota allotment from 17.5 million
to 21.4 million acres. As a result, acreage reductions for
1954 in California and Arizona are expected to approxi­
mate 34 percent. However, liberalizing present cotton
quota provisions for 1954 may mean ensuring the imposi­
tion of acreage restrictions in succeeding years in order
to reduce the size of the Government-held surplus. Even
under the original provisions of the marketing quota law
the carry-over of cotton on July 31,1955 is expected to be
only 5 percent lower than on the same date a year earlier.
Approval of a cotton marketing quota by cotton pro­
ducers of the United States means that most of them will
receive less income from cotton in 1954 than in 1953 be­
cause of the lower acreage they will be permitted to plant.
On the other hand, disapproval of a marketing quota also
would have meant less income from the 1954 crop. Had
the cotton quota been rejected, mandatory acreage limita­
tions would have been avoided. In this case, however, the
guaranteed Government price would have dropped from
the present minimum level of 90 percent of parity, or
about 30 cents per pound, to 50 percent of parity, or about
18 cents per pound.
Even under the liberalized provisions of the cotton
marketing quota law District cotton producers will be
faced with loss of income and some serious adjustment
problems, as there appear to be few satisfactory alterna­
tive crops for acreage removed from cotton production in
California and Arizona. Choice of alternatives in western
cotton areas is seriously limited by the available water
supply, by the high level of fixed costs on cotton-produc­
ing land, and by other factors. Some possible alternatives,
such as castor beans, would require additional investment
in specialized machinery while others require consider­
able production experience. Other possible alternatives
lack established marketing outlets from District cotton
farming areas. Agricultural economists of the University
of California have shown that in California net income
per acre for land shifted to production of grain sorghums,

8

January 1954

FEDERAL RESERVE B A N K OF S A N F R A N C ISC O

irrigated barley, and oilseed crops may be $15 to
than could be expected from 1954 crop cotton.
sugar beets, corn, or dry farm barley, according
analysts, can be expected to return from $50 to
acres less net income than cotton.1

$50 less
Alfalfa,
to these
$90 per

Rice

Rice production continues to increase in the United
States. The 1953 crop of 52.5 million bags was a record.
A new record apparently was set not only for the country
as a whole but also for each of the rice-producing states.
Nationally, both acreage and average yields were greater
than for the previous year.
The 1953 rice crop was preceded by a record volume
of United States exports during the 1952 crop year— 17.4
million bags. This volume of exports was over one-third
the 1952 United States production and approximated 15
percent of the world exports of rice. Japan, Korea, and
Cuba imported three-fourths of last year's exports from
the United States. However, during the period Septem­
ber 1952 to November 1953 export supplies of United
States rice were not adequate to meet requirements of
both the United States military and importing countries.
Consequently, the Federal Government found it neces­
sary during this period to allocate the rice supply avail­
able for export to the various outlets. These export re­
strictions by the Department of Agriculture remained in
effect past the original expiration date— June 1953— but
greater than expected increases in production of rice in
Southeast Asia and South Korea prompted the final re­
lease of these export controls.
The growing season for the 1953 Japanese crop of rice
was particularly unfavorable. As a result, United States
rice exports to Japan for 1953-54 are expected to exceed
annual exports of the two previous years. However,
United States foreign agricultural representatives indi­
cate that maintenance of a reasonably competitive price
for United States rice in the Japanese market is necessary
to maintain Japan as an important outlet. Increased South
Korean rice production has reduced rice import require­
ments of that country.
Since little change is expected in domestic civilian con­
sumption of rice, continued high exports will be necessary
to maintain farm prices of rice above the support level.
Prices received by rice growers have advanced from early
season levels in September. However, on January 15
California growers were receiving $5.20 per 100 pounds
compared with $6.10 on the same date a year ago.

sugar beet production in recent years have resulted from
general increases in production in each major District
sugar beet producing state. With increases for the United
States in both acreage and yields of sugar beets, total na­
tional 1953 production of this crop is estimated to be
about 18 percent greater than output last year.
Despite increased production the average price per ton
received by farmers for sugar beets in 1953 is expected
to average slightly above comparable 1952 prices.1 Final
reports are not available, but with District increases in
both prices and average yields, gross returns per acre
from sugar beets probably will average higher for the
1953 crop than for the crop of a year earlier. However,
the outlook for sugar beet prices and gross returns in 1954
is somewhat more pessimistic. In the year ahead decreases
in acreage devoted to cotton and falling prices of some
other commodities may result in another increase in sugar
beet production. However, establishment for 1954 of a
market quota on domestic sugar at 1.8 million short tons
may tend to suppress a great expansion in domestic sugar
beet acreage. Allotment of the quota to each individual
processor of sugar beets was necessary to provide each of
them an equitable opportunity to market sugar in 1954
within the established quota. In turn, each processor must
restrict his purchases of beets to quantities consistent with
his market allocation of sugar. The limited capacity of
sugar beet processing establishments also may tend to
discourage general expansion of sugar beet production.
However, a more complete utilization of existing proces­
sing capacity is being accomplished in California by plant­
ing part of the crop in the fall for spring harvesting.
1 Sugar Report, Production and M arketing Administration, United States D e ­
partment of Agriculture, October 1953.

C hart 3
T W E L F T H D ISTRICT PR ODUCTION AS A PERCENT OF
U. S. P R O D U C T IO N -S E L E C T E D FIELD CROPS, 1941-1953
Percent

D riod fie ld p eas
____

-

-

-^vSug a r beets
'

Sugar beefs

The District production of sugar beets in 1953 was 6.2
million tons, constituting more than 50 percent of the na­
tion’s 1953 sugar beet crop. This is an increase of 32 per­
cent over last year and is 37 percent above average pro­
duction in the years 1942-51. Large increases in District
1 C. O . M cCorkle and T . R . H edges, “ Cotton Quotas and Allotm ents,”
California Agriculture, College of Agriculture, Extension Department, U n i­
versity of California, Vol. 7, N os. 9-13 (September-December 1953).




V
B a r le y /

/

✓
.

R ic e /

W heat

____ •
Cotton
____ 1—

____ L _

»

____ l____

p Preliminary.

Source: United States Department of Agriculture, Production, Farm D is­
positionand Value of Principal Field Crops.

