Full text of Review (Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas) : June 1959
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BUSINESS
REVIEW
JUNE 1959
Vol. 44, No.6
SAN ANliONIO
TO FREDERICKSBURC
TO RIO GRANDE VALLEr
FEDE AL
RESERVE
DALl!AS,
BANK
TEXAS
V
OF
/
,
DALLAS
This publication was digitized and made available by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas' Historical Library (FedHistory@dal.frb.org)
SAN ANTONIO
San Antonio, one of the oldest and perhaps the most
venerated of Texas cities, has a richness of history and
tradition which few cities in the Nation can match. Like
other cities that have a proud heritage, it has made
strong efforts to preserve and protect its links with an
almost legendary past, and, in this respect, it has
achieved remarkable success. Evidences of a romantic,
bygone era are abundant everywhere, and they have
contributed much toward placing San Antonio high in
the ranks of America's most distinctive and charming
cities.
San Antonio's great pride in its historical associations and its respect for earlier traditions are amply
demonstrated by the fact that the city's participation in
the Southwest's rapid industrialization and over-all
economic expansion has not altered the fundamental
character and personality of the city. From a military
and religious outpost in the Texas wilderness, San Antonio has grown into the cultural and economic center
of a south Texas empire of livestock, oil and gas, farm
crops, and growing industry.
Its sky line has grown to impressive proportions; its
industrial base, although still relatively narrow, has
been broadened, and some of its local manufacturers
have risen to positions of national leadership; its financial institutions are among the largest in the Southwest;
and its population has been swelled by one of the
largest concentrations of military installations in the
United States. Nevertheless, these changes, with their
far-reaching implications for the city's economy, have
not succeeded in altering the basically nostalgic and
old-world atmosphere for which the city is famous.
In fact, San Antonio's graceful integration of the old
and the new has served to place its past in even sharper
focus by creating the setting for some of the most interesting contrasts to be found in the Southwest: the
grounds of the city's most famous structure - the historic Alamo - shaded by office buildings; modernistic
places of worship alongside cathedrals and missions
more than two centuries old; La Villita, a city block of
San Antonio's earliest residential settlement as it existed
more than 200 years ago, nestled near the center of the
busy shopping district. These are only a few of the
many contrasts which separate, in bold relief, the city's
past from its present.
I
BUSINESS REVIEW
Located 150 miles from the Gulf of Mexico and '"
about the same distance from the Mexican border at )
Laredo, the city of San Antonio is laid out along both ,
banks of the San Antonio River, a river of great natural
beauty that rises from springs located within the city's
boundaries. Elevation ranges from 650 to 800 feet
above sea level.
To the north and northwest of the city, the elevation
rises sharply to form rugged hill country, which supports a sparse rural population and an economy based
mainly on cattle, sheep, and goat ranching. Numerous
summer camps and health and pleasure resorts also are
located in this area, making tourism an important
source of local income. South and southwest from Sail
Antonio extends a vast area of undulating, brushcovered plains, interrupted by natural prairies and land
cleared for grazing or intensive cultivation. This area,
which extends as far as the Mexican border, is predominantly an agricultural region too, with petroleum and .
natural gas production as a secondary source of income.
Ranching operations dominate the agricultural scen~;
however, important concentrations of cotton, graJIl
sorghum, and forage crops occur in the central and
eastern sections of the region, and the extreme southern section is outstanding in the Nation as a producer of
citrus fruits and winter vegetables. Winter vegetables
also are grown immediately west of San Antonio.
Eastward from San Antonio stretch fertile coastal
prairies which support both cattle ranching and a wi~e
variety of farm crops, including cotton, forage, graJ/l
sorghums, and commercial truck crops. Petroleum production also is important in this area. Nearer the coast,
the popUlation becomes largely urban, and industry replaces agriculture as the principal source of income.
For this south Texas area, San Antonio serves as the
economic and cultural center. Its economic dOluaill
stretches roughly from the Rio Grande to as far north
as San Angelo and Waco and from Del Rio on the west
to Victoria on the east. Moreover, San Antonio alsO
serves as an important point of contact in facilitating
the flow of commerce and tourists between the United
States and Mexico.
Historical Development
The city of San Antonio is of Spanish origin. Although early explorers camped at its present locatioll
during the late 1600's and christened the spot San A~
tonio (in honor of St. Anthony of Padua), the city s
real beginnings date from 1718, when the Spanish Gov-
ernment sought to strengthen its claims against rival
French claims by establishing a halfway post between
Spanish missions in east Texas and Spanish garrisons
in northern Mexico. The original buildings consisted of
a fort called San Antonio de Bejar and a mission known ·
as San Antonio de Valero. An era of mission building
fOllowed shortly thereafter, as older outposts were
abandoned in east Texas and re-established along the
banks of the San Antonio River. By 1730, San Antonio
had become one of Spain's most important military and
religious outposts in the Texas wilderness.
DUring the first decade of its existence, San Antonio
Was populated more or less exclusively by Spanish soldiers and missionaries, plus a relatively large assembly
of Indians who were drawn into the settlement. Attempts were soon made to colonize the area, however,
and in 1731 the Spanish Government succeeded in
establishing there a colony o~ 15 families from the Canary Islands. By 1745, the combined population of the
settlements around the missions, forts, and the village
proper-each located at some distance from the others
-was well in excess of 1,000, and the combined livestock numbers totaled over 10,000. Thus, even at this
early date, San Antonio's future as an agricultural and
military center was beginning to take shape.
San Antonio was made the Spanish capital of Texas
in 1772 , the missions were secularized, and the clusteFs
'
.
.
of Population in the village and around the vanous mISsions and forts were consolidated into San Antonio de
Bejar. The town suffered extreme hardships during the
long war of Mexico's revolution against Spain, serving
as the battleground for almost continua.l strife betw~en
royalists and revolutionists for possessIOn of the CIty.
With the winning of Mexican independence in 1.821,
the settlement's growth and prosperity were revIved;
and by 1823, its population had increased to nearly
5,000. Military strife reFumed to the ci~y,with ~h.e war
for Texas independence, and San AntOnIO s tradItion as
a military stronghold was upheld when 179 Texans
perished in defense of the Alamo against the assaults of
6,000 Mexican soldiers.
A small number of Anglo-American adventurers
and colonizers had drifted in and out of San Antonio
before the Texas revolution; and during the revolution
proper, the city was occupied by Texas troops for se~
eral months. Nevertheless, Anglo-American culture dId
not gain a foollhold in the Mexican city until after the
winning of Texas independence, when San Antonio be-
came a western outpost of the new republic and, subsequently, a southern outpost of the United States.
Thereafter, its population began a sharp upward movement.
San Antonio's economy, which previously had been
built squarely upon livestock enterprises and the importance of the city as a military stronghold, began to
show changes in the 1840's. During this period, there
occurred a heavy influx of German immigrants, who
introduced new customs, new businesses, and a greater
zeal for intensive land cultivation. The beginnings of
the brewing industry in San Antonio date back to
this period. Military operations declined in importance, but San Antonio developed further as a major
cattle center. After the Civil War, the city became the
point of departure for the cattle drives which carried
herds from the vast south Texas range country to midwestern markets, and the coming of the first railroad in
1877 added further impetus to San Antonio's development as a cattle capital.
The development of railroads also brought a flood of
adventurers, settlers, and business promoters to the
booming cattle city; and between 1870 and 1890, the
population of San Antonio swelled from 12,000 to 38,000. At the same time, improved transportation facilities spelled the beginning of the city's modern industrial
underpinning. It became feasible to exploit the area's
stone and gravel deposits, and in 1880 the first cement
factory west of the Mississippi River was constructed:
San Antonio rose rapidly to a position of prominence
as a supplier of building materials. Industries related to
agriculture, such as flour milling and farm implements
manufacturing, also began to flourish, and the city's
brewing industry expanded sharply. Lumber was
brought in from surrounding points, and woodworking
became an important industry. By 1900, the population
of San Antonio had risen to 53,000, making it the
largest city in the State by a considerable margin . In
the same year, the population of Bexar County was
69,000.
The development of the San Antonio economy since
1900 has featured mixed trends. The over-all expansion
of the local economy has continued at a rapid rate, but
industrial growth has lagged behind that in the State as
a whole. By far the most powerful growth stimulant to
San Antonio since 1900 has been the establishment and
expansion of a ring of defense installations, which restored the city's fonner role as a military center of outstanding importance.
BUS I NESS REVIEW\
The marked expansion in military activities occasioned by United States participation in the two World
Wars, by the advent of military aviation, and by the
present-day defense requirements necessitated by international tensions has affected San Antonio probably
as much as any other city in the Nation. Military spending in the area spurted sharply when the United States
entered World War I; it continued to increase as military aviation bases were constructed after the end of
that war; and World War II occasioned a further rise in
the volume of local military expenditures. Reflecting
largely the major impact of wartime military activities
in the area, the population of the San Antonio metropolitan area leaped from 338,000 in 1940 to 500,000
in 1950 to show a gain of 48 percent.
San Antonio's history is not altogether martial,
however. By virtue of its geographic location, its early
settlement and growth, and its rail connections with
eastern points, the city also jumped to an early lead as
the principal distribution center for south Texas. With
the improvement of railway service and the development of modern motor transport facilities after 1900,
the boundaries of the city's retail and wholesale trade
territories gradually were rolled back so that, today, the
city stands as a major distribution center for south and
southwest Texas, the southern portion of west Texas,
and much of central Texas.
Although San Antonio is not a major petroleum center, oil and natural gas also have played an important
role in its development. Plans to search for oil in Bexar
County began as early as 1866, and by 1889, there
were two producing oil wells and one natural gas well
in the county. The first commercially successful field,
however, was developed in the years between 1911 and
1915; subsequently, other fields were developed within
the county. The discovery of more important oil and
gas fields in adjoining Atascosa County (beginning in
1913) and in nearby Caldwell County (beginning in
1922) accelerated the search for oil and gas in south
Texas, with San Antonio becoming the headquarters
for hundreds of oil operators and producers. In addition, San Antonio's economy received a strong boost
from the organization and growth of a multitude of
businesses directly related to petroleum exploration and
production - businesses such as oil well equipment
manufacturing and distribution firms, oil field hauling
companies, oil brokers, geologic map services, refineries, oil well service firms, drilling contractors, and
geophysical survey equipment manufacturers.
I
BUSINESS REVIEW
Even though the strength of San Antonio's economy
has derived largely from the city's importance as an
agricultural, military, and distribution center, recent
years have witnessed the broadening of its industrial
base. Those industries whiCh traditionally have been
important in the city's economy - including brewing,
food processing, metal fabrication, and woodworking
- have expanded sharply to meet the growing postwar
markets. Moreover, a number of new industries have
been attracted to the city by the abundant labor supply,
mild climate, and other industrial attractions. Particularly noteworthy in the area's recent industrial development have been the establishment and growth of a sizable garment industry, the initiation of lithium production and the manufacture of insecticides, the origination of important aircraft manufacturing and service
plants, San Antonio's emergence as an outstanding
medical center, and its marked growth as a research
and development center.
Natural Resources
San Antonio's economic growth is explained largelY
in terms of location and climate. The city's site originally was selected as a convenient stopover between
Spanish settlements in Mexico and in east Texas; subsequently, its proximity to the Mexican border made it
a logical choice as a military outpost for the United
States. Locational factors also contributed to the city'S
growth during the era of large cattle drives from south
Texas to the Midwest, and its central location in south
Texas contributed to its emergence as the principal
trade and distribution center in the area.
Although San Antonio serves as the headquarters
for hundreds of oil and gas operators and producers,
Bexar County has relatively small petroleum deposits.
Since 1889, crude production in Bexar County haS
amounted to about 17 million barrels, or approximatelY
1 percent of crude production in the State; and the
county's present oil reserves are very small. The natural
gas reserves of Bexar County are of somewhat
greater importance, and gas production in the county
currently is running at an annual rate of approximatelY
3 million cubic feet. Far richer gas and oil fields are
located within a short distance from San Antonio, however, thus providing the link which explains the city'S
identification with the petroleum industry. Most of the
crude oil produced in the San Antonio area is refined at
installations along the Gulf Coast, but refineries located
within Bexar County are equipped to handle slightly
more than 6,000 barrels per day.
Bexar County is rich in stone, clay, and sand and
gravel deposits. The county leads the State in the production of stone, with most of the output being in the
form of crushed limestone for roadstone, concrete, and
railroad ballast. Clay is mined from open pits for use in
the manufacture of building brick, heavy clay products,
and lighter ceramic tiles. Bexar County's clay production is the fifth largest in the State. The county also is a
leading producer of cement, having abundant deposits
of limestone rock suitable for its manufacture.
during September in the fall. The normal annual rainfall is 28 inches. Hail of damaging intensity seldom
occurs, and measurable snow falls only once in 3 or 4
years.
Water, one of the most valuable resources in Texas,
exists underground in abundance within the greater
portion of the San Antonio area. In fact, the city has
never experienced a serious water supply problem. San
Antonio's water is obtained from an underground reservoir in the Edwards limestone formations of the BalThe land resources of the San Antonio metropolitan cones fault zone, within which the city is located. Rearea present a contrasting picture. Bexar County con- charge to the reservoir reflects partially the direct insists of 1,247 square miles, the soils in the southern and filtration of precipitation, but most of the recharge
eastern portion of which are rich blackland clays and occurs as a result of channel and seepage losses from
sandy loarns suitable for intensive cultivation. In the streams originating in the extreme southeast portion of
Western and northern sections of the county, the topog- the Edwards Plateau - streams that cross the limeraphy is rough and hilly, with thin limestone soils that stone outcrops immediately below the Balcones Escarpare used primarily for livestock ranges.
ment, which marks the southern end of this plateau.
