TEXAS BUSI NESS REVIEW A :\IO~THLY Sff'\DL\RY OF BUSTh"ESS AND ECONO'.\HC CONDITIONS IN TEXAS BCREAl' OF Bl'SINESS RESEARCH COLLEGE OF Bl'SINESS AD!\IINISTRATION THE CNIYERSITY OF TEXAS VOL. XXIV 10. 4 MAY 1950 H I G H L I G HTS 0 F T E X A S B U S I N E S S APRIL 1950 CO MPAR ED WITH APRIL 1949* Bectric power consumption .................................... . Industrial electric power consumption ................ .. Bank debits ............... ______ .................. ___________________ ..... Miscellaneous freight carloadings ..... __________________ _ Crude petroleum production ................................ .. Firm cash income ................................................. .. Postal receipts .............................. ___________ ........ _______ _ Retail sales...... _________________ ........... _____ ----------------------­ Crude runs to stills.. ______________________________ _______ ______ __ 'All percent changes are obtained from seasonally adjusted indexes. APRIL 1950 CO MPARE D WITH MARCH 1950* Farm cash income ................................................. .. Crude petroleum production ................................. .. Industrial electric power consumption................. . Bectric power consumption ..................................... Retail sales............................................ -.............. . Bank debits.............................................................. . Miscellaneous freight carloadings.. ..____________________ _ Postal receipts.. ....................................................... . Crude runs to stills.. .... ______________________________________ __ PERCENT DECREASE PERCENT INCREASE I TWE:~TY CENTS PER COPY TWO DOLLARS PER YEAR The Business Situation 1n Texas The composite index of business activity in Texas attained; and steel production by the end of April was compiled by the Bureau of Business Research declined at a rate of 99 million tons a year, exceeding the previ· blightly in April, but the movement was so small that ous record set in March 1949. the best summary of the over-all situation is to say that business in April was practically the same as in March. In fact, the level of business for the first four months of 1950 has been unusually stable at an extremely high level. The composite index for April was 201.5 com· pared to 202.2 for March. Januarv and February values of the index were 196.9 and 203.3, respectively, giving an, average of 201.0 for the first four months. This was 5.8% above the average of 189.9 for the year 1949. It will be noted that certain revisions have been made in the component series of the index of business activity. These revisions have changed the level of the index slightly, but have not appreciably altered the month-to· month changes. Complete revised data for the four months of 1950 are given in the table on page 24 of this issue of the Review. Reports on business activity for the United States in­dicate that April showed gains over March in nearly every category. It appears that manufacturers turned out more goods in April than in March and that more money was spent by consumers, in spite of the fact that their income was less than in March. The bulk of the veterans' insurance dividends were paid before April, resulting in a recii.;ction of the total income payments to individuals during the month, although the other sources of personal income showed an increase over March. The volume of sales in certain lines of consumer goods, mostly in nondurable goods, is below the postwar peak. Department store sales, liquor sales, cigarette production, theatre admissions and luggage sales have declined from the peak of the boom, but the peak was so high that the decline leaves the volume of business still at a very prosperous level. Construction, automo­bile production and steel production are running at record levels. Building is enjoying the greatest boom in history; automobile production is at the highest rate ever The high level of business activity gives promise of continuing throughout 1950, since there is no sign at the present of any curtailment in the demand for those products that are contributing most to the boom. The demand of consumers for housing, furniture, household equipment and automobiles still seems strong, bolstered · with a liberal supply of credit. This business seems sufficient to keep the boom going, even though busi· ness buying of capital goods has decreased somewhat from the peak. For the first few years after the war, buying of machinery and equipment by business con· cerns was one of the mainstays of the boom, reinforced by the demand of consumers for the goods they could not buy during the war. Many business expansions have been completed, but consumers still are buying durable goods in unprecedented quantities. The level of activity is now so high that it has apparently stimulated some increase in business buying. Businessmen are inevitably asking how long the present level of activity can be expected to continue, since future commitments must be made continually. An answer to this question must be based on an opinion as to the length of time consumers will maintain their present level of purchase of durable goods, particularly housing. The rate at which these durable goods are being produced exceeds the rate of consumption, and also exceeds the rate at which consumer income is being re· ceived. Much of the 19urchasing is being financed with increased consumer debt. Anything that will make consumers fear that their income will not continue at present high levels may be expected to bring on a reduc· tion in buying of durable goods. At the present time it is impossible to forecast when this will happen, but alert business management must watch for signs of a change and be ready to adjust their plans accordingly. INDEX OF TEXAS BUSINESS ACTIVITY 50 193& 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1943 1944 194& 1948 1947 1948 1949 1915() The T!!XAS BUSINESS R111vn:w Is published by the Bureau of Bwiinesa Research, College of Business Administration, The Univer&it)' of Tau. Entered u 1econd-claa1 roatter OD May 7, 1928 at the poototlice at Auatin, Texu, undu the act of Auzuat 24, ln2. In order to make a detailed analysis of the changes in the various phases of business in Texas, the seven components of the index of busin~ activi~y ~re. s~own in the following table, together with their mdividu.al weight in the composite. Five of the components regis· tered decreases, with only two showing increases. The net result of these changes was a decline of 0.3% in the composite, but this probably does not mean that. there was any decline in business .. The largest ~ecrease .m any component was in crude 011 runs to stills, which re­lec:ted the efiect of the refinery strike in Port Arthur. INDEX OF BUSINESS ACTIVITY IN TEXAS, AND COMPONENT SERIES, 1935-39=100 (adjusted for seasonal variation) March April Percent Serles Weight i950 i950 change Retail sales, adjusted for price 47.7 173.4 173.l -0.2 change -----------------­Industrial power consumption 14.8 324.1 328.4 + 1.3 Crude oil runs to stills _______ 4.5 163.6 147.1 -10.1 Electric power consumption. __ 3.0 379.4 379.0 0.1 Miscellaneous freight carloadings --------17.6 137.0 134.0 2.2 Urban building permits, adjusted for price change___ 3.8 405.4 386.3 4.7 Crude petroleum production_ 8.6 154.5 163.4 + 5.8 INDEX OF BUSINESS ACTIVITY (Composite) __ 100.0 202.2 201.5 0.3 . In an effort to measure the change in business activity without considering the decline in refining, the corn· posite index was recomputed omitting crude oil runs to ltills from both the March and the April indexes. This recomputed index showed no change in composite be­tween March and April, which supports the conclusion that the level of business in the two months was very nearly the same. The level of consumer spending in Texas continued in April at a level much higher than the average of 1949 and higher than the peak reached in 1948. The decline of 0.2% in the Bureau's index of retail sales after ad­ justment for seasonal variation has no significance, since the sampling error, growing out of the fact that the estimates are based on a sample of reporting firms, is larger than this percentage. Sales of nondurable goods stores continue below the average of 1949 and still farther below the average of 1948. Sales of durable goods stores, on the other hand, continue to exceed the level of 1949, although there was a decline of 2.9% between March and April. Sales of automotive dealers were farther above the prewar level than any other type of retail store, with lumber, building ma· terials and hardware stores a close second. These indexes parallel the data on a national basis which indicate that the automobile industry and the construction in­ dustry are operating at levels far exceeding anything ever seen before, while the stores selling nondurable goods are suffering some shrinkage in volume. Industrial activity in Texas continued to operate dur· iJIR April at the high level of the first three months. Total employment in manufa.:turlhg industry was esti· mated to be 331,300 in April, compared to 331,900 in Man:b and an average of 331,100 in 1949. With in­creased crude oil production, the Bureau's seasonally adjusted index rose to 163.4, just equal to the average production in 1949. However, the level of production in 1949 was substantially below the peak reached in 1948. Building construction in Texas continued to boom, and the Bureau's index of the value of permits issued· stood at more than seven times the level of 1935-39. The preliminary figure for the March index published last month was