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TRENDS IN COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY

Business during the past week continued at a high rate. Output was close to the July figures. Many lines have reached capacity limits; others are prevented from further expansion by growing shortages of basic materials.

Freight carloadings began to rise during the week ended August 16 after 3 weeks of moderate decline. While grain movements continued to drop, there were increases in other loadings, particularly coal, forest products, and miscellaneous freight. These increases raised the total volume of loadings to level very high for this time of year.

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The week was featured by the announcements of a 50 percent reduction for the 1942 model passenger cars, and the new regulations for installment buying to be effective September 1.

Hotels in Our Large Cities

Cities of 500,000 or more population accounted for 3,351 or 12.0 percent of the total number of hotels in the United States in 1939; 420,949 or 29.1 percent of the total number of guest rooms; and $331,254,000 or 38.4 percent of the receipts.

These and other data in this report are based upon the Hotel Census taken as a part of the 1939 Census of Business in a complete field canvass of hotels in every State, city

and county in the United States. The table below presents these and additional comparative data for this group of cities and the United States.

Of the four cities reporting the largest number of hotels (New York, Chicago, San Francisco, and Los Angeles), Los Angeles ranks first wih 691 establishments; San Francisco, second with 577 establishments; Chicago, third with 551 establishments; and New York City ranks fourth with 522 hotels.

From the standpoint of number of guest rooms and receipts, however, New York City ranks first with 127,899 guest rooms and receipts of $137,600,000; Chicago, second with 84,027 guest rooms and receipts of $54,608,000; San Francisco, third with 50,308 guest rooms and receipts of $22,696,000; and Los Angeles ranks fourth, with 43,890 guest rooms and $17,304,000 receipts.

The Census includes, principally, establishments designating themselves as hotels and providing hotel accommodations as their major business activity. Establishments reporting a total of less than six guest rooms, or receipts from room rentals amounting to less than $500, were excluded from the present Census.

Hotels having six or more guest rooms, but failing to report separately the amount of income from room rentals, were not omitted unless total receipts amounted to less than $500.

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Factory sales of automobiles, including passenger cars, commercial cars, trucks and road tractors, totaled 3,439,985 units during the first seven months of 1941, according to the Bureau of the Census.

This was an increase of 779,754 over the same seven months of 1940. Factory sales for July were 444, 103 compared with 520,525 in June. These figures for July and June of 1940 were 231,703 and 344,639 respectively.

Of the 3,439,985 units of factory sales this year, 2,771,350 were passenger cars, of which 2,703,313 went to the domestic market and 68,037 to the foreign market. Commercial cars, trucks, and road tractors totaled 668,635 of which 575,125 went to the domestic market and 93,510 to the foreign market.

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Passenger car sales during the seven months of 1940 totaled 2, 196, 199--nearly 600,000 less than in the comparable seven months this year-of which the domestic market consumed 2,124,820 and foreign market 71,379.

Commercial cars, trucks and road tractors in the first seven months of 1940 totaled 464,032, of which the domestic market absorbed 388,027 and the foreign market 76,005.

During these same seven months of 1941, Canada produced 177,525 units, compared with 125,380 a year ago. This year Canadian production was divided to include 69,048 passenger cars and 108,477 commercial cars and trucks, while last year its production consisted of 75,683 passenger cars and 49,697 commercial cars and trucks in seven months.

Statistics for the United States included

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Green coffee stocks in general order warehouses in all customs districts and in the Foreign Trade Zone in New York City on July 31, 1941, totaled 520,491 bags including 350,801 bags from countries signatory to the InterAmerican Coffee Agreement and 169,690 bags from nonsignatory countries.

Some of these coffees reported in general order warehouses on July 31, no doubt were later admitted into the United States by the increase in the quota effective August 11. Countries signatory to the Inter-American Coffee Agreement are: Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Dominican Republic, Haiti.

Big Jump in Locomotive Shipments

During the first seven months of 1941, the 12 manufacturers of railroad locomotives in the United States, representing the entire industry except railroad companies, shipped 517 locomotives, compared with 273 during the comparable seven months of 1940, according to the Bureau of the Census.

At the end of July these manufacturers had unfilled orders for 947 locomotives, compared with 232 at the end of July, 1940.

Of the 517 locomotives shipped during these seven months, the domestic market absorbed 473 divided as follows: steam, 68; straight electric, 2; Diesel electric, 368, and others, 35. The foreign market absorbed 44 as follows: steam, 30; straight electric, 13; Diesel electric, 1. Of the 947 on order at the end of July, 900 were for the domestic market and 47 for the foreign market.

In addition, Class 1 railroads produced nine locomotives in the seven months and as of July had 51 on order in their own shops.

Chain Grocery Store Sales at Peak

Sales of chain grocery stores declined less than the usual seasonal amount during

July. The Commerce Department's seasonally corrected index of average daily sales, which stood at 134 for June, advanced to 136 for July thereby scoring its ninth consecutive alltime peak.

As compared with a year earlier, July sales bettered those in the corresponding period of 1940 by about 21 percent while total dollar volume for the first seven months was 15 percent larger this year than last.

For the year to date, sales have been maintained at an extremely high level and since March, price increases have been of significance in contributing to the larger dollar sales totals. According to the retail food price index of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, prices have advanced about 2 percent per month from March through June and increased an additional 0.8 percent in July.

Retail Sales in the Nation

Retail sales of 23,849 reporting independent retail stores located in 34 states throughout the country totaled $272,383,622 in July, the Department of Commerce reports.

