SCB_061942

SURVEY OF

CURRENTBUSINESS

JUNE 1942

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

BUREAU OF FOREIGN AND DOMESTIC COMMERCE

Digitized for FRASER http://fraser.stlouisfed.org/ Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

EXECUTIVES...!As an Executive or Administrator Who Can Do Things

YOU Are in a Key Position To Help Your Country

IHERE is urgent need for high-gradepersonnel to serve our Governmentin the war program. Some of thetypes of executives needed are:m Industrial consultants or manage-ment engineers. General executives or administratorswith experience in fields such as:

a. Heavy industries, machine tools,iron and steel, nonferrous met-als, light and heavy machinery.

h. Transportation, including oceanshipping, rail, or motor carriers.

c. Foreign trade, with knowledgeof the economic and politicalconditions of various countriesgained either through directexperience in those countriesor through import-export firms.

Executives with experience in laborrelations, personnel management, andindustrial training. Administrators familiar with pur-chasing, storage, warehousing, andinventory control.Compensation for these positionsranges from $3,800 to $8,000 per year.Many of you may be earning three to

five times this amount, yet this pro-vides you an opportunity to rendersignificant, patriotic service to yourGovernment. All appointments areon the basis of war service, not to ex-ceed the duration of the war and sixmonths thereafter.Discovering competent individualswho can ably execute the duties ofthese important positions is one of theresponsibilities of the U. S. Civil Ser-vice Commission. The Commission isnow establishing a reservoir of mate-rial on qualified candidates for alltypes of high-grade positions, includ-ing executive, administrative, techni-cal, and professional (except Law) forthe purpose of supplying the needs ofthe war agencies.

I

Have your secretary write tothe Administrative and Man-agement Placement Section,U. S. Civil Service Commission,Washington, D. C, requestingan application. Please men-tion this notice.

UNITED STATES CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSIONDigitized for FRASER http://fraser.stlouisfed.org/ Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

SURVEY OFCURRENT BUSINESS

JUNE 1942

ECONOMIC HIGH LIGHTS 2

THE BUSINESS SITUATION 3

Durable manufactures expanding 3

Increased tank car shipments of petroleum products 4

Sugar shortage 5

BUSINESS INVENTORIES IN THE WAR PERIOD 6

CORPORATE PROFITS AND NATIONAL INCOME ESTIMATES,QUARTERLY, 1938-42 13

PRICE CEILINGS AND WARTIME CONTROL OVER THEAMERICAN ECONOMY 19

STATISTICAL DATA:

Monthly business statistics S1

General index Inside back cover

Published by the Department of Commerce, JESSE H. JONES, Secretary, and issued throughthe Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce, CARROLL L. WILSON, Director

Volume 22 Number 6Subscription price of the monthly and weekly issues of the SURVEY OF CURRENT BUSINESS, $2 a year. Single-copy price: Monthly, 15 cents; weekly, 5 cents.

Foreign subscriptions, $3.50. Price of the 1940 Supplement is 40 cents. Make remittances only toSuperintendent of Documents, Washington, D. C.

1


SURVEY OF CURRENT BUSINESS June 1942

Economic HighlightsBetter Freight Car Use Cuts Loadings

Recession of carloadings below 1941 is partly due to significantlag in miscellaneous loadings, which in May averaged lessthan 20,000 cars weekly above last year. But chief factor isdrastic reduction in loadings of merchandise in less-than-carloadlots. Minimum weight of 6 tons for such carloads becameeffective May 1 . . . should save several million out of 8 mil-

THOUSANDS OF CARS180

140

100

^ N / * " l ^

I I ! ! i l l I I I 1 1 ! ! 1 1

. _. _ .

1 1 1 1 1

1941 1942

Weekly Freight Carloadings of L. G. L. Merchandise

lion 1. c. 1. carloads last year, when average shipped in thesecars was only 5.3 tons. Effect is principally to curtail duplicate,excessive service, rather than volume of merchandise shipped.Need to limit new car construction to conserve materials andconvert plants employed in car building . . . and at same timeinsure prompt, adequate transportation for war and essentialuses . . . makes imperative improved utilization of freight cars.Minimum 1. c. 1. load will be raised to 10 tons by next September.Objectto provide a cushion of 50,000 or more cars per weekagainst supurging war industry freight.

Farm Prices, Income Continue AdvanceFarm income continues to increase in one of the most striking

economic aspects of war period. Heavy foreign requirementsfor food and other agricultural products, combined with expand-ing demands of better-paid war and other workers, provide basisfor spectacular rise35 percent in the past yearin pricesrealized by farmers for their output. Government during this

INDEX175

150

100

75

50

PRICES RECEIVED BY FARMERS(AUGUST 1909-JULY 1914 = 100)

'CASH INCOME FROM FARM MARKETINGS(1924-29 = 100)

1939 1940 1942

Indexes of Cash Income From Farm Marketings, Adjusted for SeasonalVariations, and Prices Received by Farmers

period bought over 1 billion dollars of food products largely forshipment to other United Nations. Farm production, upto meet these requirements, supplies domestic consumersliberally with most foods. Farmers' returns . . . in first 4months nearly 50 percent greater than last year . . . will prob-ably increase 2 billions to a near-record of 13.7 billions for all of1942. Farm prices and income have now largely attained ob-jectives of Government programs since 1933. But many farmproduct prices, still exempt from formal control, are free toadvance further . . . increase the cost of living.

Summer Stocking of Coal Vital Wartime MeasureBuilding up consumers' coal

stocks this summer is vital pre-cautionary measure. Slackeningin coal production and shipmentswould place unnecessary bur-den upon railroads in autumnand winter to fulfill seasonallylarger requirements for railroadfuel, electric power generation,and heating . . . might resultin serious stringency. Expectedincrease of perhaps 10 percentin coal consumption this com-ing winter might exceed railroads'coal car capacity. Reduced sup-plies of fuel oil on East Coast alsocreate important need for moreextensive use of coal. Emergencyloading of coal in box cars is possi-ble . . . but serious strain uponall railroads' freight car and lo-

MILLIONS OF NET TONS80

20

1940 1941 1942

Production, Consumption, and Stocks of Bituminous Coal

comotive equipment is foreseenPlanned wartime mobilization re-quires optimum off-season use ofrailroad facilities. Bituminouscoal stocks at the end of Aprilwere the largest on record forthis season . . . approached lastwinter's all-time peak . . . as coalloadings, which had been laggard,were stepped up in mid-April andcontinued during May at thehighest level for the month in al-most two decades. Coke ship-ments are likewise heavy; the cur-rent volume of ore loadings is un-precedented. The resultsur-plus (serviceable but inactive)gondola and hopper cars numberunder 5,000. But another 30,000await repairs . . . could aid instocking coal.


June 1942 SURVEY OF CURRENT BUSINESS

The Business SituationBUSINESS activity is increasingly taking on theaspect of economic warfare. Business develop-ments in May and early June are best understood asphases of the economic struggle. Production of wargoods rose while production of consumer goods fell.War expenditures by this Government almost reachedthe 4-billion-dollar monthly level and promise to totalaround 47 billion for the year. National income pay-ments are estimated at 8.8 billions in May but peopleincreasingly saved their money as total retail salesdropped to 4.4 billions in dollar value and in physicalvolume fell 23 percent below last May.

Merchants, anticipating the several deadlines set bythe War Production Board for the cessation of variousconsumer-goods' production, received from manufac-turers in April spectacular additions to their inventories(see table 2, p. 7.). Consumers got their first experienceof rationing. Plans for much wider extension of ration-ing are being drafted. Wholesale prices, as reflected inthe Bureau of Labor Statistics general indexes, re-sponded to the setting of price ceilings by ending themonth almost precisely where they began it. TheOffice of Price Administration undertook its tremen-dous task of administering and enforcing the ceilingprices.

Industrial production in May according to availableindications, appears, on balance between expandingwar output and contracting consumer-goods production,to have changed but little. The new high attainedby the Federal Reserve seasonally adjusted index inApril and apparently held in May tends to dispelfears, that had been entertained earlier, of a temporaryslump during the height of the industrial conversion towar activity. It is believed that the output of wargoods will gain so fast from here on as to more thanoffset any foreseeable decline in civilian industries.

Activity underlying the mounting production indexis nevertheless a welter of new and converted plantstuning up, others shutting down, uneven flow of ma-terials, labor migration, and various sorts of bottlenecks.The War Production Board in May applied for the firsttime in this country the principle of concentration ofoutput. Large-scale producers of stoves were orderedto cease production after July 31, while smaller com-panies were permitted to continue the output of ceitainmodels. The manufacturing facilities of the large pro-ducers are, of course, freed for turning out war goods.The scrap industry continues to grow in importance asthe need increases for reclaimed materials of manykinds. The War Production Board brought more ma-terials under complete allocation, including some chem-icals important in making war supplies, and ordered

more industries, chiefly in the consumer durable group,to limit or entirely cease output.Durable Manufactures Expanding.

The durable goods industries, accompanied by theminerals, have led the industrial advance. Transporta-tion equipment, as may be seen in figure 1, continuedits spectacular rise which reflects, of course, airplaneand other war goods output. It was well seconded bymachinery production which also includes war materials.

Great Lakes shipments of iron ore in the season upto June 1, amounted to more than 21 million tons.These large shipments were made possible through theconstruction of new freighters and conversion of others,among them former grain ships.

Both open-hearth and electric furnaces are operatingclose to capacity with the supply of scrap currentlyfavorable and stoppages for repairs held to a minimum.Ordinarily, ingot production would be expected to fallsomewhat during the hot summer months. Exceedingthe May record of 7.4 million tons before October willbe a challenge to labor and management.Figure 1.Indexes of Production of Selected Durable Manu-

factures, Adjusted for Seasonal Variations1935-39= 100400

3 0 0

100

TRANSPORTATION

MA CHIP

IRON AND STEEL\ ,

1 1 I ! ! ! ! 1 1 ! 1

/

'OUIPMENT. , '

/ / ?^ C - o o o o o o o o /

^-1> \ /CEMENT ^'

\ ^'\ V " ' ^ _ ^

^^^LUMBER

////

V \f \

\

! I I 1 1 1 1 1 1 i 1

1940 1941 1942

Source: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.