less than 700, but later reports brought the revised index to 762.6. The preliminary figure pub~ lished for April showed a decline of 4.7% from the final March figure, but the level is so far above previous years that a decline of this amount may be only an erratic variation inherent in the figures on new building starts. In spite of the high cost of building, it appears that people are going ahead with their plans to buy homes. There is ·a general feeling that since prices have failed to decline as expected, there is no good rea· son to continue waiting. Every indication points to 1950 as a record year for building in Texas. . Farm income has ceased to hold the spotlight as one of the more dynamic elements of the business situation, and the Bureau's index for April was only 212.9% of the 1935-39 level. For the first four months of 1950, the index was 9.1 % above the same period of 1949~ but it is not considered likely that income this. year will exceed that of last. Since the first four months of a year do not produce a proportionate share of the total income for the 12 months, the favorable record for the year to date should not be taken as a forecast for the whole year. Prices remained steady i~ April, with the index of prices received by Texas farmers at 274 for both March and April, compared with an aver­age of 275 for the year 1949. In addition to the composite index of business activity, the Bureau constructs an index of bank debits for Texa9 cities from the reports compiled by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. By totaling the checks written in· the major cities in the State, a measure of the chanr,es in business activity is secured, since most business transac­tions are paid by check. The chart above shows the extent of the rise in business as measured by the volume of financial transactions. April showed a decline of 1.3% from March, the · highest month ,on record, but the movement of the index of the first four months of 1950 clearly supports the evidence offered by the com­posite index of business activity that this year is setting a new record. ' · · TRADE Retail Trade (Tlae movement of •ood• Into the banda of conaumer• la one of tho fundamental aeries of statistical data on business activity, since for ltuslneas to IM sound the volume of retail trade must be irood. Durlnir a period ef Inflation an Increase In sales results from a rise In prices as well as from an mcrease In the amount of business. The fluctuatt.ns In retail credit ratios are important conditionlnir factors of the volume of trade. Newspaper advertisinir llnairo and poatal recelpte aro secondary trade Indicators.) Consumer incomes and consumer purchasing, both at record high points, are supporting excellent retail busi­ness on the whole. But the distribution of such trade is spotty; not all types of retailers are profiting from the buying wave. Apparently the stimulus from the G.I. insurance refunds is tapering off. There are indications that the heavy volume of instalment buying is also in­creasing at a slower rate, as customers begin to recal­culate their longer-term commitments in terms of ex­pected incomes and possible higher housing costs. Buying resistance of some months ago has weakened or disappeared, but customers continue to show approval of higher quality merchandise at "reasonable" prices. Customers are apparently becoming reconciled to sta­bilizing or firming prices. Retail prices (according to the Fairchild Retail Price Index at 137.1 on May 1) continue unchanged in total from April 1, with some firming and restricted fluctuations probable in various lines for months ahead. Prices 1.7% below a year ago and 3.5% under the 1948 high are still 9.6% above the July 1946 level. Retailers' buying is still cautious but more confident, and the length of purchase commitments is increasing slowly in some lines. However, numerous stores are $till reported as limiting assortments and losing even special-order sales through rigidly holding their stocks within predetermined limits. Expense ratios continue to challenge even established retailers, while mortality is rising among newer and less seasoned concerns. It is h«!lieved that the present heavy demand for housing and household equipment, especially major electrical appliances, will slow somewhat during the latter part of 1950, and that customers will then show renewed in­terest in "soft" lines, which even now are selling at two and three fourths times prewar figures while durable goods average four times. With one less selling day this year and lacking the Easter sales stimulus that April 1949 enjoyed, total re­tail sales in April 1950 fell 2.1 % below sales of a year ago. Durable goods stores sold 9.9% more than in April 1949, but the increases over 1949 had been 15.7% in January, 20.7% in February and 16.7% in March. Sales of nondurables dropped 8.9% from April 1949 after showing sales decreases of 6.6 to 4.1 % in February ESTIMATE!! OF TOTAL RETAIL SALES (in thousands) Percent chan1te Apr. 1950 Apr. 1950 J a n .-Apr. 1950 Type of Apr. Jan.-Apr. from from from store 1950 1950 Apr. 1949 Mar. 1950 J an .-Apr. 1949 TOTAL ·---·---S415,473 $1,599,491 2.1 -4.8 + 1.1 Durable goods __ 167,695 655,029 + 9.9 -10.2 + 15.6 Nondurable 1toods 247,778 944,462 8.9 -0.8 -6.9 RETAIL SALES TRENDS BY KINDS OF BUSINESS Source: Bureau of Bu1iness Research in cooperation with the Bur... of the Census, U. S. Department of Commerce Percent change Number of reporting Apr. 1950 Apr. 1950 Jan.-Apr. 1950 establish. from from from Business ments Apr. 1949 Mar. 1950 Jan.-Apr. 1949 Apparel stores 289 -6.6 3.0 ---------------------+ -2.2 Automot ive stores -------268 + 17.8 -10.7 + 26.9 Country general stores ---61 -13.8 6.3 6.0 Department stores 88 -------------1.4 + 1.0 + 0.8 Drug stores 202 + 3.0 6.3 ---------------------+ 5.1 Eating and drinking places_ _ 129 0.4 0.4 2.2 F illing stations ---------------666 4.2 4.5 + 8.1 Florists -------------------------------51 8.9 + 31.3 6.6 F ood stor es ----------------277 0.7 1.9 + 3.9 Furniture and household -----189 7.3 4.2 + 10.5 + General merchandise stores.__ 73 6.4 4.9 5.7 + Jewelry 8.1 0.9 stores ---------------42 1.7 Liquor stores ------------------29 + 10.8 8.0 + 9.2 Lumber, building material a n d hardware stores 308 + 18.4 -11.0 + 20.6 Office, store and sch ool su pply dealers 45 5.9 9.5 ----------+ -+ 4.8 and March. Total sales for the four months of 1950 bettered 1949 by only I.I%. The largest sales increases for April over 1949 were averaged by dealers in lumber, building material and hardware (18.4% ), automotive stores (17.8%), liquor stores (10.8%) and household goods stores (7.3%). Meanwhile, country general stores decreased sales by 13.8%, florists by 8.9%, apparel stores 6.6% and gen· era) merchandise stores 6.4%. After adjusting for the usual seasonal changes between months, apparel stores averaged 10.1 % better sales than might seasonally be expected, eating and drinking places 6.6% and depart· ment stores 6.1 %. However, lumber, building material and hardware dealers were off 12.4%, jewelers 8.5% and country general stores 5.9%. Nine of the 12 Texas districts (see map under Agri· culture) averaged sales increases for April over 1949 and 11 of them for the four months. Leaders in April were the Southern High Plains (24.3%), Edwards Plateau (15.7) and Trans-Pecos (11.9%). Of the 36 cities reported individually, 24 averaged increases for April over a year ago, and 32 for the four months of 1950. Largest sales increases for April were reported for Wichita Falls ( 41.0%), Lubbock (28.l%). Denton (25.5%) and Lockhart (19.7%). Lubbock's lead for the four months was 38.6%, Denton's 29.5% and Lockhart's 25.8%. RETAIL SALES TRENDS BY CITY-SIZE GROUPS Source: Bureau of Business Research in cooperation with the Bureau of the Census, U.S. Department of Commerce Percent change Number of o reporting Apr. 1950 Apr. 1950 Jan.-Apr. 195 establish· from from from Population ments Apr. 1949 Mar. 1950 Jan.-Apr. 1949 + 10.6 Over 100,000 ·-------·---··-1,426 + 6.3 4.5 + 3.6 50,000 to 100,000 ---------279 3.1 7.4 4.9 + 12.7 2,500 to 50,000 -----------958 + 7.1 + 9.6 5.2 2.9 Under 2,500 ----------------154 + :FSTI · ATED RETAIL SALES (mil. of dol. ) All retail stores Durable goods stores Nondurable goods stores l lG :'\ES OF TAIL SALES, 1935-39 =100 (adjusted for seasonal variation) 1 11 retail stores, adjusted for price changes , 11 retail stores Durable goods stores Automotive stores Furni ture and household appliance stores Lumber, building material and hardware st ores Jewelry stores Nondurable goods stores Apparel stores Country general stores Department stores Drug st ores Eating and drinking pl aces Filling stat ions Food stores General merchandise stores Jan. 370.6 125.2 245.3 157.5 301.6 322.4 305.3 237.6 388.9 4o8.l 288.6 350.8 129.8 298 .9 319.7 310.8 278.0 251.3 402.4 Feb. 365.8 129.0 236.8 162.5 307.5 342.6 332.9 223.3 411.6 412.9 287.9 333.5 130.2 293.2 327.3 323.0 291.7 256.0 362. 6 420.5 159.9 26o.5 163.7 310.0 361.0 338.5 2321.4 465.3 379.8 283.2 338.0 130.9 294.7 319.9 316.7 254.7 250.4 390 .7 Mar. Apr. Ill 424.6 41: i,i 152.6 272.0 2' l6l 170.7 323.0 303 370.1 358 376.9 3" 265 235.5 432 420.6 352.3 325 274 297.9 322 130 355.4 135°7 295 313.7 3ll 326.7 339 329.l 281 294.5 235 265.2 314 371.7 l.ES IN TEXJI S 1--. ............ 1949 1950 n, l· 1--r--.,ID• Jul. Aug. Sep. Oct. Nov. De c. AveragE month J an. 'eb. Mar . .! ltr..: 1.7 387 .7 402.7 410.2 425.5 427.0 488 .l 411 .8 370. 6 376 .9 436 .5 .o 1~,: 7,o ( ~ rf~, " co,,; ,7 155.0 23·2.7 161.2 241.5 156.5 253 .7 162.7 262.9 161 .4 265 .6 160 . 3 327.8 153.3 258.5 144.9 225.8 155 .8 221.l 186.7 249.9 ' !:;: 51.3 16o.o 163.4 165.5 166 .7 170.2 16( .6 164.2 163. 