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BUSINESS CONDITIONS Monthly Review of Agriculture, Industry, Trade and Finance Released for Publication in Afternoon Papers of June 2, 1943 FEDERAL RESERVE BANK OF ST. LOUIS COURTESY STATE OF TEN N ESSEE DEPARTMENT OF C O N SERV ATIO N M A N P O W E R IN THE EIGHTH DISTR ICT A STU DY , recently completed by this bank, indicates that although the m anpower situa tion in the E ighth Federal Reserve D istrict is becoming increasingly tight as a result of the heavy demands of Selective Service, agriculture, and essential war and civilian industry, the labor re serves of the district are sufficient to meet basic needs except for certain highly skilled technicians. This does not mean th at there are no areas of labor shortage w ithin the district. According to the most recent classification of the W ar M anpower Commission, Evansville, Indiana, and Pine Bluff, Arkansas, are rated as shortage areas. Louisville, Kentucky, and Texarkana, A rkansas-Texas, are ex pected to face labor shortages in the near future. St. Louis, Missouri, and Aberdeen, Mississippi, are rated as being regions of potential labor shortage after six months. In addition to these areas there are several smaller centers of w ar activity, such as Grenada and Greenwood, M ississippi; D yersburg, Tennessee; and Camp Campbell, Kentucky-Tennessee, where shortages of particular types of workers are in evidence or in prospect. By and large, however, the district has sufficient manpower reserves. In most of the areas mentioned above the necessary manpower to meet demands is at hand locally if it can be drawn into the labor market. It should not be inferred, however, that the solution to the district’s m anpower problem is simple. As is true for the nation as a whole the district’s need for men and women on the farms and in the factories is great and pressing. It m ust be emphasized that most of the available reserve is still only potential and vigorous and determined effort is necessary to shift these people into the labor m arket. In April, 1940, according to the Census, the total civil population of the Eighth Federal Reserve Dis trict was 10,176,000 persons, of whom 7,612,000 were over fourteen years of age. Of these, slightly over 3,800,000 were considered in the labor force. Total employment was 3,258,000 w ith non-agricultural employment of 2,031,000 and agricultural employ ment of 1,227,000. There were 557,000 unemployed. After allowance for the num ber of persons physi cally or m entally unable to work and those unable to work because of the necessity of caring for minor children, there were probably some 1,400,000 poten tial workers who were not in the labor m arket. Between April, 1940, and December, 1942, the total population in the Eighth D istrict normally would have increased by some 300,000 persons. As a result of w ithdraw als for the arm ed services, how Page 2 ever, it is estim ated th at the civil population on the latter date had declined to approxim ately 9,930,000 persons with less than 3,800,000 in the labor force. Since virtually all w ithdraw als were men between 18 and 38 who normally would be in the labor m ar ket, the composition of the labor force in the district changed considerably. The num ber of women in the labor force increased by more than 200,000 while the num ber of men fell by some 300,000. Total em ployment was up more than 400,000 as compared w ith April, 1940, despite the fact that agricultural employment was seasonally at a low ebb. The gain in non-agricultural employment was 600,000 per sons. Unem ploym ent declined to less than 100,000. Since m any of the potential workers in the district had been attracted into the labor m arket, the poten tial labor reserve by December, 1942, was reduced to about 1,100,000. Prospects of m eeting district demand for m an power in 1943 appear relatively satisfactory. In the first place it seems unlikely that total non-agricul tural employment in the Eighth D istrict will in crease appreciably beyond the level of December, 1942, when it was about 2,600,000 persons. U n doubtedly there will be changes in composition of such employment as workers continue to shift from non-essential or less essential lines of activity to more essential industry. For example, employment at m ajor war plants located in the E ighth Federal D istrict is expected to increase by 66,000 by the close of 1943. Presum ably many smaller war plants and a num ber of essential civilian industries will also increase their employment during the same period. However, declines in employment levels at non-essential plants, plus shifts from declining con struction and distribution activities, should offset alm ost completely the anticipated increase in the war and essential civilian industries. •Secondly, the outlook for agricultural labor has improved. There had been considerable concern over shortages of agricultural labor in the nation and for a tim e there seemed to be a probability that this district'w ould face a shortage. However, except for a few scattered sections, there now seems to be a sufficient supply of agricultural labor available at seasonal peaks to harvest m ajor district crops, despite the decline in efficiency of the district’s agricultural labor force resulting from m any of the more experienced farm ers taking jobs in w ar plants and m any of the younger and stronger farm workers going into the armed forces. T o meet the requirem ents for agricultural labor, it appears necessary to