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Monthly Review of Agri y, Trade and Finance Released for Publication 'apers of June 2, 1944 FEDERAL RESERVE BANK OF ST. £ O U R T f?Y LOUIS O F S O IL C O N S E R V A T IO N S E R V I£ f G E N E R A L IN D U S T R IA L S I T U A T IO N U R IN G April industrial activity in the Eighth Federal Reserve District declined slightly from the March level, continuing the slow downward trend that has been evident for the past seven months. Indicative of this gradual decline, consumption of electricity by industrial users in the major cities of the district was off 7 per cent from a month earlier and was 6 per cent below the level of April, 1943. The decrease from March was due primarily to less working days in April, since average daily consumption was about the same in both months, but as compared with a year ago there was an appreciable decline in amount of electricity consumed per day. The sharpest drops occurred in St. Louis and Evansville. Louisville consumption was off slightly, while in Little R ock and Pine Bluff there was a slight increase. A ccording to the latest report of the W ar P ro duction Board, over-all munitions output for the balance of 1944 will be slightly above the rate for the first quarter of the year. The increase, however, will result primarily from rising output of munitions lines which are not produced in very great volume in this district. Present national schedules call for substantial expansion of production of aircraft, larg est type trucks, airborne electronic equipment, naval combat vessels, landing craft, and heavy artillery. Most ground army items, destroyer escorts, Liberty ships, and radios are scheduled for decreased out put. Since war production in this district is con centrated largely in ammunition and explosives, which are declining programs, output of war goods in the area probably will contract slow ly for the balance of the year. Aircraft production in this dis trict is not scheduled for the large increases char acteristic of the industry as a whole, because em phasis in the aircraft program is on heavy bombers which are not produced in this area. Landing craft and electronic equipment output in the Eighth Dis trict is not substantial in relation to national totals. As a result of the gradually declining level in in dustrial activity in the district, the manpower situa tion ha,s eased considerably in the past half year. According to the most recent W ar M anpower Com mission classification, there were no current labor D shortage areas in the Eighth District and only twro regions were rated as Group II (possible shortage wTithin six months). In May, 1944, the labor surplus areas contained almost two-thirds of the population of all major labor markets in the district in contrast to only 24 per cent so classified in October, 1943, and 34 per cent in May, 1943. The W ar Production Board has specified that most production contracts for durable consumers goods will be placed in labor surplus areas, or in regions where a surplus is expected to exist even after six months expansion. This district is, there fore, in a particularly favorable position to receive contracts for such civilian output as is permitted. Some contracts have been placed in the region al ready, but so far, release of materials has been small. More materials may be released in the near future, particularly to smaller manufacturers. If the Euro pean war should end this fall, a sizable quantity of materials might be allowed to flow into production of durable civilian 'goods. R EVISION OF D E PA R TM E N T STORE SALES IN D E X W ith this issue, the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis begins publication of a revised index of department store sales. The new in dex uses the period 1935-39 as a base, and is much more representative of the trend of de partment store trade in the district than was the older one. Sales indexes have been calcu lated for the district as a whole and for St. Louis, Louisville, Memphis, and Little Rock. Indexes of department store sales for Evans ville, Springfield, Fort Smith, and Quincy are also in preparation. An index of department store stocks for the Eighth District is con templated. Tables of back index numbers for the district and the four major cities, together .with a brief technical description of the method of computation used, are available upon, request to the Research and Statistics Division of this bank. D IS T R IC T S U R V E Y with 76 per cent in March. A m ong finished steel Iron and Steel — Production of steel ingots and products plate rolling output was exceptionally high. castings in this district in April showed a slight in Output of steel in the St. Louis area is currently crease over March. The rate of ingot production quite low in comparison with the available capacity. averaged about 78 per cent of capacity compared Several high-cost furnaces are idle and there is a M A N U F A C T U R IN G Page 2 lack of skilled open hearth workers. A t mid-May production was further reduced because of a strike at a large steel mill. Scrap supply in the region continues to be ade quate although collection and shipment was halted by the high waters in April. Supply of