January 1954

M O N T H L Y R E V IE W

Feed and forage

Another large supply of feed grains and by-product
feeds is available for the current feeding season.1 A l­
though United States supplies of oats and barley are be­
low the 1952-53 level, the supply of corn, the principal
feed grain, is at near record levels. In the District, the
supply of feed grains is about the same this year as last.
A smaller oat crop was balanced by larger crops of barley
and grain sorghums.
Cash receipts from District farm marketings of feed
grains may be less for the 1953 crop than for the 1952
crop. With a large national supply of corn the prices
received by District feed grain producers have been aver­
aging less this fall and winter than last. An expected re­
duction of barley exports in the year beginning last July 1
also will tend to hold District prices down, as this outlet
was of considerable importance to District barley pro­
ducers in the preceding crop year. However, with much of
the diverted 1954 wheat acreage suitable for the produc­
tion of either oats, barley, or grain sorghums, the produc­
tion of these feed grains under normal growing conditions
will probably increase in 1954. Consequently, cash re­
ceipts from the 1954 crop of feed grains and forage may
increase, but this increase is expected to be more than
offset by reductions in returns from cotton and wheat.
Although the national hay supply is larger now than in
1952-53, drought conditions in Missouri and Kansas and
in several southern states seriously cut hay and pasture
production in these areas. For the District as a whole
hay production was slightly larger in 1953 than in 1952,
but during the last year hay and pasture conditions have
varied considerably among District states. Localized
drought areas in Utah, Nevada, and Arizona reduced hay
production in these areas and contributed to relatively
poor pasture conditions. In Washington, Oregon, and
parts of Idaho and California, fall pasture conditions were
considerably improved over a year ago. District increases
in hay production were confined largely to the Northwest.
District hay prices are down considerably from year-ago
levels and are below United States average prices for hay.
Potatoes

The current potato situation illustrates the extreme
sensitivity of potato prices to changes in output.2 The na­
tion’s 1953 crop of late potatoes is only 3 percent larger
than production last year, and for the eleven western
states the 1953 output was slightly below that of a year
earlier. Nevertheless, potato prices since early spring of
1953 have been considerably below those received in 1952.
Prices received by District producers, as of January 15,
ranged from 52 cents per bushel in Idaho to $1.20 per
bushel in northern California. At these levels they were
about $1 lower than a year ago.
1 The feeding season is October 1 through September 30.
2 The reason for this is that little variation in consumption of potatoes occurs
in the United States from one year to another or in response to changes in
prices of potatoes. Therefore, a small increase in production of potatoes
often results in oversupply as in 1953-54 while a small decrease often causes
a shortage as in 1952-53.




9

The increase of late potato production in the eastern
states and decreased production in most western states
compared with 1952 is reflected in a reversal of last year’s
price differentials between the two areas. Last year, on
January 15, Maine farm prices of potatoes exceeded prices
received by Idaho farmers by 40 cents per bushel. This
year the situation is reversed, with Idaho farmers receiv­
ing 12 cents more per bushel than Maine farmers.
Ordinarily, low prices for late potatoes one year are
followed the next year by reductions in potato acreage
and, according to an early survey by the Department of
Agriculture on potato growers’ planting intentions, potato
acreage decreases are indicated for all late potato produc­
ing regions in 1954. Plantings are expected to be down
10 percent in eastern late states but only 2 percent lower
in western late states. However, prices received later this
winter for late potatoes and those received for early pota­
toes in 1954 can be expected to influence farmers’ final
decisions with regard to 1954 late potato acreage. Also,
acreage restrictions on other farm commodities and the
prospects of relatively unattractive prices for many alter­
native crops may tend to prevent large potato acreage
reductions next year.
Dry edible beans and peas

About 11 percent more dry edible beans were produced
in the nation in 1953 than in 1952. The Twelfth District
accounted for 42 percent of national production. The
price outlook for dry edible beans, although good, is not
so favorable as anticipated earlier. It had been thought
that smaller carry-over stocks together with continued
strong demand would offset the increased production.
Dry bean prices were expected to average as high or
higher than for the previous year. However, United
States bean prices received by growers during December
and January have averaged 3 to 4 percent below com­
parable prices of a year ago.
In 1953 the United States crop of dry field peas was
about 25 percent larger than the small 1952 crop but much
smaller than average production over the period 1942-51.
Approximately 90 percent of the dry field peas produced
in the United States are grown in this District. Although
dry field peas are not a major source of District farm in­
come, this crop will undoubtedly gain in relative impor­
tance if plantings are increased by using acres diverted
from production of wheat. The effect upon producer in­
comes in 1954 from substituting peas for wheat in the
wheat-pea producing area of the District will depend
largely on the export market. Domestic consumption per
capita has remained fairly constant at 0.7 pounds per year
while exports have varied considerably and have been an
important outlet for dry field peas since the end of World
War II. A large share of the peas which were moved
into export outlets were shipped under Government aid
programs, and exports of this crop in the year ending
July 31, 1953 were considerably smaller than those for
any other recent year.

10

FEDERAL RESERVE B A N K OF S A N FRA NC ISCO

Seed

crop s

The supply of alfalfa seed from the 1953 crop and from
carry-over stocks is a little larger than for the preceding
year. Although 1953 production of alfalfa seed was less
than during the previous year, the carry-over at the be­
ginning of the 1953 crop season was considerably larger.
District output of alfalfa seed in 1953 was about 7 percent
smaller than production the previous year. Even so, Dis­
trict states produced more than
times as much alfalfa
seed in 1953 as they did annually during the period
1942-51.
Farm prices of alfalfa seed remained low in 1953 and
in December 1953 were about 24 percent under compar­
able 1952 prices. Little improvement in these prices is
expected unless the search for crops to plant on diverted
wheat and cotton acreage greatly stimulates the demand
for alfalfa seed. Furthermore, with both prices and pro­
duction of alfalfa seed down from levels of last year, total
cash receipts of District alfalfa seed producers during the
current marketing season are expected to be considerably
less than during the 1952-53 marketing period, but they
may exceed farm returns from this source during earlier
years.

January 1954

The national production of both ladino and red clover
seed for 1953 was down considerably from 1952— red
clover 16 percent and ladino clover 44 percent. Nearly
all of the ladino clover seed and about 12 percent of the
red clover seed produced nationally was produced in Dis­
trict states in 1953. Within the District, however, red
clover is as important as ladino as a source of income.
The large reduction in ladino clover seed production is
attributed chiefly to the absence of price supports on the
1953 crop. Prices of ladino seed have dropped about 60
cents per pound in the last year and the available supply
is very large. At the 1952 rate of disappearance it would
take ten years to dispose of the 1953 production and carry­
over of ladino seed. Consequently, the United States De­
partment of Agriculture has been attempting to stimulate
exports of ladino and other seeds.
Despite unfavorable seed producing conditions in some
states, which accounted for much of the reduction in red
clover seed production, prices in the last year have de­
clined about 4 cents per pound. The principal reason for
this development appears to be the large over-all supply
of seeds. The 1954 price outlook is considerably better for
red clover seed, however, than for ladino, as the carry­
over of red clover is expected to be smaller at the end of
the current marketing season than in 1953.