have about as many farm family w orkers in the district as has been normal in the past. This condition should be fulfilled as far as num bers are concerned but there will be con siderably more women and children working on farms than in previous years. These family workers will be supplem ented by a land arm y raised from im ported farm workers, m igratory harvest crews and women and school children from nearby towns and cities. A lready plans are under way in certain sections of the district to mobilize a considerable force of harvest workers from among the school children of the area. At this time, such harvest workers are already in the berry and truck crop fields of the district. Finally, w ith the exception of Evansville and pos sibly Louisville, there would seem to be no need for any appreciable in-m igration of workers to meet the labor demand in the industrial areas of the dis trict. By m arshalling the labor reserves available locally, the other district cities should obtain suffi cient w orkers for war and essential civilian industry. As m entioned previously, some relatively small m ovement of highly skilled workers may be neces sary in order to fill the demand for a particular technical skill in certain cities. In general, how ever, thorough in-plant training, up-grading, job diversification, adoption of less rigid hiring speci fications particularly in regard to race and sex, and, above all, a more intensive effort to attract the potential labor supply into the labor m arket should result in m eeting essential needs. The most satis factory way to mobilize such latent reserves is through voluntary action on their part resulting from appeals to patriotism , fairly high wage scales, and reasonably pleasant w orking conditions. In view of the trem endous adm inistrative problems involved, it is to the interest of all parties concerned that methods requiring compulsion be avoided as long as possible. G E N E R A L IN D U S T R IA L SIT U A T IO N by 50 per cent more than in the first quarter. In the E ighth D istrict industrial production in April continued at the high levels of recent m onths. Although production of steel was down slightly due to the necessity of repairing overworked furnaces, most other production series kept by this bank reg istered increases over March. Every whiskey dis tillery in K entucky was in operation producing* in dustrial alcohol. M unitions output in the district was up appreciably with employment at m ajor war plants increasing approxim ately 1.2 per cent. Con sum ption of industrial electric power was 4 per cent below M arch which was a longer work m onth but exceeded consumption in April, 1942 by 31 per cent. O utput of coal at E ighth D istrict mines was some w hat lower than in M arch but was up 10 per cent as compared with last April. D istrict lumber output continued slightly under that of a year ago but is slowly rising in volume. Labor shortage is given as the principal retarding factor. Prim ary distribution in the district was m ain tained in heavy volume during April. Carloadings of all railroads operating in the Eighth D istrict were up slightly in the four-week period ending April 24 as compared w ith the previous four weeks, but were 2 per cent below those of the comparable weeks last year. As m entioned in this bulletin pre viously, carloading figures are not a true reflection of freight m ovement now since cars are loaded much more heavily and move over longer distances than was the case in the past. Load interchanges at St. Louis in April were 2 per cent greater than in M arch and were 6 per cent above a year earlier. For some m onths industrial production in the U nited States has been at such a high level that further gains have been thought difficult, if not well-nigh impossible, to attain, yet output of United States industry continues to grow in volume month after month. In April the Federal Reserve season ally adjusted index of industrial production rose to another new peak, standing at 203 per cent of the 1935-1939 average. The gain in the past month was one point and the index in April was 36 points above its level in November, 1941, the month before Pearl Harbor. O utput of durable goods, which serves as a rough indicator of war production, rose 2 points in the month and was 81 points above the pre-war level. O utput of non-durables continued to hold at about the level reached last fall. T reasury expenditures for war in April broke all previous records, totaling alm ost $7.2 billion. The daily rate of expenditures was $279 million and ex ceeded the previous high registered in March by $16 million per day. On the basis of latest T reasury reports, expenditures for war in May will decline from April outlays. The W ar Production Board in March reported th at its index of m unitions output stood at 530 (November, 1941 = 100). Despite the extremely high level of m unitions production in the first quarter of 1943, only 18 per cent of the year’s scheduled output was forthcom ing in that period. To meet the requirem ents for 1943, W. P. B. re ported that it will be necessary to expand war pro duction in each of the last three quarters of the year Page 3 A t Louisville, interchanges exceeded the previous month by 2 per cent but were 6 per cent less than a year earlier. Construction activity in the Eighth D istrict, as measured by dollar volume of awards, during the first four m onths of 1943 was 10 per cent below the corresponding period of 1942 due to tapering off of the program of m ilitary