6 172.2 173.4. - - 0 ~:.: 03,7 298.8 304.9 309. 9 309. 4 316 .1 309 .1 307.8 300.7 315.7 318.7 $:,: '62 .3 359,4 380.1 397. 9 392. 6 386 .2 353 .9 3t\') .o 371. 2 411.6 419 .4 j$,; ~2.9 345.5 403.6 434.2 430.5 387.7 333 .G 3t 3.5 369. 5 431.4 423.7 - zy, .16.9 275.9 252.4 250.8 243. 8 262 .8 256.7 251.1 275.0 256 .6 271.2 J;;.'42.4 •J'1" ;2.: 157,3 426.7 362.1 393.5 359.9 395.0 368 .0 387.7 358 .3 442. 5 367. 9 439,7 364 .7 420 .7 365.7 422. 4 342. 6 448.5 359.6 486 .9 344 .2 tp.!73 .6 ri.: :306 .l ... 133,2f· .. 297.3 :t, aoa 8 JJ,: 1. • ;· 336 ,9 '.: 253 .6 ''247.8 :;307,4 267.7 330.3 137,6 314.o 305.0 330.4 233.5 238.1 248.6 267.3 325.6 135 .7 306.0 306 .8 331.7 253.8 224 .5 299 .8 266.3 320.4 134.2 291.0 3o8 .o 330.5 248 .7 232 .2 293.5 268.1 326 .9 129.7 307.7 312 . 3 332 .9 260 .8 225.8 286. 5 280.6 342. 9 125.8 300. 6 333. 2 339.9 275.4 236 .3 339.7 285.1 388 .1 133 .l 324.0 333 .4 332 .G 294.1 236 .8 272. 0 27~.2 3­·9.1 13? .2 3 4.3 3:i.7 .9 329. 3 266.5 2L.1 • 5 _19.6 265 .1 353.8 123 .0 299 .6 330.8 306 .8 286 .2 213 .7 259 . 3 268.6 334 .5 120 .6 29b . 3 345.6 310 .3 289 .4 225 .1 259 .9 269 .3 329.9 120.6 292 .5 3J1L 6 302.6 297, 1 228 .4 267.2 - 't.Ji Bureau of Business Research, University of Texas, Revised 1pril 1950 - 1941 1942 1943 1944 194~ IMS 1947 1948 1949 1950 The index (318.2) of total retail sales (based on 1935-39 and adjusted for seasonal variation) fell half a point from the high point registered in March, second only to 323.0 of April 1949. Deflated to remove the effects of price changes, the adjusted total sales index at 173.1 fell slightly from its March high (173.4). The durable goods index (407.3) dropped below its March (419.4) and February (411.6) high points. CRF.i>IT RATIOS IN DEPARTMENT AND APPAREL STORES (in percent) Ratio of Ratio of credit sales collections to Numbe r to net sales* outstandingst of -------­reporting Apr. Apr. Apr. Apr. Classification stores 1950 1949 1950 1949 ALL 77 64.6 61.6 46.1 50.7 STORES -------------------­ INDEX OF TEXAS RETAIL SALES ADJUSTED FOR SEASONAL VAR1ATION, 1935 -39' 100 Pment •oo 400 350 350 --~~ A~ 300 300 - ca..LAR SAUS ~· 250 250 200 200 ,,.,...... -... "'" a I . .... -I_,. ~ ,. ~~ - ·-~ 150 I50 -~ SALES -,,_.­ ADJ. FOR PRICE CHANCJ 100 I00 - 50 50 1940 DY CITIES Austin ------· ------·-·---------------­ Beaumont Bryan Cleburne Corpus Christi ---------­Dallas ... ····-······------·-------···-­ El Paso ·······----·----··········---­ Fort Worth ----------.... ---· Houston --------··------------­Lubbock ----·····---------------­ San Antonio ·--­ ·-···-···-·· --Waeo -----------···--·· ­llY TYPE OF STORE Department stores (over $1 million) ------------· --------­ Department stores (under i1 million) ----------------···· Dry goods and apparel stores Women's s t>ecialty shops ··--· Men's clothing stores --····--·-· DY VOLUME OF N ET SALES 1949) Over $3,000,000 ------·-·. $3,000,000 down to $1,500,000 $1,500,000 down to $500,000 .... $500,000 down to $250,000 Less than $260,000 7 3 3 ~ 13 3 6 5 24 9 24 14 21 12 21 16 56.9 69.0 51.6 42.4 59.9 72.4 57.7 62.4 60.8 63.3 61.9 58.2 53.6 64.1 51.0 41.0 56.9 70.0 54.2 60.3 59.4 51.9 55.6 57.1 55.8 47.2 42.2 46.5 49.8 45.1 37.3 48.7 45.1 58.0 46.6 52.8 59.5 52.7 43.7 46.2 54.1 49.5 H.0 55.2 47.4 62.1 49.3 58.6 67.2 64.1 44.8 49.6 53.2 67.0 54.6 61.0 51-l 67.8 52.3 68.4 44.8 56.9 50.3 53.1 53.9 60.5 53.6 56.6 67.4 57.1 53.4 48.7 48.5 64.4 55.2 50.9 46.1 46.2 44 .7 55.0 51.6 50.8 42.4 49.6 66.9 56.1 51.0 51.8 •c red it sales divided by net sales. tCollections during the month divided by the total accounts unpaid on the first of the month. Advertising linage in 31 Texas newspapers in April averaged I.I% below March but 4.9% over a year ago. Of these papers, 20 reported increases over April 1949 but only 11 above this March. Sales of gasoline subject to tax totaled 224,325 thou­sand gallons in March, which were 16.4% over February and 13.3% above March 1949. Sales to the federal government amounted to 8,609 thousand gallons, or 33.7% down from February and 67.0% below a year ago. The seasonally adjusted index of gasoline sales <1935-39 =100) stood at 232.2 in March against 204.9 a year earlier. Visitors to State parks in April numbered 349,226 in 98,512 cars, or 13.3% more visitors than in April 1949 and more than double the number in March, with 8.1 % more cars than a year ago. POSTAL RECEIPTS Percent change City Apr. 1950 Mar. 1960 Apr_ 1949 Apr. 1960 Apr. 1950 from from Apr. 1949 Mar. 1950 TOTAL-.....$3,646,182 $4,103,097 -- --- ----·-----·--­ --------· ------­ - Brady -·· 3,844 3,621 Burnet ---··--·· l,680 1,458 Childress --· ----­ 4,489 4,298 Cleburne ·-· 7,780 7,617 Colema n -··· ··--····· 4,530 4,861 Del Rio -·-·--· 6.462 7,633 Denton 16,714 16,990 Gainesville 7,057 6,993 Gladewater ···-··-·-­ 8,499 5,099 Graham ·--------­ 3,951 3,923 Greenville -·-····---­ 14,681 13,844 Harlingen ------­ 16,268 17,317 Hillsboro ------­-- 4,828 5,293 Jacksonville --­---­ 7,692 7,01 8 Kenedy -········------· 2,082 1,986 Kerrville -------·-· 6,375 6,633 Lamesa 5,781 6,517 Lufkin ··-··-·----­-­ 9,597 10,822 Luling -----··--­ 2,768 3,082 McAllen ····--····--­ 13,070 13,040 Midland -····-··-·-·­ 21,893 24,213 Mission ---­---------­ 5,838 5,091 Nacogdoches ----·-· 6,879 7,411 New Braunfels ··­ 8,452 8,545 Odessa 22,408 22,359 Orange ··­········---· 11,669 11,054 Pampa -···-····­-····­ 11,928 10,594 Raymondville ---­ 4,924 4,388 San Marcos ------·-· 5,664 6,874 Seguin -------­----­ 6,008 5,481 Snyder ---------­·-· 7,746 9,034 Vernon -----·-­--­ 8,622 7,707 Victoria --­----­ 11,995 12,239 $3,670,251 0.7 -p.l 8,771 + 1.9 + 6.2 1,551 + 8.3 + 15.2 'l,170 + 7.6 + 4.4 7,210 + 7.9 + 2:1 5,528 -18.1 + 3.9 6,311 + 2.4 -14.2 16,629 + 1.1 -1.6 7,419 --4.9 + 1.8 4,736 -26.1 -81.4 4,316 13,320 -8.5 + 10.2 + 0.7 + 6.0 16,210 + 0.4 6.1 5,111 -5.5 8.8 7,994 -8.8 + 9.6 2,341 -11.1 + 4.8 6,201 + 2.8 3.9 6,635 + 2.6 -11.3 10,578 -9.3 -11.3 2,334 + 18.6 -10.2 12,843 + 1.8 + 0.2 21,072 + 3.9 -9.6 5,809 + 0.5 + 14.7 7,671 -10.3 7.2 6,879 + 22.9 L1 22,049 + 1.6 + 0.2 12,287 12,336 5. 0 3.3 + 5.6 + 12.6 4,895 + 0.6 + 12.2 5,641 + 0.4 -3.6 5,347 + 12.4 + 9.6 3,172 -14.3 8,186 + 5.3 + 11.9 11,503 + 4.3 -2.0 •The total includes receipts for cities which a.re listed individually under 11Local Business Conditions." In order to use all retail sales reports, including those received in the Bureau too late to be included in the monthly sample, a final revised estimate of 1949 retail sales in Texas has been made. The estimate is based on all those co-operating firms :which reported sales for each month of the year. A complete summary of the revised. indexes by kinds of business and revised estimates of total re­tail sales for each month of 1949 is enclosed with this issue of the Review. In addition to the revision iri retail sales, several of the other business indexes developed by the Bureau were checked for postwar seasonal patterns. In most cases revisions of the indexes were neces­sary. The revised indexes for January-April 1950 appear in ,.Barometers of Texas Business" on page 24 of this issue. Data prior to 1950 are available from the Bureau upon request. Foreign Trade (Tenn•ire flcurea fer export 1hlpmenta from the principal port1 ef lite State ..,-ovlde an accurate ohy1ical measure of the current . Yolume of foreiirn export trade. Value fiirurea for exports and lmporta, laowever, represent a more common measurement of forelcn trade trane•ction1, but they •re subject to adjustment for price claanir"·' Total United States exports of merchanr1ise 0rta ol cooperating cities. tial construction. According to estimates by the De­partments of Commerce and Labor, the total rnlue of nE'w comtruction put in place in April was 24% more than for the same month a year ago and 10% above March of this year, with total expenditure for new homes up 11 % from March. New residential construction in the first four months of 1950 was moving 50% ahead of the same period in 1949. In March of this year, the number of housing starts in the United States reached 110 tho··sand for this month, an all time high, and a few preliminary estimates indicate that tl1is figure was even higher in April. The Bureau of Labor Statistics has estimated that about 270 thousand housing starts were made in the first quarter of 1950, a yearly rate of about L200 thousand starts. The Department of Commerce has estimated the cur· rent backlog of demand for dwelling units at 1,250 to 2,500 thousand. At the building rate of the first quarter of the year, this backlog could be reduced in one or two years, leaving only the normal growth in demand which has been estimated at a little over 500 thousand a year. The increased construction activity has a far reachincr effect on many phases of the nation's economy. It i~ carrying along with it increased demands for lumber building material and hardware, and for refrigerators: w~shing machines, television sets, other household ap· phanoes and furniture. This activity has touched heavily upon the credit system. Most purchases of new homes are made with loans, and many of the purchases of items which have been stimulated by increased con· struction are bought on instalment plans. Because this activity permeates the entire business system and so many activities are closely related, it has assumed more than normal importance and should be watched carefully for any sign of weakening. The Housing Act of 1950, which was recently passed by Congress, liberalizes the provisions for veterans who wish to obtain home loans. G. I. widows who have not remarried will be eligible for benefits under the home loan provision of the G. I. bill, and guaranty on G. I. loans by the Veterans Administration will be increased from 50 to 60% of the loan. However, the end of combination FHA-GI loans on October 20 will prob­ably slow down building for a time. Loans by savings and loans associations were down 2.1 % from March but were up 50.0% from April 1949. All classes registered increases from April 1949, but purchase and refinance loans were down from March of this year. PERCENTAGE CHANCE IN VALUE OF BUILDING PERMITS ISSUED BY CITY-SIZE CROUPS* Apr. 1950 Apr. 1950 from from P opulationt Apr. 1949 Mar. 1950 TOTAL ------------..