ACCELERATED AMORTIZATION IN THE TWELFTH DISTRICT
after the outbreak of hostilities in Korea Con­
gress authorized the Executive Department of the
Government to issue certificates of necessity for privately
built defense or defense-related plant and equipment.
These certificates offered accelerated amortization of the
capital facilities they authorized, substituting a depreci­
ation period of five years for a period normally much
longer. The accelerated amortization program thus acted
as a tax stimulus to investment expenditures necessary
to the national defense program; $27 billion worth of in­
vestment was authorized1 under the program through
June 1953.2

S

h o r tly

In the Twelfth District the dollar volume of awards as
a proportion of the national total appeared low when com­
pared to the District’s share of national population, pro­
duction, or income. One cause of this seemingly low pro­
portion is statistical. Certificates granted to transporta­
tion firms were not allocated by states in many cases be­
cause the scope of operations extended over several states.
Another cause was the low rate of awards to public utili­
ties in some parts of this District resulting from the con­
centration of generating facilities in the hands of Federal
agencies. In manufacturing the District received a some­
what greater share of awards than its proportion of na­
tional industrial output.
1 The figures used throughout this article represent the certified value of the
projects awarded certificates of necessity rather than the total proposed cost
of the projects.
2 June 30, 1953 is the latest date for which the detailed figures discussed in
this article have been compiled since the primary source data are not readily
available.




The volume of certificates authorized in the District
may be taken as a measure of the District’s defense-related
investment outlays, but for several reasons the measure
is only a rough one. The problem of allocation has already
been mentioned. In addition, the amortization program
does not reflect reactivation of idle facilities or more in­
tense use of previous capacity. Furthermore, a number
of certificates were granted in the expectation that the
projected programs would be undertaken at a later date
and some of these programs, such as a $136 million steel
plant in Sacramento County, California and a $17 million
petroleum refinery at Florence, Arizona, have not yet
been started. Finally, some plans for which certificates
had been granted were later curtailed or dropped.
The volume of certificates authorized does not, of
course, reflect investment for which certificates were not
granted. Because of the upward shift in demand follow­
ing the Korean outbreak, the District experienced an in­
flux of industries which sought to meet added demand by
expanding in market areas distant from the then current
sources of supply, and a fair number of these expansions
did not qualify for accelerated amortization since they
were not directly related to national defense.
Even with these limitations the volume of certificates
in this District reveals some interesting effects of the de­
fense program. The District, as mentioned above, re­
ceived a slightly larger share of awards for manufacturing
than its proportion of national industrial output. More­
over, the certificates tended to be concentrated in a few

January 1954

11

M O N T H L Y R E V IE W

manufacturing industries. The pattern of awards among
the several District states, however, tended to follow that
of previous output. The effects of the program were most
pronounced in stimulating the expansion of durable goods
industries and in enlarging the industrial base of the Dis­
trict.
Awards to manufacturing industries play
dominant role in Twelfth District

The receipt by District manufacturing firms of a
greater proportion of certificates than might have been
expected and the heavy concentration within manufactur­
ing compared with the national experience reflect a va­
riety of forces. Several District manufacturing industries,
such as food, lumber, aluminum, paper, and petroleum,
account for a substantial proportion of national output,
and factors favorable to their further expansion were still
pronounced in this District. As a result these industries
received a larger share of the awards than their propor­
tion of national output in previous years. Also, because
of the Twelfth District’s proximity to the Orient, the
petroleum industry received a somewhat greater impact
in the District than nationally. The increase in demand
for some strategic minerals and metals located in the Dis­
trict resulted in the establishment of a number of new
processing plants. Detailed data are presented in Table 1.

Though the lumber industry received a small propor­
tion of the awards in the District, it received a much
larger share of the national awards to the industry than
its share of 1951 output. This reflects greater mechaniza­
tion of the District lumber industry and the very large
share of virgin timber stands located in the western states.
The District food industry, too, was granted a much larger
share of certificates than its share of national output. The
concentration of aluminum facilities in the Pacific North­
west along with rapid growth in the District steel indus­
try led to a share of certificates for the primary metals
group more than twice as large as the proportion the
District contributed to the national value added by manu­
facture for that group in 1951. Despite the continued
growth of the aluminum industry in the District, on a
national basis the industry became more diversified geo­
graphically. Large blocks of power have been increasingly
difficult to obtain in the Pacific Northwest and will prob­
ably continue so until new generating facilities are com­
pleted. In the meantime, aluminum plants have been
established in the South and Southwest to take advantage
of natural gas and lignite as fuels for the generation of
electricity. Awards of certificates of necessity introduced
a new line of production— ordnance— to the District and
also stimulated growth of instrument output.
Awards in the transportation equipment industry,
which includes aircraft, automobile, and shipbuilding,

T able 1
C e r t ifie d V a l u e o f P r o je c t s C overed b y C e r t if i c a t e s o f N e c e s s i t y
U n ite d

S ta te s and T w e lfth

D i s t r i c t , O c t o b e r 1950-J u n e 30, 1953

(in thousands of dollars)

Industry groups
............
Manufacturing ............................................... ..........
Durable goods industries
Electrical m a ch in ery ........................
Fabricated metals ............................. ............
F u rn itu re................................................ ............
...
Lumber ................................................... ............
Machinery (nonelectrical) ..............
Primary metals .................................. ............
Stone, clay, and g l a s s ........................ ..........
Transportation e q u ip m e n t............ ............
Nondurable goods industries
Apparel .................................................. ............
Chemicals ............................................... ............
Food ....................................................... ............
L e a t h e r ................................................................
Paper .......................................................
Petroleum products ........................
Printing and publishing ............... ............
Rubber ................................................... ............
M iscella n eou s........................................... ............