cantonm ent and industrial facility building. Greater impetus to the downward movement of construction from 1942 levels came May 12 when W . P. B. ordered a halt to virtually all war plant construction which cannot be completed by October 1. C ontrary to national experience, dollar volume of construction contract awards in this district in April was unchanged from April, 1942 and was up 84 per cent from the low level of March. Dollar volume of building perm its granted in the m ajor E ighth D istrict cities in April was down 27 per cent from March and 39 per cent from a year ago. M A N U FA C T U R IN G Iron and Steel — Steel ingot production in the Eighth D istrict, which had been m aintained for seven consecutive weeks at 101.2 per cent of rated capacity, declined due to necessary furnace repairs during the first half of May to 94.5 per cent, the low point for the year. The drop was tem porary, however, and a higher rate of operations should be resumed shortly. The scrap situation in St. Louis improved dur ing the last half of April and by mid-M ay was m oderately easier. M ost m elters m aintained current operations w ithout draw ing on reserves and several were able to add to already comfortable inventories. The quality of scrap improved as a larger propor tion was received from railroads, industrial plants, and agricultural sources. Despite the recent in crease in hourly wages, yard labor continued scarce, resulting in some delay in scrap preparation. Shoes— Production of shoes in the E ighth Dis trict during 1943 is expected to be substantially less than in 1942. M arch output of 7,158,369 pairs in the district represented a gain of 3 per cent over February although it was 9 per cent below a year earlier. The seasonally adjusted index of shoe pro duction in the E ighth D istrict in March was 132.6 per cent of the 1924-1926 average as compared with 130.5 per cent a m onth earlier and 146.0 in March, 1942. Whiskey—For the second consecutive tim e all 60 Kentucky distilleries were in operation on April 30, producing alcohol for w ar purposes. A year ago 56 distilleries were in production. Rum ors th at a limited am ount of whiskey production will be per Page 4 m itted in the near future are discounted by trade sources which point out that corn m arketings re main low despite upward revision in ceiling prices and that alcohol production has not yet built up a sufficient backlog to supply anticipated war demand. Continued heavy w ithdraw als of whiskey have reduced the balance in U nited States warehouses to 453 million gallons, the sm allest am ount since De cember, 1937. The strong demand for whiskey for consumption is forcing distilleries and distributors to ration their product in order to m aintain adver tised brands on the market. R E T A IL A N D W H O L E S A L E T R A D E Strongly influenced by expanded consumer pur chasing power, higher priced lines of merchandise, and the late E aster shopping period, dollar volume of departm ent store sales in the Eighth D istrict in April advanced 9 per cent over M arch levels and was 15 per cent greater than in April, 1942. In sharp contrast to recent m onths, the increase in sales from March to April was fairly uniform in district cities except for St. Louis and Little Rock. As measured against a year ago, departm ent store sales continued to show above average increases in Evans ville, Little Rock, and Memphis. Consumer buying interest continues most pro nounced in such lines as wom en’s clothing and piece goods, while purchases of house furnishings are considerably below a year earlier. Sales at retail furniture stores in the Eighth D istrict registered an increase of 14 per cent from March to April but were 3 per cent below April, 1942. The drop from a year ago in furniture sales at both departm ent and furniture stores is attributable largely to the in ability of stores to obtain merchandise. Stocks at retail prices at departm ent stores in April were 2 per cent under March and 28 per cent under a year ago. Furniture store stocks declined 4 per cent and 10 per cent, respectively in the month and the year. Sales of all wholesalers and jobbers whose statis tics are available to this bank, showed a decline from March to April of 4 per cent and were 6 per cent below April, 1942. W holesalers’ stocks dropped 2 per cent in the m onth and were 33 per cent u n d er’the level of a year earlier. A G R IC U L TU R E General Conditions—Throughout the Eighth Dis trict abnorm ally lowr tem peratures and dry weather in April delayed land preparation and retarded the progress of early crops. Late frost and severe freezes in many sections of the district caused dam age to fruits, especially peaches and straw berries, and to some truck crops. In early May very heavy rains fell throughout the area and further delayed planting bf spring crops. By m id-month serious flood conditions were reported throughout this sec tion. In Arkansas the swollen Arkansas and W hite Rivers inundated thousands of acres of farm lands in the w orst floods in a century. The flooding Mis souri, M ississippi, Ohio and W abash Rivers were reported to have covered two million acres in Mis souri, Illinois and Indiana. Great crop damage is reported but stock loss has not been extensive due to movement to higher territory. A t this w riting prospects of w ater damage had increased but it was impossible to ascertain the full extent of the losses which undoubtedly are heavy. Certainly consider able replowing and replanting will be necessary in all