--·---­+ 33.1 -18.9 Over 100,000 -------·--·-.. --5.7 -37.0 50,000-100,000 ____, .. _ .. ___.... __ ::::::::::=:::-.::=== + 56.7 -'..6 25,000-50,000 -----·----... -... · .. --.. ·--··-·-+214.9 + 31.8 Below 25,000 ..-----·----... -....... -......... _ .. ___ .. + 40.3 -16.0 . *Only building for which b-uilding permits were issued within the incorporated area of the city is included. Federal contracts are excluded. All percent changes are based on estimates for the State made from reports of cooperating cities. tl940 Census. PRICES (CJ.ansu in th• level of •rlcea are •• Important to hualneHm•• u chansea In the volume of production and aalea. The Index of con­eumer.•' prlcea repreaenta chansea In price• at retail; the Index of wlaoluale prlcaa la a meaaur• of chaaire• hi the pricea of commoditlea la primU)' -rketa.) The rise of 1.4% in the index of wholesale prices which occurred during April is further evidence that we may have entered into another upward cycle of prices. According to figures compiled and supplied by the Bur­eau of Labor Statistics, the over-all index reached the lowest point since 1947 at the end of December when it stood at 151.3. By the end of January it had risen to 151.5 and by February to 152.7. It dropped slightly to 152.1 on March 28 hut on May 2 stood at 154.3. A rise in prices during April was experienced by all commodity groups except textiles which declined by 1.1%. Increases ranged from 0.5% for metals and 0.6% for fuels to 5.3% for livestock and 6.9% for meats. In spite of these increases, many commodities are still selling at levels below those of a year ago. Farm products are down 4.0% from April of 1949 and tex­tiles are off 5.0%, but meats, livestock and grains are up substantially from the 1949 levels and fuels and metals are up slightly. At the end of March only grain ex­ceeded the 1949 figure, while other commodities were off, generally by larger percentages than they were on May 2. Despite the increase during April of the wholesale price index, consumer prices in Houston declined slightly._ ( 0.6% ~. The greatest decrease was made by food prices which dropped 1.5% although the prices of meats· and grains rose most sharply in the wholesale ma~kets. Furthermore, consumer prices throughout the U~ited States r~se 0.2%. ~hen compared with prices paid by housewives last Apnl, the 1950 index shows a slight rise for Houston but a decline for the United States as a whole. In any event, the picture is too spotty to indicate much of a trend one way or another, INDEXES OF WHOLESALE PRICES IN THE UNITED STATES (1928 =100) Source: Bureau of Labor Statistic8, U.S. Department of Labor Percent change Group May2 1950 Mar. 28 1950 May 3 1949 May2, 1950 from May8, 1949 May2, 1950 from Mar. 28, 1950 ALL CO:tri:MODITIES ........ 15U 152.1 155.3 -0.6 + 1.4 Farm products ...................... 162.1 Foods ----·--.. _ ..____....... 159.0 All commodities other than farm and food...... 146.6 Textile ..------·----134.6 Fuel and lighting material ·---·------·-131.8 Metal and metal products 170.5 Building materials --19'.4 Chemicals and allied products ..-----·--116.7 Special indexes Grain ____.:. .. _____. 172.5 lilvestock _-_-_____ .......... 209.8 Meats -----·-----229.2 158.5 168.8 -4.0 + 2.3 155.9 162.3 -2.0 + 2.0 145.6 147.3 -0.5 + 0.7 136.1 141.7 -5.0 -1.1 180.5 130.8 + 0.8 + 0.6 169.6 168.9 + 0.9 + 0.5 192.9 195.4 -0.5 + 0.8 116.6 117.5 -0.7 + 0.1 167.3 162.2 + 6.4 + 3.1 199.2 198.9 + 5.5 + 5.3 214.5 222.3 + 3:1 + 6.9 INDEXES OF CONSUMERS' PRICES (1935-39 =100') Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, U. S. Department of Labor Mar. Group 11~t· 1950 HOUSTON, ALL ITEMS.. 171.9 172.9 Food _______________,,_____ 205.1 Clothing ________..___..___ 195.7 Rent .................... ______________ 143.2 Fuel, electricity and ice ....__ 98.4 Housefurnishings ........ _ .... ___ 184.0 Miscellaneous _______________ .._.._ 157.9 UNITED STATES, ALL ITEMS ____ ____..________.._ 167.3 208.8 195.5 142.9 98.4 185 .2 167.9 167.0 Percent chanre Apr. 1950 Apr. 1960 Apr. from from 1949 Apr. 1949 Mar. 1950 171.0 + 0.5 0.6 - 212.6 -8.6 -1.5 204.4 -4.8 +0.1 +0.2 99.4 -1.0 0.0 190.1 -8.2 -0.6 153.5 + 2.9 0.0 169.7 -1.4 +0.2 •Not surveyed. but if we are right in predicting an upward trend for wholesale prices, it is reasonable to asssume that con· sumer prices will follow. Since 1939 is considered by most economists to have been the last normal prewar year, it is time to look at the net change existing at the end of the war and postwar decade. The over-an· index of wholesale prices averaged 77.1 in 1939 and 155.0 in 1949, an increase of 101.0%. The largest gain was registered by meats, fish and poul· try which were 171.6% higher last year than they were 10 years previously. Grains were 170.1% higher, live· stock 157.3% greater and all farm products together were up 153.6%. Among nonfarm commodities the greatest increases from 1939 to 1949 were registered by building materials, up ~13.6%, and textiles, which rose 101.4%. The small· est mcreases were shown by the index of chemical prices which was only 56.1 % above 1939, and that for house'. furnishings, which rose only 68.3%. ­ Consumers fared better than industrial buyers on the whole. The consumer price index for Houston stood at 100.8 in 1939 and at 171.3 in 1949, an increase of 69.9%. Among individual groups of items which make up the consumer price index, the greatest change was shown by the index of food prices which was 115.7% above the 193~ i~dex. Clothing prices were up 99.9% and house· furmshmgs 79.2%. Fuel, electricity and ice prices were only 2.5% and rents only 21.0% above those prevailing 10 years before. ~ glance at the accompanying chart will show that pnces reached their peak in 1948, so that the indexes for 1949 do not show the full effects of the war and postwar inflation. CONSUMERS' PRICES IN HOUSTON I10 I50 Iu I 00 ~ TEXAS BUSINESS REVIEW LOCAL BUSINESS CONDITIONS Percent change Percent change Apr. 1950 Apr. 19ii0 Apr. 1950 Apr. 1950 .April !rom from .April from from Clt1 a.nd item 19ii0 Apr. 1949 Mar. 1950 City and item l~oU Apr. 1949 Mar. 1951 ABILENE: BEAUMONT: ktail &ales ----------+ 9.1 6.1 Retail sales ----------­1.7 4.1 Department and apparel store sales_ 2.2 2.1 Apparel stores 5.3 + 13.8 Pastal rece.ipts _________$ 43,243 + 6.9 + 0.3 Automotive stores ------­+ 4.0 2.6 Bmldin1 permits S l ,133,0ii7 + 93.9 -39.8 Eating and drinking places --­12.2 + 9.1 Bank debits t.o indfridual =counts Food stores -------------­2.0 + 7.5 (t.bouu.nd.a) $ 40,775 + 17.2 6.3 Furniture and household stores _ _ 13.i 16.8 End-of-month deposits (thousands) • $ 43,l 6 + 3.7 + 0.6 General merchandise stores ---­-14.3 + 5.0 Annual rate of deposit turnover lU + 14.0 5.8 Lumber, building material Air express shlpments -----­211 + 43.5 4.5 and hardware stores ---------+ 27.3 14.1 employment 900 -40.0 0.0 Department and apparel store sales_ -12.6 + 6.0 Platt:mt-nts in t-mployme.nt_____ 546 + 36.5 + 11.2 Postal receipts -----------S 59,268 -7.1 12.2 SonagriculturaJ civilian labor force_ 19,500 + 2.9 + 2.1 Building permits -------~.$ 1,475,946 + 255.5 +232.5 Air express shipments_______ 866 + 31.7 + 2.8 Bank debits to individual accounts (thousands) S 94,647 + 3.S 2.9 End-of-month deposits (thousands) • $ 90,402 -7.9 0.0 ltotail &ales ---------­Annual rate of deposit turnover __ 12.6 + 12.6 0.8 1.9 6.0 Appuel stores 4.1 4.9 Unemployment (area) g,075 + 30.6 + u 8.4 Furniture and household storee__ 15.2 + 6.6 Act.omoti,·e 1tores + 4.5 Placements in employment (area) __ Z,035 + 5.Z + ·au Nonagricultural civilian labor force Lnmbu. buildiui: mate.rial (area) ------------­75,775 1.3 + 0.5 a.nd hardware stores----­-11.0 -18.2 Export and coastal cars unloaded __ 849 +u9.0 ··+ z.a Drpa.rtment Lnd apparel store sales_ -11.7 -7.7 Postal reoeipl:a $ 85,571 + 7.4 -7.8 B ildin& permits S 2,706,369 +160.0 + 66.1 BIG SPRING: Air express ahipments 561 + 18.4 2.6 Retail sales -------------­+ 8.% 5.1 Ba.nk debits t.o individual accounts Department and apparel store sales_ + 2.7 + 2.T (t.bousands) 97,698 + 9.6 6.9 Postal receipts ----------· $ 10,570 1.4 19.T R d-of-mont.b deposits (thousands) • $ 92,024 12.3 0.0 Building permits --------S 255,315 + 283.l 14.a A nal rate of del)C.6it turnover 12.7 -2.3 6.2 Air express shipments -------60 + 81.8 + l.S emplo:rmen\. 1,300 -23.5 7.1 Plaomtents in employment---­1,213 + 60.l + 21.1 SonazyiculturaJ civilian la.bor force_ 36, 00 + 1.5 + 0.5 BROWNSVILLE: Retail sales + 8.5 Department and apparel store sales_ 1.8 + au •• A STIN: Postal receipts ----------$ 16,454 + 4.~ -1.0 7.0 11.dail sa.les ---------­+ 10.4 Building permits ----_$ 338,705 +11u -U .4 Appu-el 1tores -------­12.6 + 13.7 Air express shipments ------­296 -4.% %8.i Food stores --------­+ u 2.Z Export cars unloaded -------­298 + 38.0 + 35.0 Furniture and house.bold stores + 7.1 + 8.7 Coastal cars unloaded ---------56 + 330.8 + 19.l L mbe.r, building mate.rial a. d hardware stores ----­+ 37.1 18.3 Dr1>artment and apparel store ...Jea_ -7.5 + 7.4 BRYAN: PauaJ receipts _________$ 125,774 -11.9 -24.2 Depa_rtment and apparel store sales_ -18.l + 13.5 Bu · i perm.its S 2,515,175 -20.0 + 5.9 Postal receipts $ 12,387 + 9.0 -2.2 Ai: upress shipment& 54 +au + 7.9 Building permits --------S 171,550 + 106.9 . -42.T &nk debib to individual =counts Air express shipments ------.21 -%5.0 -34.4 ( usand.s) 122,392 2.9 -15.2 R:>d-of-montb deposits (thousands ) • 113,367 + 9.7 -o.g A,,,, rate er deposit turno•e.r 12. 