,-----------United States----------- N
Certified
Percent
value
distribution
27,101,408
100.0

f-------- Twelfth District-------- N
Certified
Percent
value
distribution
100.0
1,799,741

Twelfth District
percentage of
United States
certificates
6.6

14,872,000

54.9

1,433,815

79.7

9.6

8.8

484,170
226,873
1,935
129,649
49,472
761,463
296,615
5,346,151
340,947
1,091,642

1.8
0.8
*

17,182
19,763
192
16,593
31,715
38,378
23,926
627,769
39,782
138,030

1.0
1.1
#
0.9
1.8
2.1
1.3
34.9
2.2
7.7

3.5
8.7
9.9
12.8
64.1
5.0
8.1
11.7
11.7
12.6

3.4
7.1
7.5
3.6
39.0
4.6

129,409
3,919

7.2
0.2

4.4
35.7

92,382
244,871
291
9,181
194
238

5.1
13.6
*

12.1
12.0
3.6
8.2
*

365,926
19,824

20.3
1.1

3.0
92.4

64,849
9,242
21,686
54,973
195,352

3.6
0.5
1.2
3.1
10.9

3.6
31.3
9.1
1.0
4.4

386
2,912,425
10,981
84
774,113
2,046,812
8,165
111,622
146,074
132,421

Nonmanufacturing ...................................... , . . ,
Agricultural services .............................
C onstruction................................................
M in in g .......................................................... ............

12,229,408
21,455

T r a d e ............................................................ ............
T ransportation ........................................... ............
U ti li t i e s ....................................................... .

238,440
5,687,912

1,815,219

0.5
0.2
2.8
1.1
19.7
1.3
4.0
*
10.7
*
*
2.9
7.6
#
0.4
0.5
0.5
45.1
0.1
*
6.7
0.1
0.9
21.0
16.3

0.5
*
*

0.2

*Less than one-tenth of 1 percent.
Source: United States Department of Commerce, Certificate of Necessity Code Sheets and Annual Survey of Manufactures, 1951




Twelfth District
percentage of
United States
value added by
manufacture
in 1951

5.4
7.7
12.7
6.2
6.5
12.9
10.1
10.8
7.8
0.7

12

FEDERAL RESERVE B A N K OF S A N FRA NC ISCO

account for a significant proportion of certificates received
in this District. As a share of the national total, however,
the awards were less impressive than those in the indus­
tries previously mentioned. District aircraft firms were
the principal recipients of these awards. These firms had
considerable excess capacity at the start of the Korean
conflict and expanded their plant facilities and equipment
only to the extent required by new models. In addition,
expansion of automotive facilities outside this District
tended to balance the aircraft expansion here.
The low proportion of certificates in nonmanufacturing
reflected a small volume of awards to transportation and
utility firms. Utility firms in California received a fairly
sizable volume of certificates of necessity. In other parts
of the District— particularly the Pacific Northwest— the
primary generating facilities are held to a large extent by
Federal agencies. Much of the expansion of power facili­
ties has been undertaken by these agencies, which do not
pay taxes and consequently were not issued tax amortiza­
tion certicates.
A w a rd s of certificates to m anufacturing
important in each District state

In each of the Twelfth District states manufacturing
industries accounted for a proportionately greater amount
of total certified facilities than did manufacturing indus­
tries in the United States. Table 2 illustrates the impor­
tance of awards by industry to District states. In Cali­
fornia, the major industries responsible for this greater
concentration of certificates in manufacturing were pri­
mary metals, petroleum refining, aircraft, and chemicals.
Expansion of steel facilities in the Los Angeles, San
Bernardino, and San Francisco metropolitan areas ac­
counted for almost all of California’s actual primary metal
expansion. The aircraft industry made a sizable contri­
bution to California’s total certified facilities. More than
80 percent of certified expenditures proposed by the air­
craft industry were proposed by aircraft frame and air­
craft parts producers, with producers of aircraft engines
and engine parts and propellors accounting for the re­
maining portion. Many other industries in California
which individually account for only a small portion of
total awards expanded facilities with the aid of certificates
of necessity and experienced rapid growth. Among these
industries are electrical machinery, nonelectrical machin­
ery, ordnance, and fabricated metals. Within the non­
manufacturing sector, the electric light and power indus­
try proposed a large share of certified facilities for the
expansion of generating and transmitting facilities.
In Washington an exceedingly high portion— some 97
percent— of certified facilities fell among manufacturing
industries. The explanation of this concentration lies in
the importance of the aluminum, paper, petroleum refin­
ing, and aircraft industries to Washington’s defense ex­
pansion. Aluminum producers proposed the major por­
tion— 35 percent— of certified facilities, as new smelting,
refining, and rolling facilities were added to existing plant
capacity. The large sum of proposed expenditures for




January 1954

petroleum refining facilities reflects the availability of the
new supply of crude oil being piped into northwestern
Washington from the Alberta oil fields in Canada. Two
major refineries are being built at Ferndale and Anacortes
and other refining facilities are being expanded to receive
this supply of crude oil. Certificates of necessity have also
assisted the expansion of aircraft production facilities at
aircraft plants in Renton and Seattle, Washington.
In Oregon, as in Washington, the manufacturing sector
of the economy received the largest share of certified facil­
ities as a result of the expansion of a few major industries,
in this case primary metals and lumber. The primary
metals industries accounted for 60 percent of total certi­
fied facilities. However, prior to the issuance of two cer­
tificates to Oregon firms for a $22 million ferro-nickel
smelting and refining plant and for a $45 million alumi­
num reduction plant at The Dalles, proposed expendi­
tures by primary metal firms accounted for less than 10
percent of the total. The other major industry in Oregon
receiving certificates of necessity was lumber. For the
most part, certified expansion in this industry occurred
in plywood plants and sawmill and planing mills.
In Idaho, as in Washington, an exceedingly high por­
tion of certified expenditures was proposed by manufac­
turing firms. The major industry to expand defense re­
lated facilities was chemicals, which contributed more
than 70 percent of certified expenditures. Certificates
issued to Idaho chemical firms covered the production of
phosphatic fertilizers. Easy accessibility of phosphate
rock, potash, and nitrates has encouraged the develop­
ment of the fertilizer industry in the Intermountain area,
particularly in Idaho.
In the three other Intermountain states— Utah, Ari­
zona, and Nevada— manufacturing industries did not
receive such a large portion of certificates of necessity as
did those in the District as a whole. However, the manu­
facturing sector in these three states did propose a larger
portion of certified expenditures than did manufacturing
industries in the nation. Largely explaining the lesser
degree of concentration of certified facilities in manufac­
turing in Utah, Arizona, and Nevada than in the rest of
the District is the greater prominence of metal mining
within these three states. In Utah, facilities expansion by
metal mining firms accounted for 18 percent of total cer­
tified expenditures. The major portion (85 percent) of
metal mining expansion was proposed by a major cop­
per mining company working the Bingham Canyon cop­
per deposits. Firms mining iron and tungsten ores re­
ceived the remaining certificates. Other industries which
contributed substantially to Utah’s defense certified ex­
pansion were steel and chemicals. Further expansion of
steel facilities at the Geneva plant accounted for some­
what less than 20 percent of Utah’s total certified facili­
ties. Chemical firms producing alkylate for aviation gaso­
line, sulphuric acid, phosphates, and petrochemicals also
proposed a large share of certified facilities.
The somewhat smaller concentration of certified facili­
ties in the manufacturing sector of Arizona’s economy