pig iron is in sufficient volume to meet all essential purposes. Shoes — Shoe output in April dropped 9 per cent from March output. The decline was primarily sea sonal. Final figures for March showed production of 7,327,397 pairs as compared with 6,925,668 pairs in February. For the first quarter of this year, 20,957,136 pairs of shoes were produced in the dis trict, or slightly more than the production of 20,923,273 pairs in the comparable period of 1943. Shoe factories in the district are finding it easier now to secure labor for their operations. The ma terial supply situation is also easing somewhat be cause of continued heavy livestock slaughter. Hide inventories, however, remain low, as heavy demand for finished leather continues to absorb most of the increased supply. Whiskey — On April 30, of the 60 distilleries in Kentucky, 52 wrere in operation, one more than a month earlier. A year ago all 60 distilleries were in production. Output of distilleries continues to be industrial alcohol or high wines. There are tw o main reasons for the continued shutdown of some distilling capacity in Kentucky. The prolonged fall and winter drouth which cur tailed w^ater supply, forced some of the smaller, out lying distilleries, which depend upon natural water supply for their operations, to close. Certain smaller units that were able to produce only high wines have found that operation relatively unprofitable. If rectifying columns, which would enable these smaller plants to produce high proof industrial alco hol, can be obtained, production may be resumed. A ccording to most recent reports, there will be no resumption of whiskey production in the immediate future. The great demands of the war program have prevented accumulation of sufficient stocks to permit a resumption of whiskey distillation. Miscellaneous Manufacturing — Munitions pro duction in the district continues to decline slowly in volume as a result, primarily, of curtailed output of small arms ammunition and explosives. Production of chemicals other than munitions, however, is ex panding in response to the heavy demand for mili tary and essential civilian uses. Petroleum refining and production of 100-octane gasoline is also ex panding and should reach peaks late this summer. Despite several unusually high days of hog re ceipts at National Stock Yards, slaughter of feder ally inspected livestock in the St. Louis area in April was slightly below March. Meat packing plants have had some difficulty in securing sufficient labor, and because of shortages of storage facilities and almost completely utilized slaughter capacity, it is not ex pected that activity will expand beyond the peak reached early this spring. Lumber production at district mills remains at a relatively low level in comparison with 1942 output. Lack of sufficient labor is given as the primary reason for the de creased output. O I L A N D M IN IN G Oil — As a result of April rains, floods, and mud which hampered operations in many district oil fields, drilling activity during the month in estab lished fields was considerably less than a month earlier. Oil well completions during April amounted to 227 compared with 269 in March. Through the first week of May, 902 wells had been drilled com pared with 885 for the same period last year. A large increase in Kentucky drilling operations more than offset declines in other district states, especial ly in Illinois. In addition, 153 wildcat wrells, of which 15 were pool openers, were drilled during the first four months of 1944. Unfavorable weather last month resulted in a de cline of over 10 per cent from a month earlier in daily average oil production, with output averaging some 7 per cent less than P A W certified rates. P ro duction goals for May have been increased slightly due to upward revisions in quotas for Illinois and Indiana. Mining — Zinc and lead production in the North Arkansas field still continues low, but a large in crease in output is expected with the completion of new milling plants in early summer. Coal produc tion during the month was up 3 per cent from March output, and was slightly higher than produc tion a year ago. Factors holding back coal output are unfavorable wreather conditions and insufficient mine labor. EM PLOYM ENT There has been, for the past six months, a pro gressively easier over-all labor supply in this dis trict, due primarily to declining war production in this area. Currently, no labor market area within this district is rated by the W ar Manpower C om mission as a labor shortage region. Only two dis trict cities, Louisville and Quincy, are classed by W M C as Group II cities (possible shortage within six m onths). All other district areas, including the major cities of St. Louis, Evansville, Memphis and Page 3 Little Rock, are rated as either labor surplus areas or regions which will have a slight surplus of labor even after six months. W ith the cut-back in war production schedules, there has been a shift of workers out of war plants into manufacturing for civilian use. For example, in the St. Louis region employment at m ajor war plants in October was some 127,000 workers. By March, 1944, employment of these plants was some 20,000 less than the October peak. Many