Lumber production continues to lag behind neworders and shipments. Statements of 470 reportingmills reveal that for the first 20 weeks of 1942, produc-tion was 3 percent below the level for correspondingweeks of last year. Shipments were larger by 6 per-cent and new orders by 9 percent. Unless the presentrate of production can be increased, lumber may soonbe in a critical category similar to steel. Basic factorsexplaining this situation are diversion of labor to higher


SURVEY OF CURRENT BUSINESS June 1942

paid jobs, a log shortage on the west coast, unfavor-able weather conditions earlier in the year, and in-creased costs.

Production of cement continues to increase in re-sponse to heavy demand. The type of building oper-ations projected for the year will require more thanthe usual amounts of cement. For the first 5 monthsoutput has been about one-quarter larger than in thesame months last year. Because the industry oper-ated through the winter at unusually high levels,however, it has not been possible for it to score theusual seasonal gains as winter yielded to spring, andconsequently the seasonally adjusted index pictured infigure 1 shows a large slump.

The nondurable goods production index, seasonallyadjusted, maintained the gradual decline in evidencesince last autumn. Numerous industries participatedin this decline. Chemicals and cotton textiles, both

Figure 2.Indexes of Production of Selected NondurableManufactures, Adjusted for Seasonal Variations

1.935-39 = 100200

150

100

5 0

COTTON CONSUMPTION

RAYON DELIVERIES, OP ^ / ~ o /

1940 1941 1942 DD 42-1891 Data for April 1942 were not available in time to include them in this chart.

Source: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.

contributing heavily to war materials output, were, asis evident from figure 2, outstanding exceptions.Chemical output continues the strong rise under wayfor the last year.

Nearly three-quarters of all cotton textile mills havewar orders, which in some cases employ from 30 to 40percent of their capacity. Demands of the armedforces for various cotton fabrics run into hundreds ofmillions of yards. Another important element in thedemand for cotton manufactures, estimated by theDepartment of Agriculture to require more than 3million bales, is the need to replace imported rawfibers and manufactures such as jute, silk, flax.

The wool textile industry, despite the decline of itsoutput since the year end, is in the best statisticalposition in recent years. Its backlog of unfilled ordersis at record levels. Military orders, in amounts greaterthan total World War I production, form an importantpart of this backlog.

Rayon deliveries continue at high levels despite themoderate decline since the first of the year. Industrieswhich formerly used silk and nylon are adjusting theiroperations to use rayon as the principal substitute.Production of women's full fashioned rayon hosiery isincreasing. Rayon staple is also being used to a muchgreater extent in combination with wool as a means ofwool conservation. The present expectation is thateven military uses for rayon fabrics will increase fromnow on. Demand remains ahead of rayon production.Figure 3.Tank Car Shipments of Crude Petroleum and Its

Products Into 17 Eastern States and the District of Co-lumbia, Daily Average BasisTHOUSANDS OF BARRELS8 0 0

6 0 0

400

200

N1 1 1 1 J i 1

/f

/

rf

0 0 43-B0927

194! 1942

Source: Office of the Petroleum Coordinator for War.

Increased Tank Car Shipments of Petroleum Products.Tank car deliveries of petroleum products to the

East Coast area, as shown in figure 3, averaged over600,000 barrels daily during May. Other measures be-ing taken to supply the East Coast include relocationand rebuilding of pipe lines, but probably will not raisethe total inland deliveries much above 1,000,000 barrelsdaily by the end of the yearperhaps 300,000 barrelsshort of present curtailed requirements, with gasoline

Table 1. East Coast Demand and Supply of PetroleumProducts, October 1940-September 1941

[Millions of barrels]

Item

Demand:GasolineResidual fuel oilDistillate fuel oilKeroseneLubricantsAll other

Total

Supply:By boat, foreignBy boat, CaliforniaBy boat, GulfBy pipe lineBy tank car and barge

Total receiptsChange in all stocks

Total supply

Total

216.6159.589.136.116.827.4

545.5

86.24.6

437.810.03.0

541.6- 3 . 9

545.5

1940

Fourthquarter

52.941.226.911.83.75.8

142.3

20.81.6

109.41.40.0

133.2- 9 . 1

142.3

1941

Firstquarter

46.044.733.911.63.35.4

144.9

20.31.1

109.71.90.0

133.0-11.9

144.9

Secondquarter

58.438.215.76.45.17.9

131.7

20.81.4

113.12.70.2

138.2+6.5131.7

Thirdquarter

59.335.412.66.34.78.3

126.6

24.30.5

105.64.02.8

137.2+10.6

126.6

Source: U. S. Bureau of Mines.



and nonessential use of light fuel oil rationed to 50percent of normal. The necessity of strict rationingwill continue, occasioned by inability of inland facilitiesfully to replace tankers formerly the chief means ofsupplying the East Coast, as indicated in table 1.In the Pacific Northwest, tank car deliveries havelikewise been increased, while gasoline consumptionis curtailed to two-thirds of normal demand.

Shipping ShortageNot Sugar Shortage

Early this year a shortage of sugar, principally inthe northeastern section of the country, had developedbecause of the following factors:

1. The dependence of the northeast on imported rawsugar from the Philippines, Hawaii, Cuba, and Puerto Rico.

2. The complete loss of supplies from the PhilippineIslands.

3. A partial loss of some supplies from Hawaii.4. The plan to utilize a large portion of the cane supply

in Cuba for the production of high-test molasses.5. The plan to provide large supplies to Great Britain

and Russia.6. Large purchases by consumers, principally for the

purpose of hoarding.The shortage of potential supplies has been alleviated

since the first of the year by several factors. Todaythe key to the situation is not so much a shortage ofoffshore sugar as it is a shortage of shipping to moveit to the United States.

In 1941 the consumption of sugar reached recordlevels because of increased consumer purchasing power.In times of prosperity consumption of sugar by indus-trial users increases rapidly. In figure 4, the estimateduses by various types of consumers in 1941 are indicated.

The demand for sugar has been strictly limited bythe rationing program instituted by OPA. Recentreceipts of sugar from offshore areas, together withdomestic supplies, are in excess of rationed require-ments. Of course, an increase in the stocks on handwithin the United States is advisable, in order to insureagainst any shortage of supplies, as happened in thefirst part of 1942, that may be occasioned by transpor-tation difficulties.

The current sugar shortage is not caused by thenecessity to use sugarcane as a basic raw material forthe production of industrial alcohol. Rather, it is theinability to obtain ships to move to the United Statesthe large quantities available in offshore areas. Suppliesare accumulating in offshore areas, and next year'scrops should show further increases. When normalshipping can be resumed, supplies can be moved to theUnited States to alleviate the present shortage.

In recent years alcohol has been produced princi-pally from high-test and blackstrap molasses. Black-strap molasses is a by-product of the manufacture ofraw and refined sugar. High-test, or invert, molasses,however, is manufactured directly from sugarcane

juices without extracting any of the sucrose for themanufacture of sugar. Thus, a gallon of high-testmolasses, weighing about 12 pounds, contains about 9pounds of sugar solids as compared with about 6%pounds for a gallon of blackstrap molasses of the sameweight.Figure 4.Estimated Consumption" of Sugar (Short Tons,

Raw Value) in Continental United States, 1941

CANDY a CONFECTIONARY478,000 = 6 . 4 %

0.0 42- 187

TOTAL 7,433,000 SHORT TONS

Source: U. S. Department of Commerce.

With the quota system limiting the export of Cubansugar to the United States, and the International SugarAgreement restricting the quantity of sugar that Cubacould sell in the world market, large amounts of sugar-cane that ordinarily would have been made into sugarwere converted directly into high-test molasses. Indus-trial alcohol producers in the United States and GreatBritain purchased this surplus high-test and used it inthe manufacture of industrial alcohol.

High-test and blackstrap molasses were two of thecheapest raw materials available for the productionof alcohol. Prior to the time that supplies of sugarfrom the Pacific Ocean areas were cut off by the Japa-nese attack, it had been planned that over 1,300,000short tons of sugar equivalent of sugarcane would beconverted into high-test molasses to supply the rawmaterial necessary for the production of industrialalcohol. Industrial alcohol is an ingredient in themanufacture of many essential war chemicals andsmokeless powder.Larger Sugar Supplies Offshore.

The War Production Board has been converting thefacilities of beverage distilleries to the production ofindustrial alcohol and equipping molasses distilleries onthe Atlantic Coast for the use of grain. Despite the

(Continued on p. 26)Digitized for FRASER http://fraser.stlouisfed.org/ Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

6 SURVEY OF CURRENT BUSINESS June 1942

Business Inventories in the War PeriodBy Frederic C. Murphy and Louis J. Paradiso

THE vital importance of the Nation's business in-ventories arises from the fact that war developmentshave caused demand to overreach supplies in innumer-able areas of the economy. Demand has been liftedto unprecedented heights by the material requirementsof the war program, by the needs of our allies, and bythe tremendous volume of domestic purchasing powergenerated by wartime expansion. Supplies would beinsufficient to satisfy all of these competing demandseven if there were a normal flow of commodities atmaximum capacity rates. But the situation has beenfurther aggravated by the loss of many important sup-ply sources to the enemy, plus the enormous difficultiessurrounding wartime shipping and transport. Thus, ina period when we are more than ever thrown upon ourown resources and, at the same time, embarked upon awar program that will tax our industrial potential tothe utmost, it is most pertinent to inquire into theinfluence of both inventory size and policy on our na-tional effort.

The national effort at the present time is dominatedby two major economic needs. These are, first, therapid transfer of materials and resources to war produc-tion and, second, the minimizing of inflationary pres-sures throughout the economy primarily resulting fromthis transfer. Since our main object is the productionof the materials necessary to win the war, there arisesthe specific problem of ensuring the adequacy and properdistribution of supplies for maximum WSLT output. Thereduction of inflationary pressures in this period can beassisted by an even flow of the remaining supplies tofinal consumers with only the minimum necessaryamounts held up in inventories.