6.6 -15.8 O SCO: employment ---------­1,625 -18.3 13.3 Retail sales + lU + 11.1 P!aeements in employment---­1,350 + 51.9 + 3.5 Postal receipts ---------------·-' 3,325 9.0 + 10.8 So qrl tural ei'•ilian la.bor force_ 45,875 1.2 0.2 Bank debits to individual accounts (thousands) ---------------$ 1,776 + i.s 9.1 End-of-month deposits (thousands) • $ 3,237 0.5 + 1.1 BROWJ\"WOOD : IZ:ail W15 9.6 -9.9 Dri>artment and apparel store sales_ 5.0 + 14.5 CORSICANA: PcotaJ receipts _________$ _________, 12. 53 + 1.4 -2.4 Postal receipts 10,3&5 -6.3 0.1 _, B>mdini: permits s 138,450 +102.4 + 42.3 Building permits 81,215 + 293.8 l .l &nk debi individual aecoants Bank de.bits to indiv-idual accounts (thousands) $ 9,647 9.5 + 4-.4 (thousand) -------__S 9,492 + 1.8 7.4 -month deposit& (thousands ) • S 13,227 + 11.2 + 1.8 End-of-month deposits (thousands) • $ 20,789" + 5.0 l.S Air up,,,.. shipments ------33 + 43.6 8.3 Annual rate of deposit turnover __ 5.4 S.6 a.v •hcl d4m d~its to credit of b&Jtk.s.. •Excludes deposits to credit of banks. LOCAL BUSINE Percent change Percent change Cit7 aud item April 1950 Apr. 1950 from Apr. 1949 Apr. 1950 from Mar. 1950 City and item April 1950 Apr. 1950 from Apr. 1949 Apr. 1950 from Mar. 1960 CORPUS CHRISTI: EL PASO: Retail sales --------­----­Apparel stores ------­----­ + 1.0 0.3 -9.4 + 14.8 Retail sales ----------------------­Apparel stores -------­--­ + 14.5 -14.0 + 5.6 + 12.6 Furniture eand household stores -General merchandise stores -----­ 9.8 6.0 -17.0 + 3.0 Automotive stores ------­­Furniture and household stores __ + 36.7 + 14.2 + u + 3.9 Lumber, building material and hardware stores -------­ + 6.7 1.8 General merchandise stores ~-­Lumber, building material + 2.0 +12.9 Department and apparel store sales_ Postal receipts ------------S Building permits ----------$ 81,238 2,153,187 4.8 + 0.2 + 93.3 + 4.8 0.0 6.7 and hardware stores ----------­Department and apparel store sales__ P08tal receipts __________________$ 132,377 + 23.3 0.7 + 3.6 -18.1 + 26.8 -4.6 Air express shipmenta --------­ 879 - 8.6 9.8 Building permits --------------­$ 924,684 + 6.1 - 68.8 Bank debits to individual a<:counts (thousands) ____________$ 88,490 + 23.6 8.5 Air express shipments -----------·­----­Bank debits to individual accounts 1,287 + 16.1 -7.1 End-of-month deposits (thousands)• $ Annual rate of deposit turnover ---­Unemployment --­------------­Placements in employment --------­Nona1tricultural civilian labor force__ Export and coastal cars unloaded -­Water connections ----­------­Electric connections 88,753 12.0 2,500 1,542 54,000 130 26,127 30,105 + 12.1 + 10.1 + 42.9 + 14.8 + 1.3 + 420.0 + 9.3 + 8.6 + 0.5 6.2 -12.8 + 21.4 + 0.1 -25.3 + 1.0 + 0.6 (thousands) ___________________$ End-of-month deposits (thousands)• $ Annual rate of deposit turnover _____ Unemployment ----------------------------­Placements in employment -------­­Nonagricultural civilian labor force.__ 134,593 128,602 12.6 2,700 1,405 54,300 + 1.2 + 11.6 -8.8 -1.8 + 73.0 + 3.9 -18.0 -1.6 -12.0 0.0 +24.9 + 0.6 FORT WORTH: DALLAS: Retail sales -----------------­ - 2.1 -­-4 1.7 Retail sales ---­--­----------­Apparel stores ------------­Automotive stores ----------­ + 13.1 -6.0 + 84.5 + 2.8 +22.9 -13.0 Apparel stores ------------­Automotive stores --------­Drug stores --------­Eating and drinking places --­Filling stationa ----------­Florists -----------­---­ -5.9 + 20.7 + 8.5 + 5.7 + 1.9 5.6 7.1 6.4 10.9 1.9 4.2 + 43.8 Eating and drinking places -------­Filling stations ----------­Florists ------------------­Food stores ------------­--­General merchandise stores ----­Lumber, building material + 10.0 -30.8 -10.5 + 8.4 2.2 + 1.6 -2.2 +48.9 + 6.0 + 6.0 Food stores ---------------­-­ 4.5 3.5 and hardware stores --­·---­ 1.3 - 13.2 Furniture and household stores -­General merchandise stores --­Lumber, building material ' and hardware stores ------------­ + 12.0 + 3.8 + 25.0 2.1 5.4 13.4 Department and apparel store sales___ Postal receipts ---------------------S Building permits --------------­' Air express shipmenta -------------------­ 361,303 2,627,009 1,691 2.8 6.7 + 36.9 + 26.8 + 7.9 -16.1 -40.1 7.2 Office, otore and school Bank debits to individual accounts supply dealers -------------­Department and apparel store sales___ Postal receipta ---------------$ 996,843 Building permits --------·----------$ 7,016,198 Air express shipments ---------­7,017 Bank debits to individual a<:counts (thousands) _______________$ 1,087,779 1.1 2.2 + 2.6 + 12.4 + 14.4 + 9.4 - 17.6 6.4 11.2 27.9 6.3 5.6 (thousands) ------------------­$ End-of-month deposits (thousand•)• $ Annual rate of deposit turnover ·--­­Unemployment --------­--------------­Placements in employment ------------­Nonagricultural civilian labor force__ 334,091 307,576 13.1 7,400 3,970 140,500 + 14.0 + 7.2 + 7.4 14.9 + 46.7 + 2.4 7.4 + 0.2 7.7 7.6 +30.3 + 0.7 E nd-of-month deposits (thousands)* $ 785,954 + 6.1 1.1 Annual rate of deposit turnover __ Unemployment -------------­---­Placements in employment ------­Nonagricultural civilian labor force.._ 16.6 8,000 4,848 254,400 + 2.5 0.0 + 21.9 + 4.7 4.6 5.9 + 31.0 + 1.1 GALVESTON: Retail sales ----------­----------­Apparel stores ----­----------­Department stores -------­Food stores ------------­­ -10.7 -10.0 11.9 -0.4 -1.1 +14.9 + u + 1.7 DENISON: Retail sales ·------·--­--·-----­-------------­-- + 8.6 - 8.2 Lumber, building material and hardware stores --------­Department and apparel store sales___ -10.9 -10.8 -10.8 + 10.7 Department and apparel store sales__ Postal receipts ---------­---$ Building permits ------------$ 10,404 69,212 2.8 3.7 + 12.4 + 20.2 + 3.6 -34.3 Postal receipts ------------------$ Building permits ________________$ Air express shipments --------------­ 51,202 693,116 382 -9.1 +479.8 + la.9 -16.4 +103.9 -17.6 Bank debits to individual accounts LONGVIEW: Postal receipts ---­·_________$ Building permits -----~-----$ Air express shipments -----­ 19,617 443,000 142 -5.4 + 147.6 + 31.5 7.4 9.3 9.0 (thousands) ---------$ End-of-month deposits (thousands)• $ Annual rate of deposit turnover ----­Unemployment (area) -------­Placements in employment (area) -­ 66,875 93,045 8.4 3,200 491 5.3 2.0 2.3 + 6.7 + 14.7 8.6 1.1 7.7 0.0 +19.6 Unemployment -----­---­Placements in employment ----­­Nonagricultural civilian labor force_ 1,650 480 22,600 + 10.0 + 9.3 + 2.0 5.7 + 15.7 0.0 Nonagricultural civilia n labor force (area) ---------------­Export and coastal cars unloaded --­ 51,550 7,644 -1.1 -25.1 0.0 6.2 *Excludes deposits to credit of banks. *Excludes deposits to credit of banks. CONDITIONS Percent change Percent change City and item April 1950 Apr. 1950 from Apr. 1949 Apr. 1950 from Mar. 1950 City and item April 1950 Apr. 1960 from Apr. 1949 Apr. 1950 from Mar. 1950 HOUSTON: LOCKHART: R.!tail se.les ---------­Apparel stores Automotive stores Department stores Drug stores Eatinl!' and drinking places ___ Filling stations Florists + 4.3 10.2 + 5.1 8.4 0.2 + 6.6 + 0.1 + 4.6 + 15.9 + 9.6 13.7 + 6.1 1.5 2.5 4.1 + 38.4 Retail sales --­·­---·­---­Department and apparel store sales_ Postal receipts -----------$ Building permits -­----------$ Bank debits to individual accounts (thousands) ---­-------------$ End-of-month deposits (thousands)• $ 2,488 22,600 2,725 4,546 + 19.7 2.2 + 0.4 +209.6 + 1.5 + 5.5 -14.6 + 17.8 + 3.2 16.1 6.9 0.5 Food stores ---------­Furniture and household stores __ General merchandise stores ---­Liquor stores ---------­Lumber, building materie.1 and hardware stores -----­Department and apparel store sales_ Postal receipts $ 609,727 Buildinir permits ----------$10,972,023 Air express shipments 4,411 Bank debits to individual accounts (thousands) --------$ 1,061,537 End-of-month deposits (thousands)• $ Annual rate of deposit turnover __ Unemployment (area) Placements in employment (area) __ 975,562 13.2 15,500 4,773 6.9 + 2.8 15.6 + 20.0 7.7 9.7 0.8 + 23.4 + 11.9 + 0.4 + 9.8 7.0 0.0 + 21.9 0.0 + 0.4 + 7.1 6.0 5.0 + 8.6 15.4 + 1.4 4.3 7.1 + 2.3 7.0 3.1 + 23.4 LUBBOCK: Retail sales ----­----­------­Apparel stores -----­-------·-­Furniture and household stores -----­General merchandise stores ---­---­Lumber, building material and hardware stores -------­Department and apparel store sales__ _ Postal receipts --­-----------$ 61,569 Building permits ---------­- ---$ 3,526,984 Air express shipments ---------­275 Bank debits to individual accounts (thousands) ---------·------$ End-of-month deposits (thousands)• $ Annual rate of deposit turnover _ ___ 71,051 81,153 10.2 + 28.1 + 14.2 + 65.2 + 2.9 + 86.5 + 8.0 + 7.7 +324.8 -32.6 + 24.5 + 31.7 5.6 + 0.2 + u 13.1 6.0 1.0 0.8 + 17.8 + 69.7 16.7 10.8 6.2 8.9 Nonairricultural civilian 1abor force (area) Elcport and coastal cars unloaded __ 337,200 2,382 + 1.5 -56.1 + 0.3 + 38.8 Unemployment ---------­----­P lacements in employment ---------­N onagricultural civilian labor force_ 900 975 27,400 + + 10.0 51.4 1.1 o.o + 1.2 + 2.2 Manufacturing employment ---­ 68,900 2.3 + 0.9 Nonmanufacturing employment __ 252,800 + 2.7 + 0.4 MARSHALL: LAREDO: Retail sales ------­------­Department and apparel store sales__ -7.8 -10.3 + 1.4 + 13.1 Department and apparel store sales_ Postal receipts -------­$ 18,611 11.7 2.2 -11.3 + 1.7 Postal receipts ---------­----$ Building permits ----­-----­-------$ Bank debits to individual accounts 13,569 153,287 + 3.4 -33.5 + 10.9 + 