of the released workers have been absorbed by other man ufacturing industry, such as shoes, meat packing, etc. A G R IC U L T U R E General Conditions — Eighth District farming op erations and progress in growth of many crops were considerably delayed last month as a result of gen eral rains over much of the region which not only made plow ing and planting difficult, but caused ex tensive flooding of many acres of lowland which had already been planted. H eavy rains also badly washed higher ground. In early April some crop land in the northeastern and central part of Mississippi was flooded when the Pearl River and other streams went out of their banks. In the latter part of the month heavy rains caused the Mississippi, Missouri, W hite, and Ouachita Rivers, and other smaller streams, to overflow and inundate much land, in cluding many acres in crops. The Mississippi and Missouri Rivers flooded more than 1.4 million acres of land in Illinois and Missouri, about half of which was crop acreage. In addition to direct damage to land, approximately 9,000 houses and buildings were destroyed in the tw o states. Scattered showers in early May prolonged the recession of flood waters and further delayed farm work. Despite the fact that floods this year in M is souri and Illinois covered about the same amount of land as last year’s floods, damage was far below the $32 million estimated for 1943. Crop damage this spring was much less, both because the floods occurred earlier and because plantings had been con siderably delayed by wet soil in March and Febru ary. W ith good planting weather in M ay and fav orable grow ing weather during the balance of the season, district farmers should have a reasonably good year. Agricultural employment in the United States is continuing the downward trend evident since the beginning of the war. A ccording to the U. S. D e partment of Agriculture, farm employment on April 1 was approximately 3 per cent less than April 1, 1943, with most of the decline accounted for by a decrease in the number of hired employees, although Page 4 the estimated number of family workers was also somewhat lower than last year. Despite this decline in farm employment and notwithstanding the larger acreage of crop land this year, there is no indication that farm output will suffer greatly from lack of workers, although critical conditions in some areas may develop because of the delay in plantings which will tend to concentrate farm work in a shorter period of time. In mid-April, for the first time since 1939, prices of farm products in the United States were below the level of the corresponding month a year earlier. Prices received by farmers held steady at 196 per cent of the 1909-14 average and on April 15, farm prices averaged 115 per cent of parity for the third straight month. Changes from a month ago in prices received by farmers in Eighth District states ranged from un changed in Missouri and slightly higher in Missis sippi and Arkansas to a decline of 2 per cent in T en nessee. Prices of hogs, chickens, eggs, and dairy products were generally lower throughout the dis trict, while prices of cotton, sweet potatoes, wheat, apples, and hay were mostly higher. Cotton— Due to prolonged wet weather over much of the district cotton-grow ing area, planting of the 1944 cotton crop is considerably behind sched ule. A t mid-April, some planting of cotton was under way in Mississippi, Arkansas, and Tennessee, but progress was extremely slow. In the latter part of the month some planting was reported in south eastern Missouri where ground had dried sufficiently to work, but along the lowlands of the Mississippi River, many fields were still water-logged or flooded in early May. Late planting of cotton also tends to increase danger of boll weevil damage. Mill demand for cotton continues slow, with buy ing largely on a hand-to-mouth basis. Mill stocks on April 1 were down slightly from levels of a year ago, but they were still high relatively since mill consumption has declined, due mostly to lack of experienced textile workers. Cotton spindles in the United States during April operated at 125 per cent of capacity compared with 122 per cent in March and 133 per cent in April, 1943. The price of 15/16 middling cotton on the M em phis spot market m oved up slightly during early April, but subsequently declined and at the end of the month was 20.70c per pound. Fruits and Vegetables — Frequent rains during April and early May held back plantings of many truck crops and consequently harvesting this year probably will be later than usual. Lowlands in most sections of the district were either flooded or satur ated with water thus bringing farming activities in these areas to a standstill. H owever, fair to good progress in plowing, soil preparation, and planting was made during the month on well-drained land. Due to the prolonged delay in getting seed into the ground, acreage of some district vegetable crops may be somewhat less than indicated earlier. Pros pects for Irish potatoes are for greatly reduced acre age in Tennessee, low average yields in Mississippi, and spotted stands in Arkansas with some rotting of seed in the ground. Indicated acreage of toma toes for processing now