The problem involves two lines of approach withrespect to inventories. The first consists of allocatingthose strategic and essential materials in which definiteshortages are indicated so that no unnecessary accumu-lation results. Of course, this does not preclude furtherstock piling of certain materials by both Governmentand industry consistent with wise planning. The sec-ond line of approach is to prevent further over-allaccumulation of all business inventories in order tobring them into line wTith requirements. The resultof this will be to divert resources of materials and laborfrom production of unnecessary inventories to produc-tion for war and for essential civilian needs. At thepresent time large quantities of materials are tied up inbusiness inventories. Moreover, a not insignificant

i The authors wish to acknowledge the contribution of Morris Kaufman, whoassisted in the methodology and in the preparation of much of the statistical material;and Reba L. Osborne, who assisted in the preparation of the data bearing on retailinventories.

proportion of our productive resources has been engagedfor more than a year in adding to the size of these stocks.It will be shown below that this piling up was consider-ably in excess of previously established relationshipsprevailing between inventories and output. The possi-bility of putting part of existing materials into activeuse and of freeing for immediate needs the productiveresources now, in a sense, immobilized by unneces-sary devotion to inventory accumulation, is of vitalmoment in the present period.

It is the purpose of this article to trace the rise inbusiness inventories since the outbreak of the war al-most 3 years ago and to appraise this movement interms of the current situation. The analysis will becentered primarily on broad movements of businessinventoriesmanufacturers, wholesalers, and retailersrather than on specific commodities that enter inthese inventories. It is developed for the most partfrom monthly data on manufacturers' inventories whichhave been collected by the Bureau of Foreign andDomestic Commerce since 1939.2 Monthly estimatesof the value of wholesale and retail stocks have beenmade to complete the business inventory picture.

Size of Business Inventories.Business inventories are at an all-time peak. For

almost 2 years the economic factors that make forinventory accumulation have asserted themselves withincreasing vigor. The rising tempo of business activityover the period has, of course, demanded larger stocks.To this was added further accumulation due to fearsof shortages and higher prices.

Combined stocks of manufacturers, wholesalers, andretailers were estimated at about 28.5 billion dollarsat the end of March of this year. Of this total manu-facturers held 16.5 billion, wholesalers 4.9 billion, andretailers 7.0 billion. Since the beginning of 1941 thevalue ol these inventories increased every month atan average rate of almost 500 million dollars per month.Although higher prices accounted for one-third to one-half of the rise, increases have been in record volumein terms of both quantity and value. The most rapidrise took place during the last half of 1941, resultingin a total accumulation for the 12 months of that yearof 6 billion dollars. Despite priorities, allocations,curtailments, and scarcity of many materials, the valueof inventories continued to increase during the firstquarter of 1942 at an annual rate of 5 billion dollars.

2 For a description of the composition and coverage of these data, see Survey oj

Current Business, September 1940. Revisions of these data are contained in theissue of January 1942.Digitized for FRASER

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Figure 5.Value of Business InventoriesBILLIONS OF DOLLARS20

8 1936 1937 1938 gS 1939


1940 19420.0 42 -191

Table 1.Value of Business Inventories, 1935-41[Millions of dollars]

End of year

1935193619371938193919401941

Manufac-turers

8,2109,650

11,2139,994

10, 65911, 92015, 747

Whoiesaiers

3,0293,5463,8903,3193,5493,7304,697

Retailers

4,4164,7175,0334,8825,1175,5496,637

Total

15, 65517,91320,13618,19519, 32521,19927,081

Note.For a brief description of the methods used in estimating these inventories'see notes at the end of the article.

Source: Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce, Division of Research andStatistics, Current Business Analysis Unit.

Each of the three business groups showed significantadvances. As table 2 shows, from the beginning of1941 to the end of March of this year, manufacturersincreased the value of their inventories by 4.5 billiondollars, compared with an increase of 1.2 billion bywholesalers, and 1.4 billion by retailers.Manufacturers Inventories.

In manufacturing, the piling up of inventories wasbroadly distributed through all major industries. Thedurable goods group, which includes most of the in-dustries directly engaged in fabricating war materials,increased the value of their holdings by 2.5 billiondollars, from the beginning of last year to the end ofMarch of this year. The nondurable goods group alsoshowed similar substantial gains2.1 billion. (Seetable 3.) The rise has been further characterized bytremendous increases in the stocks of raw materials andgoods in process.0 As shown in table 4, raw'materialsstocks increased 2.4 billion dollars, while goods inprocess increased by 1.6 billion. The value of finishedgoods inventories, on the other hand, increased onlyone-half billion dollars.

s The break-down of inventories by degree of fabrication is based on reports of

manufacturing corporations made to the Bureau. The indexes of finished goodsinventories constructed from these basic daia are adjusted to the 1939 Census valueof finished goods inventories. Since the Census provides only the total of raw ma-terials and goods in process inventories, dollar figures for each of these categories wereestimated on the basis of the proportions shown by the corporation sample. It is tobe emphasized that the category "raw materials" includes all commodities whichcorporations consider to be raw materials from the standpoint of their activity. Rawmaterial inventories for a particular business may therefore include fabricated prod-ucts produced in earlier stages of manufacture. It may be noted that on the basisof this classification present raw material inventories constitute about 45 percentof all inventories, while goods in process constitute about 25 percent.

Figure 6.Indexes of Value of Manufacturers' Inventories byStages of Fabrication

AVERAGE MONTH 1939 = 100300

200

RAW

( | ) ( f t

GOODS IN PROCESS .

^^ ^ i?> * *< o < Sooo, | 1'"

MATERIALS

I M M I

^FINISHED GOODS

. . . . . l . . . . . I

10090807060

50o" 1939 1940 1941


19420.0 42-192

Only part of the rise in inventories of raw materialsand goods in process, however, was necessary to sustainthe higher levels of shipments, which increased byabout one-half over this period. Some of the inventoryrise represented accumulation above the amountsneeded to sustain current operations. Chief reasons forthis lie in stocking up in anticipation of further pricerises, further curtailments, and shortages of labor andmaterials.

Table 2.Value of Business Inventories[Millions of dollars]

End of month

December..

Janunry . . .February.MarchApril -

1938

ApiMaJuneJulyAugustSeptember.OctoberNovember.December. .

JanuaryFebrua ry . .MarchAprilMayJuneJulyAugustSeptember-OctoberNovember.December..

January.Februa ry . .MarchAprilMayJuneJulyAugustSeptember-OctoberNovember.December. .

1941

J a n u a r y - .February-MarchApril 00 __

Manufac-turers

9,994

10,0249, 9769,8949, 7869,7349, 6839,7479,8249,82910, 06910, 38810, 659

16, 09616, 20116, 46416, 672

Wholesalers

3,319

3, 4473,4933,5143,5103, 4393,4003, 4573,4473, 5033,5993,6063, 549

3,6913,7233,7383,6843,6133,5813,6773, 6883,7453,7843,7693,730

3,9153.9724,0784,1104,1564,2204,3164,3374,3844.5334, 5964,697

4,8334.8674,8994,812

Retailers

4,882

4,7694.7274,9295,1985,2035,1464,9794,9745,1485,2645, 4545,117

5,0175,0315,2005, 4775, 5235,3965,2505, 1435,3865, 5455,8415,549

5,4675,4715, 7286,0456,0876,1186,1176,1856.4236,6536, 9516,637

6,6206,7126, 9547,337

Total

18.195

18, 24018.19618, 33718, 49418, 37618,22918,18318, 24518, 48018,93219, 44819, 325

19, 59719, 74919,92620, 09020,11719. 97020, 07820,08820,46820, 88121, 30621,199

21, 49121,64122.14322, 67623, 03823, 45923, 99424, 43725, 05924, 91626, 72627.081

27, 54927, 78028, 31728, 821

(?) Preliminary.Source: Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce, Division of Research and

Statistics, Current Business Analysis Unit . For a description of the method used inestimating the inventory series see notes at the end of this article.Digitized for FRASER

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8 SURVEY OF CURRENT BUSINESS June 1942The large accumulation of inventories by manu-

facturers during the past year is clearly brought outby the relationships of inventory to shipments shownin figures 7, 8, and 9. These relationships are shownby quarters from 1939 through the first quarter of1942 for total manufacturing, the durable goods indus-tries, and the nondurable goods industries. The loca-tion of a point on the chart corresponding to any par-ticular quarter is determined by the average value ofinventories during the quarter and by the value ofFigure 7.Relationship Between Manufacturers' Inventories

and Shipments, All Industries

10 15 20 25 30 35SHIPMENTS, TOTAL FOR QUARTER (BILLIONS OF DOLLARS)

DD 42-SOZ

Note.The trend line was determined from data for 1939 through the second quartetof 1941 only.


total shipments for the corresponding quarter. Theline of relationship AB shown on figure 7 was deter-mined by the data from 1939 through second quarterof 1941. This line represents a "normal" inventory-shipments relationship in the sense that changes in theinventory levels were, on the average, proportional tocorresponding changes in shipments. As a check, asimilar relationship was obtained by including annualdata back to 1929.

Significant deviations from this line indicate "abnor-mal" holdings in relation to shipments. The fact thatthe points corresponding to the last quarter of 1941and the first quarter of 1942 are substantially abovethe line of relationship, suggests that for each of thesequarters inventories were in excess of current needs.A measure of the approximate size of this excess isgiven b}^ the vertical distances of the points above theline of relationship. Obviously this procedure can giveonly an approximation to the amount of "excessive"inventories during any period since inventories through-out the past periods might have always been excessivein terms of current needs. If so, this condition wouldbe reflected in the line of relationship.

On the basis of this analysis, it is estimated that atthe present time total manufacturing inventories areabout 10-15 percent in excess of the amount needed tosupport current shipment rates. Shipments, however,are expected to rise during the remaining three quartersof this year. Taking into consideration the size of the1942 war program, the effect of curtailment in outputof civilian goods, and the effect of price ceilings, manu-facturing production in 1942 is expected to be 18 per-cent above that of 1941, while the averege wholesaleprice of commodities other than farm products isexpected to increase by 13 percent. These factors willlift total value of shipments to approximately 120billion dollars in 1942, an increase of 28 percent over1941. Shipments during the first quarter of this yearwere at an annual rate of 110 billion. Figure 7 showsinventory needs associated with the projected ship-ments for the remaining three quarters of this yearon the basis of the inventory-shipment relationship.It is apparent from the chart that the present level ofmanufacturers' inventories would he sufficient to meeteven the high levels of shipments which are expectedto be reached by the last quarter of this year. Thismeans that the present rate of inventory accumulation,which during the first quarter was at an annual rateof 5 billion dollars, is not necessary to support theexpected higher rates of manufacturing activity.