January 1954

13

M O N T H L Y R E V IE W

than in the District generally is also explained by the very
significant contribution made in the nonmanufacturing
sector by Arizona’s metal mining industry. Copper min­
ing firms alone proposed a $26 million metal mining ex­
pansion program. Approximately 50 percent of the certi­
fied projects were proposed by the primary metals indus­
try. The major portion of this expansion was undertaken

by copper refining firms, the remainder being accounted
for by the expansion of an aluminum plant in Phoenix
and of scrap metal processing facilities.
Certified expansion of metal mining facilities also as­
sumed considerable importance in Nevada. Metal mining
firms proposed 35 percent of total certified facilities ex­
pansion. Firms mining copper, tungsten, and manganese

T abl e 2
C er t if ic a t e s of N e c e s s it y b y I n d u s t r y — T w e l f t h D is t r ic t
O ctober 1950-J u n e 30, 1953
(in thousands o f dollars)

Industry group
Manufacturing ....................................................................................
Primary metals1 ........................ ...................................................
Blast furnaces, steel works and rolling mills,
electrometallurgical ............................. ...............................
Primary smelting and refining of nonferrous metals
Copper ......................................................................................
Aluminum ................................................ ........................... .
Rolling, drawing, and alloying of nonferrous metals
Copper .................................................. ....................................
A lu m in u m ..................................................................................
Z i n c ............................................................................... .............
Petroleum r e fin in g ........................................................................
Aircraft and parts ........................................................................
C h em ica ls...........................................................................................
Paper and allied p r o d u c ts ....................................................
Machinery (n on electrical).....................................................
Stone, clay, and g l a s s .....................................................
L u m b e r ................................................................................................
Ordnance .................................... . . . . ......................................
Fabricated metal products .......................................................
Electrical machinery ............ . . . ...............................................
Other manufacturing indu stries..............................................
Nonmanufacturing ............ ................................... ............................
Transportation, communication, and public utilities
Electric light and p o w e r ................. ................ .....................
Metal mining ..................................................................................
Copper o r e s ................................................................................. .
Tungsten o r e s .............................................................................
Manganese o r e s ............................................................ ..............
Agricultural services ............................................................
Other nonmanufacturing indu strie s......................................

Twelfth
,------------Dist net----------- N
Dollar
Percent
amount
of total
. . 1,433,815
79.7
627,769
34.9

Nonmanufacturing ............ .................................................................
Transportation, communication, and public u t ilit ie s ...,
Electric light and p o w e r .......................................................
M etal mining ..................................................................................
Copper o r e s ........................................................................ : . . . ,
Tungsten o r e s ................................................................... .... . .
Manganese o r e s ..........................................................................
Agricultural services ......... ..........................................................
Other nonmanufacturing indu strie s............................. ..
T o t a l .........................................................................................................

,---------- Oregon----------- N
Dollar
Percent
amount
of total
131,338
87.8
91,285
61.0

16.3

74,701
155,115

4.2
8.6

2,185
33,825
5,225
242,835
133,695
129,409
92,382
38,378
39,782
31,715
23,926
19,763
17,182
36,979

0.1
1.9
0.3
13.5
7.4
7.2
5.1
2.1
2.2
1.8
1.3
1.1
1.0
2.1

1,347
25,949
3,032
175,803
110,432
65,247
8,699
33,367
28,985
10,290
14,985
14,945
16,616
33,322

0.1
2.3
0.3
15.8
9.9
5.9
0.8
3.0
2.6
0.9
1.3
1.3
1.5
3.0

365,926
250,325
190,572
•57,466
38,022
4,992
2,750
19,824
38,311

20.3
13.9
10.6
3.2
2.1
0.3
0.2
1.1
2.1

268,704
221,770
182,165
5,903

24.2
20.0
16.4
0.5

’ 998

o .i

11*,920
29,111

*1*1
2.6

4*459

Ï .6

l ’,Ì4Ò

*0*8

1,799,741

100.0

1,110,613

100.0

271,044

100.0

149,619

100.0

Dollar
amount
36,051
i;213

Percent
of total
93.0
3.1

257,316

23.2

TT*^U
Dollar
Percent
amount
of total
27,391
59.4
10,417
22.6
9,314

838

1.8

1,207

*2.6

27,904
1,007
175
40

13.7
72. Ò
2.6

12,568
’ *92

0.5
,0.1

66,Ì63

44.2

7,555

2.8

42,959
18,922
18,193
71,810
1,055
3,549
2,025
749
2,383
103
804

15.8
7.0
6.7
26.5
0.4
1.3
0.7
0.3
0.9
*

8,912
2,835

3.3
1.0

1*6 Í 8

0.6

A

0.3

.

Dollar
amount
115,682
78,335

mu.
^
Percent
of total
75.7
51.2

74,494

48.7

*228

*0*2

2,427
10,866
1,434
3,307
19,360
903
359
308
861

Ï .6
7.3
1.0
2.2
12.9
0.6
0.2
0.2
0.6

18,281
13,575
7,040
3,566

12.2
9.1
4.7
2.4

TVT . _ 1_
Dollar
amount
19,312
17,721

Percent
of total
62.9
57.72

1,365

4.4

0.2
2,Í93

7*.i

2*7.2

” Í7
1,384

o .i
4.5

0.2

2*522
3,484

1.6
2.3

"Í9Ó

0.6

7,2*89

4.8

’ 133

569

o’.i
0.4

37,201
2,248
329
26,450
26,450

24.3
1.5
0.2
17.3
17.3

11,377
59

37.1
0.2

10*696
3,988
3,797
2,750

3*4*. 9
13.0
12.4
9.0

7*904
599

*5.2
0.4

*622

152,883

100.0

30,689

7.0
2.9
2.7
1.9

18,753
8,724

40.6
18.9

8*494
7,584
197

1*8.4
16.4
0.4

845

2.2

1*535

38,749

100.0

46,144

2,698
1,114
1,034
739

15.1

1Ï. 3
2.8
1.1

4.5
*
2.2

V .i

22,605

0.1
32.8

*321

2,076
22
1,009

414

0.9

207
88,952

17,3403
4,324
1,686

• ,.

5,298

2,384

20.2

....