appears some 40 per cent under 1943 planted acreage. The Mississippi tomato crop is in only fair condition due to excessive rains and hail damage, while plantings in Arkansas, T en nessee, and other district states have been delayed as a result of wet ground. The same general condi tion holds true for most other vegetable crops, but those which were planted early and on high ground, such as snap beans in southern Arkansas, are up to good stands and making satisfactory growth. Despite cold weather and freezes in April and early May m many localities, the 1944 outlook for most fruits in Eighth District states is for an in crease over last year’s output which was consider ably reduced as a result of late killing freezes. The peach crop in Arkansas is promising, although some damage resulted from freezing weather last month. Peach prospects in southern Indiana are good, but reports indicate that about one-half of the Kentucky peach crop was killed and considerable peach dam age caused in southern Missouri by severe frosts and freezing temperatures. Damage to apples does not seem to have been extensive. The strawberry crop in Eighth District states this year will be short with most berries com ing from old beds. Some strawberry weevil and beetle damage is reported in Arkansas and Indiana. Livestock and Livestock Products— Conditions in the district livestock industry last month were marked by a grow ing acuteness in the feed situa tion and continued heavy livestock marketings which caused some local markets to restrict receipts. Although the condition of pastures on May 1 in this district was appreciably better than a year ago — ranging from poor to fair in sections of Missouri, Arkansas, and Mississippi, to good and excellent in the rest of the district — wet weather and flood waters prevented the use of grazing lands, and thus further inroads were made on feed supplies which were already at a low level. Movement of corn to market has picked up considerably, but all receipts of the grain have been earmarked for industrial users with none available for feed. In an attempt to con serve corn supplies, O PA in the latter part of April reduced ceiling prices on hogs weighing over 240 pounds by 75 cents per cwt. Some relief in the feed situation was promised in Kentucky, Tennessee, and Mississippi by the allo cation of 1,000,000 bushels of Canadian oats of which these states were to receive about one-third. The Commodity Credit Corporation has also allo cated an additional amount of oats to flood-stricken areas in Missouri, Illinois, and other district states. Tobacco— Preparation of ground for the new dis trict tobacco crop was delayed last month due to low temperatures and excessive moisture. However, tobacco seedlings in Tennessee and Kentucky are up and reported to be in a healthy condition with plant development progressing satisfactorily, al though some plants in Kentucky seem to be small. Transplanting was begun in early May in some sections of the district, but was held back by wet soil. W ith favorable weather for the remainder of the month, however, much progress should be made in plant setting. The outlook in this district now is for a large in increase in production of most types of tobacco in 1944 if favorable grow ing and harvesting weather prevails. Plants seem to be in ample supply and sufficient for the intended acreage. W ith greater production in prospect and high average prices, Eighth District farmers should receive more income from tobacco in the 1944-1945 season than they did in the record season just ended. R E T A IL T R A D E Dollar volume of sales in retail trade lines report ing to this bank was off somewhat in April from the very high level of March and was below a year earlier. Department and w om en’s apparel store trade dipped sharply in the month and this dollar loss was not offset by sales gains in men’s furnish ings, shoes, and furniture lines. The decline from a month ago in department store and w om en’s apparel shop sales was primarily seasonal. This year the relatively early Easter date threw the major volume of pre-Easter buying into March while last year there was heavy purchasing in April. Despite this fact, department store sales in April, 1944, were 4 per cent above last year, while w om en’s apparel store sales in St. Louis were off only 3 per cent from a year earlier. M en’s furnishings and furniture store sales, however, were both down considerably from last year’s level. Shoe store trade in the dis trict was up 4 per cent as compared with April, 1943. Page 5 For the first four months of 1944 department store trade in the Eighth District was 6 per cent greater in dollar volume than in the comparable period of 1943. Springfield, Missouri, registered the greatest increase in sales of all district cities. It was trailed rather closely by Quincy, Illinois, which is currently a very active war production center. Sales in the first four months of 1944 in Evansville, Indiana, which has suffered a substantial decrease in war activity in the past six months, were up 5 per cent from the comparable period in 1943. Little Rock, Arkansas, sales volum e was unchanged from last yea r’s level although sales in the first four months of 1943 in that