Figure 8.Relationship Between Manufacturers' Inventoriesand Shipments, Durable Goods Industries

9

CO

133

160

10)

15177170

0)119

129.4136.6130.27,147

4,8422,0181,147867689121

154817

1,2386,627

74.093.077.5107.0108.5114.582.5

144153

'181181130135128194184

'140139135142206818

136139237196353130110136119125112134119137140120133119124157150

'16115873152113

133. 6141.5134.17,092

5,0572,1911,16488270511593

158491

1, 2936,518

83.596.582.0110.0108.5118.583.5

155168192

'183134143130206191

'161163159142229876

152164256218381

134120135122126119175132141145126148122126162157

'165

165121

137.0146.0137.97,937

5,2422,3071,20090372810493

1591,114

1,3297,334

86.096.081.0110.0107.5117.590.0

160165198184140150135214187

'171174163149244930

16116428023342813813013812012212818812114314712815412412719215516017366163128

138. 9147.6139.27,739

5,1682,3461,2079066238690

157919

1,4057,057

99.098.583.5

112.5107.5122.590.5

159164

'196185144149142216191

'16517716096229997

13513430723346713813113912613013718111913914312915412511615315516217369157123

141.1149.3140.77,518

5,2632,4201,2189096368090

155463

1,5476,714

123.0102.095.0

109.0112.5114.087.0

162167199185151157148224189

'174181172109221

1,113

1204730623648514212214213013715216711614615013115412812113015416017050166122

143.1150.1141.38,280

5,4312,4811,22991073279

151918

1,6917,328

144.5110.099.0

120.0122.5129.088.5

167172206192148156144227

'191'175184166120245

1,204

13474319249560145137148129132

*159v 14211914915113415213112513115115616832169132

145.4152.6143.58,508

5,5922,5391,25192779580

152855

1,8207,435

161.0111.5101.5121.0124.5128.092.0

168173210191145159138231185

'175185173117269

1,290

146110335278634143137153127125

13415115513515313213113415016117210164133

146.5153.7144.58,071

5, 5552,5051,2459248027990

152549

1,7257,109

137.5112.5101.5123.0131.5122.5106.5

167173209191134154124229190

'169171170120

'2751,340

142123338264645144118151123116

139*99152152159136153134138

0)15616717915166134

154.7161.5150. 39, 397

5,8302,5501,4009518428792

1591,583

1,7338,456

128.5134.0124.5143.0131.5153.5132.0

155.7163.2152.08,4245,6652,533(>

174

1,6717,580

110.0131.5119.0143.0124.5154.0143.5

165172215191122142

' 112248

'193'13813716568

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'151'159132161128125

158169180

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156.9166.0153.97,987

5,7312,609()()

7295

173437

1,5517,259

90.5127.0105.5146.5132.0156.0144.5

'167174

'220193128

'146'118

255'190

13213216447

'3130)' 105(2)0)0)0)

138117158131126

135152160129161124126

0)157174174

0) ,155121 !

' 158. 6' 168.6' 156. 0

' 5,905' 2,670()

)'75

177924

' 1,593' 7,935

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104.0' 147.5'129 .0' 154.5'157.0

168P 1 7 7P 2 2 7

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'147'120'265*185'142

141176

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155161122

'160116

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169175

0)148117

'Revised. * Preliminary. cTFormerly designated as "automobiles." Publication of data discontinued to avoid disclosure of military payrolls.1 Included in total and group indexes but not available for publication separately.

* Beginning in December 1941 this series dropped from the index of industrial production and its weight transferred to the automobile bodies, parts, and assemblyseries, which is more representative of production by the automobile industry.

tRevised series. Earlier data on income payments revised beginning 1929 will appear in a subsequent issue. For industrial production series, see note marked with a"f" on p. S-2.

New series. See note marked with a "f" on p. S-2. ^Revisions appear in the September 1941 Survey see note marked with a " f on p. S-2.Digitized for FRASER http://fraser.stlouisfed.org/ Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

S-2 SURVEY OF CUERENT BUSINESS June 1942

Monthly statistics through December 1939, to-gether with explanatory notes and referencesto the sources of the data, m ay be found in the1940 Supplement to the Survey

1942

April

1941

April May June July August Sep-temberOcto-ber

Novem-ber

Decem-ber

1943

Janu-ary

Febru-ary March

BUSINESS INDEXESContinuedINDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION!Con.

UnadjustedContinued.Minerals } 1935-39=100..

Fuels* doAnthracite doBituminous coal doCrude petroleum do

Metals*} doCopper*. doLead doZinc} do . . . .

Adjusted:Combined index} do

Manufacturers} . . . d o Durable manufactures} do

Iron and steel} doLumber and products* .do

Furniture* .doLumber* .do

Machinery* doNonferrous metals*} doStone, clay, and glass products*..do

Cement doGlass containers* doPolished plate glass do

Transportation equipment*} doAircraft*} do.-_Automobile bodies, parts and assem-

bly* 1935-1939=100-Automobiles, factory salesd"}--..doLocomotives* doRailroad cars* doShipbuilding (private yards)*..do...

Nondurable manufactures doAlcoholic beverages* doChemicals* do._.Leather and products do . . .

Shoes* d o . . .Manufactured food products*}...do...

Dairy products*}. do.._Meat packing _ d o . . .

Paper and products* d o . . .Paper and pulp*. d o . . .

Petroleum and coal*products* do . . .Coke* do . . .Petroleum refining . do . . .

Printing and publishing* d o . . .Rubber products* do . . .Textiles and products do . . .

Cotton consumption* do . . .Rayon deliveries*} do . . .Silk deliveries*.,. do . . .Wool textile production* do . . .

Tobacco products do . . .Minerals} - . . . . do . . .

Fuels* do . . .Anthracite. doBituminous coal . do . . .Crude petroleum. do . . .

Metals*} do . . .Copper*} . do . . .Lead} - . do . . .Zinc} do . . .

MANUFACTURERS' ORDERS, SHIP-MENTS, AND INVENTORIES*

New orders, total Jan. 1939=100.Durable goods do.

Electrical machinery doOther machinery doIron and steel and their products doOther durable goods do

Nondurable goods do.Shipments.total average month 1939 = 100.

Durable goods doAutomobiles and equipment doElectrical machinery . . .doOther machinery doIron and stee] and their products doTransportation equipment (except

automobiles) do.Other durable goods - do _

Nondurable goods doChemicals and allied products. . . do.Food and kindred products do.Paper and allied products do.Petroleum refining do.Rubber products doTextile-mill prod ucts do -Other nondurable goods do_

P 1 2 5v 120v 122v 150v 107M58v 175

v 134P 1 4 9v 127P 2 7 4v 182P 1 5 6

161

0)()0)0)0)p 138

P 1 6 8v 121

P 1 3 6

" P141

160

0)J>151

177170

0)r 127P130P125P 114P178P105p 156P170

P293P449P549P466P281*>669P 193

P199p 237P130P259P281

1, 090v 192P168P 173P157p 165P132P159 215

877618116149156121133

144153180181132139128194183

r 141139135142196818124122237196353131

'108133115119123135126134136121133119118158150

' 1611587415212095867122113149152119133

196277288255304247144

154183173195191179

367161132151122140109150154125

12711888126118181159117127

154160190183132152122206189143134148142228876

152151256218381135114136124128123129132142145125148122122162157

'1651697116511912612180149114152159115127

207290308276307269154161195192207192195

382170134155128145120166148120

131123116132120181152116136

159164195184135155125214186

' 149138155152243930

16114828023342813912214413213812712412414514912715412312819215616017373163118132129126153120151155117136

229330316298289429164170207202214218201

429179141164137149126182161115

130121107128119184147110125

160165199185141161131216192151143154146255997

16815430723346713813014613013412612612514615012815412412715315516217377157114131127137146119151156114125

212295339294281301159163197178208199198

4381711373.55131147129165155121

134125120135122187152116131

160166199185140152134224189154148158133241

1,113

1419330623648513912814512212113212713414715213015412612913015416017056166118132129162147119148155116131

196257309290223265157

16819295

201209210

486185149155140154137157176146

137129122144124182152120135

161167203192136149129227192

'157154163120245

1,204

13474

319249560137131146120118

P130*13912614414913215212812513115115616834169121131128127139124145154120135

202260304265249258165

185212133226232216

5711971641751631651371771S6153

138131123142127

'181156119134

163169207191135146129231185158159168102269

1,290

146110335278634139129148125123

P134?14613314615013315312912713415016117210164128130127116127128

146151119134

193239359246213227163

183215178218222207

608187157168152169131172179149

13513099143128161157128131

166' 172'208191135148128229190

'162164168105

'2751,340142123338264645144109149

'134134

P141P146135153159135153133136

0)1561671791516613213112897125132

'147152127131

212265314326225258178

183220190230233201

671186155168150175142150171144

'12512994138129'98159124138

167174

'215196138149132241193

'16719116567280

0)120

(2)(00)0)141116152128131

P 1 3 7P 1 5 6142155162139160135130

0)154155

'179

129' 13112789124132

' 153157122138

232332396367248413167

'188'228174260247208

'803186157163151171139149183149

'126131104144129'91158131138

171178222191143153138248

'194'19924918465

'3040)118

(2)0)0)0)143139154

'127'125P 1 4 0P 1 5 4148153

'161135161131

'1280)158169180

0)16113213112889129132

' 150161131138

268414347414245719174

' 184'214152211229200

'829176161170160171141131184150

124130121141127'90160140146

172'180'226193144146143255190

' 18923617849

'3130)'105(2)0)0)0)142133158120117

p 141P153141149

'155131161126125

0)157174174

0)155130129125110120128

'151158140146

292463452648256645182

199232133249260208

1,004194173181171173133144204172

118122116140115'98'165131

172180

'230198

'134'145'128'265'184'171188187413

(0

)0)0)0)'139116

'161'120'116P137P150'144150156126

'160120

'121(')

152169175

0)148125127122113146114

' 154'162134

274427477442256673176

199235131257270211

018196171176162173130147200180

' Revised. * Preliminary, i See note 1, p. S-l. 2 See note 2, p. S-2. cTFormerly designated as "automobiles." }See note marked " t . "{Revised series. Revised indexes of industrial production for 1919-39 (1923-39 for industrial groups and industries'), including the new scries, are available on pp. 12-17 of theAugust 1940 Survey, except for subsequent revisions in the series marked with a " } " and data for all years for the new series on "automobile bodies, parts and assembly;" datafor the latter series and revisions for the series marked " } " (with the exception of revisions in the zinc series and resulting changes in the combined indexes for minerals andmetals) are available in table 24, pp. 24 and 25 of the September 1941 Survey; the latter table includes also revisions of 1940 data for petroleum and coal products, coke, textilesand products, wool textiles, fuels and anthracite. Revisions for zinc and the combined indexes for minerals and metals will be shown in a later issue. In some industries,recent conditions have obliterated seasonal movements and the seasonal factors have been fixed at 100 beginning at some time in 1939 or 1940; see latter part of note markedwith a " t " on p. S-2 of the February 1942 Survey (except that the date for the automobile series given at end of note should read September 1941 instead of 1940).