The long-time (1937-57) average recharge to this resOne of San Antonio's outstanding resources is its
Climate, and the mild weather which this area enjoys ervoir is estimated at 465,000 acre-feet per annum, or
Undoubtedly has accounted for much of the city's suc- 415 million gallons per day; of this amount, approxiCess in attracting the five military aviation bases sur- mately 200 million gallons per day may be perennially
rounding it. In addition, San Antonio's climate has en- available for withdrawal in Bexar County.
hanced the city's attractiveness to tourists, enabled the
The storage capacity of this underground reservoir
City to become one of the Southwest's favorite retirement spots, and served as a lure to industries and re- is not known. However, the occurrence of drought periods, in which the recharge to the reservoir has fallen
search facilities .
substantially below the long-time average and even beSan Antonio's location on the edge of the Gulf low the rate of withdrawals from the reservoir, has not
Coastal Plain results in a modified subtropical climate. occasioned serious water problems or the imposition of
Normal mean temperatures range from 51 0 in January restrictions on water usage within the city.
to 84 0 in August, and below-freezing temperatures ocCUr on an average of only 13 days each year. Northerly
Although San Antonio presently is comfortably situWinds prevail during most of the winter, while there are ated with respect to the near-term adequacy of its water
SOutheasterly winds from the Gulf of Mexico during the supply, it is possible that future problems may arise
SUmmertime. The relative humidity generally rises to from a reduction in the annual rate of recharge caused
around 80 percent in the early morning hours and de- by land management practices north of the fault zone
Clines to 50 percent by late afternoon.
- paralleled by expanded municipal usage in response
Skies over San Antonio are generally cloudless. The to population growth, greater industrial usage, and inCity receives more than 70 percent of the possible creased irrigation in the areas overlying the reservoir
amOunt of sunshine during the summer months and within Uvalde, Medina, and Bexar Counties. In view
about 50 percent during the winter months. Particularly of the possibility of a water supply problem at some
during the summer, low stratus clouds frequently de- time in the future, the city is attempting to secure rights
Velop during the later part of the night. These clouds to the water that will be impounded behind Canyon
Commonly dissipate before noon, and clear skies pre- Dam in Comal County. A second approach to the potential water problem has been the creation of the EdVail rather consistently in the afternoon.
wards Underground Water District, which has the au. Precipitation in the San Antonio area is fairly ~ell thority to build recharge dams designed to divert a
distributed throughout the year, bu t the heavIest greater portion of flood runoff into the underground
amOunts occur during April and May in the spring and reservoir.
BUS I NESS REVIEWr
Human Resources and Cultural Environment
The current population of the San Antonio metropolitan area is approximately 640,000. Of the 1950
population (499,000), about 7 percent consisted of
Negroes, 86 percent was native-born whites, and 7 percent was foreign-born whites. The last group consisted
almost exclusively of Latin Americans, who constitute
between 35 and 40 percent of the Bexar County population.
The median age of the San Antonio area's population in 1950 was 27, representing a slightly younger
population than the State's population as a whole. In
1950 the median number of school years completed by
San Antonio's adult population was 9.1, or only
slightly below the state-wide median of 9.3.
POPULAT ION
BEXAR COUNTY AND TEXAS
THOUSANDS OF PERSONS
THOUSANDS OF PER SON S
10,00
8,00 o
6,00
4,00
~
I
____
~
0,000
... ~ ... "'~nl8,000
6,000
or--. ...I~ ...... - - ~-
4 ,000
TEXAS
2,00 0
2,000
BO 0
40 0
20 o
-----
_
60 0
t---i
~ARCOUNTY
BOO
E
400
200
80
60
01"
6
I
o
40
1900
1910
1920
600
1930
1940
1950
40
E·E.tlmClhd.
SOURCE : U. S. Bu r'Gu 01 th' Cln.uf.
San Antonio's civilian labor force, which numbers
approximately 210,000, is recruited primarily from the
immediate area. Because of the general sparsity of population outside Bexar County, additions to the labor
force from the surrounding area are not of substantial
importance. However, many skilled workers and technicians who terminate their military service in San Antonio choose to remain in the city permanently as civilian workers. There is also a small but steady stream of
workers who migrate to San Antonio to enjoy the
healthful climate and to escape colder weather in other
parts of the country. With respect to the number of
work stoppages and the resultant man-hour losses, San
Antonio has one of the most favorable records in the
Southwest.
BUS INESS REV IEW
As a result of San Antonio's relatively narrow industrial base, the labor force is not, as a general rule,
broadly skilled. In certain types of employment, however, highly skilled labor is available. This availability
is particularly evident in the case of aircraft repair
work, a field in which a large number of Government
employees have become highly proficient. In addition,
the personnel terminating their military service in San
Antonio have a wide variety of skills in the areas of
medicine and medical research, aeronautics and aeronautical research, electronics, and other fields for which
special training is provided in the Armed Forces. As a
leading scientific and industrial research center, the city
also has a relatively large group of professional scientists and researchers whose skills are available to businesses in the area.
~.60
195B
I
Unemployment as a percentage of the labor force is
consistently low in San Antonio, as contrasted with the
state and national averages, but labor is abundant. This
seeming paradox results from the fact that the San Antonio labor force is highly ·responsive to increased job
opportunities and higher wages, and such developments tend to elicit prompt rises in the size of the labor
force. To a large extent, this variability reflects the
entry of female workers into the labor force. Factory
employment is prized by San Antonio workers, and
new manufacturing establishments moving into the
area commonly receive employment applications far
in excess of the number of jobs to be fined. Keen competition for factory employment enables employers to
be selective in filling positions.
While the bulk of the San Antonio labor force is
relatively low in skills at the present time, good progress in developing skills has been made during the past
two decades. Moreover , the experience during this
period suggests that the labor force is capable of achieving proficiency in skilled occupations over a fairly short
period of time. During World War II, for example, the
San Antonio schools and the Federal Government cooperated in training almost 20,000 workers for n1echanical jobs at the Kelly Field maintenance depot, and
the success of this project encouraged the growth and
broadening of vocational training programs in the city'S
high schools.
Several of the schools in the area offer comprehensive programs in vocational training as an integral part
of school work, and night school courses on the precollege level presently accommodate more than 4,00 0
students of industrial training and distributive educa-
tion. Furthermore, school authorities in San Antonio
are prepared to cooperate with new businesses and industries moving into the city by setting up separate
classes to train workers for jobs requiring special skills
and training not included in the over-all vocational
education program.
within a short distance from the city offers excellent
hunting prospects for sportsmen.
The city's public education system is highly rated. In
addition to the public schools, there are also a large
number of private schools, military academies, and
Schools of music and art. San Antonio also has six institutions of higher learning. San Antonio College and
Trinity University are coeducational institutions. St.
Mary's University is primarily for male students, while
Our Lady of the Lake College and Incarnate Word
College are girls' schools. St. Philip's College, a publicly
Supported junior college, also is located in the city. The
combined enrollment of these institutions of higher
learning is approximately 12,0.00. San Antonio's prestige as an education center was further enhanced when
the Texas Legislature recently selected the city as the
lOcation for a new medical branch of the University of
Texas.
Employment and Income
Discussion of the cultural environment and living
oonditions in San Antonio would not be complete without mentioning two of the city's outstanding characteristics - cleanliness and an atmosphere of leisure. The
San Antonio's cultural, educational, and recreational Spanish influence permeates virtually every facet of life
facilities are among the most outstanding in the South- in San Antonio, but perhaps nowhere is it more noticeWest. The city is widely acclaimed as a cultural center. able than in the relaxed, leisurely pace at which the city
It maintains one of the finest public libraries in the lives. This characteristic, combined with the city's cliState; its symphony orchestra is highly rated; and its mate and cleanliness, makes San Antonio one of the
week-long Grand Opera Festival features world- most desirable residential cities in the Nation. San Anfamous stars from New York and European opera tonio won the National Cleanest City contest in its
houses. Moreover, numerous museums and art galleries popUlation category in 1952, 1953, 1954, 1955, and
- some of which rank among the foremost galleries in 1958; it placed third in 1951, 1956, and 1957. Morethe Southwest - are located in San Antonio; and the over, in 1954, San Antonio received the Grand NaSan Antonio Little Theater is one of the most outstand- tional Award for cleanliness, in competition with cities
ing of its kind in the Nation.
in all popUlation categories.
. In keeping with San Antonio's emphasis on outdoor
hVing, recreational facilities are abundant. There are
numerous parks in the city, the most famous of which is
Brackenridge Park. Here are located one of the outstanding zoos in the United States and a complete aquarium. In addition to the parks and playgrounds maintained by the city, there are a large number of municipaUy owned swimming pools, tennis courts, baseball
and softball diamonds, and golf courses. Privately
OWned golf courses and polo fields also are available.
Nearby Medina Lake and Lake McQueeny offer excellent fishing and boating facilities, and numerous
dUde ranches in the hill country above San Antonio
afford further recreational opportunities. The abundance of wild game, such as deer, quail, and turkey,
The structure of the San Antonio economy is best indicated by the distribution of employment and personal
income for the metropolitan area, viewed from the perspective of economic changes which occurred in the
1940's and 1950's.
The San Antonio economy experienced its most
rapid growth during the 1940's, when a sharp expansion in military activities in the area produced growth in
population and employment at rates approximately
double the state-wide averages. The metropolitan population rose 48 percent between 1940 and 1950, in contrast with a state-wide gain of only 20 percent. During
the same period, the labor force (including military
personnel) increased 41 percent, also approximately
double the State's 21-percent advance. However, the
civilian sector of San Antonio's economy advanced less
rapidly; civilian nonagricultural employment in Bexar
County rose 38 percent between 1940 and 1950, or
from 112,000 to 155,000 - compared with a statewide gain of over 50 percent.
San Antonio's rate of growth moderated slightly
after 1950, reflecting principally the cessation of pronounced military expansion in the area. This factor,
plus the related slowing of the area's population growth,
led to only a small increase in construction employment
between 1950 and early 1959 and to a slower rate of
growth in trade employment. Moreover, San Antonio
has not shared fully in the State's industrial expansion
since 1950: Its rate of increase in manufacturing emBUSINESS REVIEW
I
ployment is considerably less than the state-wide gain.
Although the rate of growth in other types of employment, particularly government employment, has remained strong since 1950, the advances in these categories have not been sufficient to prevent moderation
in the rate of civilian employment growth. Nevertheless, it should be noted that the slowing of the rate of
civilian employment growth during the 1950-59 period
was less in San Antonio than in the State as a whole,
and the city's post-1950 growth in civilian nonagricultural employment has been about equal to the statewide gain.
Moreover, total personal income in metropolitan
San Antonio rose from $530 million in 1948 to $1,036
million in 1957, reflecting a 96-percent increase. During the same period, personal income in the State increased 81 percent, or from $9,054 million to $16,364
million.
slightly more than three-fourths of total nonmanufacturing employment in metropolitan San Antonio. In
contrast, the comparable figure on a state-wide basis is
only 68 percent.
The narrowness of San Antonio's industrial base is
indicated by the fact that only 23,000 wage and salary
workers, or 13 percent of nonagricultural wage and salary employment, are engaged in manufacturing. Except with respect to mining employment, which is of
much less importance in San Antonio than in the State,
the relative importance of most other types of nonagricultural employment in the metropolitan area falls
roughly in line with the state pattern.
WAGE AND SALARY INCOME, BY INDUSTRY
BEXAR COUNTY AND TEXA S
1957
TRANSPORTATlON,CDMMUNICATIONS, _ - - - ;
AND PUBLIC UTILITIES
/
~TWW~
,
PERSONAL INCOME, BY MAJOR TYPES
FINANCE,INSURANCE,AND REAL ESTA
BEXAR COUNTY AND TEXAS
194 8· 1957
WAGES AND
SALARIES
OTHER LABOR
INCOME
PROPRIETORS'
INCOME
PROPERTY
INCOME
' - - - - -- - CONSTRUCTION
TRANSFER
PAYMENTS
TOTAL INCOME
TEXAS
300
SOURCES : U S, Deporlmenl 01 Commit",
Feduol RII .. ' .... Donk of 001101.
SOURCES : U,S, O.potlm,nlofCommtrc • .
f.duol R... ru Bank of Dallal.
That the San Antonio economy is built largely on the
foundation of trade, government, and services is emphasized by the distribution of nonagricultural wage
and salary employment. Reflecting basically the concentration in these areas, 87 percent of the civilian
nonagricultural employment in San Antonio is comprised of nonmanufacturing workers. Trade accounts
for 25 percent of nonagricultural employment in San
Antonio, and civilian government workers, 28 percent
- or much higher than the state average; service employment, at 14 percent, also is larger than the average
for the State. Trade, government, and service employment, accounting for 116,400 employees, amounts to
I
BUSINESS REVIEW
The dominant position which government occupies
in the San Antonio economy is emphasized by tbe
source distribution of income. In 1957, total personal
income in Bexar County was $1,036 million, or 6.3
percent of the state total. Wage and salary paymen.tS
represented 72 percent of the area's gross income, 111
contrast with an average of 65 percent for the State;
and almost 46 perceNt of all Bexar County wage and
salary payments consisted of government payrolls. III
fact, Bexar County alone accounts for almost 17 percent of total government wage and salary payments ill
the State. Manufacturing payrolls represent only 11
percent of wage and salary payments in Bexar County,
compared with a state-wide average of 21 percent and
still higher percentage contributions in most other large
urban areas in Texas.
Proprietors' income and property income are of
smaller relative importance in metropolitan San Antonio than in the State as a whole. Receipts from transfer payments (such as Social Security payments, direct relief, military pensions, unemployment compensation, etc.) are relatively more important, however,
reflecting in part the popularity of San Antonio as a
retirement center.
After World War I, San Antonio's importance as a
military center continued to grow. Randolph Field was
located there in 1928, making the city the military aviation capital of the world; and by the 1930's, the volume
of Government spending in the city for military purposes had risen to $20 million annually. With World
War II, the military population swelled in excess of
100,000, and still another air base, Lackland Air Force
Base, was created.
Since the end of World War II, military establishments have continued to playa dominant role in San
Principal Economic Activities
Antonio's economy. The bases established prior to
1945 have been retained as permanent peacetime inThe San Antonio economy derives its greatest
stallations, and, in some cases, major expansion prostrength from government activities in the immediate
area. Government, trade, and services are the dominant grams have been undertaken. Furthermore, the postwar
factors in the local economy. Manufacturing and agri- period has witnessed the establishment of even more
military activities in metropolitan San Antonio: Brooke
culture provide supporting economic strength.
Army Medical Center, the largest medical installation
GOVERNMENT
in the U. S. Army; Medina Base; and the U. S. Air
Force School of Aviation Medicine.