city were exceptionally high. St, Louis sales, despite a considerable decline in war activity in the city, were up 4 per cent over the c o m parable four months last year. B A N K IN G A N D F IN A N C E Credit demand in the Eighth District during April and early May showed very little change from the preceding month. Normally, at this time of year, there is an expansion of agricultural credit for the planting season. W h ile the lack of loan expansion so far this year is due in some degree to the lateness of the planting season, probably the strong cash position of the farmer will continue to hold down any large demand for loans. At 24 reporting member banks, located in the lar ger cities of the district, total loan volume increased fractionally between April 19 and May 17, and on the latter date was $23 million greater than a year ago. Commercial, industrial, and agricultural loans declined sharply and at m id-M a y were slightly under the level of a year earlier. Other loans, however, were up appreciably in the month. Investments increased slightly in the four week period ending M ay 17. Bill holdings declined about $2 million, while Treasury bonds increased some $3 million. Certificate holdings were up $7 million while note portfolios dropped by the same amount. Demand deposits adjusted rose $28 million in the past month as a result of a flow of funds back into private accounts as the Government drew heavily upon its war loan balances which declined $47 mil lion. Bank borrow in gs to replenish reserve losses increased sharply from $13 million to $31 million. A t this time last year there were no bank b orrow ings from the Federal Reserve in this district. Since the last issue of this review, the Bank of Brinkley, Brinkley, Arkansas, and the First-City Bank and Trust Company, Hopkinsville, Kentucky, have b ecom e members of the Federal Reserve System. Page 6 CASH F A R M March 1944 1943 (I n thousands of dollars ) A rkansas. I llinois Indiana K e n tu ck y. Mississippi M issou ri, T ennessee, .$ 14,269 103,194 53,623 18,265 12,0.27 48,712 19,866 $ 14,312 91,125 51,320 15,890 12,048 41,818 18,232 269,956 244,745 Totals IN C O M E Cumulative for 3 months 1942 1944 1943 :$ 50,733 3 00,143 159,007 131,085 44,607 154,035 81,292 $ 52,239 253,711 136,373 100,230 40,409 125,775 65,313 $ 38,667 201,933 104,771 63,515 29,595 94,597 48,473 920,902 774,050 581,551 R E C E I P T S A N D S H IP M E N T S A T N A T I O N A L S T O C K Y A R D S Receipts Shipments A pr., 1944 M ar., 1944 Apr., 1943 90,259 92,796 91,353 311,514 379,603 259,0:02 2,906 2,913 3,680 27,067 21,064 29,091 Cattle and Calves H ogs Horses and Mules, S heep. Totals 431,746 496,376 383,126 W H O L E S A L E P R I C E S IN Bureau o f Labor A pr., Statistics Mar., (1 9 2 6 = 1 0 0 ) 1944 1944 A ll Com m odities. Farm P roducts. F oods Other. THE 103.8 123.6 104.6 98.1 10,3.9 123.2 104.9 98.4 Apr., 1944 Mar., 1944 A pr., 194 3 40,739 63,331 2,956 13,144 38,818 99,723 2,902 1,535 49,471 89,850 3,677 3,573 120,170 142,978 146,571 U N IT E D STATES Apr., 1943 A p r .,’ 44 com p, with M a r.,’44 A p r.,’ 43 103.7 123.9 108.4 96.6 -f — + -f 0.1% 0.3 0.3 0.3 + — + 0.2% 0.6 3.2 0.9 COST O F L IV IN G A pr. 15. Mar, 15, Sept. 15, A pr. 15,’44 com p, with 1944 1944 1942 Mar. 15,’ 44 Sept. 15/42 Bureau of Labor Statistics (1 93 5 -3 9 = 1 0 0 ) United States. St. L ouis. Bureau o f Labor Statistics (1 9 3 5 -3 9 = 1 0 0 ) 124.5 123.5 123.8 122.5 A pr. 15, 1944 COST OF Mar. 15, 1944 134.6 137.4 132.9 131.8 141.3 U . S. (51 cities) St. Louis Little R ock L ou isville. M em p his, 117.8 116.6 + 0.6% - f 0.8 4+ 5.7% 5.9 FOOD Sept, 15, Apr. 15,’44 com p, with 1942 Mar. 15/44 Sept. 15/42 134.1 135.9 133.2 129.7 141.0 126.6 126.7 129.2 124.2 129.7 -f -f — + + 0.4% 1.1 0.2 1.6 0.2 + + -f + 4- 6.3% 8.4 2.9 6.1 8.9 I N 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 I N G IN D U S T R I E S B Y M E T R O P O L I T A N A R E A S Bureau of Labor Mar., Mar., Feb., M ar.,’44 comp. writh Statistics 1944 1944 1943 (1 9 3 7 = 1 0 0 ) F e b ./4 4 M ar.,’ 43 257.7 138.6 182.5 145.5 E va n sville, L ou isv ille . M em phis. . St L o u is , 257.0 139.5 181.8 151.3 277 1 126.4 150.9 147.8 + — + — B U I L D I N G P E R M IT S New Construction (C ost in thousands) Number 1944 1943 E va n sville. L ittle R ock, Louisville. . M em p h is. St. L o u is . . . . 154 22 51 330 104 8 18 164 159 83 A pril Totals . . . M arch T o ta ls . 661 494 432^ 278 Cost 1944 1943 $ 164 23 157 383 243 970 626 $ — 7.0% + 9.7 + 20.9 — 1.6 0.3% 0.6 0.4 3.8 Repairs, etc. Num ber 1944 1943 Cost 1944 1943 32 2 422 169 151 145 184 47 195 168 100 121 24 241 146 $ 31 50. 63 95 241 $ 39 17 12 84 62 743 559 739 751 632' 615 480 771 214 1,100 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 A p r.,’ 44 com p, with (I n thousands A p r .,’43 M a r.,’44 A p r.,’ 43 of dollars) A p r.,’44 M ar.,’ 44 __________ C O N S U M P T IO N O F E L E C T R I C I T Y A p r., A pril, 1944 Mar., A pr., N o. of 1943 compared with 1944 Custom - 1944 K .W .H . Mar., 1944 A pr., 1943 ers* K .W .H . K .W .H . (K .W .H . in thous.) Evansville, . . . Little R ock, . L ouisville. . . Pine Bluff St. Louis 80% 5% T otal 8th Dist., $ 7,151 $ 7,500* $ 3 6 ,4 1 1 * S o u rce : F. W D odge Corporation. *Revised. 