"New series. For industrial production series, see note marked with "f". For description of data on manufacturers' orders and shipments and February to June 1939indexes of new orders see pp. 7-13 September 1940 Survey; see subsequent monthly issues for later indexes of new orders. Revised figures beginning January 1939 for shipmentswill be shown in a subsequent issue.


June 1942 SURVEY OF CURRENT BUSINESS S-3Monthly statistics through December 1939, to-

gether with explanatory notes and referencesto the sources of the data, may be found in the1940 Supplement to the Survey

1942

April

1941


Novem-ber

Decem-ber

1942Janu-

aryFebru-

ary March

BUSINESS INDEXESContinuedMANUFACTURERS' ORDERS, SHIP-MENTS, AND INVENTORIES*-Con.

Inventories, total average month 1939=100-Durable goods do . . .

Automobiles and equipment do . . .Electrical machinery doOther machinery do . . .Iron and steel and their products do . . .Transportation equipment (except auto-

mobiles) average month 1939=100.Other durable goods do-._

Nondurable goods do- . .Chemicals and allied products do.._Food and kindred products do . . .Paper and allied products- . .doPetroleum refining do . . .Rubber products doTextile-mill products ____do._-Other nondurable goods _do.__

p 167. 7P 187.5p 202.9v 264.2p 199.1p 127.2p 759. 7p 142. 6v 150.4P 158.0p 159.0p 140.7p 114. 5p 154. 3p 157.3p 152.7

126.0140. 2155. 2172.9140.0122.5375.1114.6113.6118.9113.0119.4102.7140.4124.2104.1

128.7144.1155.1183.9144.1124.5403.1116.5115.2118.4117.3117.6103.2143.1126.6105.3

132.0146.7152.8190.6146.4125.5428.4118.0119.2119.5123.0118.8104.9143. 3129.4111.9

136.4150.3138.3198.7151.1126.9467.4121.8124.3122.9133.2122.1106.3145.8135.3115.0

140.0155.8163.9206.5156.5126.5504.7123.8126.2125.2139.9124.2105.8141.4132.1117.1

143.4160.5187.6212.5158.7126.0552.2125.0128.4126. 0142.8125.4107.7133.5133.6121.9

148.2166.2195.0225.5166.4125.9600.2127.4132.5128.2146.7128.5110.4131.8137.6128.9

152.7170.3193.3231.6173.3127.8618.2130.9137.4132.0153.4132.0111.9134.6143.5134.1

158.4175.5193.3134.1180.0129.2663.4136.4143.5143.7162.0135.1113.2143.6147. 3138.7

161.9179.2190.8243.9187.5J27.2693.9139.5146.9147.8163.6134.4113.4149.7151.5145.4

163.0180.8190.0250.3191.4125.5709.1140.6147.4150.9158.9137.8115.5149.6154.1147.3

' 165. 6' 183. 4' 193. 6' 255. 5' 195. 0' 125. 7' 732. 5' 141. 3' 150.1' 155. 6' 156. 8' 140. 0' 115.0

155. 4' 156. 2' 155. 6

COMMODITY PRICESCOST OF LIVING

National Industrial Conference Board:Combined indexf 1923=100.

Clothing _ _ . d o . . .Foodt - do . . .Fuel and light _-.do._-Housing... do.__Sundries _ _ _ do . . _

U. S. Department of Labor:Combined index* 1935-39=100-

Clothing* - -do . . .Foodf d o . . .Fuel, electricity, and ice* do...Housefurnishings* . do . . .Rent* _ d o . . .Miscellaneous*.. _ do . . .

PRICES RECEIVED BY FARMERSU. S. Department of Agriculture:

Combined index 1909-14=100.Chickens and eggs do . . .Cotton and cottonseed -doDairy products _._ __do.Fruits _-dO-_.Grains d o . . .Meat animals doTruck crops do . . .Miscellaneous . .do

RETAIL PRICESU. S- Department of Labor indexes:

Anthracite 1923-25=100.Bituminous coal (35 cities) doFood (see under cost of living above).

Fairchild's index:Combined index. Dec. 31, 1930=100-.

Apparel:Infants' doMen's _.doWomen's _ -do

Home furnishings- . .doPiece goods do

WHOLESALE PRICESU. S. Department of Labor indexes:

Combined index (889 quotations*).1926=100..Economic classes:

Manufactured products doRaw materials doSemimanufactured articles do

Farm products doGrains _ doLivestock and poultry do

Commodities other than farm products*1926=100..

Foods ._ . .doCereal products* _ .doDairy products . . .doFruits and vegetables... doMeats do

Commodities other than farm products andfoods 1926=100-

Building materials .doBrick and tile _ doCeni entj doLumberf doPaint and paint materials* do

97.188.498.890.191.0104.1

115.1126.9119.6104.2121.6109.1110.6

150131158142118120190158136

87.595.9

113.4

108.6105.6113.2115.8112.6

98.9100.092.8

104.591.5

118.399.098.790.294.197.7

112.8

95.7110.298.094.1

131.8100.6

86.973.381.086.487.898.3

102.2102.4100.6101.0102.4105.4102.2

110104881218990

'13614794

83.090.1

95.5

97.689.593.997.7

83.2

85.577.585.174.470.986.2

85.077.976.881.063.885.6

85.9100.191.791.0116.788.7

87.473.682.286.488.098.5

102.9102.8102.1101.1103.2105.7102.5

112107981248993

'136'130

82.890.1

96.3

97.789.794.3

84.987.179.786.476.474.588.0

86.679.578.281.664.087.287.4

100.491.991.5

116.889.3

88.573.685.586.788.298.6

104.6103.3105.9101.4105.3105.8103.3

1181181071269796

'14214698

82.490.5

97.7

98.190.195.3100.491.3

87.1

88.683.687.682.175.993.0

88.083.179.884.373.090.8

88.6101.092.591.9117.690.3

73.886.287.888.498.7

105.3104.8106.7102.3107.4106.1103.7

1251271211329398

'151130107

84.692.0

98.791.596.9

102.493.3

88.890.186.187.985.876.3

89.384.780.387.769.493.889.7

103.194.292.1

122.391.6

89.474.587.388.688.698.8

106.2106.9108.0103.2108.9106.3104.0

13113012813510099

'155133128

86.693.8

102.6

100.093.3

100.4104.997.1

90.391.587.689.587.479.099.090.787.281.590.370.397.590.8

105.595.192.1

127.593.3

90.876.989.489.488.999.8

108.1110.8110.7103.7112.0106.8105.0

13914115014089

106'163

145131

88.394.9

105.2101.295.5

104.1106.999.9

91.892.890.090.391.085.3

101.191.989.585.893.370.799.491.6

106.495.792.2

129.194.7

92.078.390.790.089.2

101.5109.3112.6111.6104.0114.4107.5106.9

139146144145107101

'154164144

88.795.8

106.2102.196.5

105.7108.5101.6

92.493.989.789.990.081.494.592.888.986.495.275.893.693.4

107.396.692.7

129.596.0

92.979.692.290.289.5

101.9110.2113.8113.1104.0115.6107.8107.4

13515713614898103

'149158128

107.5103.297.5

106.9109.5103.7

92.5

90.289.790.684.390.692.789.385.996.377.990.893.5

107.596.693.1

128.795.3

93 28(U92.690.389.9

102.2110.5114.8113.1104.1116.8108.2107.7

14315313814898112

'157162154

108.3103.798.1

107.7110.2105.0

94.692.390.194.791.097.4

93.390.589.395.573.895.393.7

107.896.793.4

129.496.5

94.582.495.290.390.1

102.5

112.0116.1116.2104.3117.2108.4108.5

149147143148102119

'164204169

'6.7

110.2

J04.9101.1109.1112.7107.1

96.096.496.191.7

100.895.9

105.794.893.791.196.078.3

101.694.6

109.396.993.4

131.699.1

95.184.595.790.490.4

102.9112.9119.0116.8104.4119.7108.6109.4

14513515014798121' 173161133

96.7

111.9

106.7102.7111.2114.3110.8

96.7

97.097.092.0101.395.3109.3

95.594.691.195.085.2104.0

94.9110.197.093.4132.799.9

96.185.897. 590.490.7103.5114.3123.6118.6104. 5121. 2108.9110.1

146130151144111122

r 180136132

88.998.7

112.5

107.5101. 2112.1115.1111.8

97.6

97.898.292.3

102.893.8

113.896.296.190.694.387.7

109.295.2

110.597.193. 6

133. 1100.8

'Revised. * Preliminary. -Number of quotations increased to 889 in January 1941. JFor monthly data beginning 1933, see p. 18 of the April 1940 Survey.Data for May 15, 1942: Total, 152; chickens and eggs, 134; cotton and cottonseed, 159; dairy products, 143; fruits, 131: grains, 120; meat animals, 189 truck crops, 152;

miscellaneous, 138.fRevised series. National Industrial Conference Board's index of cost of living and food component and index of wholesale prices of Timber revised beginning 1935, see

tables 5 and 7, respectively, p. 18 of the January 1941 Survey; since June 1941, the Board's food index is based on its own data collected in 56 cities, theretofore, it was based onthe Department of Labor's series. For the Department of Labor's revised index of retail food prices beginning 1913, see table 51, p. 18 of the November 1940 Survey. Earlierrevised indexes for meat animals will be shown in a subsequent issue.