1 Selected primary metal industries do not add to total as some details have been omitted.
2 Titantium processing accounts for the major portion of these certificates.
3 N o action has been taken on this award.
*Less than one-tenth of 1 percent.
N o t e : Percentages may not add to totals because of rounding.
Source: United States Department of Commerce, Certificate of Necessity Code Sheets.




f-------Washiington-----Dollar
Percent
amount
of total
262,132
96.7
99,580
36.7

292,984

T

Manufacturing ....................................................... ............................
Primary metals1 ......................................................................—
Blast furnaces, steel works and rolling mills,
electrometallurgical ................................................ ............
Primary smelting and refining of nonferrous metals
Copper ......................................................................................
Aluminum ............................................................................. ..
Rolling, drawing, and alloying of nonferrous metals
Copper ......................................................................................
A lu m in u m ..................................................................................
Z i n c ......................................................... ...................................
Petroleum r e fin in g ............................................................ ..
Aircraft and parts ............................................................
C h em ica ls...........................................................................................
Paper and allied p r o d u c ts ........................ .................................
Machinery (n o n electrical)..........................................................
Stone, clay, and glass ..................................................... .. ♦. . .
L u m b e r ................................................................................................
Ordnance ...........................................................................................
Fabricated metal products .......................................................
Electrical machinery ..................................................... .............
Other manufacturing in d u stries..............................................

(-------- C alif ornia-------- ^
Dollar
Percent
amount
of total
841,909
75.8
329,218
29.6

*3*.3 .
100.0

*2*. Ó
100.0

14

January 1954

FEDERAL RESERVE B A N K OF S A N FR A N C ISCO

received the major share of certificates issued to mining
firms and a very small portion of certificates were issued
to firms mining titanium. In manufacturing, one industry
— primary metals— received a large portion of certificates.
The expansion of zinc, manganese, tungsten, and titanium
processing facilities accounted for more than 50 percent
of total certified value.
Distribution of certificates am ong District states
tends to follow previous pattern of industrial activity

The percentage distribution of defense-related manu­
facturing facilities among the three major areas of the
Twelfth District— California, the Pacific Northwest, and
the Intermountain states — has generally been propor­
tionate to each area’s contribution to manufacturing plant
and equipment expenditures in 1951. Table 3 illustrates
this pattern. California, with the largest industrial capac­
ity, supplied 59 percent of certified expenditures for manufacting facilities whereas the Pacific Northwest and the
Intermountain area contributed 27 and 14 percent, re­
spectively. Even though the Pacific Northwest contrib­
uted the same relative portion of District certified expen­
ditures as of plant and equipment expenditures (1951),
a shift within the area was evident. In comparison with
1951 plant and equipment expenditures, Washington con­
tributed a larger share, and Oregon a smaller share, of
certified defense expenditures. The importance of Wash­
ington’s aircraft, aluminum, and petroleum refining in­
dustries to the defense effort accounts for its larger than
expected share of the Pacific Northwest certified expendi­
tures. On the other hand, Oregon’s major industry—
lumber— though faring better than the industry national­
ly, received a relatively small amount of certificates. This
accounts for Oregon’s lesser role in the certificate of nec­
essity program.
While the Intermountain states contributed the small­
est portion of certified facilities, these states (with the
exception of Utah) contributed somewhat more to Dis­

Industry group
Total Certified F a c ilitie s ...................................................................
Manufacturing1 ..................................................................................
Primary m e t a ls .............................................................................
Petroleum r e fin in g ......................................................................
Aircraft ...........................................................................................
Chemicals .......................................................................................
Paper ................................................................................................
Machinery (nonelectrical) .....................................................
Stone, clay, and g l a s s ...............................................................
Lumber ...........................................................................................
Ordnance .........................................................................................
Fabricated m e t a ls ........................................................................
Electrical machinery .................................................................
Other ................................................................................................
N onm an ufacturin g.....................................................
Transportation, communications, and public utilities.
M etal mining ...............................................................................
Agricultural services .................................................................
Other ................................................................................................
Percent distribution of value added by manufacture, 1951
Percent distribution of plant and equipment
expenditures, 1951 ...........................................................................

trict defense facilities than they have to District plant and
equipment expenditures and value added in previous
years. Responsible for this larger contribution were Ari­
zona and Nevada, in which the availability of strategic
metals allowed considerable expansion of mining and
processing operations. In addition, the defense-stimulated
development of Arizona’s aircraft and ordnance indus­
tries is reflected in this state’s greater than normal contri­
bution to District defense-certified expenditures.
As is shown in Table 3, California contributed more
than 50 percent of total certified expenditures to most
District industries whose expansion was aided by certifi­
cates of necessity. In such industries as nonelectrical and
electrical machinery and aircraft more than 80 percent of
District certified expenditures were made by California
firms. However, there were several industries, namely
paper, lumber, and metal mining, to which California
made only a relatively small contribution. Of the total
District certified expenditures applied to these three in­
dustries, Washington, Oregon, and the Intermountain
region, respectively, accounted for the major portion.
Wore certified facilities in metropolitan areas in California
than in the Pacific Northwest

In California more than 90 percent of proposed plant
and equipment certified expansion was located in eight
major metropolitan areas— Los Angeles, San Diego, San
Bernardino, San Francisco, San Jose, Stockton, Sacra­
mento, and Fresno. Table 4 highlights the type of indus­
trial facilities proposed in these areas.
Washington and Oregon present a different distribu­
tion pattern of certified production facilities. Less than
one-third of certified investment projects in each state
was located in the metropolitan areas— Seattle, Spokane,
Tacoma, and Portland. Largely explaining the greater
degree of geographic dispersion of certified facilities in
the Pacific Northwest than in California is the location of

Table 3
rY, T welfth District—Percent Distribution by State
Twelfth
District
California Washington Oregon
Arizona
Idaho
100.0

61.7

100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0

58.7
52.4
72.4
82.6
50.4
9.4
86.9
72.9
32.4
62.6
75.6
96.7
90.0
73.4
88.6
10.3
60.1
76.0
68.3

15.0

100.0

65.0

13.3

8.3
9.2
14.5

15.1
18.3
15.9
17.7
14.2
14.1
77.7
2.7
8.9
6.4
3.1
12.1
0.6
2.2

1*9
11.8
3.7
8.3
61.0
3.8
1.8
1.8
2.3

2.4
1.1
2.8

5.0
5.4
6.2

1*1*6

0.1

Nevada

2.2

2.6

1.7

8.1
12.5
7.1
3.2
1.3

2.5
0.2
2.2

1.9
1.7
0.5

1.3
2.8

21.6
1.1

9.7

1.1

0.4
0.1

0*2

0*5

6.6
8.8

*

30*5
10.5

0.1

0*8

2.7
5.1
3.5
14.8

18.6

1.6

4*6
2.5

0.3

2.2

3.3

0.2

l*.i

1.5
10.2
0.9
46.0
39.9
1.6

2*2

10.5

1.7

14.7

1.2

V.Ò

Utah

8.5

0.7
0.4
1.3

3.1

*

1*6

1 Some selected industries are broad industry groupings usually referred to by the Census as two-digit industries; others are specific industries referred to as
three-digit industries. The selection of the type of industry has been made to highlight the impact of awards in particular industries.
*Less than one-tenth of 1 percent.
N o te : Percentages may not add to totals because of rounding.
Source: United States Department of Com m erce: Certificate of Necessity Code Sheets and Annual Survey of Manufactures, 1951.