lowland areas. Cash farm income for Eighth D istrict states in March totaled $245 million or 35 per cent over a year ago, prim arily reflecting higher prices. The mid-April level of farm prices in the U nited States was at 185 per cent of the 1909-1914 average, the highest point in tw enty-three years, increasing 2 per cent over the previous m onth and 23 per cent over April 15, 1942. Price increases in Eighth Dis trict states were not greatly at variance with na tional experience. Cotton— Cotton acreage allotm ents this year in the U nited States were fixed originally at 22.5 million acres with an additional 10 per cent allowed later to offset prospective decreases from last year’s heavy yields. A lthough no official Government esti mates of 1943 cotton acreage are yet available, cer tain private estim ates have been made. The New York Journal of Commerce reported that on May 12, indicated plantings of cotton in the U nited States were 22,903,000 acres, or 407,000 acres less than officially estim ated in cultivation on July 1, 1942. The May 12 estim ate was 267,000 acres less than was reported on April 7. In the four im portant Eighth D istrict cotton states, farm ers’ intentions on May 12 were to plant almost the same acreage as wras in cultivation last July 1. At the beginning of May reports from Arkansas indicated that cotton planting was virtually com plete on all prospective acreage except where cover crops were not yet ready to be plowed under. U n doubtedly much replanting will be necessary in A r kansas as considerable cotton land was flooded by mid-May. Mississippi planting was well under way by May 1, but in Tennessee was behind schedule. Cotton prices during the past month moved w ith in a narrow range reflecting to some extent the joint announcem ent of April 24 by the W ar Food Ad m inistration and the Office of Price A dm inistration that Commodity Credit Corporation cotton would be offered for sale to stabilize cotton prices. On the Memphis spot m arket, prices of m iddling 15/16 cotton declined during the m onth ending May 15 from a high of 21.05c per pound to a low of 20.55c per pound on the closing date. Trading was light during the last half of April but improved m oder ately during the first two weeks of May. Demand centered chiefly around grades of strict low m id dling and higher, in staple lengths of 15/16 and 1-3/32. Livestock—Receipts of livestock during April at National Stock Yards were 4 per cent less than in March and 5 per cent below the corresponding m onth last year. April shipm ents of livestock to feeder lots and to other m arkets were 11 per cent lower than the previous m onth but were 87 per cent above a year ago. Inspected slaughter in the St. Louis area during April was 2 per cent above March, but was 20 per cent below April, 1942. Declines of from 2 to 5 per cent in num ber of cattle on feed on April 1 were reported in Eighth D istrict corn-belt states. H azards of cattle feeding increased as a result of the narrow ing spread be tween prices of feeder and fat cattle, price ceilings, and the difficulty in securing adequate supplies of high protein feeds. The shortages of all types of livestock feed, including concentrates, was moder ately eased at mid-May by availability of green feeds and pastures. The recent advance in corn price ceilings resulted in a rise in corn prices, but failed to increase offerings appreciably. Demand for ground feed w heat exceeds available supply in some localities, as it is being used in ever increasing quantities due to shortage of available corn. In creased demand for oats and grain sorghum s has advanced prices of these feed grains to levels un reached in recent years. Tobacco—W et w eather during April in the bur ley district had an adverse effect on young plants. Development of beds and preparation of fields for planting are about two weeks later than usual. The very wet w eather of early May further retarded pre paration of the soil for the new crop. It is anti cipated, however, that with favorable conditions ample time still rem ains for preparation and plant ing of all authorized acreage. Insect damage to young plants is reported, but it is the general opin ion that there will be a sufficient quantity of plants available. In the Green River and Stem m ing D istrict, plant growth and preparation of the ground are also ap proxim ately two weeks behind schedule. Reports indicate an abundance of plants which should be Page 5 ready for setting by the time the fields are prepared and indications are that full acreage allotments will be planted. Dark-fired tobacco districts have ex perienced the same unfavorable weather and at the beginning of May the preparation for planting the new crop was about 10 days later than usual. B A N K IN G A N D FIN A N C E Bank investm ent accounts rose substantially be tween April 14 and May 12, reflecting purchases of securities offered in the Second W ar Loan Drive. At reporting member banks in this district, holdings of certificates rose $44 million, while holdings of Government bonds increased $36 million in the fourweek period. Total holdings of Government secur ities at these banks on May 12 amounted to about $1,100 million which was more than double the am ount of a year ago. Loan volume at the report ing banks registered little change over the period. Security loans increased by only $1 million, evi dencing little borrow ing to purchase the Treasury issues of April. The T reasury announced that total sales of secur ities in the Second W ar