*New series. For description of data on manufacturers' inventories, see pp. 7-13 of the September 1940 Survey, and for revised figures beginning December 1938, sse table40, p. 22 of the January 1942 Survey. For data beginning 1913 for the Department of Labor's cost of living series, see table 19, p. 18 of the May 1941 Survey; for index ofprices of commodities other than farm products beginning 1913, see table 36, p. 18 of the September 1940 Survey. Data beginning 1926 for cereal products, and 1913 for paintand paint materials will be published in a subsequent issue.


S-4 SURVEY OF CUREENT BUSINESS June 1942

Monthly statistics through December 1939, to-gether with explanatory notes and referencesto the sources of the data, may be found in the1940 Supplement to the Survey

1943

April

1941


Novem-ber

Decem-ber

1943Janu-ary

Febru-ary March

COMMODITY PRICESContinued

WHOLESALE PRICESContinuedU. S. Department of Labor IndexesCon.

Commodities other than farm products andfoodsContinued

Chemicals and allied products! ..1926=100Chemicalst doDrugs and Pharmaceuticals t doFertilizer materialst doOils and fats* _ do

Fuel and lighting materials doElectricity do....Gas.-. doPetroleum products do

Hides and leather products doHides and skins doLeather doShoes do

House-furnishing goods__, doFurnishings doFurniture do

Metals and metal products doIron and steel doMetals, nonferrous doPlumbing and heating equipment--do

Textile products doClothing do-...Cotton goods doHosiery and underwear doRayon*. doSilk* do....Woolen and worsted goods do

Miscellaneous doAutomobile tires and tubes doPaper and pulp ..do

Wholesale prices, actual. (See under respectivecommodities.)

PURCHASING POWER OF THEDOLLAR

Wholesale prices 1923-25=100.Retail food pricesf doPrices received by farmers doCost of livingf do

97.196.4

126. 779.2

108.8

58.4119.2123.5101.3126. 7102.8108.097.5

104.697.185. 698.597.7

107.8113.870.630.30)111.090.372.5

102.9

101.9105.898.0

104.7

81.886.497.571.069.372.969.278.151.9

103.9104.795.6

107.890.497.183.497.995.984.383.081.088.786.861.129.548.393,378.658.894.5

121.0125.8133.7117.1

83.686.898.771.180.675.667.780.155.3

106.4110.396.9

110.191.498.084.398.196.184.483.083.090.991.061.329.549.194.179.658.896.7

118.6123.9131. 2116.4

83.887.299.969.980.677.967.281.059.9

107.8112.497.9

111.793.199.087.098.396.584.583.184.591.694.661.929.551.294.680.658.898.0

115.6119.5124.5114.9

85.287.3100.074.083.778.5

60.9109. 4112.598.1114.794.499.788.998.596.884.783.286.293.996.162.929.551.496.582.058.8

113.4118.6117.6114.4

86.087.5

100.175.387.379.066.478. 361.4

110.2112.298.5

116.195.4

100.789.998.696.984.486.888.395.1

101.563.829.552.098.283.760.8

100.7

111.5117.1112.2113.8

87.488.2

104.476.691.379.266.781.761.7

111,3112.1100.0117.197.2

102.192.298.696.984.487.189.796.1

104.264.429.8

0)101.485.160.8

101.7

109.7114.3105.7112.0

89.788:4

124.177.393.479.666.278.961.7

112.6113.1100.9118.899.5

104.494.4

103.197.084.687.890.997.8

105.266.630.30)102.386.465.5

101.9

109.0113.4105.7110.5

88.3123.277.392.978.868.277.560.4

114.1114.0101.1120.5100.6105.295.8

103.397.184.887.991.197.9

105.467.030.30)102.687.367.4

102.2

108.9111.9108.9109.5

91.388.6

123.077.8

101.978.467.477.459.8

114.8115.9101.3120.7101.1105.696.6

103.397.084.889.191.898.4

107.567.030.30)102.787.667.4

102.5

107.6111.9102.8109.2

96.095.3

126.378.6

106.478.2

76.459.5

114.9115.3101.4121.1102.4107.297.4

103.597.085.493.693.6

101.1110.569.030.30)

103.089.371.0

102.8

104.9108.998.6

107.6

97.096.3

126.579.3

108.278.0

77.058.9

115.3115. 5101.4121.8102. 5107.497.4

103. 697.085.697.995.2

105.3111.469.630.30)104.389.371.0

102.9

104.1108.3101.4107.0

97.196.4

126. 579.5

108.8

77.158. 3

116.7116. 6101.5124.3102. 6107.797.4

103.897.185.698.290.6

106. 6112.669.830.3

0)108.789.771.0

102.9

103. 2106.6100.7105.8

CONSTRUCTION AND REATJ ESTATE

CONTRACT AWARDS, PERMITS, ANDDWELLING UNITS PROVIDED

Value of contracts awarded (F . R. indexes):Total, unadjusted 1923-25=100..

Residential, unadjusted doTotal, adjusted do

Residential adjusted doF . W. Dodge Corporation (37 States):

Total projects number. . ITotal valuation thous. of dol . .

Public ownership. doPrivate ownership do

Nonresidential buildings:Projects number . .Floor area thous. of sq. f t . .Valuation thous. of doL_

Residential buildings, all types:Projects number . .Floor area thous. of sq. f t . .Valuation thous. of doL-

Public works:Projects number . .Valuation thous. of dol_.

Utilities:Projects number . .Valuation thous. of do] _.

New dwelling units provided and permit val-uation of building construction (based onbldg. permits), U . S . p e p t . of Labor indexes:!

Number of new dwelling units provided1935-39=100-

Permit valuation:Total building construction do

New residential buildings doNew nonresidential buildings doAdditions, alterations, and repairs.-do

Estimated number of new dwelling units pro-vided in all urban areas (U. S. Dept . ofLabor) :f

Total number . .1-family dwellings do2-family dwellings doMultifamily dwellings. do

Engineering construction:Contract awards (E. N . R.) thous. of do l . .

33,167498,742354, 575144, 167

5,20851, 281

234,939

26, 68338, 341

162, 097

94558, 47'

33143, 229

220.5

90.8161.043.193.4

898, 696

11793

10380

36, 380406,675184,009222, 666

5,23331, 509

143,304

29,49941, 978

166, 462

1,28371,426

36525, 483

273.9

192.9241.1168.4125.6

48,04537,8352,9487,262

381,563

121104101

48, 531548, 700267, 454281, 246

44, 596202,492

38, 09354, 571

201, 274

1,58996, 501

40348, 433

253.6

177.9221.6147.7135.4

43.88534,9422,6166,327

409,371

135111117101

46, 950539,106313, 650225, 456

6,26231, 898

200, 456

38, 52752, 098

205, 634

1,70199, 631

46033, 385

283.5

195.8247.7162.3140.5

47,99438, 5872,6816,726

589, 221

153118139115

49, 637577, 392348, 495228, 897

8,33938, 242

220,612

39,42952, 895

205, 049

1,487101,074

50, 657

264.2

178.5236.4135.9131.9

45,02536,072

2,4216, 532

958,663

159111152112

50, 551760, 233520,430239, 803

10, 76663,802

286, 741

37, 23462, 773

231, 529

1,871134,054

680107, 909

253.1

161.5233.2100.0125.8

41. 62234,6672,3634,592

529, 561

162105161105

41,497623, 292403, 495219, 797

7,82246, 810

218, 288

31, 79143, 624

175, 713

1,419131,123

465

244.5

156.0219.8104.1112.6

40,38934,3952,8883,106

514,251

13784

14587

40,920606,349371,345235,004

9,90754, 417

269, 553

29, 24645, 403

171, 772

1,26694, 563

50170, 461

198.8

136.6180.389.7

130.9

33,64628,3542,3102,982

406,332

12271

13874

29,150458,620297,865160, 755

4,97831,023

192,936

22, 63330,170

116,468

1,08688, 436

45360, 780

171.5

103.9147.266.083.6

27,86820,833

1,5505,485

22,941431,626287, 722143,904

3,61924,908

171,016

18,34425, 591

104, 276

715105,989

26350, 345

120.7

104.4114.193.181.6

19,33815,4331,3532,552

269,689

9668

11882

23,862316,846198, 251118, 595

3,24521,113

123,231

19,83826,864

102,758

56764, 428

21226,429

121.5

85.7

65.688.5

11189

128100

40, 000433,557310,249123,308

4.60031', 576

169. 606

34,49241,836

168,014

68158, 535

37,402

223.5

129.9168.0104.2

628, 780 634, 823

' 125>-99

'125' 9 5

55, 843610.799472, 817137, 982

5. 98242, 456

231,834

47, 73150, 770

219, 276

1,72592,148

40567, 541

186.0

103.4145.568.695.8

729, 485r Revised. *> Preliminary. Data for May, July, and October 1941 and January and April 1942 are for 5 weeks; other months, 4 weeks. J No quotation.*New series. For indexes of rayon and silk prices beginning 1926, see table 29, p. 18 of the May 1940 Survey. Data beginning 1926 for price index for oils and fats will

appear in a subsequent issue.fRevised series. Data for chemicals and allied products and subgroups revised beginning 1926; see table 32, p. 18 of the August 1940 Survey. Indicated series on "pur-

chasing power of the dollar" revised beginning January 1935; see table 4, p. 18 of the January 1941 Survey. Revised data beginning September 1929 for indexes of new dwellingunits provided and permit valuation of building construction are shown in table 7, p. 17 of the March 1942 Survey. Revised data on number of dwelling units provided for1939 are shown on table 18, p. 17 of the May 1941 Survey. Estimates beginning January 1940 cover urban areas as defined by results of the 1940 Census; a few revisions indata for 1940 as shown on p. 22 of the June 1941 Survey, are available on request.