San Antonio has the usual complement of state and
Federal field offices which, together with municipal,
Thus, there presently are no less than seven major
C unty, and special district agencies, generally account military installations in metropolitan San Antonio,
O
for a fairly large number of government employees in ranging in size from the mammoth Kelly Air Force
major urban areas. In addition, San Antonio has one of Base to Medina Base, a relatively small defense installathe largest concentrations of military personnel in the tion. Of varying sizes between these two extremes are
Nation and one of the largest civilian-staffed aircraft Lackland Air Force Base, Fort Sam Houston, Brooks
maintenance depots in the world.
Air Force Base, Randolph Air Force Base, and Camp
Bullis (a satellite base headquartered at Fort Sam
The dominant role of government, particularly miliHouston). Located on the post of Fort Sam Houston
tary installations, is a tradition in San Antonio. Fort
are two major and unrelated activities: Brooke Army
Sam Houston - the city's oldest military post - dates
Medical Center, which is directly under the Surgeon
from 1879, when the Federal Government's quarterGeneral, Department of the Army; and Headquarters,
master depot was transferred from the Alamo; and as
Fourth U. S. Army, which commands all Army field
early as 1891, the post was disbursing more than $1
units and related installations within the five-state area
lllillion annually in the local area. Nevertheless, the of Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and New
major impact of military operations upon the city's Mexico.
economy was yet to come. The United States entry into
WOrld War I brought about a sharp expansion in both
The combined military population of bases in San
the areal size and the military complement of Fort Sam Antonio is around 50,000, and the number of civilian
lIouston. In 1917, Camp Wilson and Leon Springs employees working on the bases is approximately 33,Officers' Training Camp were established, and San An- 000. About 60 percent of the civilian employees who
tOnio was selected as the site for two additional military work at these military establishments are employed at
Posts. The Nation's first great flying center, Kelly Field, Kelly Air Force Base, which is the Air Force's inspecWas established there to train pilots for World War I; tion and repair center for B-52 bombers and F-102
and construction on a second field, Brooks Air Base, fighter planes. In addition, Kelly Air Force Base overwas begun in the same year. By the end of World War I, hauls several types of aircraft engines. As the Air
San Antonio had become one of the leading military Force's "big airplane" depot, the base's shops overcenters in the Nation, with a local economy dominated hauled B-36's, now process B-52's, and are projected
by Government expenditures for payrolls, subsistence, to overhaul B-58's. As one of the largest supply bases,
and other expenses related to the military.
Kelly also is responsible for furnishing aircraft parts
BUS I N E S S REV l EW /:
and engines on a world-wide basis. This responsibility
necessitates the handling of more than 500,000 items,
for which 7.5 million square feet of inside storage
space are utilized. As a part of its general work program, Kelly Air Force Base also is engaged in an
extensive electronics repair program which includes
highly classified electronics research, as well as the repair and maintenance of such intricate electronic
equipment as aircraft communications systems, firing
systems, and radar.
The combined military and civilian payrolls of the
military installations in metropolitan San Antonio total
approximately $270 million annually, or about onefourth of total personal income. This sum is more than
three times the payroll of all manufacturers in the area,
is more than twice the payroll of the trade establishments, and is about five times the area's income from
tourist expenditures. Nevertheless, even these impressive comparisons do not indicate fully the contribution
of the military to San Antonio's economy.
Local purchases of goods and services by military
establishments in the metropolitan area total approximately $40 million annually, providing a direct stimulus to manufacturers and wholesalers in many different
lines. Kelly Air Force Base accounts for the largest volume of local purchases, and its expenditures in San Antonio reflect primarily the purchase of raw materials
and durable goods required for its aircraft-overhauling
operations. At most of the other bases, expenditures for
food, appliances, utility services, contract maintenance,
and repair parts dominate the local purchases list.
In addition to direct payrolls and expenditures for
local purchases, the presence of a large number of military dependents and retired military personnel in San
Antonio further boosts the volume of Government payments which are directly or indirectly associated with
the military function. Including these payments as military expenditures, it is probable that the total for military spending in metropolitan San Antonio comes to
slightly more than $340 million annually, or about onethird of the personal income received in the area.
The existence of a large military population poses no
particular problems for San Antonio. The city is virtually ringed by military installations, but they are not
situated so as to present significant barriers to the city's
areal growth. Cooperation between local civilian and
military authorities is excellent, and relations between
the military and civilian populations are smooth. More-
J BUSINESS REVIEW
over, for all its dependence upon military expenditures
and its large military population, San Antonio does not
give the visual impression of being a "military town." ,
This situation results partially from the fact that most of
the military installations in the area are staffed largely
by career personnel, many of whom have settled permanently in San Antonio with their families . Roughly
25 percent of the military personnel in San Antonio live
in private homes and apartments, and many others live
in on-base family dwellings. Of the number who live off
base, almost one-half have purchased homes in San Antonio.
The importance of the role of government in the San
Antonio economy is indicated by the fact that nearly
49,200 civilian wage and salary workers, or 28 percent
of nonagricultural employment in Bexar County, have
government jobs. Moreover, government wage and salary payments amounted to $349 million in 1957, which
is almost 46 percent of total wage and salary payments
to Bexar County residents. The disparity between employment and income statistics in this case reflects the
exclusion of military personnel from employment
totals, whereas military salaries comprise a significant
portion of personal income in the metropolitan area.
The dependence of the San Antonio economy upon
military expenditures is a source of concern to only a
small proportion of the city's businessmen. The majority consider the role of the military in the local economY
to be an element of stability. All of the military bases io
the area are permanent peacetime installations, and
there is nothing in the foreseeable future that would indicate either contraction or material expansion of exjsting facilities . Thus, while military installations are eXpected to remain a strong influence on the San AntoniO
economy, it is not expected that they witl provide as
strong growth stimulants as formerly .
TRADE
Trade traditionally has been an important support
to San Antonio's economic growth, since the city js
ideally located to serve as the wholesale and retail diStribution center for the expanding south Texas economy. Furthermore, the city is situated favorably for the
development of strong trade ties with Mexico. The current volume of Mexican trade handled in and througb
San Antonio is only moderate, but further increases are
expected.
In terms of the volume of sales, San Antonio presently ranks as the State's fourth largest wholesale
trade center; and in the wholesale distribution of certain types of products, notably fresh fruits and vegetables, it ranks first. In 1954 (the date of the latest
Census of Business), San Antonio had 800 wholesale
trade establishments, which reported a combined employment of almost 11,000 and a combined payroll of
$38 million. Wholesale trade sales in 1954 totaled
$610 million, or slightly more than 5 percent of the
state total.
Merchant wholesalers account for almost 80 percent of the number of wholesale trade establishments
in the area but handle only 61 percent of the volume
of wholesale trade. The structure of the wholesale trade
industry is indicated by the relative importance of the
type of products distributed by San Antonio's merchant
wholesalers. The principal types of wholesaling in the
San Antonio area are related to servicing the food
requirements of the south Texas population, and 27
percent of the merchant wholesalers' sales are made
by distributors of edible farm products and by grocery,
confectionery, and meat wholesalers. Although S~n
Antonio itself is not heavily industrialized, the CIty
serves as south Texas' leading wholesaler and distributor of commercial and industrial machines, equipment, and supplies; and wholesale sales of these products rank second only to sales of food. The city also
serves as headquarters for some of the State's largest
wholesalers of electrical appliances and lumber and
lumber products, and wholesale sales in these lines
also loom large in the local wholesale trade industry.
Almost 40 percent of San Antonio's wholesale trade
sales are made by manufacturers' sales branches and
offices, merchandise agents and brokers, petroleum
bUlk plants and gas facilities, and assemblers of farm
products. In 1954, these wholesalers had combined
sales of $239 million and an annual payroll of $10
million.
Reflecting metropolitan San Antonio's rapid popu~ation growth, as well as increases in population and
lIlcome in its retail trade territory, retail sales rose from
$386 million in 1948 to $553 million in 1954, showing
a gain of approximately 43 percent. Over this same
period, retail sales in the entire State rose 39 percent.
In 1954, San Antonio was the fourth largest retail
trade center in Texas, accounting for 6 percent of the
State's total retail sales. Retail sales in metropolitan
San Antonio have continued to advance since 1954.
As in other cities retail sales in San Antonio are
concentrated at food stores, automotive and automo-
tive supplies stores, and general merchandise outlets.
In 1954, sales at food stores accounted for 23 percent
of total retail sales; sales of automobiles and automobile accessories, 18 percent; and sales at general merchandise stores, 14 percent.
The almost universal shift of a substantial volume
of retail trade from central shopping districts to suburban shopping centers has not been as pronounced in
San Antonio as in most other cities of comparable size.
Large suburban shopping centers are not numerous in
San Antonio, and with only a few exceptions (notably
sales of food), retail sales continue to be concentrated
in the Central Business District. There are indications,
however, that the nationwide trend toward suburban
shopping may only now be taking hold in the city to
any appreciable extent.
Although there are five separately incorporated
cities - Terrell Hills, Olmos Park, Alamo Heights,
Castle Hills, and Balcones Heights - within the corporate limits of the city of San Antonio and a number
of small trade centers in rural areas in other parts of
Bexar County, virtually all of the retail trade in metropolitan San Antonio is conducted by retail outlets in
the city of San Antonio. In 1954, 96 percent of the
retail trade in the metropolitan area was concentrated
within the city limits 0f San Antonio proper; 3 percent
occurred in the satellite communities inside the city;
and 1 percent occurred in other parts of the county.
The number of retail establishments in metropolitan
San Antonio in 1954 was 5,513, only 64 percent of
which had payrolls. Thus, for a large urban center, San
Antonio has a relatively high proportion of small,
family-staffed retail outlets. In 1954 the payroll of
retail establishments amounted to $63 million, and
29,000 workers were employed in retail trade.
The total number of employees working in both
wholesale and retail trade is 43,300 and absorbs 25
percent of the wage and salary employment in San
Antonio. At $133 million in 1957, wage and salary
payments to workers in wholesale and retail trade
accounted for 13 percent of gross personal income in
the metropolitan area.
SERVICES
For a number of reasons, the service industry is
considerably more important in the economy of San
Antonio than of many other urban areas. Basically, the
importance of services in San Antonio stems from the
BUSI N ES S RE VI EW
I
fact that the city is an important tourist center. In addition, the existence of a large military population tends
to support a larger service industry, and San Antonio's
position as a leading convention, medical, and research
center has added further to the development and support of a diversified service industry.
The 1954 Census of Business indicates that 2,621
selected service establishments in metropolitan San
Antonio reported a combined employment of 11,000
and a combined payroll of $23 million in that year.
The importance of the tourist business to the San Antonio economy is indicated by the fact that hotels and
motels accounted for approximately 16 percent of the
total receipts of the service establishments classified,
while amusement and recreational facilities accounted
for an additional 15 percent.
San Antonio's tourist trade, which presently contributes about $50 million annually to local income,
has several facets. By far the greatest attractions are
the city's ancient forts and missions, the most widely
known of which is the Alamo. In addition, the scenic
beauty of the San Antonio River and the zoo, aquarium,
and park facilities attract a large number of visitors
each year. The city benefits both directly and indirectly
from tourist expenditures in the ranching country immediately northwest of San Antonio, where summer camps
and health and pleasure resorts are numerous. San
Antonio also is the Southwest's gateway to Mexico
and accommodates thousands of tourists who stop en
route to or from that country. Moreover, many Mexican nationals regularly visit the city for shopping, mediical care, and other purposes. Income from tourism
in San Antonio is further augmented by visitors of
military personnel in the area.
Conventions and other special events in San Antonio
account for a relatively large percentage of tourist
expenditures. The colorful Fiesta de San Jacinto and
the San Antonio Livestock Exposition celebration,
two of San Antonio's most outstanding annual events,
usually draw around 200,000 visitors, and conventions
held in the city attract more than 100,000 visitors
annually. The abundance of convention facilities, coupled with the mild climate and leisurely atmosphere,
has made San Antonio one of the leading convention
centers in the Southwest. At the present time, these
facilities are being expanded even further, creating new
prestige for the city and encouraging the greater development of San Antonio as a tourist and convention
center.
I
BUSINESS REVIEW
In addition to the usual complement of professional
services, San Antonio has some of the largest and finest
research organizations in the Nation and is developing
into an outstanding medical center. A number of the
research organizati0ns are governmental, but the city
also is distinguished by its private research firms. One
of these, the Southwest Research Institute, is among
the Nation's largest independent research facilities,
employing a staff of more than 600 and having an
annual budget of almost $6 million. Its area of inquiry
is broad, including research in the natural and physical
sciences, many phases of engineering, and industrial
economics. The facilities currently are being utilized
by many of the largest corporations in America.
San Antonio's emphasis upon scientific, industrial,
and economic research has led to the creation of Science
City, a 2,500-acre tract expressly planned for the location of scientific institutions, research laboratories for
private industries, and plants for technical manufacturing, as well as residential areas. The Southwest
Research Center comprises 1,500 acres of this tract,
and already located there are the Southwest Research
Institute, the Southwest Foundation for Research and
Education, the Army Ordnance Corps' Lubricants
Research Laboratory, and the Southwest Agricultural
Institute.
San Antonio's emergence as an outstanding medical
center dates largely from the end of World War II,
although the city was distinguished by its private medical facilities at a much earlier date. A number of factors have contributed to the city's gains in the direction
of becoming a medical center, but perhaps the most
important was the selection of San Antonio as the site
for Brooke Army Medical Center, which occupies mo~e
than 80 percent of the area in Fort Sam Houston. ThIS
center conducts all basic Army medical training, and
one of its units, the Army's only Medical Service School,
conducts nearly all advanced training for technicians
and all medical military training for Army Medical
Service officers. Another of the center's units, Brooke
Army Hospital, conducts postgraduate medical education. Medical research also plays an important role in
the activities of Brooke Army Medical Center. In particular, the Surgical Research Unit's work in the treatment of burns is among the most advanced projects
in the entire field of medical research.
As an aeromedical research center, San Antonio haS
received national attention. The establishment of the
U. S. Air Force School of Aviation Medicine, currently
I
i
I
~ocated at Randolph Air Force Base but soon to move
Into new quarters at Brooks Air Force Base, marked
another step in the city's progress toward becoming
a major medical center. Other important steps have
been the approval of San Antonio as the site for the
~niversity of Texas Medical School Branch, an increasIng number of new and expanding civilian hospitals,
a new Air Force hospital at Lackland Air Force Base,
and the initiation of important research in medicine
at the Southwest Research Institute.