80.3 Bank debits to individual R<:counts (thousands) _$ End-of-month deposits (thousands) • $ 15,962 24,649 8.0 + 11.4 9.9 + 11.7 (thousands) ·------·-­--·-------$ End-of-month deposits (thousands)• $ 10,662 18,425 + + 7.2 9.6 3.2 0.8 Annual rate of deposit turnover __ 8.2 13.7 -14.6 Air express shipments ------­Electric power consumption 206 0.5 - 12.0 PORT ARTHUR: (thousand k.w.h.) otural gas consumption (thousand 3,024 + 17.4 1.0 Retail sales --------­------­Apparel stores -----·-------­ -19.5 -26.3 -17.6 + 8.3 cu. ft.) 44,527 2.6 10.7 Automotive stores -----­ ------­ -15.1 -23.2 Tourists entering Mexico 8,302 + 26.4 0.0 Eating and drinking places ---­ ­ - 21.2 - 5.7 Tourists cars entering Mexico ---­ 2,586 + 27.3 1.5 Food stores ----­--------­ -11.8 - 3.7 Furniture and household stores ___ -35.5 -29.4 Lumber, building material SAN ANGELO: and hardware stores ----­Department and apparel store sales__ + 0.8 -24.6 8.3 3.3 Retail sales Department and apparel store sales_ Postal receipts __________$ 33,148 Building permits $ 1,203,427 + 15.0 0.6 2.1 + 338.1 3.6 2.8 1.2 + 31.0 Postal receipts ---------­-----­-$ Building permits ------------------$ Air express shipments ----­-------­Bank debits to individual accounts 26,483 398,044 94 7.7 + 42.5 43.0 10.4 16.8 16.1 Bank debits to individual accounts (thousands) . $ 30,659 + 17.2 8.6 (thousands) ------­-------­·$ End-of-month deposits (thousands )• $ 29,659 38,388 -12.1 -2.1 -12.3 -4.9 End-<>f-month deposits (thousands) • $ 43,614 + 16.7 0.1 Annual rate of deposit turnover __ 9.0 - 11.8 -10.0 Annual rate of deposit turnover __ Air express shipments Unemployment Placements in employment ____ Nonairricultural civilian labor force_ 8.4 380 1,050 628 18,950 0.0 14.6 + 23.6 + 91.6 + 7.7 8.7 + 5.0 + 10.6 + 32.5 + 2.4 Unemployment ---­-­----­Placements in employment ··---­­Nonagricultural civilian labor force__ Export can unloaded ----­---­Coastal cars unloaded --------­ 9,075 2,035 75,775 115 85 + 30.6 + 5.2 1.3 -88.6 -92.0 + 4.6 + 68.5 + 0.5 57.4 -91.6 ' Excludes deposits to credit of banki. *Excludes deposits to credit of banks. TEXAS BUSINESS REVIEW LOCAL BUSINESS CONDITIONS Percent change Percent change City and item April 1950 Apr. 1950 from Apr. 1949 Apr. 1950 from Mar. 1950 City and Item April 1950 Apr. 1950 from Apr. 1949 Apr. 1950 from Mar. 1950 ODESSA: TEXARKANA: Retail sales ····--·­-···------­Department and apparel store sales.. _ Postal receipts ·············­··-·····-········--·$ 22,408 -6.4 + 11.5 + 1.6 -4.4 + 13.2 + 0.2 Retail sales ··----····--·--··-·-··-·-­Department and apparel store eales.. _ Postal receipts ··-···-·-····-·······-·--·----$ 80,090 -4.8 -15.9 + 1.8 -5.8 +11.0 -21.9 Bank debit:i to individual accounts (thousands ) ········--·-····-··············-·$ End-of-month deposits (thousands)• $ 22,801 21,536 + 22.8 + 20.4 2.9 2.9 Bank debits to individual accounts (thousands) --····-··-······-··-··­--$ End-of-month deposits (thousands)• $ 26,435 23,418 + 11.3 + 4.1 3.3 1.3 Air express shipments 175 - 11.6 -15.9 Annual rate of deposit turnover __ _ Air express shipments -----­-----­ 7.8 102 + 6.8 + 85.5 0.0 + 3.0 PARIS: Retail sales ··----·-----··---··-··--­Department and apparel store sales._ -- 5.7 0.6 -20.1 + 19.5 Unemployment ········-·-····-·····---­Placements in employment ··-······-····­Nonagricultural civilian labor force.___ 4,000 568 34,650 + 2.6 + 2.9 2.0 -12.1 + 7.6 -0.8 Buildinit permits ··-····-·-·-··-··---··--$ Bank debits to individual accounts (thousands) ··············--··-····-··--···$ End-of-month deposits (thousands)• $ Air express shipments 28,120 10,926 14,687 39 -38.6 + 9.8 + 10.5 + 77.3 --- 68.6 12.9 6.8 4.9 TEXAS CITY: Retail sales ·····­·----------·--­Postal receipts ··-·----­--·--·-··--··$· Building permits --··---·--···----··-$ Bank debits to individual accounts 9,348 205,218 + 5.1 + 3.0 +ass.a -11.9 -0.1 -10.0 PLAINVIEW: Retail sales ··-······-··-···--····-·····--··--­Department and apparel store sales.. _ Postal receipts ····-----·-·-······-··-··--··$ Building permits -········--··­-···-·--$ Bank debits to individual accounts (thousands) ··-·····-·······-···················$ End-of-month deposits (thousands)• $ Air express shipments -------------­---­9,811 132,000 13,606 17,780 44 + 12.5 -3.8 + 11.1 -2.9 + 17.3 + 16.l + 18.9 -0.1 + 18.2 + 2.1 + 28.8 -8.5 -4.6 + 22.2 (thousands) -···-···--······-····-··--··$ Rnd-of-month deposits (thousands)• $ Unemployment (area) ··············-····-··-· Placements in emvloyment (area) .... _ Nonagricultural civilian labor force (area) ··············-·--···-·-··--···-­Coastal cars unloaded ···-··-···--­·-·-··· TYLER: Retail sales 11,976 11,993 8,200 491 51,550 610 4.6 + 0.6 + 6.7 + 14.7 -1.1 + 52.1 + 5.1 8.8 9.5 0.0 +19.5 0.0 + Z.8 6.5 Department and apparel store sales.._ -13.9 + 8.8 SAN ANTONIO: Retail sales ··-········-·---·­·-··­-­Apparel stores ·······-··--·­····-·---­Automotive stores --------------­Department stores --------------------­Drug stores -------­------------­---------­Eating and drinkinit places ···-·-·-­ + + + + 5.4 2.5 9.8 8.0 8.9 1.7 -S.5 + 8.4 -20.0 -3.5 -2.8 + 11.0 Postal receipts ·-·--­··--···----······$ Building permits ····-···-·---·­-·-····$ Bank debits to individual accounts (thousands) ···············--···········----$ End-of-month deposits (thousands)• $ Annual rate of deposit turnover ---­-­Air express shipments ------­---------­ 38,498 320,899 43,346 51,212 10.1 163 -4.7 + 16.4 + 14.2 + 3.3 + 11.0 -u 9.S -41.8 3.6 2.1 1.9 +27.3 Filling stations Florists ·-·-­ -··-···-·-·--·­­----·--···--­-­ 0.8 -22.6 -6.9 + 18.8 WACO: Food stores ·-···--·····--··-···--···­Furniture and household stores ·-· General merchandise stores -----­Lumber, building material and hardware atores ---------­Department and apparel store sales.. ­Postal receipts ··---·-··----­--$ 328,299 Building permits --·------·-··$ 3,604,218 Air express shipments -··-·--·-·-·--­2,651 -5.7 + 7.2 + 18.7 + 58.5 + 4.1 -5.2 + 93.2 + 40.3 -8.0 -10.4 + 3.4 -15.8 + 0.4 -14.7 9.4 9.7 Retail sales ··-·-·--·--·-··-­-­Apparel stores ····---·--·--··-··--· Automotive stores --­------­Drug stores ····-··-···-···-·······-···­···-··­Furniture and household stores ·-··­Department and apparel store sales­Postal receipts --···-··--·····----·····$ Building permits ····-···-·-·---­·-----­$ Air express shipments -·····-··-·--··­81,893 1,089,555 206 -6.6 -12.3 -10.7 -8.4 + 18.5 -9.2 + u + 53.5 -6.8 -6.0 + 4.8 -lU + 6.0 + 1.6 + 5.7 2.4 -55.8 -1.0 Bank debits to individual accounts (thousands) ··········-······-·-···-·········­$ 289,881 End-of-month deposits (thousands)• $ 344,606 Annual rate of deposit turnover ·--·­Unemployment ········-···--··-··----··­Placements in employment ----------·--­Nonagricultural civilian labor force__ 10.1 6,500 2,608 157,700 + 16.0 + 11.5 + 5.2 + 62.5 + lU -1.6 9.9 0.0 9.8 7.1 + 27.3 -0.1 Bank debits to individual accounts (thousands) -······-····--··-····-·--··-··$ End-of-month deposits (thousands)• $ Annual rate of deposit turnover __ Unemployment ··········-········-····----­Placements in employment ·-···-·····-·­N ona!l"ricultural civilian labor force._ 68,231 70,139 11.4 2,000 588 44,200 + 43.5 + 6.2 + 32.6 -13.0 + 21.7 -2.8 + U .3 -4.3 +11.8 0.0 + U .2 + 0.1 SHERMAN: Retail sales ···-··-----·-----­Department and apparel store sales._ Postal receipts ·-----­--­··$ Building permits ··---·-····-······-·-······· $ 15,629 101,314 + 6.0 -13.6 -5.7 -10.9 -16.1 + 7.3 -14.0 + 6.0 WICHITA FALLS: Retail sales ······-­····--··--·-····--·--· Department and apparel store sales.... Postal receipts -···-··--·----··-·$· 54,749 Building permits ·---···-·······-·····-··$ 1,004,815 Bank debits to individual accounts + 41.0 -15.3 + 4.2 +z6S.7 -18.6 -9.5 -U .3 +188.7 TEMPLE: Retail sales ······---­-·------­Department anu apparel store sales_.. Po•tal receipts ·--··--·----··--···$ Buildinit permits -----------$ Air express shipments ··-··---·--·­ 18,911 801,490 42 + 13.4 -5.8 + 1.2 + 81.7 -44.7 -7.3 + 18.1 -0.6 + 1.8 + 10.5 (thousands) ··--···--······-··-····-·-··$ End-of-month deposits (thousands)• $ Annual rate of deposit turnover -···· Air expres!\ shipments ----------------­Unemployment ········-········-·---·---­Placements in employment ··-···-··­Nonagricutural civilian labor force.._ 61,431 89,527 8.2 285 1,180 630 84,630 + 10.9 + 12.9 -1.2 + 20.3 -23.1 + 7.9 + 6.7 6.8 0.8 6.8 +22.3 -ll.0 +17.8 + 1.3 •Excludes deposits to credit of banks. •Excludes deposits to credit of banks. AGRICULTURE Income (n. ameaat of lacomo ncolvecl b7 farmora la a complete meaauro of tlao p,....porit7 of all'ricu)turo, takiaar iato account both tho volume of pnducta aold and the pr!cu received. Since the marketinca of ...,. proclucta are concentrated in certain aeaaona of the 7ear, it ia -.,..rtaat tit.at tit.• data ho adjuatod for aeuonal variations la order to alt.Dw tlt.o ....le chanaes la tho altuatloaa of aarlculturo.) Total farm cash income for the State in April exceeded that registered in March by 37.1 %, as every crop-report­ing district except the Northern High Plains showed in­creases over the preceding month. The districts with the largest gains were the Edwards Plateau and the South Texas Plains as the marketing of sheep and cattle boosted the total income in these districts. This increase in April further strengthened the sea­sonal upturn that began in March after the extreme low appearing in February. Despite this low, farm cash in­come for the first four months of 1950, through in­creases featured in March and April. stood 9.1 11c above lhe corresponding period in 1949. The twelve crop-reporting districts of Texas were split eYenly between increases and decreases in income for the total of the first four months as compared with the first four months of last year. The northern and southern sections of the State contributed most stronO'ly to the rise as the Southern High Plains. the Red Bed FARM CASH I NCOME * Indexes, 1935-39 =100 Amount adjusted for seasonal varia'tion (in thousands) April March April January-April District 1950 1950 1949 1950 1949 TEXAS - - 212.9 199.6 212.2 $247,413 $226,6 9 1-N ---­4 1.0 390. 