1942

April

1941


Novem-ber

Decem-ber

1943Janu-ary

Febru-ary March

CONSTRUCTION AND REAL ESTATEContinued

HIGHWAY CONSTRUCTIONConcrete pavement contract awards:

Totalf '_ .thous. sq. yd .Airports* doRoads.. doStreets and alleys. do

Status of highway and grade crossing projectsadministered by Public Roads Admn.:

Highways:Approved for construction:

Mileage . .no. of miles..Federal funds thous. of dol.

Under construction:Mileage no. of miles..Federal funds thous. of dol..Estimated cost do

Grade crossings:Approved for construction:

Federal funds doEstimated cost do

Under construction:Federal funds.. . doEstimated cost do

CONSTRUCTION COST INDEXESAberthaw (industrial building) .1914=100American Appraisal Co.:f

Average, 30 cities 1913=100..Atlanta ___do,New York _ do.San Francisco.. _ do.St. Louis do.

Associated General Contractors (all types)1913=100 _.

E. H. Boeckh and Associates, Inc.:Apartments, hotels, and office buildings:

Brick and concrete:Atlanta U, S. av., 1926-29=100.-New York do_San Francisco _.do.St. Louis _do_

Commereial and factory buildings:Brick and concrete:

Atlanta .do,New York do_San Francisco ___doSt. Louis __do.

Brick and steel:Atlanta _do.New York do_San Francisco do.St. Louis. do.

Residences:Brick:

Atlanta do.New York _do.San Francisco __do_St. Louis do.

Frame:Atlanta do_New York _.do.San Francisco do.St. Louis do.

Engineering News Record (all types) 1913=100..

Federal Home Loan Bank Board:fStandard 6-room frame house:

Combined index... . 1935-1939=100.-Materials do.Labor do.

REAL ESTATEFed. Hous. Admn., home mortgage insurance: |

Gross mortgages accepted for insurancethous. of dol__

Premium-paying mortgages (cumulative)thous. of dol___

Estimated new mortgage loans by all savingsand loan associations, total..-thous. of dol__

Classified according to purpose:Mortgage loans on homes:

Construction.. doHome purchase doRefinancing.. doRepairs and reconditioning . .do

Loans for all other purposes-.. . .doClassified according to type of association:

Federal _ thous. of dol.. .State members. .doNonmembers- do

238232248221237

207.3

105.4137.7125.7124.4

105.7139.0126.7124.9106.4137.1128.6124.8

103.7139.3122.3122.8103.2141.1119.5122.5272.3

122.4120.5125.9

69,225

3,916,421

99, 047

20,48852,19614, 5084,0837,772

38, 48443, 93716,626

5,0421,3582,0871,596

3,62142,405

8,334126, 387246,119

13,00013, 535

37, 64839, 300

213213230196216

195.2

134.0119.6121.0

101.7136.6123.0121.3100.8133.7122.1122.1

95.6132.1114.5118.0

93.7131.9110.9117.0255.6

111.2108.7116.1

92,406

2,968,407

120,631

48,31116,9056,36810,361

51, 37150,95618, 304

7,7822,8043,4251,553

3,76542, 755

8,777134, 641261, 530

16, 75317, 81237,38438, 972

215214231196218

195.0

99.7134.0119.9121.1

101.7136.6123.2121.4

100.7133.7122.3122.2

95.2132.1114.6117.8

93.1131.9111.0116.6256.8

111.6108.8117.0

119, 566

3,033,684

130, 953

40,97554, 78118, 5065,93010, 761

55,39654,49521,062

8,7763,1123,8781,786

4,118

8,921139,401270, 967

20,45921,255

37, 71439,452

207

215214231197219

195.7

99.2134.9119.3120.3

101.3136.9122.7120.8100.3134.3121.9121.5

94.6133.6115.0116.892.1134.2110.4115.5

258.2

112.4109.2118.6

122,963

3,108,723

133, 640

44,20755,99317,8915,6339,916

57,54254,85721,241

17,1249,5944,8252,706

3,87947, 264

9,054141, 569276,100

17, 79818, 76539, 54840, 939

219216233203223

197.5

99.6135.3120.8120.7

101.6137.1123.8121.1

100.9134.8127.3122.0

97.0135.9117.3118.395.2

137.1113.3117.3260.4

113.6110.7119. 3

114,247

3,190,690

132, 972

44,91855, 68216, 8166,0229,53456, 56455, 67620, 732

9,5673,6063,9102,051

3,55744, 693

8,840138,675272,079

14, 66215, 82042, 77844, 249

221218234204223

197.8

100.5136.1121.5121.3

102.2137.7124.3121.5101.8135.5128.0122.6

99.3137. 5118.9120.098.1

139.1115.3119.5263.1

115.1112.6120.0

107,137

3,261,476

129, 727

42,98755,97315, 7855,5719,411

57, 59254, 54217, 593

6,0721,6242,6351,814

2,89938, 404

8,615136, 512268,926

12, 42313, 55342, 32843, 771

211

221218235205223

200.3

100.7136.3122.8121.5

102.4137.9124.7121.7

102.0135.7128.7122.8

99.5137.7120.4120.3

139.3117.6119.9264.5

116.5114.4120.7

104, 937

3,335,703

129,934

40,78258,05215,8715,8849,345

54,78654,30320,845

6,9752,8852,4601,630

2,74938,850

8,176131, 914260,555

11,85113,122

41, 52042, 920

223219235209224

201.9

100.7136.3122.5121.5

102.4137.9124.6121.7102.1135.8128.4122.8

100.0138.0119.0120.3

98.8139.7115.8119.9

266.1

118.5116.0123.3

94, 948

5,423,183

127,938

37, 72259,87416,2835,361

52, 50754, 93020, 501

4,344535

2,5701,239

2,63539, 259

7,809128, 351253, 703

10,20811,588

40,46441, 932

223219235210224

203.3

100.7136.3123.5122.6

102.4137.9126.2123.4102.1135.8128.8123.2

100.0138.0119.5120.8

139.7117.4120.3266.2

119.2116.9123.9

70, 799

3,503,681

104,749

30,10348,81613, 3404,2678,223

41, 91046,89015,949

8,1762,9643,1972,015

2,25934,014

7,417121, 384239, 336

10,00511,810

37, 74239, 323

215

225222238212226

203.3

100.2136.0123.2122.5

102.1137.7126.0123.4

101.3135.3128.3123.1

97.1136.1117.6120.4

95.1137.2114.9119.8

267.6

119.9117.7124.2

75,435

3,596,491

100, 208

30,29043,14514,4244,1708,179

41,18243, 96015,066

4,7262,4901,1391,098

1,96730, 789

7,044117,669228,623

8,5429,314

35,92838,300

229224240215230

203.3

101.4137.0124.2123.8

102.9138.4125.3124.4

102.5136.2127.1124.1

99.9137.9120.0121.4

98.5139.4117.7120.8269.4

120.6118.6124.5

66,952

,690,214

79, 533

22,79134,12712, 8543,1906,571

31,14235, 31213, 079

3,4641,4511,110903

1,79628,344

6,802119, 233225, 527

8,0478,761

34, 75437,140

231225241215230

204.0

101.4137.0124.2123.9

102.9138.4125.3124.5102.5136.2127.1124.3

137.9120.0122.1

98.5139.4117.7121.7

269.7

121.2119.3125.0

104, 566

;,769,496

76, 756

20, 79933, 76912, 3253,1386,725

31,91933, 93910,898

Revised .

7,0913,9721,7271,392

1,562' 24,612

6,778123, 405226, 543

7,4908,210

34,57636, 913

218

237232247221236

206.5

101.9137.5125.6124.4

103.2138.8126.6124.9

102.8136.8128.5124.7

100.3138.3121.9122.598.8

139.8118.9122.1

271.8

122.0r 120.0r 126.0

141,443

3,849,549

87,367

21, 77540,93013, 2253,5477,890

36,32538,03013,012

Beginning with the September 1940 issue of the Survey, indexes computed as of the first of the month are shown as of the end of the preceding month. The EngineeringNews Record index is similarly shown in the 1940 Supplement as of the end of the preceding month.

IFigures include mortgages insured under the defense housing insurance fund beginning April 1941 for gross mortgages accepted for insurance and beginning June 1941 forpremium-paying mortgages. ^

New series. Earlier data for concrete pavement contract awards for airports and for the total revised to include airports, not shown in the Survey beginning with theMarch 1941 issue, will appear in a subsequent issue.

tRevised series. Revised indexes of the American Appraisal Company beginning 1913 are available in table 44, p. 13 of the November 1940 Survey. For revision in totalconcretefawards, see note marked with an "*." Data beginning 1936 for the Federal Home Loan Bank Board's revised index of construction costs are shown on p. 26 of theOctober 1941 Survey.


S-6 SURVEY OF CURRENT BUSINESS June 1942Monthly statistics through December 1939, to-


1942

April

1941


Novem-ber

Decem-ber

1942Janu-

aryFebru-

ary March

CONSTRUCTION AND REAL ESTATEContinuedREAL ESTATE-Continued

Loans outstanding of agencies under the Fed-eral Home Loan Bank Board:

Federal Savings and Loan Ass'ns, estimatedmortgages outstanding thous. of dol..

Fpd HOIDP Loan Bk? outstanding advancesto member institutions thous. of dol..

Home Owners' Loan Corporation, balance ofloans outstanding.. thous. of doL._

Index adjusted 1935-39=100Fire losses thous. of dol..

1,845,789

185,298

1,709,064

29.127, 960

1,628,421

141,828

1,899,856

41.129, 330

1!

1,657,647

145,273

1,885,087

38.325, 637

1,088,297

169,897

1,870,305

36.724,943

1,717,507

168,145

1,854,824

37.323, 698

1,750,934

172,628

1,840,686

33.524,122

1,775,284

178,191

1,824,672

32.924, 668

1,802,632

184,311

1,809,074

34.230,833

1,816,357

187,084

1,794,111

31.923,822

1,825,108

219,446

1,777,110

32.431,261

1.835.133

206.068

1. 758.213

32.135, 655

1,829,798

197,432

1,742,116

30.930,819

1,836,635

191, 505

1,724,229

29.530, 505

DOMESTIC TRADEADVERTISING

Frinters' Ink indexes, adjusted:Combined index 1928-32=100...

Farm papers - . . -doMagazines- .__ ...doNewspapers doOutdoor. -do

Radio advertising:Cost of facilities, total thous. of dol..