These factors combine to provide an unusually large
pool of skilled medical personnel, including many military personnel who retire or otherwise elect to return
to civilian life, thereby laying the basis for further
expansion in private medical and medical research
facilities in the area.
. Personal services, business services, and repair servIces comprise the remaining components of San Antonio's important service industry. The types of business
services that are particularly important in the local
economy are aerial mapping, advertising services, and
services in accommodation of the south Texas petroleum industry, for which San Antonio serves as the
commercial capital.
Almost 23,300 wage and salary workers, or 14 perCent of civilian nonagricultural wage and salary employment in metropolitan San Antonio, are employed
In the service industry. This industry provides 9 percent,
Or $70 million, of the area's personal income from
Wages and salaries.
Supporting Economic Activities
San Antonio's economy , featuring government,
trade, and service activities as the principal economic
Pursuits, reflects the existence of a large population
which is essentially both nonindustrial and nonagricultural. Nevertheless, both manufacturing and agriculture
have contributed substantially to San Antonio's progress, and they continue to provide significant support
to the local economy.
employment in Bexar County, whereas the state-wide
average is nearly 20 percent. Wage and salary payments
to manufacturing workers totaled almost $81 million
in 1957, or only 11 percent of the county's personal
income from wages and salaries. This relatively small
percentage is influenced not only by the low proportion
of manufacturing workers in metropolitan San Antonio
but also by the low wage and salary scale. In March
1959, the average hourly earnings of manufacturing
workers in Bexar County amounted to $1.60, or almost
25 percent below the state-wide average and even further below the averages in most other large urban
centers.
AVERAGE WEEKLY AND HOURLY EARNINGS OF MANUFACTURING
WORKERS, MARCH 1959
Bexar County and Texas
Average weekly earningsP
Average hourly earningsP
Type of
manufacturing
Boxar County
Texas
Total..... .. .... .. ..
Durable goods . ... . . .
Nondurable goods....
$65.12
65.94
64.40
$88.40
88.20
88.56
Bexar County
$1.60
1.57
1.61
Texes
$2.13
2.10
2.16
Preliminary.
SOURCE: Texas Employment Commission.
p -
Most of metropolitan San Antonio's manufacturing
facilities are distributed randomly throughout the city
proper, with little concentration in particular spots.
However, the recent creation of new industrial districts
is likely to encourage the concentration of new manufacturing establishments in the northeastern and eastern
sections of the city.
San Antonio's manufacturing activities reflect little
concentration along individual lines. In terms of employment, the largest local manufacturing industry is
food processing, followed in importance by the manufacture of apparel. Other locally important manufacturing activities are printing and publishing and the
production of machinery, fabricated metal products,
and products made of stone, clay, and glass. As a
group, these five types of manufacturing employ more
than three-fourths of metropolitan San Antonio's manufacturing wage and salary workers.
MANUFACTURING
. The manufacturing sector of San Antonio's economy
IS relatively small, but the supporting economic strength
that it provides is important. The relatively modest role
of manufacturing is indicated by the fact that manufacturing provides employment for slightly less than
23,000 wage and salary workers. Thus, manufacturing
employment comprises only 13 percent of total civilian
San Antonio's most important manufacturing industry - the food industry - employs approximately
7,800 wage and salary workers, or 34 percent of all
manufacturing wage and salary employment in the
county. The origin and growth of the food industry are
explained primarily in terms of locational factors, particularly with reference to the proximity of raw mateBUSINESS REVIEW
I
WAGE AND SALARY EMPLOYMENT, MARCH 1959, AND INCOME,
1957, FROM SECONDARY ECONOM IC ACT IVITIES
Bexar County
WAGE AND SALARY
WORKERS
WAGE AND SALARY
INCOME
Percent
Percent
Amount
of
(In thou-
of
sands of
county
of
Texas
dollars)
total
activity
10.6
.6
4.4
3.5
.5
5.0
Porcent
Percent
Activity
Number
total
of
Texas
activity
Manufacturing . ..........
Agriculture l . . . . . . . . . . • . •
22,772
4,671
12,519
13.1
2.3
7.2
4.7
1.3
7.5
80,500
5,200
34,000
tians, and utilities •. .....
Finance, insurance, and
9,906
5.7
4.5
52,000
6.9
4.7
real estate •.. •••......
9,634
1,863
5.6
1.1
8.5
1.5
34,000
6,600
4.4
.9
7.4
.9
county
Construction • ••••••.•••••
Transportation, communica-
Mining •..•....
o ••••••• •
Includes form proprietors' employment and income, with percentages of county
totals based on wage and salary and proprietor components combined.
1
SOURCES, Texo. Employment Commission.
Federal Reserve Bonk 01 Doilo ••
rials, but other factors also have been important. San
Antonio's location in the heart of the south Texas
ranching country has led to the development of a sizable meatpacking industry. In terms of employment,
meatpacking and the preparation of meat products are
the most important component of the area's food industry, accounting for more than 1,700 wage and salary
workers.
A second important component of San Antonio's
food industry is the manufacture of beverages. Although
this manufacturing activity provides employment to
somewhat fewer workers than the meatpacking industry, the contribution of beverage manufacturing to the
area's personal income is slightly larger, reflecting
higher average wages and salaries. Brewing, which
dominates the beverage-manufacturing industry in San
Antonio, dates back to the 1840's, when there was a
heavy influx of German immigrants. Subsequently, the
area has proved to be an ideal location for serving the
Texas market, and San Antonio's brewing industry has
expanded sharply. Although it is located considerably
south of both the geographical and the population center of Texas, San Antonio is approximately in the center
of the area of heaviest beer consumption. This fact,
plus the purity of San Antonio's water and an ample
availability of labor, has contributed to making San
Antonio the leader in the State's brewing industry. As
a group, the beverage industry in Bexar County employs
more than 1,600 wage and salary workers.
In addition to meatpacking and brewing, other
important components of San Antonio's food industry
are flour milling, the manufacture of bakery products,
pecan shelling and packaging, and the manufacture of
Mexican foods.
IB'USINESS
REVIEW
The garment industry, San Antonio's second largest
manufacturing industry, provides employment for
approximately 3,200 wage and salary workers, most
of whom are female workers. Many of the local garment manufacturers serve national and international
markets; their location in the area stemmed originally
from the abundance of skilled handworkers, whose
artistry rivaled that found in the Orient, the Philippine
Islands, and Puerto Rico. In the early days of the San
Antonio garment industry, most of the work was done
in the workers' homes. As time passed, however, established producers converted to machine-made goods,
and additional garment manufacturers moved into the
area. Raw materials are drawn from the Southwest to
only a limited extent, and most manufacturers rely
heavily upon textiles from the South and Middle Atlantic States. The local garment industry concentrates primarily upon the production of work clothing and sportswear, with the largest output in apparel for men and
boys. The manufacture of children's and infants' outerwear also is important, but high-style garments and
garments requiring intricate workmanship are not manufactured in significant volume.
The printing and publishing industry, accounting for
2,300 workers, represents the third largest source of
manufacturing employment in Bexar County. Most of
the workers engaged in printing and publishing are
employed by the leading San Antonio newspapers, but
the relatively high ranking of this type of employment
also reflects the existence of bookbinding services in
the county and the central role which San Antonio playS
as a printing center for south Texas business and
industry.
As the primary positions of the food, garment, and
printing industries suggest, light industry and the production of nondurable goods dominate manufacturing
activity in metropolitan San Antonio, accounting for
60 percent of manufacturing wage and salary emploYment. San Antonio is not located near the souuces of
most raw materials used in the manufacture of heaVY
goods. Moreover, it is located outside the heavily induStrialized and densely populated regions of the State and
outside the largest markets for heavy goods. Consequently, San Antonio has been at a competitive dis~d
vantage in developing industries producing heavy Industrial goods or consumer durables.
Although there are exceptions, many of the local
manufacturers producing industrial or other heaVY
goods serve only the south Texas market, in which SaIl
Antonio's locational disadvantage is either small or
nonexistent. Production to meet only the needs of the
south Texas market is particularly noticeable in the
case of manufacturers of stone, clay, and glass products.
This category of manufacturing provides employment
for 1,500 wage and salary workers and is the second
largest durable goods industry in metropolitan San
Antonio. Cement production, clay and building stone
production, and the manufacture of concrete pipes,
drain tile, and other structural clay products account
for the bulk of employment in this industry.
The production of fabricated metal products is San
Antonio's most important durable goods industry, accounting for slightly more than 1,500 wage and salary
Workers. The manufacture of fabricated metal products
in San Antonio involves mainly the production of
aluminum doors and frames, structural and reinforcing
steel, boilers, storage tanks, sewer rings and covers,
prison equipment, and other iron and steel products.
!n general, the production of fabricated metal products
IS oriented toward the accommodation of the south
Texas market. However, specialization along certain
l~nes has enabled some producers to compete in nahonal and international markets, especially manufactUrers of prison equipment and producers of steel
deSigned for use in the construction of refineries and
chemical plants.
Production of machinery in the San Antonio area
centers principally around the manufacture of road
c.onstruction machinery, refri'gerators, and air conditioners, but minor production of assorted types of
other machinery also occurs. Virtually all of the area's
l11achinery manufacturers were established when San
Antonio was the largest city in the State and before
the era of rapid industrialization in the northeastern
and coastal regions of Texas. In fact, some of the city's
largest machinery manufacturers originated as producers of windmills and harnesses. While locational
factors have tended to restrict their present markets
t? south Texas, some machinery manufacturers - parttcularly those producing roadbuilding equipment,
refrigerators, and air conditioners - have been able
to compete effectively in national and international
ll1arkets. Machinery production provides employment
for approximately 1,400 wage and salary workers.
~n terms of employment in durable goods manufac-
tUn ng , San Antonio's producers of lumber and wood
prOducts, transportation equipment, and furniture and
fiXtUres are of somewhat less importance. Of par:ticular
interest in the area are the manufacture of executivetype aircraft, an operation which has attained a position of national recognition in its field, and the production of lithium from ores imported from Africa. The
location of the lithium industry in San Antono is related primarily to the availability of natural gas and
limestone in the area.
AGRICULTURE
The contribution of agriculture to San Antonio's
economic development and to the present structure of
the economy is not accurately measured by county
statistics alone. Traditionally, San Antonio has served
as the marketing and shipping center for the entire
south Texas agricultural region, where livestock, fruits
and vegetables, pecans, cotton, grain sorghums, and
other grain crops are raised in large quantities.
Even in terms of the direct support which metropolitan San Antonio's economy receives from local
agricultural activity, agriculture is of significant importance. Approximately 4,700 workers are employed on
farms in Bexar County. Farm wage and salary workers in the county receive an annual income of about
$1.4 million, and farm proprietors' income amounts
to an additional $3 .8 million.
According to the latest Census of Agriculture, there
were 2,772 farms in Bexar County in 1954, or 11
percent fewer than in 1950. The average size of farms
in the county is approximately 192 acres, or substantially less than the state-wide average of almost 500
acres. Only 6 percent of Bexar County's farms were
irrigated in 1954, but some advance has been made
since that year.
Livestock and livestock products provide the principal source of farm income in Bexar County. In 1954
the value of all farm products sold amounted to $8 .9
million, of which 78 percent represented the sale of
livestock and livestock products. Within this category,
there was a fairly even distribution between the value
of dairy products sold and the value of livestock and
other livestock products marketed. The livestock population of Bexar County farms in late 1954 included
64,000 cattle, 11,000 sheep, 9,000 swine, and 9,000
goats.
The value of all crops sold in Bexar County in 1954
was $2 million, or 22 percent of the value of all farm
products sold. Marketed field crops other than vegetables, fruits, and nuts had a value of $867,000, representing mainly the value of marketed corn, cotton,
BUS I NESS REVIEW1
CONSTRUCTION
LIVESTOCK RECE I PTS
SA N ANTO NI O
THOU SANDS OF HE AO
800
- . - - - . , - - - - 1 - - - - 1 - - - - 1 - - 1 600
\ - - - L - - j - - - I - - -1--l 400
2001--- - / - -
SOURCE: Union Slock Yard'ISon Antonio.
and grain sorghums. The value of vegetable crops
marketed in 1954 was approximately $715,000, while
the value of various horticultural specialties marketed
was $388,000.
San Antonio's stockyards serve as the major marketing center for the south and south-central Texas
ranching country, which provides a sizable portion of
the State's beef output, much of the sheep production,
and the majority of the goats raised in the State. Since
· 1945, when the local stockyards handled over 1.5 million animals, livestock receipts have trended downward, paralleling the nationwide decentralization of
livestock marketing. In 1958 the San Antonio stockyards handled about 595,000 animals. The decline
in livestock receipts has occurred principally in sheep
numbers and reflects a net state-wide decrease in
sheep production, influenced partially by drought conditions during much of the past decade. Drought conditions, plus the development of local auction markets throughout San Antonio's trade territory, also
have reduced the number of cattle, hogs, and goats
marketed at San Antonio's stockyards.
Metropolitan San Antonio's construction industry
received its sharpest impetus during World War II and
again in 1951, when a inarked expansion of military
facilities in the area boosted building activity to unusually high levels. Although military construction has
declined in recent years, much of the slack has been
taken up by increased building of residential and business properties, as well as such public projects as
schools and streets.
Exclusive of contracts for military construction and
public works, the value of construction contracts
awarded in Bexar County in 1958 amounted to approximately $78 million; about 62 percent was for
residential building. Much of the recent residential
construction activity has been located in the northern,
southeastern, and southwestern sections of the city.
There are no natural barriers to the city's growth.
Traditionally, industrial construction has tended to
be of less relative importance in San Antonio than in
most other major population centers, but the recent
creation of industrial districts along new transportation
routes may buoy industrial construction activity. Moreover, an expanded program of public construction
projects is certain to stimulate the volume of total
construction over the next few years. Outstanding
among these projects are a comprehensive network of
CONSTRUCTION CONTRACTS AWARDED
BEXA R CO UN T Y AND TE XAS
( 1946 VALUAT ION- IDO l
Other Economic Features
As in other areas of concentrated population, a
number of industries have grown up in San Antonio
to service the financial, housing, transportation, and
other requirements of business, industry, and the general public. These derivative pursuits are of considerable importance in San Antonio, particularly the areas
of construction, transportation, finance and insurance,
and utilities.