643.9 43,924 39,063 1-S ---­215.3 186.9 226.0 31,716 21,095 2 ----··­ 213.9 250.1 384.0 26,589 18,232 3 ---­345.4 347.5 89 .2 9,5 18 11,011 4 157.8 143.8 138.7 25,783 27,300 5 ------1 2.8 190.3 1~6.6 10,658 12,341 6 ---­128.1 131.l 92.9 6,756 7,321 7 314.7 350.6 264.9 16,730 14,916 203.6 285. ~ 193.9 21,962 22,333 383.l 409.8 538.8 18,833 25,480 10 329.7 493.0 269.1 17,792 16,849 10-A -­U2.3 82. 7 119.5 17,253 11,757 • Fann cub income aa comput~ hy the Bureau understates actual f&n11 cub income by from 8 to 10% . This 1ituation results from the fact that mean, of aecurina complete local ma.rketin1111, .,.pecially by tnlc!t, bne not yet been fully developed. In addition, mea11.1 have not nt been devo.loped for comp11ti.ng ca.ah it1come from all agricultural • P«ialti• of local importance in .scattered .&reas. This 1it uation does not iapalr the accuracy of index•. Plains and the Lower Rio Grande Valley showed in­creases in excess of 40%. These were trailed by in­creases of 12.4% in the Northern High Plains and 12.3% in the South Texas Plains. The Coastal Prairies, with a loss of 26.11,lc, showed the largest decrease among the districts for the year to date comparison. The seasonally adjusted index for April 1950, stand­ing at 212.9, indicated a slight gain (0.3 % ) over April of last year and rose 6.7% above March 1950. The somewhat favorable outlook for farm cash income rep­resented by the figures will likely be dimmed in future comparisons with corresponding months of last year as the expected low yield from the wheat crop in the north­ern part of the State is reflected in the total income. Al­though drought breaking rains have come to most of the State, bringing moisture for planting for fall harvest in the Panhandle and South Plains area it is estimated that as much as 60 % of the wheat crop there has already been abandoned. Of the remaining 40%, the production 1s expected to be far below normal. Compare this sit- INDEXES OF PRICES RECEIVED BT FARMER!! (1909-U = 100) Source: Bureau of Agricultural Economica, U. S. Department of Agriculture Percent change Apr . 1950 Apr. 1950 Indexes Apr. Mar. Apr. from from (unadjusted) 1950 1950 1949 Apr. 1949 Mar. 1960 ALL FARM P RODUCTS _ 274 274 288 4.9 0.0 All crops 225 224 237 -5.l 0.4 + Food grains . -222 220 246 -9.8 0.9 + Feed grains and h~y __ 163 159 185 -11.9 2.5 + Potatoes and sweet potatoes 180 178 25• -29.l l.l + Fruit 179 179 28 0.0 Truck crops 242 266 287 -15.7 9.0 Cotton 283 231 24' -4.5 + 0.9 Oil-bearing crops ---· 221 213 267 -14.0 8.8 + Livestock and products __ 340 839 354 4.0 + 0.3 Meat animals ------428 421 423 + l.2 + l.7 Dairy products -----229 241 246 -6.9 5.0 Poultry and egg1 ___ 187 195 261 -28.4 4.l Wool 360 354 879 -5.0 1.7 + uation with last year's when the second largest crop in history was harvested. The index of prices for all farm products in Texas dropped 4.9% from April 1949 while remaining the same as March 1950. All elements of the index showed a decrease from April 1949 with the outstanding excep· tion of fruit and meat animal prices. Prices received by fruit growers have exhibited startling increases and at the present time are over 500% above last year. This is the natural result of crop scarcity. The heavy freeze in January 1949 devastated the fruit crop that would have been harvested this year. This scarcity has driven prices to their present high level. SHIPMENTS OF LIVESTOCK (in carloads)• Source: Bureau of Businesa Research in cooperation with the Bureau of A11:ricultural Economics, U. S. Department of Agriculture Percent change Apr. 1950 Apr. 1950 Apr. Mar. Apr. from from Classification 1950 1950 1949 Apr. 1949 Mar. 1950 TOTAL SHIPMENTS ------­ 9,705 5,558 8,463 + 14.7 + 74.6 Cattle -----------------------­ 7,360 3,613 7,172 + 2.6 Calves -----------­ 481 450 862 + 32.9 + 6.9 Hogs ------­--------------­Sheep --------------­----------­ 862 1,002 959 536 625 304 + 37.9 -10.1 + 86.9 INTERSTATE PLUS FORT WORTH ---------­ 9,356 5,331 8,108 + 15.4 + 75.5 Cattle ---·-----­-------------------­ 7,105 3,439 6,877 + 3.3 Calves ----------------------·-----­ 416 404 322 + 29.2 + 3.0 H ogs ----­-----------------­ 857 958 625 + 37.1 -10.5 Sheep -----------------·---------­ 978 530 284 + 84.5 INTRASTATE MINUS FORT WORTHt ---­ 349 227 355 - 1.7 + 53.7 Cattle --------------­------­ 255 174 295 - 13.6 + 46.6 Calves -----------------------·-­ 65 46 40 + 62.5 + 41.3 Hogs ------------------·-···---·­ 5 1 Sheep ---·-··-····---··--·····-··­ 24 6 20 + 20.0 •Rail-cnr basis : cattle, 30 head per car; calves, 60 ; hop, 80 ; and sheep, 250. tintrastate truck shipments are not included. Fort Worth shipments are combined with interstate forwardings in order that the bulk of market disappearance for the month may be shown. Total shipments of livestock were up 74.6% from March 1950 and 14.7% from April of last year. Sheep shipments demonstrated the most outstanding gains over last year, while cattle shipments gained the most over last month. Total sheep shipments were up 229.6% from April of last year; the major portion of this in· crease was due to shipments out of the State. Cattle ship· ments, while only up 2.6% over last year, were 103.7% above last month. A large portion of these cattle ship­ments went to Midwestern states where the cattle will be finished on corn. Corn-fed cattle command a higher price than range cattle, and this factor, combined with the current drought, has brought about this large increase in shipments over last month. Rail shipments of fruits and vegetables showed a small increase over March 1950 and considerable increase over April of last year. Total shipments for this month are 60.9% above last year. This was a continuation of a rising trend started in earlier months of this year. Rail shipments of individual commodities exhibited their usual erratic increases and decreases. This is, of course, a result of the variable seasonal pattern that RAIL SHIPMENTS OF FRUIT AND VEGETABLES (In carload.) Source: Compiled from ttports of Bureau of Agricultural Economlca, U. S. Department of Agriculture Percent chanire Apr. 1950 Apr. Mar. Apr. from Item 1950 1950 1949 Apr. 1949 TOTAL 6,141 5,047 3,816 -·--·-··--·-------+ 80.9 Beets 60 101 ­ -·-·-·------- -------74 -18.9 Beets and carrots -·---41 23 13 Cabbage ----·---------70 507 163 -57.1 Carrots·-·-·------·-873 1,286 781 + 11.8 Corn 260 23 ·-··----------­ Cucumbers 25 ····---··-··-·--32 -21.9 Lettuce ·············------··--127 208 42 ·---··--····--­ Mixed vegetables 598 1,733 417 + 43.4 Onions 2,544 536 1,163 ··------·-----------­ Parsley 40 48 --------------------25 + 60.0 Potatoes 275 118 1,053 73.9 ·--·-·--·--·-·-··--·--­ Spinach ··--·--·---·..--.. 9 206 6 + 50.0 Tomatoes 1,210 8 -·------·------··---­All other ---·---------·-9 273 19 is an inherent part of fruit and vegetable production. Beets and carrots, lettuce, onions and tomatoes showed the most startling increases over April 1949. Onions and potatoes were well above March 1950 shipments. The valley onion crop was one of the earliest on record, pro­ducing some of the best quality onions in years, and yet the growers got some of the lowest returns in years. This early maturity was largely a result of widesprf'.ad use of an early strain of Yellow Bermudas. It is probable that not more than 50% of this year's onion crop in the Coastal Bend will be marketed. Farmers in this area are plowing onions under because low prices and slow demand have combined to make harvesting the crop unprofitable. COLD STORAGE HOLDINGS Source: Production and Marketing Administration, U.S. Departm.nl of Agriculture Percent change Apr. 1950 Ap r. 1950 Unit Apr. Mar. Apr. from from Item (OOO's) 1950 1950 1949 Apr. 1949 Mar. 1950 Fresh vegetables -·­ lbs. 1,805 1,912 1,559 + 15.8 5.6 Frozen veiretables .... lbs. 4,527 4,166 2,530 + 78.9 + 8.7 Dried a nd evapo­ rated fruits Frozen fruits ._..___ ...._ lbs. lbs. 272 3,462 252 2,793 381 3,676 -- 17.8 5.8 + 7.9 + 24 .0 Nuts Dairy ...................___. products ··-·­ lbs. lbs. 19,226 8,569 19,900 4,729 18,496 2,485 + 3.9 -3.( + 81.2 Cream ..................._. lbs. 99 100 361 - 72.6 -1.0 Fluid .._,_..____ lbs. 90 98 150 - 40 .0 -8.2 Plastic ......_._...._ lbs. 9 2 211 - 95 .7 Creamery buttn _ lbs. 810 633 283 + 28.0 Evaporated and condensed milk.... lbs. Cheese. all varieties lbs . 81 7,5 70 89 3,907 565 1,286 - 85.4 -9.0 + 93.8 Eggs Shell -···-···-··-·-­ cases 32 20 + 60.0 Frozen ..........­...·-· lbs. Dried _ .....--··-Ibo. Poultry (frozen) -··lbs. 9,955 5,611 2,599 3,806 5,928 2,490 3,991 2,858 1,358 + 96.3 + 89.9 5.3 + u Meat and meat product& ___ Jbe. 24,374 22,534 31,672 -28.0 + 8.2 Hides and pelts _ lbs. 1,089 1,046 1,409 -22.7 + u TEXAS BUSINESS REVIEW BAIL SHIPJUENTS OF POULTRY AND EGGS FROM TEXAS STATIO ' S (In carloado ) Souree: Bureau of Business Resear ch in cooperation with the Bureau of Agricultural Economics, U. S. Department of Agriculture Perce.nt change Apr. 1950 Classification A p r . 1950 Mar. 1950 Apr. 1949 from A p r . 1949 TOTAL-SHIPMENTS Chickens 1.5 1.5 + 50.0 Turkeys .5 .5 -50.0 E~-<1hell eQuivalent• --­ 105 84 185 - 43.2 Shell I 0 1 Froi.e.n --------­ 19 26 24 -20. 