January 1954

15

M O N T H L Y REVIEW

ber firms, which received more certificates of necessity
than lumber firms in California, are dispersed throughout
western Oregon, particularly in Coos, Curry, Douglas,
and Lane counties. However, it must be emphasized that
a large number of certificates were awarded to a variety
of industrial concerns, many of them small, in the metro­
politan areas. Even though many of the large and high
cost facilities were geographically dispersed, industry
within the metropolitan areas also expanded under the
stimulus of the tax amortization program.

aluminum plants along the Columbia River or its tribu­
taries. Unlike many industries which are attracted to
metropolitan areas to obtain an adequate supply of labor,
the aluminum industry which is dependent upon low cost
power has located close to the source of power. A second
factor is the development of petroleum refineries in the
northwestern part of Washington close to the new supply
of crude oil. Moreover, in Oregon two primary metal
plants, accounting for 60 percent of the value of certified
facilities, are located outside of Portland. Oregon’s lum­
Certificates

T abl e 4
of Necessity by Industry—California
October 1950-June 30, 1953

Metropolitan A reas

(in thousands o f dollars)

Chemicals .................................
Machinery (nonelectrical)
Stone, clay, and g l a s s ..........
Electrical machinery . . . .
Ordnance ................................
Fabricated metal products
Lumber ....................................
P a p e r .........................................
O t h e r .........................................

California
841,909
329,218
176,853
113,819
65,247
33,367
28,985
16,616
14,985
14,945
10,290
8,699
28,885

Los
Angeles1
416,852
71,273
143,681
90,189
20,966
29,522
5,383
10,753
10,813
9,443
1,188
904
22,737

Transportation by a i r ..........
Wholesale trade ....................
Agricultural services ..........
W ater transportation ..........
Trucking and warehousing
Metal mining ...........................
Other ...........................................

268,704
184,032
15,889
15,041
11,920
11,560
8,487
5,903
15,872

83,447
50,135
15,889
5,102
386
100
1,086
230
10,519

1,110,613

500,299

12,132

Industry group

Total

...................................................................

San Diego
10,951

10,054

San
Bernardino
82,705
73,673
’ *22
6,191

'¿ 5 5
*644
* ’ 69
” 56

San Jose
17,512
553

Sacramento
136,142
136,1423

3,059
1,318
745
5,088
649
384
2,550

Stockton

Fresno

522

1,034

471

144
581
58

2,Ì75

1,439
4,573

2,625
541

*5Ì

25 i

1,181

35,436
35,182

99,932
76,729

1,496
454

599
259

3,442

7,127
494

*751

*220

7,123

*168

*235

234

223
5,619

874

*105

3,208

791

**34

11,460
988
3,159
473

118,141

234,333

19,008

136,741

3,964

8,161

....

517

*430

1 Includes Orange and Los Angeles counties.
2 Includes six counties : San Francisco, Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Mateo, and Solano.
8 N o action has been taken on this award to date.
Source : United States Department of Commerce, Certificate of Necessity Code Sheets.




San
Francisco*
134,401
47,437
31,046
8,282
25,413
2,706
4,292
4,605
3,707
901

16

January 1954

FEDERAL RESERVE B A N K OF S A N FRA NC ISCO

BUSINESS INDEXES— TW ELFTH DISTRICT1

(1947-49 average=:100)

Year
and
month

Total
Waterborne
Industrial production (physical volume)3
Car­
nonagri­ Total
Retail
Dep't
foreign
cultural mf’g loadings store
food
trade3» 6
Petroleum3
Wheat Electric employ­ employ­ (num­
sales
prices
Lumber Crude Refined Cement Lead3 Copper3 flour1 power
ment
ment4 ber)2 (value)2 9, «
Exports Imports
97
51
41
54
70
74
58
72
79
93
93
90
90
72
85
97
104
99
112
114
107

87
57
52
62
64
71
75
67
67
69
74
85
93
97
94
100
101
99
98
106
107

78
55
50
56
61
65
64
63
63
68
71
83
93
98
91
98
100
103
103
112
116

54
36
27
33
58
56
45
56
61
81
96
79
63
65
81
96
104
100
112
128
124

165
100
72
86
96
114
92
93
108
109
114
100
90
78
70
94
105
101
109
89
86

105
49
17
37
64
88
58
80
94
107
123
125
112
90
71
106
101
93
115
115
112

90
86
75
87
81
84
81
91
87
87
88
98
101
112
108
113
98
88
86
95
96

29
29
26
30
34
38
36
40
43
49
60
76
82
78
78
90
101
108
119
136
144

ioo
101
96
95
99
102
99
103
llla r
118ar

’ ‘ 47
54
60
51
55
63
83
121
164
158
122
97
100
102
97
105
122
132ar

1952
November
December

109
109

107
108

118
114

133
126

85
78

116
111

97
96

141
138

120a r
121ar

1953
January
February
March
April
M ay
June
July
August
September
October
November

118
117
121
119
112
110
112
108
100
106
105

107
108
109
108
109
110
110
109
109
109
110

115
117
123
122
127
121
125
124
126
125
121

105
131
126
132
142
134
140
134
133
137
128

77
85
85
82r
75
77 r
64
69
73
69r
69

109
113
116
114
115
105
106
110
111
112r
112p

99
92
96
96
91
99
96
92
101
99
98

141
154
142
165
167
179
172
168
166
163
157

121ar
121a
122a
121a
122ar
122a
121ar
122a
124a
123ar
121a

1929
1931
1933
1935
1936
1937
1938
1939
1940
1941
1942
1943
1944
1945
1946
1947
1948
1949
1950
1951
1952

i

102
68
52
66
77
81
72
77
82
95
102
99
105
100
101
106
100
94
97
100
101

30
25
18
24
28
30
28
31
33
40
49
59
65
72
91
99
104
98
105
109
114

64
50
42
48
48
50
48
47
47
52
63
69
68
70
80
96
103
100
100
113
115

190
138
110
135
131
170
164
163
132

124
80
72
109
116
119
87
95
101

‘ *89
129
86
85
91
186
171

*57
81
98
121
137
157
200

137a r
138a r

100a
102a

117
116r

114
115

135
148

194
232

138 a
138 a
139ar
139 a
140a
141ar
142ar
139a
140a
141ar
137 a

100a
103a
103a
102a
102a
103a
98a
99a
98a
95a
97a

116
117r
120r
116
124
121r
117
1 MillO
111
112

114
112
113
113
113
113
113
113
114
114
113

151
158
179
164
118
114
123
127
129

195
187
336
336
384
372
356
337
368
316

BANKING AN D CREDIT STATISTICS— TW ELFTH DISTRICT

(amounts in millions of dollars)