I
BUSINESS REVIEW
200 1----+---:..~
SDUACE : f .W OodQI Corporation .
,
expressways, which will facilitate intracity transportation, and programs for street improvements, storm
?rainage, public school construction, and public utility
~mprovements. An extensive urban planning program,
Including an urban renewal project for a section near
the downtown area, also is under way. Military construction is holding fairly stable at a much lower level
than the postwar peak of approximately $88 million
attained in 1951.
TRANSPORTATION
trucks. After many years under private management,
the San Antonio transit system has been acquired by
the city, and improvements in bus service are planned.
With respect to street conditions in San Antonio, extensive repairs are needed, and long-range efforts are
being made to correct this problem. In contrast with
these aspects of weakness in the intracity transportation system, the planned network of loops and expressways in and around the city (much of which is already
under construction) will represent, upon completion,
one of the most comprehensive and well-integrated
transportation systems in the State.
Most of the 6,700 wage and salary workers in San
Antonio's transportation industry are employed by FINANCE AND INSURANCE
railroads, truck lines, and airlines operating in the
In addition to its importance as a financial center,
area. San Antonio is served by three major rail lines,
which provide direct connections to the northeastern, San Antonio has a concentration of insurance offices,
eastern, and western sections of the United States. In including a number of head offices and an even larger
addition, two of these lines provide connections with number of regional branch offices of insurance firms
the principal cities in Mexico through the border cities operating in Texas.
of Laredo, Eagle Pass, and Brownsville. San Antonio
Bexar County is served by 20 commercial banks,
does not generate a large amount of outbound railway
including one private bank. All of these are located in
c.argo, but the volume of incoming cargo is substantial. Much of this traffic is for the Government and is the Central Business District of San Antonio, on nearrelated to the maintenance of the military establish- by military reservations, or in suburban business districts. There are no banks in the county's rural comments in the area.
munities. At the end of 1958, the area's banking
Services of five airlines link San Antonio directly establishments had total assets of $713 million and
With the East and West Coasts and South America, total deposits of $661 million.
and complete connecting services facilitate the rapid
San Antonio long has served as a leading financial
transport of cargo and passengers to and from all other center in south Texas, but growth of financial aggremajor points in the Nation. In 1958, more than 240,- gates and banking facilities in recent years has been
000 passengers and approximately 4,000 tons of cargo especially noteworthy. From 1939 to 1945, total deemplaned at the San Antonio International Airport.
The public and private airport facilities in the city are
among the finest in the Southwest, and runways presDEPOSITS AND LOANS AND INVESTMENTS
ently are being extended to accommodate jet airliners.
AL L BA NKS IN BEX,AR COUNTY
Approximately 30 truck lines with terminals in San
Antonio serve all of the State and connect with lines
serving all parts of the Nation. Truck service between
San Antonio and the coastal ports of Houston, Galveston, and Corpus Christi is especially important in
terms of volume. Excellent truck service is permitted
b~ the major highways (including five United States
hIghways) which extend in all directions from San
Antonio.
Bus service and street conditions represent aspects
Of. an intracity transportation problem that has receIVed considerable attention in recent years. At the
present time, however, steps are being taken to facilitate the intracity movement of automobiles, buses, and
MI LL IONS OF DOLL
MI LLION S OF' DOL.LARS
70 0
k
60 0
TOTAL DE POS ITS
I~
4 00
30 0
./
10
!7" I
-,,"
~"
~
4:+ ~-'
14l...'l ~--~-(
-,....
50 0
20 0
........
~,'
- ~ T OTAL LO ANS AND
'
INVES TMEN TS
1939
1
941
600
5 00
4 00
3 00
200
~17/
o1---"
1
o
•••
700
I 00
0
1
943
1
945
1
947
1
949
1951
1953
1
955
1
95719 5B
SOURCES ' Rand McN ally Bonk." Dlreclory.
rtd, rol RlluYI Bonk 01 OOUOI.
BUS I N E S S REV lEW '\
posits at the banks in metropolitan San Antonio rose
from approximately $106 million to $406 million;
and since the latter year, deposits have risen an additional $256 million. Annual debits of all banks in
San Antonio have shown an even sharper gain since
1945, rising about 325 percent to reach a 1958 total
of almost $6.5 billion.
mately $182 million. More than 50 insurance companies also are headquartered in the city. In terms of
assets, life insurance companies and casualty and surety companies are of greatest importance, but San
Antonio also has a significant concentration of fraternal benefit societies.
UTILITIES
The nonindustrial character of San Antonio's economic foundation is shown in several aspects of banking operations in the city. San Antonio's banks receive
proportionately more of their funds from individuals,
and proportionately less from businesses, than do
banks in other leading cities in the Southwest. Moreover, time deposits (including savings accounts) are
of greater relative importance in San Antonio than in
other southwestern cities, reflecting largely the significance of individual savings accounts and time deposits
of governmental units. At the larger banks in San
Antonio, time deposits comprise about one-third of
total deposits, compared with a figure of generally less
than one-fourth at other leading banks in the Eleventh
Federal Reserve District.
San Antonio's banks perform correspondent banking services for commercial banks located throughout
south Texas, as well as in other areas; but, as a percentage of total deposits, the volume of interbank
balances is relatively less important at banks in San
Antonio than at banks located in other leading centers
in the Eleventh District. Reflecting largely San Antonio's banking and trade connections with Mexico,
however, foreign balances held with local banks are of
greater relative importance in San Antonio than in
other leading cities in the Southwest.
In addition to serving as the commercial banking
center for south Texas, San Antonio is also the site
of a branch office of the Federal Reserve Bank of
Dallas. The territory served by this branch consists
of 55 counties in south and southwest Texas, in which
94 member banks are located. At the close of 1958,
these banks had total assets of approximately $1.5
billion. Since its establishment in 1927, the Federal
Reserve Bank Branch at San Antonio has experienced
marked growth; in 1958, it handled checks aggregating almost $9.5 billion.
Savings and loan associations and insurance companies also have made important contributions to San
Antonio's financial position. Seven savings and loan
associations operate in the metropolitan area; at the
end of 1958, their combined assets totaled approxi-
I
B U SINE S S REV I EW
The San Antonio eleetric, gas, and water utilities
are publicly owned. The city acquired the electric utility in 1942, and since that time, the management has
succeeded in improving the electric system to the point
where it is highly ranked in terms of efficiency and
low-cost operations. The utility'S operation is managed
by the City Public Service Board, which consists of
four private citizens and the city's mayor. Members
of this board select their own replacements, thus creating a semiautonomous policy-making group. In all
major respects, the electric utility has been operated
along the same lines as a privately owned utility.
The city's electricity-generating equipment, consisting of nine generators at present, is modern and efficient. A new 100,000-kilowatt generator was installed
at one plant location in May 1958, and a second generator was installed at another plant location a year
later. A third 100,000-kilowatt unit is scheduled for
installation by the spring of 1961. The present generating capacity of the electric system is 546,000 kilowatts, and the city has a firm commitment for an additiona160,000 kilowatts from the Lower Colorado River
Authority. In contrast, the peak load in 1958 waS
360,000 kilowatts, and the utility is planning for a
peak load of 420,000 kilowatts in 1959. San AntoniO'S
rates for electricity are relatively low. In particular,
rates for industrial users compare very favorably with
those in industrial sections of the country.
As in the case of the electric utility, San AntoniO'S
municipally owned gas utility is under the supervision
and direction of the City Public Service Board. The
utility purchases gas produced in south Texas and
distributes it to residential, commercial, and industria]
users in the city. San Antonio is favorably located with
respect to the availability of natural gas as a sour~e
of energy, since approximately one-third of the State S
natural gas reserves are located within 150 miles of the
city. As a result, rates are favorable, and there is nO
practical limit to the volume of gas that can be made
available. The proximi,ty of San Antonio to natural gas
fields also obviates the necessity for compressor sta-
tions, which are not needed to produce the high delivery pressures required by various industrial users.
San Antonio's water supply, being filtered and purified by the limestone formation from which it is drawn,
does not require expensive treatment and storage. In
fact, the city's water does not come into contact with
either light or surface air until it is drawn from the
consumer's faucet. Thus, water rates are favorable.
The water is drawn from artesian wells owned by the
city, but many office buildings, hotels, and industries
lUaintain their own wells to accommodate their individual water needs. Most of these wells are between
800 and 1,400 feet in depth.
Problems
The tapering off of Federal Government expenditures at a relatively high level lends considerable stability to the San Antonio economy but also raises questions as to the ability of the local economy to expand
with the same vigor shown in the war and immediately
POstwar periods. Since the beginning of World War
II, San Antonio's economic gains have been very
largely related to the expansion of Government pay~'oUs in the area. While the present outlook does not
Jndicate reductions in the volume of Government
expenditures in San Antonio, it does appear likely that
fU~ure growth in employment and income must depend
prlIuarily upon autonomous expansion in the private
sector of the economy. Thus, to maintain its past rate
of growth, San Antonio would need to look to further
development in the areas of industry, trade, and
services.
One of the problems with which San Antonio must
deal in fostering expansion in the private sector of
the economy is an attitude of complacency with
respect to the city's growth. More than a decade of
rapid growth that was induced and supported largely
by expansion in governmental activities has not been
CondUcive to the development of aggressiveness in
attracting new business and industry to the area. In
recent years, considerable progress has been made
along these lines, but additional efforts will be reqUired if the private sector of the economy is to inherit
the expansive role formerly played by Government.
Industrial activity also has tended to lag in San
~ntOnio because of the city's inland location and its
dIstance from concentrated industrial and consumer
nlarkets. In the future, as in the past, the city is likely
to experience difficulty in attracting manufacturing
activities in which freight costs comprise an important
component of total costs. San Antonio is located neither near the somce of raw materials used in the production of heavy goods nor near a concentrated market for their consumption. Moreover, the city's inland
location offers further obstacles to the growth of heavy
manufacturing activities. Consequently, the production
of heavy manufactured items likely will continue to
be confined to a modest volume, associated with the
demands generated by a relatively thin regional market. While a number of producers of heavy goods in
the area have been able to develop national and international markets, it is not expected that their success
will induce other heavy goods manufacturers to locate
there.
With respect to the development of light manufacturing, however, San Antonio is in a favorable position; and further development along these lines could
count heavily in replacing the growth stimulus formerly provided by rising Government expenditures.
An abundant supply of labor and favorable living and
working conditions are the principal attractions for
light manufacturing activities. In this connection, it
is relevant to point out the reputation of San Antonio's
labor force for superior manual dexterity. While this
skill is valuable in many different types of light manufacturing, it is especially important in such industries
as electronics - a field which, with active leadership
on the part of businessmen and city officials, could
develop into a major industry in the area. In addition
to the skills of San Antonio's civilian labor force, the
stream of retired and discharged military personnel
from the military bases in San Antonio, many of whom
seek to remain in tlle city permanently, makes the
electronics industry a natural candidate for local cultivation and development.
The development of important research facilities in
San Antonio, already well advanced, furnishes another
avenue along which the city may expand to offset the
diminishing role of Government spending as a major
growth stimulus. San Antonio's climate, its favorable
living conditions, its existing pool of professional
scientists and research personnel, and its proximity to
the library and research facilities of the University of
Texas combine to make it an attractive center for
many types of research activities, including medical
research. The preparation of a 2,500-acre tract expressly planned for plants engaged in research, development, and technical manufacturing - along with
the flexibility of arrangements under which laboratoBUS I NESS REV I EW
I
ries and laboratory space are available in this research
center - indicates the extent to which development of
research facilities is emphasized.
Because San Antonio is not located in a thickly
populated region, expansion of wholesale and retail
trade activities is not likely to provide dramatic growth
stimulants, although further growth probably will parallel advances in the population and income of the
San Antonio trade area. Efforts to attract a greater
number of tourists to the city are having a stimulating
effect upon the trade and service industry, however;
and San Antonio's tourist business is likely to become
an increasingly important source of income in the
metropolitan area.
The present growth prospects of metropolitan San
Antonio stem partially from the area's past failure to
press for maximum development of its economic potential. This situation, in ' turn, partly reflects a conflict between the objective of promoting general expansion and economic growth, on the one hand, and,
on the other, the objective of preserving the city's
traditions, its color, and its distinctive way of life.
While the city currently is exerting increasing efforts
toward attracting industry and research, whether or
not its growth potential will be fully exploited will
depend largely upon the extent to which concerted
action on the part of local business and civic leaders
can be realized.
This is the third of a series of articles on the four largest cities in the Eleventh
Federal Reserve District -
Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, and Fort Worth. Additional
copies of this article may be obtained by addressing a request to either:
Carl H. Moore
Vice President in Charge
Federal Reserve Bank Branch
210 West Nueva Street
San Antonio 5, Texas
Research Department
Federal Reserve Bank
of Dallas
400 South Akard Street
Dallas 2, Texas
'BUSINESS REVIEW
-
BUSINESS
REVIEW
BUSINESS, AGRICULTURAL, AND FINANCIAL CONDITIONS
Nonagricultural employment in
the District states during April
reflected an approximately
normal seasonal rise and appears to have set a new record
high for the month. Texas unemployment declined
substantially to reach 4.6 percent of the labor force,
compared with a rate of 5.6 percent in April 1958.
Pastures and ranges showed improvement during
May, but additional moisture is needed to maintain
forage development.
Industrial production in Texas was seasonally constant in April, as strength in manufacturing activity
offset a decline in minerals output. The value of construction contract awards in the District states during
March maintained a wide margin over a year earlier
and was the highest March level of record.
A more than seasonal rise over March carried
April department store sales in the District to a record
high for the month. The strength was primarily in durable goods lines, although sales of soft goods also
ere generally above a year ago. Department store
InVentories continued to rise in April and at the end
of the month were at the highest level since November 1957. Registrations of new cars in the District's
largest metropolitan areas were lower than in March
but were up substantially over April 1958.
loan expansion was again a prominent feature of
District banking activity during late April and May.
The strong upward movement in consumer loans
persisted, and business loans also showed continued
strength. Deposits declined substantially at the District's weekly reporting member banks, necessitating bank liquidation of investments and reductions
in cash accounts.