40 35 82 31 . . 19 . 138 7,443 2,718 16,114 6,398 6,681 81,265 120,619 345 T otals, *Selected industrial customers. 8,041 2,605 16,811 6,732 6,542 89,245 9,297** 2,119 15,678 5,834 7,110 88,327** 129,976 128,365** **Revised. — 4. — — -f — 7% 4 4 5 2 9 — 7 — 20.% + 28 3 + 10 — 6 — 8 — 6 D E P A R T M E N T S T O R E S Stocks N et Sales on Hand A pril, 1944 com pared with M a r.,’44 A p r .,’43 4 m os.’44 to same period ’ 43 A p r. 3 0 /4 4 com p, with A p r. 3 0/4 3 Jan. 1 to A pr. 30, 1944 1943 Ft. Smith, A rk .. + 33 + 11 % + 7% -0 - % 1.41 1.41 L ittle R ock, A r k .. — 4 - 0— 3 + 4 1.63 1.55 Quincy, 111.......... + 5 +20 + 18 E vansville, Ind. — 3 — 4 + 5 Louisville, K y .. . — 1 + 9 + 10. + 28 1.78 1.83 St. Louis, M o .. . — 12 + 4 1.48 1.43 + 1 + 13 Springfield, M o. + 4 + 14 +23 Memphis, Tenn. — 8 + 13 + ' *8 1.66 1*56 + 6 *A11 other cities, + 4 — 1 — 3 1.39 1.41 + 3 8th F. R. D ist.. — 7 1.55 1.51 + 4 + 6 + 11 *E1 D orado, Fayetteville, Pine B luff, A r k .; A lton, East St. Louis, Harrisburg, M t. Vernon, 111.; Vincennes, I n d .; Danville, Hopkinsville, M ayfield, Paducah, K y . ; Chillicothe, M o .; Jackson, Tenn. T rading d a y s : A pril, 1944— 2 5 : M arch, 1944— 2 7 ; A pril, 1943— 26. Outstanding orders o f reporting stores at the end of A pril, 1944, were 2 per cent greater than on the corresponding date a year ago. Percentage of accounts and notes receivable outstanding A pril 1, 1944, collected during A pril, by cities : Instalm ent E xcl. Instal. Instalm ent E xcl. Instal. A ccou n ts A ccoun ts A ccoun ts A ccounts F ort S m ith........... Little R ock . . 34 L ou isv ille— . 38 M em phis . . . . 49 IN D E X E S OF 6 3% 63 61 61 Q u in c y ......... 39% St. L o u is . . . . 39 Other cities. . 22 8th F .R . Dist. 39 80% 74 68 68 D E P A R T M E N T STO R E SALES A N D STOCKS 8th Federal Reserve District A p r., Mar., Feb., A pr., 1944 1944 1944 1943 Sales (daily average), U nadjusted1 ................183 Sales (daily average), Seasonally adjusted1 . 173 Stocks, U nadjusted2 .............................................. 103 Stocks, Seasonally adjusted2 .............................100 1D aily average 1935-39=100. 2M onthly average 1923-25=100. 185 195 101 99 153 194 98 103 172 157 92 90 Stock Turnover Jan. 1 to A pr. 30, 1944 1943 + 6% —12% — 16% + 5% 0.98 1.09 + 19 + 4 — 1 2.59 3.03 + Percentage o f accounts and notes receivable outstanding A pril 1 1944, collected during A p r il: M en ’s F urnishings....................63% Boots and S h oes.................... .5 3 % T rading days : A pril, 1944— 25 : March, 1944— 2 7 ; A pril, 1943— 26. R E T A IL F U R N IT U R E ST O R E S N et Sales Inventories Ratio of April, 1944 A pril 30, 1944 Collections com pared with com pared with M a r./4 4 A p r ./4 3 M a r.3 1 /4 4 A p r.3 0 /4 3 A p r.,’44 A p r./4 3 St. L ouis A rea 1 . — 1% — 9 % — 21% 3 7% + 3% 34% St. L o u is ......... — 2 — 7 — 24 35 32 + 3 * * A lt o n ................ + 2 5 — 18 55 44 L ouisville A rea 2 + 3 0 — 5 32 — 14 24 + 1 L o u is v ille .. . . +26 — 2 — 3 — 13 31 24 M em p h is............. . — 5 — 4 — 46 24 20 + 2 Little R o c k ......... + 1 5 — 8 — 11 — 47 29 29 * * * F ort S m ith ......... * + 34 + 14 * * P ine B lu ff........... -0 +25 37 32 E vansville........... . + 2 3 + 12 — 14 — 3 54 43 — 2 — 5 30 — 26 34 8th Dist. T ota ls3 .. + 5 * N ot shown separately due to insufficient coverage, but included :n E ighth District totals. iln clu d es St.. Louis, M issou ri; East St. Louis, and A lton, Illinois. 2Includes Louisville, K en tu ck y ; N ew A lbany, and Jeffersonville, Indiana. • ‘*In addition to above cities, includes stores in Blytheville, Arkansas; H enderson, Hopkinsville, Ow ensboro, K en tu ck y; Columbus, Greenville, Greenwood, Starkville, M ississippi; Cape Girardeau, Hannibal, and Springfield, M issou ri; and Dyersburg, Tennessee. PERCENTAGE D IS T R IB U T IO N A p r ./4 4 Cash S ales................................................... 20% Credit S ales................................................. 80 T otal S ales.............................................. 100 OF SALES M ar.,’ 44 A p r ./4 3 19% 81 100. 19% 81 100 L O A D S I N T E R C H A N G E D F O R 25 R A I L R O A D S ST. L O U I S First nine days A p r ./4 4 M a n /4 4 A p r ./4 3 M a y /4 4 M a y /4 3 4 m os.’44 A m os/43 563,948 162,716 166,097 145,251 41,892 43,785 640,151 S o u rce: Term inal Railroad A ssociation o f St. Louis. A utom otive Supplies............................. Boots and S hoes..................................... • + 9 D rugs arid Chem icals............................. — 5 , — 8 Electrical Supplies................................. . . + 29 . — 23 .. + 5 Machinery, Equipment and Supplies... + Plum bing Supplies................................. • + T ob a cco and its P rod u cts.................... M iscellaneous.......................................... . . + Total all lines**............... ..................... * Preliminary Report. **Includes certain lines not listed above. IN C O M M E R C IA L F A I L U R E S A p r ./4 4 5 E IG H T H A p r ./4 3 1 1,000 A pr. 30, 1944 com pared with A pr. 30, 1943 + 13% — 9 — 12 — 7 — 8 — 20 — 8 -0+ 5 + 5 — 8 — 13 — 8 9 9 Mar../4 4 N um ber............... 6 Liabilities........... $126,000. S ource: Dun and Bradstreet. Stocks A pril, 1944 com pared with Mar. ,’44 A pr. ,’43 Data furnished by Bureau o f Census U . S. Dept, of Commerce. $ 56,000 ....