This represented a gain of 24 percent over retail sales in July 1940 and a decrease of 8 percent from sales for June 1941. The increase equaled that of the previous record month of April 1941. The decrease from June was less than any shown between these months in the past five years.

July is the 32nd consecutive month in which retail sales have exceeded those of the corresponding month of the previous year.

Following are the percentage changes for July 1941 as compared with July 1940:

New England states, as a group up 24 percent: Main up 16 percent; New Hampshire up 17 percent; Vermont up 11 percent; Massachusetts up 23 percent; Rhode Island up 25 percent and Connecticut up 33 percent.

Middle Atlantic states, as a group up 24 percent; Pennsylvania the only reporting state.

East North Central states, as a group up 27 percent; Ohio up 32 percent; Indiana up 25 percent; Illinois up 19 percent; Michigan up 28 percent, and Wisconsin up 21 percent.

West North Central states, as a group up

22 percent; Iowa up 18 percent; Missouri up 24 percent; Nebraska up 17 percent and Kansas up 23 percent.

South Atlantic states as a group up 22 percent; South Carolina up 28 percent Georgia up 30 percent, and Florida up 10 percent.

East South Central states, as a group up 30 percent; Alabama the only reporting state. West South Central states, as a group up 24 percent; Arkansas up 26 percent; Oklahoma up 16 percent; Texas up 26 percent.

Mountain states, as a group up 19 percent; Montana up 14 percent; Idaho up 15 percent; Wyoming up 13 percent; Colorado up 22 percent; New Mexico up 26 percent; Arizona up 24 percent; Utah up 20 percent and Nevada up 21 percent.

Pacific states, as a group up 24 percent; Washington up 33 percent; Oregon up 31 percent and California up 21 percent.

Retail Negro Proprietorships in 1939

Retail sales of the 29,827 unincorporated Negro establishments in 1939 amounted to $71,466,000, an increase of 49.0 percent over the corresponding total for 1935, but less than 1929 by 27.5 percent, according to tentative totals pending completion of final detailed reports by States and selected cities.

Sales of 22,756 stores totaled $47,968,000 in 1935 and 24,969 stores accounted for sales of $98,602,000 in 1929. The report was prepared by the Bureau of the Census.

The 29,827 Negro-owned stores in 1939 provided employment for 10,220 full-time paid employees and 3,558 part-time paid employees. In addition, there were 29,116 active proprietors. Employment thus totaled 42,894, not including unpaid family members who may have worked in the store on a full- or part-time basis.

Pay roll totaled $5,386,000 for fulltime and part-time employees, not including compensation of proprietors and firm members. Of this pay roll, $4,538,000 went to full-time employees, and $848,000 to part-time employees. Pay roll includes wages, salaries, sales commissions, and bonuses; and the total paid in 1939 is equivalent to $444 for each fulltime employee and $238 for each of those working part-time.

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The necessity for packing the maximum possible amounts of all canned foods during the present season is emphasized by government buying of large amounts of such foods for the armed forces and for Lend-Lease purposes.

Effects of weather and of labor supply in the canning industry will largely determine, within an already fixed range, total supplies and costs of seasonal canned foods available for the 1941-42 marketing year.

The large per capita consumption of canned foods by the armed forces will take them out of the surplus category insofar as.civilian consumers are concerned.

Problems Facing the Industry

Ability of canners to meet delivery schedules from the current pack will depend in part on delivery of necessary supplies to canners. Increased export demand for solid fiberboard containers, for example, will become important in the maintenance of larger shipments of canned foods. Labels for cans may also be delayed by lack of zinc available to the manufacturers of plates.

These and other problems arising in the industry may become troublesome. They emphasize the necessity of long term planning for the 1942 canning season to insure increased acreage, canning plant expansion, and production of all necessary supplies for harvesting, canning, and distribution, with as little interference as possible to the rest of the defense effort.

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salad; Pacific Coast pears; and pitted red cherries accounting for about one-half of the total United States and Hawaiian canned fruit production, are estimated to be about equal to the 31.6 million cases of these same items made available during the previous

season.

Shorter supplies of some of the individual items, however, such as cling peaches and red cherries, may necessitate the substitution of other fruit items which may be available in increased quantities such as Hawaiian pineapples, West Coast prunes, citrus fruit, and apples.

East Coast consumers of canned fruits will be adversely affected to the extent by which it may be necessary to absorb the higherpriced rail transportation costs of shipments of West Coast canned foods which formerly arrived by water.

Canned Vegetables and Milk

Estimates indicate that supplies of seasonal canned vegetables will be adequate during the coming season, with higher packs more than offsetting the smaller carry-over.

Production of canned milk at a greater rate of increase than the 14 percent rise recorded for June and for the first six months of this year will be necessary if domestic and Lend-Lease requirements are to be fully met. Packers' total shipments of canned milk for June and for the first half year continued above the 1940 level, and were about equal to production.

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INDEXES OF EMPLOYMENT AND PAY ROLLS
IN THE CANNING AND PRESERVING INDUSTRY

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JUNEJ A S O N D J F M A M J JASON DJ F M A M J JASOND
1939
1940

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BUREAU OF FOREIGN AND DOMESTIC

(UNADJUSTED INDEXES FROM BUREAU OMMERCE STATISTICS)

1941

200

150

100

50

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1942

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far the pack of Alaska reds has been only about one-half normal but the pink pack is running heavy. Canned tuna production continued at a low level in June, with small

activity in June 1941 than in June 1940 is indicated by Bureau of Labor Statistics data which reveal that canning and preserving employees worked an average of 6 percent more

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