Automobiles and accessories doClothing. doElectrical household equipment! doFinancial doFoods, food beverages, confections doHouse furnishings, etc.f doSoap, cleansers, etc ._-doSmoking materials -doToilet goods, medical supplies doAllothert do

Magazine advertising:Cost, total do

Automobiles and accessories._ doClothing doElectric household equipment ..-doFinancial do. . . .Foods, food beverages, confections doHouse furnishings, etc doSoap, cleansers, etc ...doOffice furnishings and supplies do Smoking materials doToilet goods, medical supplies doAll other, do

Linage, total thous. of lines..Newspaper advertising:

Linage, total (52 cities) do.. . .Classified-.. - doDisplay, total. - do

Automotive -doFinancial- doGeneral doRetail.- do. . . .

GOODS IN WAREHOUSESSpace occupied in public-merchandise ware-

houses percent of total..

52.667.974.7

9 3725311154544

2,78552

1,0581,2932,843

605

14,8471,094

905244402

2,466815593206736

2,7714,6142,168

107,05521,64985, 406

2,4161,704

17, 82163, 464

I

NEW INCORPORATIONSBusiness incorporations (4 States) number..

POSTAL BUSINESSAir mail: Pound-mile performance.-.millions..Money orders:

Domestic, issued (50 cities):Number thousands- 5,673Value .thous. of dol.. 59,746

Domestic, paid (50 cities):Number thousands.. 17,Value -thous. of doL. 164,302

Receipts, postal:50 selected cities do 0)50 industrial cities do 0)

RETAIL TRADE

All retail stores, total sales * ..mil. of doL-Durable goods stores * doNondurable goods stores * do

By kinds of business: *Apparel --doAutomotive..- _ ...doBuilding materials and hardware doDrug .doEating and drinking doFood stores doFilling stations doGeneral merchandise -doHouse furnishings doOther retail stores. ..do

4,464830

3,635

4(5212371171423

1,220259700206

89.068.884.183.283.5

8,675632

534499

2,525' 3 1

1,0451.3472,589'311

17,9782,8161,126

832449

2,4441,096

548235795

2,5075,1302,686

119,23024,91194,3186,9061,976

17,62567,811

78.1

1,804

2,062

4,84546, 535

15,054118,156

34, 4864,193

4,6261,4413,185

365893314144341984276636201473

91.063.383.685.090.7

8,601655

7044

1002,600

' 1 8994

1.3832,444'294

18, 7383.0861,166

849454

2,4101,403

567301943

2,3405,2192,515

122,44325, 62496, 8186,9391,743

18,31469,822

79.0

1,732

2,106

4,79446,898

14,802116, 544

33,7223.961

4,9301, 5903,341

348972343155356

1,053314654232504

87.864.582.180.784.5

8,429663

385599

2,531' 2 0957

1,2842,449'332

15,4272.267

803612380

2,292893397198863

2,4564,2671,890

108, 43224, 29484,1384,9181, 664

16,36261,193

80.2

1,500

2,083

4,82147,001

14, 516116, 275

31, 2023,824

4,6061,4843,121

300891339149344997311601203471

88.656.991.678.592.5

8,235672

314499

2.220' 16

1,0921,3152,507'240

10,8231,416

222315277

2,109320275122763

2,0332,9721.716

88,82822, 37866, 4513,1081,889

13,09448, 360

80.2

1,638

2,213

4,70247, 643

14,833122,895

30, 6373,887

4,5091,3833,126

253804346155355

1,050342549197459

90.568.386.581.9

7,964637465576

2,137'20

1,0091,3022,434'250

11, 2791,346675196278

2,110286331241606

2,0093,2022,066

95. 70723, 30672,4013, 0341,33711,69256, 338

79.9

1,343

2,255

4,63647, 573

14, 567122, 493

30,4423,712

4,6381,2583,380

334617353159383

1,063349661245473

90.761.885.081.4

110.0

8,117630

674363

2,220' 1 6999

1,2522,592'234

14, 6431,2541,337

276412

2,133829333359699

2,4354, 5762.514

107,16021, 74585, 4152,9801,534

15,34365, 558

79.5

1,332

2,217

4,93250,413

14, 795128,836

33,0873,948

4,4801,0623,418

393445360158383

1,052322706202458

89.167.786.382.185.5

9,679771

594439

2,730' 5 8

1,0601,3213.151'446

17,8852,1181,389

436376

2,8931,214

455291782

2,9394,9942,534

123, 81522,010

101,8055,6071, 551

19,99374, 654

80.6

1,412

2,366

5,20753,186

17,084149,199

36,9484,424

4,6751,1283, 517

387528366156393

1,125318724200479

189.563.292.083.270.3

9,723834

735551

2,752' 7 4991

1,2503.078'566

18, 2352,1451,029

430482

3,010996503374870

3,0535,3432,682

120, 62421,00899,615

4,8411,515

20,00273,258

81.7

1,229

2,231

4,93150, 334

15,464134, 759

33,8053,821

4,5341,0673,466

388518312159384

1,090289735194465

99.467.492.891.3112.3

10,412948614441

2,936' 5 8

1,1571,3513,218'597

15,9281,116880476355

2,555756331329705

2,6795.7441,937

125,48420, 534104,9503,2911,70217,04782,910

82.8

1,414

5,82657, 537

17, 557149, 204

48,8026,161

5,4731,2374,236

557522331211409

1, 218290

1,106261568

80.551.572.374.580.6

10, 285818

874541

3,102' 6 6

1,1181, 3563,094'728

10, 486659383103

'3181,937'299

242177733

1,853' 3, 782

1,940

89, 34119,06470,377

1.3202, 204

13, 07653, 677

83.4

1,353

5,74358,379

15,707135, 685

32, 5674,152

4,211767

3,444

376295266163381

I>216274613170457

81.049.372.775.383.1

9,382713

844541

2,845' 5 9998

1,2152,846'536

' 13,0446416bO227

'357' 2, 648

373515

'237'673

' 2, 675' 4,037

2,130

87,94418,19269,752

1,5601,339

14,66252,191

'83.9

1,172

5,31759,823

14, 525138, 264

30, 5343,919

3,716665

3,051

290215249152363

1,090236541171408

80.447.569.474.894.2

' 10, 2826458356

'543,112'67

1,1251,2983,122'551

15,811759

1,242237

'3922,941798763243790

2,922' 4, 744

2,331

106, 90821,97584,932

1,9381,849

16, 26864, 878

85.0

1,279

6,99787, 793

19,134210, 702

34, 5034,398

' 4,340778

' 3, 562

'440222316

'167'411

1,180245680203

'482r Revised. Includes data for radio advertising not available separately since November 1940.

11 J _ * r^. 2 1 1_ _ _ _ *** A 1 1 y-v , 1 - n M - s~*t Revised series. Data beginning 1926 for the index of nonfarm foreclosures are shown on p. 26 of the JOctober 1941 Survey,tions, electrical household equipment, household equipment, house furnishings, and "all other" will be shown in a subsequent issue.

1 Discontinued.

Earlier revised data for radio classifica-New series. For data on sales of all retail stores, beginning 1935, see table 5, p. 24 of the October 1941 Survey,

nondurable goods stores, and retail stores by kind of business will appear in a subsequent Issue.Pearlier data for dollar sales of durable goods stores,




1942

April

1941


Novem-ber

Decem-ber

1942Janu-

aryFebru-

ary March

DOMESTIC TRADEContinuedRETAIL TRADEContinued

All retail stores, indexes of sales:*Unadjusted, combined index. . . 1935-39=100-.

Durable goods stores doNondurable goods stores do

Adjusted, combined index doDurable goods stores. doNondurable goods stores __do

By kinds of business, adjusted:*Apparel doAutomotive doBuilding materials and hardware doDrug doEating and drinking . . .doFood stores doFilling stations doGeneral merchandise doHouse furnishings . .doOther retail stores - . . -do

Automobiles, value of new passenger-car sales:fUnadjusted 1935-39 = 100..Adjusted do

Chain-store sales, indexes:Chain-store Age, combined index (20 chains)

average same month 1929-31 = 100..Apparel chains do

Drug chain-store sales:*Unadjusted 1935-39=100..Adjusted do

Grocery chain-store sales:fUnadjusted 1935-39=100..Adjusted do

Variety-store sales, combined sales, 7 chains:fUnadjusted -1935-39 = 100..Adjusted do

Chain-store sales and stores operated:Variety chains:

S. S. Kresge Co.:Sales . . thous. of doL.Stores operated . .number. .

S. H. Kress & Co.:Sales thous. of doL.Stores operated number..

McCrory Stores Corp.:Sales thous. of dol..Stores operated.. number,.

G. C. Murphy Co.:Sales thous. of dol..Stores operated.__ number, _

F. W. Woolworth Co.:Sales thous. of doL.Stores operated.. number..

Other chains:W. T. Grant Co.:

Sales.. thous. of doL.Stores operated. number._

J. C. Penney Co.:Sales thous. of dol..Stores operated number..

Department stores:Collections and accounts receivable:

Installment accounts:Index of receivables*.Dec. 31, 1939=100..Collection ratio percent..

Open accounts:Index of receivables*.Dec. 31, 1939=100..Collection ratio percent..

Sales, total U. S., unadjusted... 1923-25=100__Atlantaf. 1935-39=100..Boston 1923-25 = 100..Chicagof .1935-39=100..Cleveland 1923-25=100..Dallas doKansas City 1925=100-Minneapolisf 1935-39=100.New York 1923-25=100..Philadelphia! 1935-39=100..Richmond* do...St. Louis 1923-25 = 100San Franciscof 1935-39=100

Sales, total U. S., adjustedf 1923-25=100..Atlantat 1935-39=100.Chicagof do.. .Cleveland 1923-25=100..Dallas do.Minneapolisf 1935-39=100..New York 1923-25=100..Philadelphia! 1935-39=100. -Richmond* doSt. Louis.-. 1923-25=100..San Franciscof 1935-39=100..

Installment sales, New England dept. storespercent of total sales..

137.7101. 2148.6136.9103.5147.7

152. 050.0

174.4147. 0166.4153.1127.0136.2149. 8153.1

164. 0174.0

? 124. 8i 129.0

M75.3v 170.2

v 123.1v 127.0

14,437672