Loan Drive aggregated $18,533 million, of which $12,550 million went to non-bank sources, $5,048 million to banks, and $935 million to dealers, brokers, and U. S. Government tru st and investm ent accounts. Sales to banks were limited to the am ount allotted and bank offerings were heavily over-subscribed. The m ajor emphasis in the campaign was on sales to non-bank investors whose total subscriptions am ounted to over $12.5 billion, or 157 per cent of the $8 billion original goal. The following table shows quotas and sales to non-bank investors for various regions within the Eighth District. Non-Bank Sales — Eighth Federal Reserve District By Major R egions— Second War Loan Drive ( I n M illions of D ollars) Sales P e r C ent of Q uota A rkansas................................. $ 20.2 Illinois..................................... 25.5 14.2 Indiana... ................................ K entucky................... ,............ 44.2 M ississippi....... ..................... 7.7 23.1 Tennessee... ........................... Missouri (o u tstate )... ........... 21.6 M etropolitan St. Louis....... 93.5 $ 37.1 58.3 20.5 62.2 13.4 34.3 30.7 169.9 184% 229 144 141 173 149 142 182 Totals*... ............... ....... . $250.0 $426.4 171% Q uota *These totals do not fully agree with those announced by the Treasury Department on May 10, 1943, largely because tabula tion of all sales made during the drive, and allocations between Federal Reserve Districts, had not been completed by that date. Since the last issue of this review the Mutual T ru st and Deposit Company, New Albany, Ind., has become a member of the Federal Reserve System. Page 6 C ASH FA R M IN C O M E M arch Cumulative for 3 months 1943 1943 1942 194$ 1941 $14,312 $11,494 $ 52,239 $ 38,667 $ 22,219 91,125 69,101 253,711 201,933 126,617 In d ia n a ......... . . 51,320 37,440 136,373 68,088 104,771 11,759 100,230 63,515 46,247 15,890, M ississippi . . . 12,048 7,765 40,409 29,595 18,527 M issouri . . . . . 41,818 125,775 60,157 31,620 94,597 T ennessee. . 18,232 12,664 65,313 48,473 32,627 T otals. . . . 244,745 181,843 374,482 774,050 581,551 ( I n th ousands of dollars) R E C E IP T S A N D S H IP M E N T S A T N A T IO N A L ST O C K Y A R D S R eceipts Shipm ents A pr., M ar., A pr., M ar., A pr., A pr., 1943 1943 1942 1943 1943 1942 C attle and C alves. 91,353 97,112 97,695 49,471 51,057 31,272 H ogs . .259,002 257,111 264,125 89,850, 103,707 42,921 H orses and M ules 3,680 4,599 1,807 3,677 4,534 1,791 . 29,091 40,327 38,600 3,573 5,722 2,453 T otals, ..................... ,383,126 399,149 402,227 146,571 165,020 78,437 W H O L E S A L E P R IC E S IN T H E U N IT E D ST A T E S B ureau of L a b o r A pr., M ar., A pr., S tatistics A p r.,’43 comp, w ith (1 926= 100) 1943 1943 1942 A p r.,’42 M a r.,’43 A ll C om m odities, 103.7 F arm P ro d u cts . 123.9 F oods ........... 108.4 O t h e r .............. . 96.6 B ureau of L abor S tatistics (1935-39= 100) 103.4 122.8 107.4 96.5 M ar. 15, 1943 + + + + CO ST O F L IV I N G Feb. 15, Sept. 15, 1943* 1939 U n ited S tates . . . . 122.8 St. L ouis . . 121.8 M em phis 125.6 ^Revised. **N ot available. B ureau of L ab o r S tatistics (1935-39= 100) U. S. (51 c itie s ) .. St. L o u is ........... L ittle Rock. . . L o u isv ille ......... M em p h is........... 98.7 104.5 98.7 95.6 M ar. 16, 1943 . 137.4 , 138.9 . 137.4 132.6 144.8 121.0 119.9 ** + 5.1% + 18.6 + 9.8 + 1.0 M ar. 15,’43 comp, w ith Feb. 15,’43 Sept. 15,’39 100.6 100.4 100.4 + + CO ST O F F O O D Feb. 16, M ar. 17, 1943 1942 133.6 118.6 134.4 122.9 131.5 120.1 129.0 119.3 129.6 117.8 0.3% 0.9 0.9 0.1 1.5% 1.6 + 22.1% + 21.3 + 25.1 M ar. 16/431comp, with F eb. 16,’43 M ar. 17,’42 + 15.9% + 2.8% + 3.3 + 13.0 -f- 4.5 + 14.4 + 2.8 + 11.1 + 11.7 + 22.9 IN D E X E S O F E M P L O Y M E N T IN M A N U F A C T U R IN G IN D U S T R IE S B Y M E T R O P O L IT A N A R E A S B u re au of L a b o r S tatistics M ar., F eb., M ar., M ar.,’43 comp, w ith (1937=10,0) 1943 1943 1942 F e b .,’43 M a r.,’42 E vansville . . . L o u isv ille .................. M e m p h is .................. St. L o u i s .................. (C ost in thousands) E vansville. . . L ittle R o c k . . . L ouisville . . . . M em p h is......... St. L o u i s . . . . A pril T o ta ls . . M arch “ *Conversions. 238.2 126.4 151.1 147.9 227.8 122.6 149.9 147.2 82.0 103.1 110.8 126.6 + 4.6% — 190.5% + 3.1 22.6 + 0.8 36.4 + 0.5 16.8 B U I L D I N G P E R M IT S New C onstruction R epairs, etc. N um ber Cost N um ber Cost 1943 1942 1942 1943 1943 1942 1943 1942 8* 18 164 159 83 432 278 54 59 212 92 224 641 711 $ 32* $ 289 2 101 422 423 377 65 160 640 993 1,518 559 4,723 136 $ 39 130 17 61 12 318 84 194 62 848 214 676 1,100 100 121 24 241 146 632 615 $ 40 33 68 174 143 458 736 V A L U E C O N S T R U C T IO N C O N T R A C T S L E T ( I n th ousands A p ril,’43 comp, w ith of dollars) A p ril,’43 M ar.,’43 A p ril,’42 M ar.,’43 A p ril,’42 T o ta l 8th D ist. $ 39,734 $21,60,4* $ 39,681 S o u rc e : F . W . D odge C orporation. *R evised. (K .W .H . in tho u s.) + 84% -0- C O N S U M P T IO N O F E L E C T R IC IT Y No. of A pr., M ar., A pr., A pril, 1943 C ustom - 1943 1943 1942 com pared w ith ers* K .W .H . K .W .H . K .W .H . M ar., 1943 A pr., 1942 E vansville . . . . 40 9,626 9,734 L ittle Rock . . . 35 2,119 2,518 , 82 15,678 15,394 , , 31 5,834 6,200 P ine Bluff . . . . 20 7,110 5,944 . . . 134 86,989 92,676 127,356 132,466 T o t a l s ........... 