. Generally favorable weather conditions prevailed
In most sections of the District during May. Most of
the intended acreages of spring crops have been
seeded, except for a few late areas in northwestern
sections. Winter wheat production in the District
states is placed at one-third below that of last year.
District crude oil production, runs to refinery stills,
and stocks of refined products continued upward during May. Allowable production in Texas, which was
raised to 12 producing days in May, has been cut
back to 10 days in June. Imports of both refined
products and crude oil declined further.
:v
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Department store sales during
April in the Eleventh Federal Reserve District rose 4 percent over
March and 10 percent over April
last year. The seasonally adjusted
sales index rose to 169 percent of the 1947-49 average,
compared with 166 in March and 150 in April 1958.
The record April sales -- well above those in the same
n~onth in any past year -- reflected, in part, the comb. med effects of intensive post-Easter promotions, conhnued fair weather, and the opening of several new
department stores this spring. Cumulative sales for the
first 4 months of this year were 10 percent greater than
sales in the corresponding period of 1958.
Sales activity during April in the various metropolitan areas in the District for which separate data are
available ranged from a year-to-year decrease of 5 perINDEXES OF DEPARTMENT STORE SALES AND STOCKS
Eleventh Federal Reserve District
(1947 ·49
::::l
100)
SALES (Daily average)
Date
Unadjusted
Seasonally
adjusted
1958: April.........
1959: February......
March........
April.........
143r
126
151r
157
15 0r
16 2
166r
169
r
p-
STOCKS (End of month)
Unadjusted
170r
163r
178r
182p
Seasonally
adjuste d
164r
168r
169r
175p
Rovised.
Preliminary.
BUSINESS REVIEW
I
DEPARTMENT STORE SALES AND STOCKS
(Perc entage chang e in retail valu e)
STOCKS
(End of month)
NET SALES
Apri l 1959 from
April 1959 from
Morch
1959
Total Eleventh District . . . ..
Corpus Christi. . .. ...... . •
Dollas • • .. . .. .. .. .......
EI Paso • . .• •. . ..... . . .. •
Fort Worth • •• ...•.. . . .. .
Houston • • .•. . . •... .. ...
Son Antonio • •... .. .. • .. .
Shre ve port, la .. ... ......
Waco . . .... .. .... . ... . .
Other citie s . .. .. ....... .
April
195 8
4 mos. 1959
compo with
4 mos. 1958
Morch
1959
4
-2
3
3
5
10
- 14
8
7
9
Are a
10
-5
17
4
6
16
3
6
8
9
10
4
13
8
11
11
8
9
11
12
3
1
2
- 1
10
7
-2
- 1
5
-2
April
1958
7
4
11
7
2
14
5
6
4
2
SALES AT FURNITURE STORES AND HOUSEHOLD APPLIANCE STORES
(Percentage change in retail valu e)
April 1959 from
--~----4
line of trad e
by area
FURNITURE STORES
Total Eleve nth District . . • • • . • . • . . . . . . •• . .
Amarillo.... . ... .. . ... . ... . . . . .... . ...
Austin .. . ... .. . . .. . .. .. .. ... .... .. .. ..
Dallas. .. . . .... .. .. .... .. . ... . . .. . . .. .
March
1959
April
1958
5
25
0
11
15
26
17
44
14
15
22
19
10
12
42
19
-11
- 4
mos. 1959
compo with
4 mos. 1958
35
37
Houston . . .. .. ... ... . . . ... . . . .. , . . . . . .
-3
Lubboc k... .. .. . .... . . ... . .. . . . . . .....
San Antonio . . ....... . .... " . . . . . . . . . . .
Shre veport, la . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Wichita Falls . • . • . . . . • . . . . . . . . • . . . . . . . •
Other cities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
HOUSEHOLD APPLIANCE STORES
Total Eleve nth District. • • • . . . • • . . . • . . . • . .
Dallos. . ... .. . ... .... ... .. .. . .. . .... . .
-3
-6
3
6
25
18
7
-1
25
3
In contrast with the department store sales picture in
recent months, the area of primary sales strength in April
was consumer durable goods. April sales of major household appliances in the District rose 12 percent over a
year earlier, while sales in both the radio, television set,
and musical equipment category and the furniture and
bedding category showed year-to-year gains of 21 percent. In general, sales of soft goods also were above
Apri11958 . There were gains of 9 percent in sales of
men's clothing and 6 percent in sales of women's and
misses' dresses. Sales of women's and misses' accessories were unchanged from a year ago. The earlier date
of Easter in 1959 tended to reduce the year-to-year
gain in sales of soft goods during April. On the other
BUS I NESS RE VI EW
Department store inventories continued to rise in the
District in April. At the end of the month, inventories
were 3 percent higher than a month earlier and were 7
percent above a year earlier. The seasonally adjusted
index of department store stocks rose to 175 percent of
the 1947-49 average in April, which is up from 169 in
March and 164 in April 1958. Inventories, although at
their highest level since November 1957, have not risen
as fast as sales. The ratio of month-end stocks on hand
to monthly sales in April, as in each month since mid1958, remained below the ratio for a year earlier. Further year-to-year increases in inventory levels at the
District's reporting stores are indicated by the continUing high level of orders being placed for goods. Both
new orders placed during April and orders outstanding
at the end of the month declined about seasonally, but
they registered gains of 18 percent and 37 percent,
respectively, over Apri11958 .
7
26
7
cent in Corpus Christi, where heavy rains tended to
depress sales this year, to an increase of 17 percent in
Dallas. A 16-percent rise in sales occurred in Houston,
while in the other areas, gains were less than 10 percent.
Cumulative sales through April showed gains of 8 to
13 percent over 1958 in each of the eight metropolitan
areas except Corpus Christi, where the decline in sales
during April restricted the 1959 cumulative gain to
4 percent.
I
hand, post-Easter promotional efforts emphasizing
durable goods - coupled with warm weather, which
stimulated sales of air-conditioning units - provided
an expansive influence on sales of durable goods.
Registrations of new cars in the four largest metr~
politan areas in the District declined 5 percent in Apnl
but were 42 percent greater than in April 1958. In the
individual areas, the year-to-year gains ranged from. 47
percent in Fort Worth to 34 percent in San AntoniO,
with registrations in the Dallas and Houston areas reflecting gains of 42 percent and 43 percent, respectively.
Cumulative figures for these four areas show that,
through the end of April, registrations were 26 perce~t
ahead of a year ago and were above the same period In
any previous year except 1955.
Agricultural conditions in n10st
of the District during the past
month were relatively favorable,
but in a few areas, hail and severe
thunderstorms necessitated replanting of crops. In other sections, inadequate soil
moisture continues to be a problem.
Wheat prospects in northwestern sections of the DiS
trict received a boost as a result of general rainsmeasuring as much as an inch - throughout the area.
Fields in the Panhandle have shown noticeable improvement; in the Low Rolling Plains, however, moiS
ture generally carne too late to be of material bene~t.
In the latter section, the crop is ripening fast and wJ11
soon be ready for harvest; in the Panhandle of TexaS
W INTER WHEAT PROD.UCTION
Five So uthwestern States
( In thousands of bushols)
1959
Averag e
Indicated
May 1
Area
~~~~~~~ :::::::::::::::::::
1948-57
1958
o~~~~~.~ " : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : :
3,136
1,100
2,670
79,128
48,300
3,904
672
3,724
115,440
73,040
903
'806
1,652
64,925
35,358
Tota l . ..... . ............. .
134,334
196,780
103,644
akIN Mexico . •••.............
T
, Shorl-time av e rago.
SOURCE , United 'Sta tes D.partmen t of Agriculture .
and Oklahoma, wheat is well headed and, with higher
temperatures, is maturing rapidly. In the Texas Bla~k
lands, wheat and oats are ripening fast, and harvestmg
will soon begin. Winter wheat production in the District states as of May 1 totaled 134,334,000 bushels, .or
up about 4% million bushels from the month-earlIer
estimate but about one-third below the excellent 1958
crop. Prospective output of wheat ln each of the District states except Louisiana is indicated to be under a
year ago.
The condition of feed crops in the District is part!cU
larly favorable. Corn in the Coastal Bend and earlIer
areas of south Texas is tasseling, and grain sorghums
are heading. In the later sections northward. from t~e
13lac klands and in east Texas, corn is knee-hIgh and IS
developing rapidly. Seeding of grain sorghums is ~ell
advanced in all sections of the District, and especIally
rapid progress is being made in the Texas High Plains.
COTTON A CREAGE, PRODUCTION, A N D VALU E OF PRODU CTI O N
Five Sou thwestern States and Un ited Sta tes
(I n thousands),
~~~========================~~~~~~
Ba les pro duced I
Value of lint and se ed
--::....0
~i~~na. . ....
N "1SIana. • • • •
Okt M.x ico.. •
Te.~~oma. . • •
.. . .....
Tota l
Unite~·~;~t~~
Acreage harveste d
1958
1957
1957
1958
1957
364
176
4 10
5,395
352
440
183
540
5,905
734
297
30 1
3 13
4,308
763
348
236
263
3,632
$ 139,41 1 $ 145,644
60,442
52,681
43,031
57,757
35,643
54,290
565,636
747,858
6,722
11,849
7,420
13,558
5,953
11,512
5,242
10,964
$ 1,05 1,997 $ 850,396
$2,117,160 $1,860,486
195 8
377
----~----~----~-----------------------~ 500 Pounds gross weight.
complete in southern irrigated valleys of Arizona and
New Mexico and in the Trans-Pecos area of Texas.
Only a small amount of acreage remains to be planted
in the Texas High Plains. Infestations from injurious
cotton insects have remained generally light.
Revised estimates by the United States Department
of Agriculture place the 1958 cotton crop in the District
states at 5,953,000 bales, or 14 percent more than the
output a year earlier. The crop, which was produced
on 9 percent fewer acres, is valued at almost one-fourth
more than in 1957. In Texas the value of the 1958 crop
was about $748 million, or the highest since 1953.
Activity in commercial vegetable areas of the District increased during Mayas a result of relatively
favorable planting and harvesting conditions. Onion
harvest is active in most south Texas areas; in northern
Texas and the Panhandle, the crop is making excellent
growth. In the Lower Valley, tomatoes are moving in
good volume, and shipping of sweet corn, cucumbers,
carrots, okra, and snap beans continues. Production of
spring-crop vegetables (excluding potatoes) in Texas
is estimated, as of May 1, to be 27 percent below last
year's crop. The reduced output reflects the prospects
for lower yields for most crops and a 13-percent decline
in acreage for harvest. Irish potato production in the
State is indicated to be 14 percent under the 1958 outturn, as an expected decrease in the late-spring crop
more than offset an increase for early spring potatoes.
Early May rains boosted prospects for pastures and
ranges over a large part of the District, especially in
eastern sections of New Mexico and western regions of
Texas. Surplus forage is still available in most areas of
the District from the Blacklands eastward, but in much
of this area, rising temperatures are causing cool-season
grasses and clovers to mature rapidly. Additional moisture is needed in far western sections of the District to
maintain development of forage and to promote growth
of summer forage species. Feed conditions as of May 1
in the major range states of the District were generally
improved from a month earlier but were below those of
a year ago.
OURCE: United Sta tes Department of Agriculture.
The bulk of the intended cotton acreage in the District has been seeded. In most areas from the Texas
131 ac klands southward and eastward, the crop is up to
~ good stand; and hoeing, cultivating, and early season
Insect control are l!lnder way. In the later western areas,
the crop is not as well advanced, but most seeding is
The index of prices received by District farmers (as
evidenced by Texas midmonth prices) for all commodities showed no change during the month ended April
15, 1959, but was 4 percent above the year-earlier
level. The all-crops index advanced 1 percent during
the month, but the gain was offset by slightly lower
livestock and livestock products prices.
BU S I NESS REV I EW
I
Deposit contraction at the District's week~y rep?rting member
banks occasIOned Increased bank
\l< ., ~~ «{.A~'" 0l·Q -1'</ borrowings, investment liquida......
...", '. '\..-,,,
".""",,,,,,,,,,.
, ,., , ,, ,,,.,,,,,
tion, and reductions in cash accounts between April 15 and May 20. Both demand
deposits and time accounts registered declines, but net
demand deposit withdrawals totaling $82.4 million provided the major contractive influence. The decline in
demand accounts was weighted heavily by a $115 .1
million decrease in interbank balances. Deposits of individuals and businesses declined moderately, while
Government balances rose. State and local governments
reduced their time balances at the reporting banks by
$9.1 million, and net withdrawals in this category
largely accounted for the $9.3 million decline in time
accounts.
CONDITION STAT ISTICS OF WEEKLY REPORTING
MEMBER BANKS IN LEADING CITIES
."""""""'"
"""""""""
ft" ~.. "~.V'~,, ~~'\,
.
!~ ,IFI NAN CE JJ. ~
d,
As a result of these deposit drains, but also to finance
an expansion in their loan accounts, the reporting banks
liquidated $20.5 million of investments, reduced cash
accounts by $22.0 million, and increased their bills
payable by $59.8 million. Investment liquidation during the 5-week period was concentrated in Treasury
notes, holdings of which decreased $44.5 million. All
other investment categories showed small to moderate
gains.
Loan expansion - a dominant characteristic of District banking for several months - was particularly
noticeable in the business loan and consumer loan categories during the 5 weeks ended May 20. Continuing
their strong upward movement, consumer-type loans
advanced $16.7 million, compared with a decline of
$10. million in the corresponding weeks of 1958, Continued strength in business loans also was indicated by
the 5-week increase totaling $12.9 million. During the
same period last year, business loans decreased $23.8
million. Real-estate loans also rose between April 15
and May 20, but declines were recorded for securities
loans, agricultural loans, and interbank loans. The
5-week increase in all loan categories totaled $21.4 million, in contrast with substantial loan liquidation in the
comparable weeks a year earlier.
°
Reserve positions of member banks in the District
tightened moderately in April. Deposit expansion at the
banks during the month produced a $1 .8 million increase in required reserves, and this increase coincided
with a $2.9 million decline in reserve balances. Consequently, average excess reserves of member banks decreased $4.7 million, or from $52.3 million in March
rBUSINESS REVIEW
Eleventh Federa l Reserve District
(In Ihou.and. of dollars)
May 20,
1959
Item
-
May 21,
1958
April 15,
1959
ASSETS
Commercia l and industrial loans • . •••••• " ..•• $1,703,616 $1,690,695 $ 1 ,500.00~
29,02
Agricultural loans •.• , ••... .• ...••• • . ...••..