% + ‘i + *4 + 16 — 3 +40 v. . . + 4 + 4 + 3 F . R. D I S T R I C T A p r./4 4 com p, with Mar..,’44 A p r./4 3 + 500% + 11.600 — 25% + 125 C H A N G E S IN P R I N C I P A L A S S E T S A N D L I A B I L I T I E S F E D E R A L R E S E R V E B A N K O F ST. L O U I S Change from M a y 17, A pr. 19, M ay 19, (I n thousands o f dollars) 1944 1944 1943 ....................................................... . 30,985 + 17,985 + 30,935 . 610,443 41,784 + 191,986 Industrial advances under Sec. 13b. Other advances and rediscounts. . . . U. S. securities........................................ Total earning assets....................................... 641,428 Total reserves........................................ P R IN C IP A L R E S O U R C E O F R E P O R T IN G — 23,799 + 292,921 64,887 23,794 20,052 + 58,968 + 64,830 + 2 2 1 ,5 9 6 -0 - — . 654,748 . 525,980 . 780,189 Industrial commitments under Sec. 13b. S P E C IA L T Y STO R ES Stocks N et Sales on Hand A pril, 1944 4 m os.’44 A p r. 3 0/4 4 compared with to same com p, with M a r./4 4 A p r ./4 3 period ’ 43 A p r. 3 0/43 M en’ s Furnishings B oots and Shoes W H O L E S A L IN G * N et Sales Lines of Commodities Stock T urnover 48 + + + A N D L IA B IL IT Y M EM BER BANKS M ay 17, 1944 (I n thousands o f dollars) 1,776 IT E M S A pr. 19, 1944 M ay 19, 1943 Total loans and investm ents...................... $1,549,897 $1,549,897 + 2,544 + 111,823 Commercial, industrial, agricultural loans** 207.411 1,878 8,600 242 .— Loans to brokers and dealers in securities. 170 4,206 .— Other loans to purchase and carry securities; 687 + 11,827 20,971 .— — 2.725 Real estate loans................................. 63,178 240 950 — 620 Loans to banks.................................... 350 + Other loans.............................................. 75,296 + 10,641 + 14,905 372,0)2 + 522 + 22,579 Total loans.......................................... 58,206 — Treasury bills.......................................... 1,723 .— 104,740 6,711 + 48,131 Certificates of indebtedness......................... 268,614 + Treasury notes............................................... 212,503 6,715 + 102,116 3,413 + 69,110 U. S. bond s................................................... 508.937 + 14,264 20,858 835 Obligations guaranteed by U . S. Govt 108,767 + 1,171 .— 11,109 Other securities............................................. Total investments...................................... 1,177,885 + 2,022 89,244 109,227 3,704 .— 5,061 Balances with dom estic ban ks............... 961,077 + 28,0.54 + 144,477 237,562 + Tim e deposits.......................................... 5,306 + 37,953 U . S. Gevernment deposits............. 156,751 46,647 53,476 470,308 — 1,251 .— 37,462 Interbank deposits............................... 30,985 + 17,985 + 30,985 B orrow in gs............................................ ^Includes open market paper. **Other than interbank and Governm ent deposits, less cash items on hand or in process o f collection. A bove figures are for 24 member banks in St. Louis, Louisville, M em phis, Little R ock and Evansville. Their resources comprise approxim ately 75% of the resources o f all m ember banks in this district. D E B IT S (I n thousands o f dollars) El Dorado, A rk........... $ F ort Smith, A rk......... Helena, A rk ............... Little R ock, A rk......... Pine Bluff, A rk........... Texarkana, A rk.-T ex. A lton, 111..................... E .S t.L .-N a t.S .Y .,Ill. Quincy, 111................... Evansville, In d ........... Louisville, K y ............. Owensboro, K y ........... Paducah, K y ............... Greenville, M iss......... Cape Girardeau, M o .. Hannibal, M o ............. Jefferson City, M o .. . St. Louis, M o............. Sedalia, M o ................. Springfield, M o ........... Jackson, Tenn........... .. Memphis, Tenn........... (Completed May 25, 1944) TO IN D IV ID U A L A pr., M ar., 1944 1944 9,147 20,263 3,585 67,591 14,887 8,665 12,768 74,406 16,740 107,344 313,0.39 13,617 8,195 7,576 4,684 4,291 28,513 952,486 5,782 27,795 8,592 220,610 1,930,576 $ 10,304 22,205 4,049 75,519 17,032 9,937 13,640 86,749 18,374 110,937 324,376 13,588 8,269 8,395 5,151 4,509 18,571 996,801 6,291 30,850 9,034 251,803 2,046,384 ACCOUNTS A p r., A p r.,’ 44 com p, with 1943 M ar.,’44 A p r./4 3 $ 12,386 21,757 4,233 78,458 16,578 10,019 12,463 75,995 15,146 84,437 330,488 13,738 8,487 8,511 5,022 4,771 24,469 1,040.414 5,892 26,960 8,820 248,161 11% — 9 .— 11 .— 10 — 13 13 .— 6 .— 14 .— 9 — 3 — 3 . 