342 *— Selected in d u strial custom ers. 3,855 2,424 14,671 4,870, 776 70,259 96,855 — 1% — 16 + 2 — 6 + 20 — 6 — 4 + 150% — 13 + 7 + 20 +816 + 24 + 31 L O A D S IN T E R C H A N G E D F O R 25 R A IL R O A D S A T ST. L O U IS F ir s t nine days A p r.,’43 M ar.,’43 A p r.,’42 M ay ,’43 M ay,’42 4 m os.,’43 4 m os.,’42 145,251 143,0.22' 137,038 ' 43,785 42,898 " 563,948 ’ 501,126 S o u rce: T erm inal R ailroad A ssociation of St. Louis. RATES OF THIS BANK FOR ACCOMMODATIONS UNDER THE FEDERAL RESERVE ACT WHOLESALING L ines of Commodities Stocks N et Sales April, 1943 D ata furnished by Bureau of Census, compared with U . S. Dept, o f Commerce. M ar./43 Apr. , 42 A utom otive Supplies..................... . B oots and S h oes........................... . D rugs and Chem icals................... . , Dry G o o d s......... ............................. Electrical Supplies......................... . F u rn itu re........................................... . G roceries........................................... . H ardw are........................................... • Plum bing S u p p lie s ....................... . Tobacco and its P rodu cts......... . M iscellaneous......... *.......................... . T otal all lin es* ................................ , * Includes certain lines not listed above. + — + + — — + — — + + — + 8% — 13 — 4 — 7 + 9 — 19 — 11 + 5 — 24 — 6 + ’ 8 — 4 DEPARTMENT STORES 4 m o s/4 3 to same period *42 24% 28 14 19 29 43 9 26 22 12 5 6 ....% — 28 — 70 — 65 — 19 — 30 — 24 — 33 Stocks on Hand Stock Turnover Apr. 3 0 /4 3 comp, w ith Apr. 3 0 /4 2 Jan. 1, to April. 30, 1943 1942 N et Sales April, 1943 compared with Mar. ,’43 A pril,’42 April 30, 1943 comp, with April 30* 1942 1.13 1.40 + 35% Ft. Sm ith, A rk .. . + 12% 4-36% 1.56 —42 1.13 - 0 L ittle Rock, Ark. + 7 +31 --1 0 +21 Quincy, 111............ + 2 0 --4 8 +48 Evansville, I n d .. . + 15 — 33 1.83 1.29 --1 5 Louisville, K y .. . . + 15 + 17 — 33 1.43 1.22 -- 3 St. Louis, M o .. . . + 4 + 3 — 32 1.33 .86 +20 +25 Springfield, M o .. . + 18 — 20 1.57 1.02 +29 +40 Memphis, T en n .. . + 13 — 3 1.55 1.12 21 *A11 other c itie s. . + 9 t 12 — 28 1:52 1.19 8th F. R. D istrit. + 9 + 15 +13 *E1 Dorado, Fayetteville, Pine Bluff, A rk; Alton, E ast St. Louis, Harrisburg, M t. Vernon, 111.; Vincennes, I n d .; Danville,* Hopkinsville, Mayfield, Paducah, K y .; Chillicothe, M o .; Jackson, Tenn. Trading days: April, 1943— 26; March, 1943— 27; April, 1942— 26. Outstanding orders of reporting stores at the end of April, 1943, were 58 per cent greater than on the corresponding date a year ago. Percentage of accounts and notes receivable outstanding April 1, 1943, collected during April, by cities : + Instalm ent E xcl. Instal. Accounts Accounts Instalm ent E xcl. Instal. A ccounts Accounts Fort S m ith ............c, L ittle Rock . . 21 L o u is v ille .... 37 M emphis . . . . 42 63% 59 64 60 74% 61 68 St. Louis . . . . 37% Other cities . . 28 8th F . R. D ist. 34 INDEXES OF DEPARTMENT STORE SALES AND STOCKS 8th Federal Reserve District (1923-1925 average = 100) April, 1943 March, Feb., 1943 1943 136 Sales (daily average), Sale9 (daily average), Seasonally a d ju ste d ... 129 92 ' Stocks, U nadjusted. . . 90 Stocks, Seasonally adj SS N et Sales April, 1943 4 m o s/4 3 compared with to same M ar./43 A p ril/4 2 period *42 124 138 94 92 April, 1942 143 166 91 96 120 120 125 90 Stocks on Hand Stock Turnover Apr. 3 0 /4 3 comp, w ith Apr. 30/4 2 Jan. 1, to April. 30, 1943 1942 -0.-% — 9% 1.09 1.13 M en’s Furnishings + 2 8 % + 3 4 % B oots and S h o es. . + 2 2 — 5 + 4 — 25 3.03 2.42 Percentage of accounts and notes receivable outstanding April 1, 1943, collected during A p ril: M en’s F urnishings....................... 63 % B oots and S h o es.............................. 54% CHANGES IN PRINCIPAL ASSETS AND LIABILITIES FEDERAL RESERVE BANK OF ST. LOUIS (I n thousands of dollars) Change from April 14, M ay 13, 1943 1942 May 12, 1943 20 t + 27,724 27,737 — 8 + 50 + 293,851 . 616,333 . 480,027 . 557,058 + 33,787 17,194 8,724 — 27,207 + 69,530 + 208,833 Industrial commitments under Sec. 11,864 3 b .. + 81 Industrial advances under Sec. 13b. 4 ......... 50, O ther advances and rediscounts. . . . . 411,451 U . S. securities......................................... T otal earning a ssets........................................ 411,501 '7 + 293,893 — 331 FEDERAL RESERVE OPERATIONS DURING APRIL, 1943 (In cl. L ouisville, M emphis, L ittle Rock branches) Am ounts Pieces Checks (cash item s) handled................................ 6,,410,105 $2,396,797,633 Collections (non-cash item s) handled................ 43,182,621 107,317 Transfers of fu nds....................................................... 556,729,475 5,003 Currency received and counted.............................. 12, 729,892 57,359,534 Coin received and counted....................................... 14s,655,554 1,255,441 R ediscounts, advances and c o m m itm en ts......... 100,000 1 N ew issues, redemptions, and exchanges of securities as fiscal agent of U . S. Govt., etc. 868,978 477,564,977 Coupons clipped from securities in cu sto d y __ 12,760 Advances to member banks, secured by direct obliga tions of the United States or by such Government guaranteed obligations as are eligible for collateral, which have one year or less to run to call date or to maturity if no call date, under paragraphs 8 and 13 of section 13....................................................................... % per annum Advances to member banks, secured by direct obliga tions of the United States or by such Government guaranteed obligations as are eligible for collateral, which have more than one year to run to call date or to maturity if no call date, under paragraphs 8 ) per annum and 13 of section 13.......................................................... . . . 