35,416
35,691
30,50 1
loans to brokers and dealers In securities •••..•
16,390
21,721
180,060
Other loons for purchasing or carrying securities.
182,834
185,569
Roal·estate loans •• ••••••••••••....•. . •• • ..
223,925
12,410
691,067
Loans to banks • ••••••••••• • •••••••••••••• •
All olher loan., •.. , , , , , . , , , , .... , , ... , ....
Gross loans • ••••••...••....••••.•...•••
less reserves and unallocated charge-offs • •
Net loans ••.••••••• . •• • •••••••••••..•••
U. S. Trea.ury bill •. ", . . , ... , , , ... ... .. , •. .
U. S. Treasury certificates of indebtedness ••••••
U. S. Treasury notes • • •• • . .•..• ••• ••....••••
U. S. Government bonds (inc. gtd. obligations) .••
Other securities ••.•••..••••...••••..•.• •••
- - - 2,844,297
2,865,658
48,999
48,921
--- --2,816,659 2,795,376
--88,830
97,784
263,617
913,154
355,006
Total investments •....•• • .•••.•••••• • . •.•
Cash items in process of collection •••..••• •• ••
Balances with banks in the United States •• • ••••
Balances with banks in foreign countries • •• • •••
Currency and coin •••••••••••••••••.•• • • • ••
Reserves with Federa l Reserve Bank •••••••••.•
Other assets •••••.•• ••. ••• . • • •• •• ..•••••.•
1,718,391
504,180
477,091
2,048
48,603
555,881
164,208
TOTAL ASSETS, ......... , , ....... , .. .
6,287,061
LIABILITIES AND CAPITAL
Demand deposit.
Individuals, partnerships, and corporations ••••
United States Government ••• •••••.•• •.• ..
States and political subdivisions •••••.••••••
8anks in the United Stale..... , .. .• , .. . . . , ,
Bonks in foreign countries • ••••• ••• •••• .•••
CertlAed and ofAcers' checks, etc .••• . • • .•••
2,920,367
156,119
265,432
888,466
15,845
64,590
Tolal demand depo.II • • • " ....• , .. .. ..•
Time deposits
Individuals, partnerships, and corporations ••••
United States Government •••••••••• • •.•••
Postal savings ••••.•• • • • .• • •••••.••••.••
Siale. and politica l subdlvi.ion •• . , . . ..•. , . ,
Bonks in the U. S. and foreign countries • •.•••
Total time deposits • • • • • • ••••.•• • •... •••
Tolal deposit ••• , , , .. , , , .. • ..... .. , ,
Bills payable, rediscounts, etc . . ••••.•••••••••
All olher lIabilllie • . .. , , , .. . , .. , .... , .......
Total capital accounts ••..••••.. •• ••.•••••••
TOTAL LIABILITIES AND CAPITAL. . •• , , , ,
221,543
14,693
674,385
74,482
97,653
308,079
908,467
350,210
--1,738,891
517,706
468,433
1,582
48,034
574,096
168,562
6,312,680
=
2,939,386
119,268
242,816
1,003,520
16,270
71,939
---
---
4,310,819
---
1,095,196
7,055
421
178,826
1,643
1,095,093
7,130
42 1
187,916
1,920
94,565
69,262
529,274
5,685,679
34,800
67,386
524,815
--1,283,14 1
--5,593,960
6,287,061
4,393,199
1,292,480
--6,312,680
211,060
10,028
626,72 9
-
2 ,587,410
45,293
2 ,542,117
80,2 18
91,451
280,937
938,186
299,906
-
1,690,69~
392,79
538,253
1 244
47:27 5
580,192
156,0 17
-
5 ,948,5,£
2,735,32~
137,5 4
221,59 6
945,29 8
17,296
48,169
-
4 ,105,232
1,005,79~
12,12
421
240,597
1,53 8
-
1 260,47 5
~
5,365,70~
27,50
70,643
484,737
5,948~
RESERVE POS ITI ONS OF MEMBER BANKS
Eleventh Federa l Reserve District
(Average. of dally flgur ••. In thou.and. of dollars)
Item
RESERVE CITY 8ANKS
Reserve balances •••• • . •• •••• •• •• •
Required reserves ••.••• •• .•..• • ••
Excess reserves ••••.•••.•••••.•• •
Borrowings ••..••• •• •.•.• • •..•.• •
Free reserves ••• ••..••• • •.•.• • •• •
COUNTRY 8ANKS
Reserve balances •••••• •••• •• • ••••
Required reserves ••. • •• • • ••. ••• ••
Excess reserves • •• •• .•• • •• . .• • •• •
Borrowings •.•••• • •••••••• • • • •• ••
Free reserves ••••.••• • •• • ••••••• •
MEM8ER 8ANKS
Reserve balances •••••••••• . • ••••
Required reserves • •••• • • •.•• • ••••
Excess reserves ••••••••••• •. .••••
Borrowings •.••.•• • ••••••• • . •••••
Free reserves ••••••••••••••••••••
April
1959
March
1959
-=
-
April
1958
$ 550,359
547,068
3,291
20,198
- 16,907
554,321
548,479
5,842
17,165
-11,323
$553,441
545,015
8,426
1,897
6,529
457,045
412,765
44,280
1,187
43,093
455,987
409,540
46,447
3,812
42,635
439,21 4
378,957
60,257
943
59,314
1,007,404
959,833
47,571
2 1,385
26,186
1,010,308
958,019
52,289
20,977
31,312
992,65 5
923,972
68,683
2,840
65,843
---
to $47.6 million in April. Average borrowings from the
Reserve Bank rose slightly during the month. The mild
tightening of bank reserve positions in April was concentrated at reserve city banks. Country banks gained
reserves during the month and reduced their borrowings
from the Federal Reserve Bank.
CONDITION OF THE FEDERAL RESERVE BANK OF DALLAS
(In thou sand s of dollars)
=======================~~~
Ite m
May 20,
1959
~~tal gold ce rtlAcat e rese rY es •• •••.. •• • • .... $ 714,766
OShounts for me mb er banks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
12,200
U t er discounts and advances. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
884
T' S, Governm ent securities. . . . .... . ........
1,033,955
tal ea rning a ssets ..... . . . . ; • • . • . • . • • • • . .
1,047,039
F ember bank reserYe deposits..... . ••.•• . . •
954,771
adoral Reservo notes in actual circulation.....
764,468
M
April 15,
1959
May 21,
1958
$ 734,016
16,625
915
1,021,330
1,038,870
966,060
764,116
$767,533
8,000
0
937,880
945,880
968,381
710,342
Demand for major petroleum products declined seasonally during the 5 weeks ended May 15 but remained
nearly 5 percent higher than a year ago. Gasoline demand has not been up to the anticipated level this
spring, but demand for other products has at least
equaled expectations. Gasoline demand, which averaged 4,109,000 barrels per day in the 5-week period,
was only 2 percent higher than a year earlier, but demand for residual fuel oil averaged 12 percent higher.
Demand for distillate oils declined sharply in April and
May because of the termination of the heating season
but remained nearly 6 percent greater than a year
earlier. Total domestic and export demand for the four
major petroleum products averaged 7,199,000 barrels
per day in the 5 weeks ended May 15.
Crude runs to refinery stills in the United States deEarning assets of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas
rase $8.2 million during the 5 weeks ended May 20. clined contraseasonally during the first half of May to
The Bank's holdings of Government securities increased a level of 7,703,000 barrels per day, or 4 percent
$12.6 million in response to net System purchases of greater than a year ago. During the same period, DisTreasury bills, but other earning assets - discounts trict refineries, supplied by expanded crude production
and advances - declined $4.4 million. On May 20 the in the area, increased crude runs more than seasonally
Bank's holdings of Government securities were $96.1 to 2,346,000 barrels per day.
million above the amount held a year ago, and disThe nationwide decline in the output of refined prodCOunts and advances were $5.1 million higher. Federal
ucts during the first half of May resulted in a more modReserve notes in actual circulation showed little net
Change between April 15 and May 20 but, on the latter erate rise in stocks 0 ] refined products. On May 11,
total stocks of major petroleum products were still 4
date, remained almost 8 percent above the year-earlier
percent above the excessive supplies at the same time in
level.
1958. Kerosene and distillate stocks exceeded last
year's stocks by 11 percent, and gasoline stocks were up
4 percent from the high level a year ago. On the other
NEW MEMBER BANK
hand, stocks of crude oil, at 259,088,000 barrels on
The Gulf Coast National Bank of Almeda, Almeda,
May 16, were 5 percent lower than a year earlier.
Texas, a newly organized institution located in the
territory served by the Houston Branch of the Federal
Reserve Bank of );)allas, opened for business May I,
1959, as a member of the Federal Reserve System.
The new member bank has capital of $100,000, surplus of $100,000, and undivided profits of $50,000.
The officers are: W. W. McGar, President; Peter G.
Brooks, Vice President; and H. F. Walthal, Cashier.
Imports of both crude oil and refined products declined during April and early May. In the 5 weeks
ended May 15, crude oil imports of 791,000 barrels per
day were 9 percent less than during the preceding
5-week period and were 15 percent under a year earlier.
Imports of refined products in the same period decreased 48 percent to a slightly lower level than a
year ago.
Crude oil production in the United States averaged
7,184,000 barrels per day during the first half of May,
representing increases of 1 percent over the April average and 15 percent over the average during May
1958. District crude oil production, which averaged
3,230,000 barrels per day during the first part of May,
was 3 percent greater than during April and 25 percent greater than in May last year.
BUSINESS REVIEW
I
WELL COMPLETIONS
NONAGRICULTURAL EMPLOYMENT
(Number of wells)
Five Southwestern Stotes '
-
January-April
Area and type
ELEVENTH DISTRICT, TOTAL' •.•
Oil well completions .. ......
Gas well completions .... ....
TEXAS, TOTAL' •..•••..•••••.
Oil well completions . ... .. ..
Gas well completions .... ....
1
April
1959
April
1958
1959
1958
1,961
1,190
96
1,718
1,043
66
1,500
871
86
1,314
765
60
7,331
4,36 1
382
6,345
3,765
260
6,812
4,019
479
5,819
3,353
303
Includes dry hol es and serv ice we ll s.
SOURCE , The Oil and Gas Journal.
Industry nominations for June production, however,
reflect concern over mounting stocks of refined products and the belief that May production schedules were
excessive. As a result, Texas production in June will be
limited to 10 days, compared with 12 days in May.
Scheduled allowable production during June in both
New Mexico and Louisiana is virtually unchanged from
the May level.
Crude oil prices remained generally steady during
April and the first half of May, but prices of refined
products declined in some areas. Seasonal decreases
occurred in prices of kerosene, distillates, and heavy
fuel oils; but gasoline prices were unseasonably weak
during the first half of May, particularly at gulf coast
ports. Disappointing demand, high stocks, and heavy
production contributed to an unfavorable market for
gasoline.
The number of rotary rigs in operation and total well
completions have improved impressively in recent
weeks in the District and the Nation. In the 5 weeks
ended May 11, the number of rotary rigs in operation
in the United States averaged 8 percent greater than
during the previous 5 weeks and 16 percent greater
than a year earlier. The rate of drilling activity.in the
District states also has improved this spring, although
not as much as the national average. Moreover, well
completions are rising significantly. In the District in
the 5 weeks ended May 9,2,149 wells were completed,
compared with 1,862 a year ago. The year-to-year rate
of increase in District well completions nearly equaled
the national average.
Employment in the District states
continued to rise in April. The
number of nonagricultural workers reflected an approximately
normal seasonal rise of 26,300 to
total 4,262,400, which compares with 4,178,200 a
year earlier. The basic downward revision in employment estimates since the previous April high in 1957
I
Percent change
BUSINESS REVIEW
April 1959 fr~
Number oT persons
1959
Apr.
1958
4,178,200
756,500
3,421,700
254,400
293,200
0.6
.4
.7
1.0
1.4
2.0
1.7
2.1
_.7
8.4
395,400
1,014,500
183,800
492,400
788,000
-.3
.8
.9
1.4
.2
_1.1
1.6
2.8
1.8
2.9
March
1959
April
1958r
4,236,100
766,600
3,469,500
250,100
313,300
392,200
1,023,100
187,400
494,200
809,200
April
195ge
Type of em ployment
Total nonagricultural
wage and salary workers ••
Manufacturing . ..........
4,262,400
769,600
Nonmanufacturing . .....•. 3,492,800
Mining ... ..........• .
252,500
Construction • •• ...•.•••
317,800
Transportation and
public utiliti es •• . •....
390,900
Trade ••••••...•••••.• 1,030,800
Finance ••. ••••..•••••.
189,000
Service •.... ...•... ...
501,000
Government . ..........
810,800
1
Mar.
Arizona, Louisiana, New Me xico, Oklahoma, and Texas.
Estimated.
Revised .
er -
SOURCES, State empl oyment agencies.
Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.
has affected the comparability of the data, but the level
of employment in April 1959 appears to have set a neW
record for the month. Trade and services and construCtion provided the largest gains during April. Manufacturing - led by the building materials and metalworking industries - and some other groups alsO
showed increases over March.
Unemployment in Texas declined another 15,100
workers during April to reach a level of 162,000, or
4.6 percent of the labor force. These measures of un~
employment reflect improvement over the 199,400
total and 5. 6-percent rate of a year ago, but they remain
above the levels of April 1957. Claims for unemployment compensation in Texas continued downward to
total 54,194 in mid-May, compared with 61,765 in
mid-April.
Industrial production in Texas during April held at
the revised March index level of 170, which is only 3
points below the record high reached during 1957.
INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION
(Seasonally adjusted indexes, 1947·49
Area and typo of index
= 100)
February
1959
April
1958
170
208
242
192
134
170
206
242
189
136
167
198
237r
180
137
150r
190r
216r
179r
111 r
149
152
164
140
123
147
150
160
139
122
145
148
157r
139
124r
126
128
131
125
109
UNITED STATES
Total industrial production •••. , .. ,
Totol manufactures. , .. • , , •••. , .