Year
and
month
1929
1931
1933
1935
1937
1938
1939
1940
1941
1942
1943
1944
1945
1946
1947
1948
1949
1950
1951
1952
1953

Bank
rates on
short-term
U .S .
Demand ; Total
Loans
business
deposits j time
and
Gov’t
loans9
discounts securities adjusted8 deposits
Condition items of all member banks7

2,239
1,898
1,486
1,537
1,871
1,869
1,967
2,130
2,451
2,170
2,106
2,254
2,663
4,068
5,358
6,032
5,925
7,093
7,866
8,839

495
547
720
1,275
1,270
1,323
1,450
1,482
1,738
3,630
6,235
8,263
10,450
8,426
7,247
6,366
7,016
6,415
6,463
6,619

1,234
984
951
1,389
1,740
1,781
1,983
2,390
2,893
4,356
5,998
6,950
8,203
8,821
8,922
8,655
8,536
9,254
9,937
10,520

1,790
1,727
1,609
2,064
2,187
2,221
2,267
2,360
2,425
2,609
3,226
4,144
5,211
5,797
6,006
6,087
6,255
6,302
6,777
7,502

1952
December

8,844

6,627

10,504

7,498

1953
January
February
March
April
M ay
June
July
August
September
October
November
December

8,816
8,838
8,983
9,054
9,092
9,156
9,167
9.229
9,241
9,2.55
9,248
9,235

6,633
6,474
6,299
6,173
6,020
5,997
6,675
6,589
6,481
6,556
6,693
6,721

10,390
9,911
9,937
10,011
9,843
9,899
10,005
9,950
10,018
10,248
10,255
10,575

7,490
7,551
7,560
7,597
7,627
7,703
7,729
7,749
7,794
7,854
7,815
7,978

Member bank réserves and related items1«)
Reserve
bank
credit11
—
+

6
48
18
14
+
3
20
+
31
+
96
+
+ 227
+ 643
+ 708
+ 789
+ 545
326
— 206
—
209
—
65
—
14
+ 189
+ 132
39
+

175
147
185
287
549
565
584
754
930
1,232
1,462
1,706
2,033
2,094
2,202
2,420
1,924
2,026
2,269
2.514
2,551

42
28
18
25
32
29
30
32
39
48
60
66
72
86
95
103
102
115
132
140
150

— 299

-

240

+

422

-

12

2,514

157

138
83
220
16
+
12
—
39
75
+
100
113
+
19
+
137
50
+

-

263
119
147
277
174
531
184
98
308
391
149
432

+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+

136
13
240
239
293
435
275
176
217
394
330
438

—
+

77
22
18
11
22
39
3
36
4
7
23
26

2,565
2,491
2,394
2,378
2,463
2,274
2,452
2,397
2,425
2,449
2,476
2,551

146
150
164
153
150
155
148
142
149
142
149
158

—
—

+
+
+
+
+
+
—

+

—

4.01
4.18
4.17
4.19

Reserves

+
23
+
154
+ 150
4- 219
+
157
+ 276
+ 245
+ 420
+ 1,000
+ 2 ,8 2 6
+ 4 ,4 8 6
+ 4 ,4 8 3
+ 4 ,6 8 2
+ 1,329
+ 698
482
+ 378
+ 1 ,1 9 8
+ 1 ,9 8 3
+ 2 .2 6 5
+ 3 ,1 5 8

+

3.95

_
+

Bank debits
Index
31 cities3» 13
(1947-49 =
100)2

0
154
110
163
90
210
192
148
596
- 1 ,9 8 0
-3 ,7 5 1
- 3 ,5 3 4
-3 ,7 4 3
-1 ,6 0 7
510
+ 472
930
-1 ,1 4 1
- 1 ,5 8 2
- 1 ,9 1 2
- 3 ,0 7 3

—

3.20
3.35
3.66
3.95

34
21
2
2
1
3
2
2
4
107
214
98
76
9
302
17
13
39
21

Coin and
Commercial Treasury currency in
operations12 operations12 circulation11

+
+
+
—

+

+
+

7

4

+
+
+
+
+
+
+
!

1 Adjusted for seasonal variation, except where indicated. Except for department store statistics, all indexes are based upon data from outside sources, as
follows: lumber, various lumber trade associations; petroleum, cement, copper, and lead, U.S. Bureau of Mines; wheat flour, U .S. Bureau of the Census;
electric power, Federal Power Commission; nonagricultural and manufacturing employment, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and cooperating state agencies;
retail food prices, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics; carloadings, various railroads and railroad associations; and foreign trade, U .S. Bureau of the Census.
* Daily average.
8 N ot adjusted for seasonal variation.
4 Excludes fish, fruit, and vegetable canning.
8 Los Angeles, San Francisco, and
Seattle indexes combined.
* Commercial cargo only, in physical volume, for Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Oregon, and Washington customs
districts; starting with July 1950, “ special category” exports are excluded because of security reasons.
7 Annual figures are as of end of year, monthly
figures as of last Wednesday in month or, where applicable, as of call report date.
8 Demand deposits, excluding interbank and U .S. G ov’t deposits, less
cash items in process of collection. Monthly data partly estimated.
9 Average rates on loans made in five major cities during the first 15 days of the month.
10 End of year and end of month figures.
11 Changes from end of previous month or year.
12 Minus sign indicates flow of funds out of the District'in the
case of commercial operations, and excess of receipts over disbursements in the case of Treasury operations.
18 Debits to total deposits except interbank prior
to 1942. Debits to demand deposits except Federal Government and interbank deposits from 1942. a— New revised series, p— Preliminary, r— Revised.