0 — 1 — 10 — 9 — 5 + 54 — 4 — 8 — 10. — 5 — 12 2,057,20.5 — 6 — — — — — — + — + + — — — — — — + — — + — — 26% 7 15 14 10 14 2 2 11 27 5 1 3 11 7 10 17 8 2 3 3 11 — 6 Page 7 INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION N A T IO N A L S U M M A R Y O F CO N D ITIO N S BY BOARD OF GO VER N O R S OF FE D E R A L R E SER VE SYSTEM Federal Reserve indexes. Groups are expressed in terms of points in the total index. Monthly figures, latest shown are for April, 1944. WHOLESALE PRICES Bureau of Labor Statistics* indexes. Weekly latest shown are for week ending May 13, 1944. figures, MEMBER BANKS IN LEADING CITIES Demand deposits (adjusted) exclude U. S. Government and interbank deposits and collection items. Government securities include direct and guaranteed issues. Wednes day figures, latest shown are for May 17, 1944. MEMBER BANK RESERVES AND RELATED ITEMS Industrial production—The Board’s seasonally adjusted index o f output in manufacturing and mining industries was at 240 per cent o f the 1935-39 average in April, as compared with 242 in March and 245 in February. Small declines in output o f metals and metal products continued to account for most o f the decrease in industrial production. Electric steel production decreased further in April to a level 5 per cent below the same month last year. Production o f most nonferrous metals declined, reflecting partly planned curtailments and partly the effects o f labor shortages in mines and smelters. A further curtailment o f aluminum production was announced in May. Activity at plants producing munitions in the machinery and trans portation equipment industries declined somewhat in April. Production under the farm machinery program continued to increase and was reported at a rate above the highest volume recorded in any peace-time year. Output o f nondurable manufactured goods showed little change in April. Activity at cotton mills was maintained at the level o f recent months, ap proximately 15 per cent below the peak level o f April, 1942. As a measure to increase production, a 48-hour work week was ordered in the cotton textile industry, effective May 14. The number o f animals slaughtered continued at an exceptionally high level in April, and effective May 3 most meat products were removed from rationing. Output o f dairy products continued to rise seasonally and supplies available for civilians increased. Mineral production was maintained in large volume in April. Production of both bituminous and anthracite coal for the year through May 6 was approximately 5 per cent more than in the same period in 1943. Crude petroleum production in April continued at a level about 12 per cent above a year ago. Mine production of iron ore showed a large sea sonal rise, reflecting the opening oh April 10 of the season for lake ship ments. Distribution— Department store sales declined in April and, after allow ance for usual seasonal changes, were about 10 per cent below the high level which prevailed in the first quarter o f this year. In the first half of May sales were maintained and were considerably larger than in the cor responding period of 1943. Carloadings o f railroad freight in April and the first half o f May were maintained in large volume. Grain shipments continued to decline from the exceptionally high levels of January and February. Ore loadings in creased sharply in April and were 60 per cent greater than a year ago. Commodity prices — Wholesale prices o f most commodities showed little change from the middle o f April to the third week o f May. Prices o f some industrial commodities were raised. The cost o f living index advanced one-half per cent from mid-March to mid-April, reflecting higher retail prices for foods and furniture and in creased excise taxes effective April 1. Bank credit— From the end of the Fourth W ar Loan Drive in the second week o f February through the middle of May, demand deposits o f individ uals and businesses at weekly reporting banks increased by about 3 billion dollars. Time deposits also increased appreciably. During the same period war loan accounts at reporting banks declined by more than billion dollars. Holdings o f U. S. Government securities by these banks declined by about 2 billion dollars and loans contracted by more than billion dollars. A large part of the loan decline was the liquidation o f credits extended during the war loan drive. Loans to brokers and dealers are now less than they were before the Fourth W ar Loan Drive and loans to others for purchasing and carrying U. S. Government securities are down to about pre-drive levels. During the same period commercial loans also declined rapidly. Sales o f U. S. Government securities by commercial banks were paralleled by equivalent purchases by the Federal Reserve System. System holdings are now about 2 billion dollars larger than they were at the end o f the Fourth W ar Loan Drive. These purchases were made to supply member banks with reserve funds needed to meet a continued increase in currency and the growth in required reserves which resulted from shifts o f deposits from Treasury war-loan accounts to other accounts. Some o f these needs have been met by a decline in excess reserves. Sharp declines in excess reserves at the end o f March and April were associated with unexpectedly large tax receipts and the building up o f Treasury balances at Reserve Banks. Currency in circulation, which increased somewhat less rapidly during the first quarter o f 1944 than in the same period last year, renewed its rapid outflow late in April and during early May. In the four weeks ending May 17 the currency outflow was over 500 million dollars. 6y2 \l/2 y2 Wednesday figures, latest shown are for May 17, 1944. Page 8
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