1 Advances to nonmember banks, secured by direct ob ligations of the United States, under paragraph 13 >per annum of section 13......................................•...................................... 1 Rediscounts and other advances to member banks un i per annum der sections 13 and 13a........................................................ 1 Advances to member banks under section 1 0 (b )...............\ x / t% per annum Advances to individuals, partnerships, and corporations other than banks, secured by direct obligations of ) per annum the United States, under paragraph 13 of section 13. . . 2 Industrial advances to member banks, nonmember banks, and other financing institutions under sec f 1 % to tion 13b: (a) On portion for which such institution is obligated 11V* % per annum (b) On remaining portion— No charge to financ ing institution. Federal Reserve Bank will retain interest collected from borrower. Advances to established industrial or commercial < 2 /12 % to businesses under section 13b............................................I 5 % per annum Commitments to established industrial or commercial businesses under section 13b................................................10% to 25% of * the loan rate charged borrower with a minimum rate of /x2 % per annum. Commitments to member banks, nonmember banks, and other financing institutions, under section 13b...............10% to 25% of the loan rate charged borrower with minimum rate of Y\ % per annum provided: that no commitment will be given on loan on which bor rower is charged over 5% per annum. PRINCIPAL RESOURCE AND LIABILITY ITEMS OF REPORTING MEMBER BANKS Change from May 12 April 14, May 13, (In thousands of dollars) 1943 1943 1942 Total loans and investments..................... $1,442,523 + 90,098 + 448,635 Commercial, industrial, agricultural loans 202,850 — 1,345 — 56,278 Open market paper...................................... 6,310, — 1,483 — 16,491 Loans to brokers and dealers in securities 4,415 + 565 + 583 Other loans to purchase and carry securities 9,340 + 786 505 — Real estate loans.......................................... 65,995 — 98 + 6,658 Loans to banks............................................ 330 — 955 + 83 60,017 + Other loans___ ! ........................................... 1,647 — 14,033 Total lo a n s................................................ 349,257 — 1,164 — 80,265 Treasury bills................................................ 169,683 + 19,124 + 97,10.6 Certificates of indebtedness....................... 220,387 + 44,358 + 206,871 Treasury notes.............................................. 109,881 — 2,818 + 67,826 U . S. bonds.................................................. 436,901 + 35,988 + 170,605 Obligations guaranteed by U . S. Govt.. 35,377 — 6,757 — 19,798 121,037 + Other securities............................................ 1,367 + 6,290 Total investments...................................... 1,093,266 - - 91,262 + 528,900 Balances with domestic banks................. 128,751 513 — 58,233 Demand deposits— adjusted*................... 824,959 --731,321 + 1 6 2 ,5 6 0 Time deposits................................................ 198,803 - - 1,933 + 14,956 U . S. Government deposits....................... 220,803 --174,603 200,111 Interbank dep osits...................................... 515,753 — 39,757 + 11,960 *Other than interbank and Government deposits, less cash items on hand or in process of collection. Above figures are for 24 member banks in St. Louis, Louisville, Mem phis, Little Rock and Evansville. Their resources comprise approximately 75% of the resources of all member banks in this district. + DEBITS TO INDIVIDUAL ACCOUNTS (In thousands of dollars) Apr., 1943 Mar., 1943 :.$ 12,386 $ 12,069 Fort Sm ith,......... 21,757 21,264 H e le n a ,................ 2,691 2,826 L ittle R o c k ,___ 78,458 68,917 Pine B lu f f ,......... 16,578 17,895 Texarkana, Ark.-Tex. 19,235 19,039 E .S t.L .-N at.S .Y .,Ill. 75,994 77,374 Q u in c y ,................ “ 15,146 14,288 . 84,437 82,931 L o u isv ille ,........... K y. . 330,488 301,614 O w en sb oro,......... “ 10,056 8,979 G reenville,.........Miss. 8,511 9,354 St. L o u is,........... Mo. 1,040,413 941,836 S e d a lia ,.............. “ 3,909 3,674 Springfield,___ “ 26,960 25,152 M em phis,......... Tenn. 248,161 258,354 .1,995,180 1,865,566 A lton ,...................... 111. 12,463 13,016 P ad u cah ,................K y. 8,487 7,954 Cape Girardeau,. . Mo. 5,022 4,863 H a n n ib a l,.............. “ 4,771 4,257 Jefferson City, . . . “ 24,469 17,754 J a c k so n ,..............Tenn. 8,820 8,149 Apr., 1942 $ 7,293 18,089 1,877 62,966 17,076 26,921 66,592 11,788 41,305 224,989 7,433 5,977 805,313 3,078 21,572 201,777 1,524,046 A p r ./4 3 comp, with M ar./43 A p r./42 + + + + + + + + + + + 3% 2 5 14 7 1 2 6 2 10 12 9 10 6 7 4 7 + — 4 + 7 3 12 38 + 70% + 20 + 43 + 25 — 3 — 29 + 14 + 28 + 104 + 47 + 35 + 42 + 29 + 27 + 25 + 23 + 31 t t COMMERCIAL FAILURES IN EIGHTH F. R. DISTRICT Apr. ,*43 N u m b er .............. 