Durabl e manufactures, .. , , ... , , .
Nondurable manufactures. , ....•.
Minerals • ... •.. , ..••• • " .... , ,
p -
r -
-
March
1959
TEXAS
Total industrial production . .. • . . ..
Total manufactures ••••• " .. " ..
Durabl e manufactures. , , , . .. , , ..
Nondurable manufactures . . , .. , , .
Minerals • • ... . .. " ... ", . .... .
-=
April
1959p
Pre liminary,
Revised .
SOURCES, Board of Govornors of the Federal Res.rve System.
Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.
----
over 85 million board feet - up 38 percent from a year
ago - and retail sales of all types of lumber showed a
year-to-year gain of 48 percent.
TEXAS INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION
INO E x
IN DEX
25 0
250
22 5
225
MANUFACTURE S ~
20 0
--I
1 5
7
200
I 75
TOT~I~
15
O~
12
,',- .... '
5~·\--_,'
"
\
" .... _......
100
.-.,"-
I 50
-f~ .. __
~--I
~
~ MINERALS
1956
SOUR CE :F.d.tO I R.It,v. BankotOal/al,
1959
I 00
Construction contract awards in the District states
during March, at $391 million, continued to maintain '
a year-t?-year growth rate of around 26.5 percent.
Awa~ds In each of the first 3 months of the year were at
the hIghest levels for these particular months since the
series began in 1956. Both residential and nonresidential construction contracts showed advances over February and a year earlier, with residential awards maintaining a record pace for the season and nonresidential
contracts somewhat below the level of March 1957.
The value of building permits issued in major District
cities during April rose to a level 17 percent higher than
a year earlier. The cumulative value of these permits
during the first 4 months of the year was 20 percent
more than in the corresponding period of 1958. Cities
showing the largest rates of increase were Wichita
Falls, Abilene, Lubbock, Dallas, Austin, and Amarillo.
Manufacturing activity continued strong during the
month, but minerals production declined. In May, a
~urnaround in crude oil output provided an expansive
lnfluence on total production. Gains in general business
The value of April nonresidential construction
activity in the District are reflected in the rising trend
awards in Texas reflected an absence of large individual
of electricity output. The level of this output in the
SOuth-central region during the first half of May was 17 contracts and was down sharply from the high March
percent higher than a year earlier, compared with year- level. Highway contracts scheduled to be let in the Dis~o-year increases of 14 percent in April and 13 percent trict states during 1959 indicate a moderate decline
from 1958, with a sharp reduction in Oklahoma offIn March.
set~ng advances in the other states. National surveys of
Texas manufacturing industries which have shown bUSIness plan~ for. new plant and equipment point to
the largest increases in activity thus far in 1959 include ~ew strength In this. type of spending, with significant
t~ose producing metals and metal products other than Increases scheduled In the commercial category and the
~Ircraft. The prospects for the aircraft industry con- petroleum and. chemical ~ndustries. The stimulating
tInue to be improved by new military contracts. Recent effects of these Increases WIll be felt mainly outside the
aWards include an $8 million contract to a Fort Worth construction industry, as an expanding share of total
plant for additional bombers and an award to a Dallas manufacturing expenditures is planned for machinery
COmpany for missiles work.
and ~odernization, rather than buildings and enlarged
capaCIty. Recently announced major building plans in
. BUilding materials production is another sector of
the District include a firm decision to build a $15 milSlgnificant strength. Output of portland cement in
lion hotel at Houston and preliminary plans and site
Texas during the first quarter of the year, at 27 percent
studies for several new chemical expansions in the gulf
above a year ago, was at a record level for the period, coast area.
and March production showed a year-to-year rise of
50 percent. Southern pine mills in the State operated at
General economic improvement in the District states
levels 10 percent above a year earlier during the first 3 has stimulated new business incorporations, which conlllonths of 1959. Total southern pine production in the tinue to run well above a year ago. New incorporations
West South Central States of Arkansas, Louisiana, Ok- in April were 139 percent higher than a year earlierlahoma, and Texas reflected somewhat greater strength, compared with a national gain of 55 percent. Total
reaching a March level of over 77 million board feet, personal income in the region recorded another seasonOr 24 percent more than in March 1958. In these same allJ.y adjusted gain in February and, at over $2.5 bilstates during March, new orders for southern pine were lion, was 6 percent above a year earlier.
BUS I NESS REVIEW
I
CONDITION STATISTICS OF ALL MEMBER BANKS
BANK DEBITS, END-OF-MONTH DEPOSITS
AND ANNUAL RATE OF TURNOVER OF DEPOSITS
El eve nth Federal Reserve District
(Dollar am oun ts in thousands)
(In millions of dollars)
D. bits to d. mand
deposit accounts l
Dema nd deposits l
Perce ntag e
change from
------
April
1959
Area
April
M ar.
1959 1958
Annual rote of turnover
April 30,
1959
April Mar. April
1959 1959 1958
ARIZONA
Tucson •••. . .....•...
$ 2 18, 279
- 6
22
$ 13 2,780
20.4
22.6
19.9
74,299
304,209
-3
-3
13
15
50,380
196,667
17.9
18.6
18.4
19.9
15.6
16.9
37,262
4
19
30,247
14.6
13.8
13.4
96,140
219,209
2 14,44 1
154,2 56
191 ,502
15,185
2,444,3 12
335,519
75 9,499
93,723
2,4 85,303
29,047
183,900
64,023
56,052
615,185
2 1,52 0
87,350
109,7 87
117,309
-2
- 1
3
-2
2
-7
-2
- 12
-3
7
9
12
2
11
3
4
0
0
4
1
17
22
22
8
9
5
13
15
12
10
11
13
30
-2
17
12
12
11
20
23
63,026
113,760
165,146
103,724
117,048
20,504
1,135,046
166,786
378,778
62,579
1,243,598
21,716
115,007
46,401
45,240
394,495
16,1 23
61,573
70,064
10 2,607
18.2
22 .9
16.1
17.8
20.0
8.9
25.8
24.2
23.8
17.8
23 .9
15.8
18.4
16.9
14.5
18.7
15.6
16.8
18.8
13.6
18.5
23 .2
16.2
17.8
19.9
9.4
26.2
26.9
24.7
16.6
21.5
14.2
17.5
15.6
14.2
18.1
15.1
17.0
18.0
13.2
16.6
19.9
16.0
15.7
19.0
8.2
25.7
22. 3
22.3
15.0
22.4
14.6
16.2
17.5
14.0
19.0
14.0
15.6
16.8
11.2
LOUISIANA
Monroe • • o • • • • • • • • • •
Sh re vepo rt ..........
Roswell •••..........
TEXAS
Ab ilene ........ .....
Ama rillo . .......... .
Austin . . ........... .
Beaumont •. . .. ......
Corpus Ch risti ..... . ..
Corsicana . .. .. ......
Dallas ..... .... .. . ..
EI Paso •.•. .. .......
Fort Worth .. .. . . ....
Galve ston ...... . ....
Houston ••.•.. ..... .
laredo ...... . . ... ..
Lubbock . .. .........
Port Arthur •. . .. .....
San Ang elo .... . . ...
San Antonio .........
Te xarkana :! ..... ....
Tyl.r ............. . .
Waco .. ..... .. ... . .
Wichita Falls . . . . ... .
13
Total-24 cities • ..• ... . $8,927,311
$4,853,295
22.1
21.6
ASSETS
VALUE OF CONSTRUCTION CONTRACTS AWARDED
M arch
Ar. a and ty pe
February
1959
1958
1,029
6,654
2,153
1,067
6,640
2,123
1,097
6,367
1,962
Total deposits ...................... .
Borrowing sc .. ~ .. .... . ....... ......... .
Oth er /iabiliti es e .............. : . . . .... .
Total capital accounts e . ' " ... . . .... . ... .
9,836
67
91
895
9,830
33
93
890
9,426
31
96
827
TOTAL LIABILITIES AND CAPITALe ..... .
10,089
10,846
10,38~
e -
Estimat ed.
GROSS DEMAND AND TIME DEPOS ITS OF MEMBER BANKS
Eleventh Federal Reserve District
millions of dollars)'
(Avorages of da i ly figures. In
=
GROSS DEMAND DEPOSITS
TIME DEPOSITS
Date
Total
Reserve
city banks
Countr y
banks
Total
city bank.
Country
bonks
$7,412
7,502
7,999
8,106
7,858
7,794
7,800
$3,623
3,677
3,931
3,952
3,808
3,827
3,797
$3,789
3,825
4,068
4,154
4,050
3,967
4,003
$1,533
1,916
2,088
2,090
2,117
2,129
2,151
$ 808
1,033
1,125
1,106
1,119
1,119
1,133
$ 725
883
963
984
99B
1,010
1,018
February . .
March .. ..
April . ....
Rese rve
M arch
1959
Demand d eposits of banks .........• . .. ..
Other d emand d eposits................ . .
Tim e deposits•• . . . ......... .. .. .... • . ..
1959, January ...
January-M arch
1959
1958
FIVE SOUTHWESTERN
STATES' . .......... $ 391,263 $ 303,642 $ 309,605 $ 994,182 $ 784,025
488,301
331,093
121, 81 7
180,395
147, 945
Resi d ential .... . ....
452,932
505,881
155,697
187,788
21 0,868
All other ...........
UNITED STATES ....... 3,339,934 2,290,504 2,721 ,22 8 7,949,605 6,721,767
2,5 67,698
1,065,523 1,070,55 6 3,627,761
Resi d ential. ...... ,. 1,540,722
1,650,672 4,321,844 4,154,069
All other ........ ... 1,799,2 12 1,224,981
BU ILDING PERMITS
============================~
VALUATION (Dolla r amounts in thousands)
-------------------------------------Percentage chang~
Arizona, lou isiana, N ew Mexico, O klahoma, and Texa s.
Tex a s .. ... .. ...........
Gulf Coasl ..... ... . ...
W est Tex a s .. .........
East Texa s (p rop.r) .. ...
Panhandle ............
Rest of State . . . . ..... .
Southeastern N ew Mexico . .
Northern louisiana •. .. ....
OUTSIDE ELEVENTH DISTRICT.
UNITED STATES ... ....... ..
Ap ri l
1959'
April
1958'
March
1959 1
1959
April
1958
3, 14 8.5
2,776.0
51 7.2
1,237.2
153.3
107.8
760.5
257.3
115.2
3,978.5
7,127.0
3,2 14.0
2,842.3
533.7
1,27 1.7
158.7
108.0
770.4
256.1
115.6
3,962.0
7,176 .0
2,636.3
2,276.9
441.8
970.3
118.3
103.5
643.0
244 .6
11 4.8
3,651.4
6,287.7
- 65.5
- 66.3
- 16.5
-34 .5
-5.4
-.2
- 9.9
1.2
-.4
16.5
-49.0
512.2
499.1
75.4
266.9
35 .0
4.3
117.5
12.7
.4
327.1
839.3
Es timat ed from Am e rica n Pe trol e um I nst itut e week ly reports.
2 Unitod States Bureau of Mines.
BUSINESS REVIEW
mOS.
1959
ARIZONA
Tucson.... ....
LOUISIANA
Chang e f ro m
ELEVENTH DISTRICT. .......
4
4 mos.
1959
882
1,951
$ 3,028 $
6,830
119
301
30
Shr eveport •...
477
1,765
2,296
9,518
14
57
6
282
378
293
462
89
2,656
673
1,201
166
1,740
286
251
1,611
227
131
1,034
1,25 3
1,279
1,448
367
9,010
2,439
3,331
454
6,264
1,2 86
731
5,832
861
579
2,209
3,277
5,065
1,804
2,463
17,547
5,741
4,753
283
19,233
5,290
749
7,013
1,427
684
9,729
13,093
19,247
5,731
7,350
65,067
21,255
16,166
1,031
72,645
19,030
2,620
22,152
5,005
4,701
-14
15
57
12
5
26
45
28
64
-9
-17
19
-9
-7
18
42
6 -34
-2
-4
44
75
4
55
23
15
36
56
- 65
-1
81
44
46
18
_ 19
46
8
1
_2
1
68
_54
21
26
122
Total-17 cities •. 11,805
39,884
$82,862
$30 1,170
4
Apri l
4 mos.
Mar.
1959
1959
1959 1958 4 mo" 1958
April
camp. with
~~~--------------------------~~~~~~~-----
(In thou sands of barrels)
March
from
April
1959
Are a
CRUDE OIL: DAILY AVERAGE PRODUCTION
Area
April 1959
NUM8ER
SOURCE , F. W. Dodge Corporation .
28
10,380
LIABILITIES AND CAPITAL
Dece mb er .
(In thousands of dollo rs )
1
10,846
3
507
241
$ 4,172
2,572
706
971
131
1,107
2
477
242
1957, Ap ril .....
1958, April .....
omoun t.d to $46,050,000 for the month of April 1959.
'SOURCES :
$ 4,553
2,603
831
955
140
999
3
506
256
4,5 93
2,665
831
953
142
954
loans and di scounts.. .................. .
United State s Government obl ig ations .....•
Oth er securities . .. . ......... .. ........ .
Rese rves with Fed eral Rese rve Bank ..•.....
Ca sh in va ult e ........................ .
Balanc es with bank s in th e Unite d States ... .
Balances with banks in foreig n countri es e ... .
Ca sh items in proc ess of collection ..•......
Oth er as se ts e ..•.......................
21.0
1 Deposits of individuals, partnerships, and corporations and of states and politica l
subd ivis ion s.
:.: Th ese fig ures include only on e bank in Tex a rkana, Texas. Total de bits for all bank s
in Texarkana, Tex a s- Ar kans as, including on e bank located in th e Eighth District,
-
April 30,
1958
March 25,
1959
TOT AL ASSETS- ... .. ..... . ....... . ..
NEW MEXICO
1
Ap ril 29,
1959
Item
TEXAS
Abilene ...... .
Amarillo ... . . .
Austin . .. . ... .
Beaumont . ... .
Corpus Christi ..
Dallas .. ..... .
EI Paso . ... . . .
Fort Worth . . . .
Galveston •. ...
Houston ..... .
Lubbock .... . .
Port Arthur ... .
Son Antonio . . .
Waco . . ..... .
Wichita Falls . .
17
---
20
@FedFRASER