8 L iabilities........... $ 56,00.0 S ou rce: D un and Bradstreet. (Completed May 26, 1943) M ar./43 11 $ 99,000 Apr. ,’42 28 $172,000 A p r./4 3 comp, w ith M ar./43 A p r./42 — 27% — 71% — 43 — 67 Page 7 INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION N A TIO N A L SUM M ARY O F CO N D ITIO NS BY BOARD OF GOVERNORS OF FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM Federal Reserve Index. for April, 1943. Monthly figures, latest shown is DEPARTMENT STORE SALES AND STOCKS Federal Reserve indexes. Monthly figures, latest sales shown are for Arril, 1943, stocks for March, 1943. COST OF LIVING Industrial activity in April and the early part of May increased some what further, and retail trade was maintained in large volume. Industrial production — The Board’s index of total industrial output rose slightly in April, reflecting further increases in activity in war indus tries, while output in most other lines showed little change. Production of armaments in the machinery and transportation equipment industries rose to new high levels. Activity at steel mills increased some what further. Lumber production showed the usual seasonal rise in April and was at a level about 10 per cent less than a year ago, when problems of maintaining an adequate labor supply in the industry began to develop. In the cement industry, where production usually advances sharply during the spring months, production has shown little change this year, reflecting chiefly the restricted volume of current construction activity. Total output of manufactured foods in April continued below the season ally adjusted peak level reached at the end of last year. Meatpacking and flour production showed decreases in April, while output of dairy products and other manufactured food products was maintained. Volume of output in chemical plants continued to gain. Production of other non-durable manu factures showed little change. There was a decline in bituminous coal production in the last week of April, following the breaking-off of negotiations for a new wage contract, but output increased in the early part of May. Production of coal in March had been at an exceptionally high level. Stocks on May 1 were considerably higher than a year ago and for bituminous coal were estimated to be equiv alent to 55 days’ supply for industrial purposes. In May the Government took over the bituminous coal mines. Value of construction contracts awarded declined in April, reflecting re ductions in contracts for Federal work, according to the F. W. Dodge Cor poration. Total residential awards in March and April were at the lowest levels for these months in a number of years. Distribution — Sales at department and variety stores increased in April, but the rise was less than usually occurs when Easter falls late in the month. Mail-order sales, principally to persons in small towns and rural areas, showed about the usual seasonal rise. Value of sales in April continued at a level substantially higher than a year ago but, with prices higher, the physical volume of goods sold was probably about the same as in the cor responding period last year. Carloadings of revenue freight were maintained in large volume in April and the first week of May. Ore shipments showed a seasonal rise beginning in the last half of April, a month later than in 1942 when the movement was unusually early. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ indexes. Last month in -each calendar quarter through September, 1940, monthly there after. Mid-month figures, latest shown are estimates by Federal Reserve for April, 1943. MEMBER BANK RESERVES BILLIONS Of DOLLARS BILLIONS OF DOLLARS TOTAL _ - f “ r "~ 1 - V \ REQUIRED RESERVES* V t" __________1 E)(CESS RESERVE!3 * | 1 Breakdown between required and excess reserves partly estimated. Wednesday figures, latest shown are for May 12, 1943. Page 8 Commodity Prices — Wholesale prices of most commodities showed little change from the middle of April to the middle of May. Retail food prices continued to advance sharply in the latter part of March and the early part of April and the indexes showed increases of 6 per cent as compared with January. Retail prices of most other items in the cost of living showed smaller increases in that period. Plans for more effective enforcement of price ceilings have been announced. Bank credit — During May, as the Treasury made disbursements out of war loan accounts, which had been built up during the recent drive, there was a growth of bank deposits subject to reserve requirements and a decrease in member bank excess reserves. Continued withdrawals of currency also reduced bank reserves. Nevertheless, the reserves of member banks were sufficient to enable them to make substantial repurchases of bills which had been sold to the Reserve Banks under option. In addition, the Federal Re serve System sold some bonds in response to a market demand. Government security holdings at reporting member banks in 101 leading cities increased by 4.3 billion dollars in the four weeks ending May 12. These increases reflected purchases of new issues during the War Loan drive, as well as substantial market purchases. In New York City, loans to brokers and dealers for purchasing or carry ing securities increased by 860 million dollars during the three weeks of the War Loan drive, and subsequently declined in the first three weeks of M ay; these changes reflected almost entirely activity in loans for purchasing or carrying Government securities, which on May 19 amounted to 580 million dollars of the total 1,020 million dollars outstanding; other loans to brokers and dealers by New York City banks rose by 90 million dollars from the end of March to May 19.
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