8 Dried 8 17 -52.9 •Dried eggs and frozen eggt< are converted to a shell-egao eQuivalent on the following basis: 1 rail-carload of dried eggs = 8 carloads of shell eggs and 1 carload of frcnen eggs = 2 carloads of shell eggs. INTERSTATE RECEIPTS OF EGGS BY RAIL AT TEXAS STAT ION S (in carloads) Source: Bureau of Bus in-Research in cooperation with the Bureau of Agricultural Economics, U.S. Department of As riculture Type Apr. 1950 Mar. 1950 A p r . 1949 TOTAL RECEI PTS-SHELL EQU IV A L E N T • 6 12 18 Shell F roun Dried 0 0 0 0 9 0 • Dried e-ggs and frozen eggs are converted to a shell-egir equivalent on the follo"•ing basis: 1 rail-carload of dried eggs = 8 ca rloads of 1hell eggs and 1 carload of frcnen eggs =2 carloads of shell eggw. The increase in tomato shipments is quite surprising. A great deal of the increase can be attributed to the frost loss last year while the rest is probably a result of the regulation that tomatoes may be shipped only after each one is individually wrapped in paper. This raises the price received by farmers and encourages the grow­ers to send more tomatoes to market. Interstate receipts of frozen eggs were down 50% from last year and 67% from last month. Interstate rail ship­ments of eggs from Texas were also down from last vear and last month. More of Texas eggs are remaining in the State with fewer being shipped in from other states. The rate of lay per hen in Texas was lower this year than in April 1949, but more laying hens were on the farms giving an increase in egg production of 8 million over April 1949. This larger supply available in the State has driven the price received by poultry and egg producers down 28.4% from last year and 4.1 % from March 1950. Total shipments of chickens were up 50% from April 1949 and 200% from last month. There was no change in turkey shipments this month compared with March 1950, but this month's shipments were only half of what they were in April 1949. Cotton (Th• cotton balance sheet show• th• ••le demand and auppt,. factors alfectinir cotton which la an outataadlna element In the farm Income of the State.) The cotton situation is on the constructive side. Thi.s cotton year's world consumption will be about 29.5 mil­lion bales. If increases in population are taken into account, world consumption needs to increase another 2.2 million bales to equal the rate of consumption in 1938-39. World production of cotton during the 1949-50 crop year is about 31 million bales. Of this total the United States produced roughly 16 million bales and all foreign countries 15 million. Under the government's acreage control program, production in the United States is ex­pected to be reduced about 3 million bales in the 1950­51 crop year. Foreign production is expected to increase some during 1950-51 but certainly not 3 million bales. It is thus possible that world production may be sub­stantially below consumption. During the summer months the market will be very sensitive to weather conditions. The total disappearance of cotton in the United States is over 2.5 million bales more than at this time last year, as shown by the balance sheet. It is evident now that the carryover on August 1 will be about 7 .5 million bales, which is certainly not excessive. The greatest worries in the cotton situation are the devaluation of currencies by about 30% in most cotton importing countries and the sharp reductions in the price of rayon staple fibers. In some European countries rayon staple fiber is being offered at 25% below the price of Middling 15/16 inch American cotton. These two things combined will make it extremely difficult for cotton to avoid loss of markets in the United States, and more especially in foreign countries. COTTON BALANCE SHEET FOR THE UNITED STATES AS OF MAY 1, 1950 (in thousands of running b:i.Jes except as noted ) Year Carryover Imports to Gover nment fin al ginnin~ Consump-Exporta tion to to Balance as of A ug. ! .May 1 • total Mar. 20 • T otal Ma y 1 Ma y 1 T otal Ma y 1 -­·- -----· 1940--U 10,596 119 12,298 23,013 6,993 885 7,878 15,135 1941-42 12,367 247 10,4 95 23,109 8,250 878 9,128 p,981 1942-43 10,590 169 12,438 23 ,197 8,436 823 9,259 13,938 1943--U 10,687 127 11 ,129 21,943 7,581 943 8,524 13,419 1944-15 10,727 108 11,839 22,674 7,279 1,126 8,405 14,269 194<>-46 11,164 262 8,813 20 ,239 6,770 2,320 9,090 11,149 1946-47 7,522 203 8,513 16,238 7,802 2,634 10,436 5,802 1947-4.8 2,521 225 11,552 14,206 7,131 1,686 8,817 5,389 1948-49 2, 23 154t 14,540 17,517 6,162 2,958t 9,120 8,397 1949-SO 6,283 240t 15,908 21,431 6,689 3,755t 10,444 10,987 The cotton year begins AU&'USt 1. •In 478 pound bala.. tTo April 1 only. FINANCE Business Finance (Since the condition of buslneu lo both reflected by and dependent apon fina..clal conditions, various Indicators of financial activity .,.. ff&entlal for proper analysis of the buslneaa situation.) The volume of bank credit in use in Texas during April did not vary greatly from that in use during March 1950. Total bank deposits increased only 0.1% while bank loans decreased 1.0%. During the same period, both total bank debits and the rate of deposit turnover decreased 7.2% . The changes from the same period last year were more decided and indicated a definite increase in busine5s activity from April 1949. When compared to last year, bank deposits increased 8.3%, loans 10.6%, bank debits 7.5%, but the rate of deposit turnover de­creased 0.8%. The various cities throughout the State have had about the same experiences as the entire State. End-of-the­month deoosits increased from April 1949 in all except 3 of the 20 reporting cities. Beaumont (7.9%), Galves­ton (2.0%) and Port Arthur (2.1 % ) reoorted decreases while Lubbock, with 31.7%, reported the largest in­crease. Only slight changes occurred from last month. Galveston and Port Arthur were the only cities reporting decreases in bank debits from last year, while increases ranging from 43.5% in Waco to 1.2% in El Paso were reported by the remaining 18. The rate of deoosit turn­over showed varying degrees of increase and decrease when compared to April 1949 as 10 cities reported de­creases, 9 reported increases and one reoorted no change. There w:t« a genP.ral decrease of deposit turnover from March 1950 as 19 of the 20 cities reoorted decreases. The Bureau's index of bank debits points to an in­crease in general business activity from last year. At CHANCES IN CONDITION OF WEEl(LY REPORTING MEMBER BANKS IN THE DALLAS DISTRICT• Source : Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve SY!ltem Percent change Apr. 1950 Apr. 1950 Apr. 1949 from from from Item Apr. 1949· Mar. 1950 Mar. 1949 ASSETS Loano and investment. --·-----··-----+ 12.2 0.3 0.5 Loano ·------·------------+ 10.6 1.0 2.8 Total U. S. Government securities._ + I3.6 + 0.3 + 1.6 Treasury bills ·-----·-------+uu + 7.3 +111.8 Treasury certificates of indebted­ness -··----------·-·----··-+ 0.8 9.1 3.9 Treaoury notes ----------·---+897.6 . +la.I 2.4 + United States bonds --------·--9.9 . 0.2 1.1 Other securities ·------------+ 18.4 + 1.5 2.5 Reoerve with Federal Reserve Banks -13.9 0.4 1.2 + Caoh In vault ---------·--------·---5.6 8.1 + 5.9 Balances with dol"estic bank• -··---·-+ 31.9 . + 10.8 5.5 + LIABILITIES Total deposits (except interbank) ··-+ 4. 7 0.0 0.4 + I>emand deposits adjusted --··-·-·· + 4.8 + 0.2 + 0.3 Time deposits -·-----------··-+ 2.5 + 3.4 + 6.0 United States Government dapooits + 25.0 -28.6 -85.5 Interbank deposits Domestic bank& -------·---·-----·-···-+ 34.1 + 2.7 0.7 Foreign banks -----··----····-+ 60.0 + lU 0.0 CAPITAL ACCOUNTS -··--------+ 6.5 + UI + 1.5 •Percentage comparnons hued on week endinir nearest the close of calendar month. BANI( DEBITS• (In thouaanda) Source : Board of G?vernora of the Federal Reserve SYBtem Percent chanre City Apr. 1950 Mar. 1950 Apr. 1949 Apr. 1950 Apr. I950 from from Apr. 1949 Mar. 1950 TOTAL ---$3,774,024 $4 ,065,741 $3,511,I 28 + 7.5 - 7.2 Abilene ----· Amarillo ___ Austin ---­ 40,775 97,698 I22,392 43,509 104,909 144,393 34,802 89,I28 118,992 + 17.2 + 9.6 + 2.9 -6.3 -6.9 -15.2 Beaumont -­ 94,647 97,482 91,619 + 3.3 - 2.9 Corpus . Christi -· Corsicana ____ 88,490 9,492 96,663 10,249 71,583 9,322 + 23.6 + 1.8 -8.5 -7.4 Dallas ---­---1,087,779 El Paso ____. _ ..__ 134,593 Fort Worth __ 334;091 I,I52,524 154,625 360,742 994,521 133,045 298,020 + 9.4 + 1.2 + 14.0 -6.6 -13.0 -7.4 Galveston ---­ 65,875 . 72, 0~2 69,553 - 5.3 - 8.6 Houston ---­1,061,537 1,142,512 1,056,782 + 0.4 - 7.1 Laredo ---· 15,962 17,722 17,354 -8.0 -9.9 Lubbock -----­ 71,051 79,697 57,063 + 24.5 -10.8 Port Arthur _ _ 29,659 33,829 33,727 -12.1 -12.S San Angelo __ 30,659 33,549 26,I51 + I7.2 -8.6 San Antonio __ 289,881 32I,784 249,838 + 16.0 -9.9 Texarkanat ___ 26,435 27,332 23,745 + 11.S -3.3 Tyler ---·--­ 43,346 44,970 37,951 + I4.2 -3.6 Waco ·-­--­ 68,231 6I,286 47,536 + 48.5 + n .s Wichita Falls -· 61,431 65,882 55,396 +I0.9 -6.8 *Debits to deposit accounts except interbank accounts. t includes two banks in Arkansas, Eighth District. the end of April 1950 it stood at approximately 486.6% of the 1935--39 average. Except for the March 1950 in· dex ( 493.2), this was higher than the index has been at any time since the war. CORPORATION CHARTERS ISSUED .BY CLASSIFICATIONS Source: Secretary of State Apr. Mar. Apr. Claooification 1950 1950 1949 DOMESTIC CORPORATIONS Capitalization (thousands) -----­Number -----·-----------------­ Banking-finance -------­Construction -----'---­Manufacturing -·----­Merchandising -------­Oil ·-------------­Real estate -----------­Transportation ------·---------­ Nonprofi.t (no capital stock) ____ AU others ---·--·--·-·--------·­FOREIGN CORPORATIONS Number $6,552 $6,599 $7,627 383 372 370 17 22 21 67 1.9 74 1 69 93 65 15 25 20 76 10 58 5 69 94 89 26 88 76 IO 49 70 97 47 CORPORATION CHARTERS ISSUED BY CAPITALIZATION Source : Secretary of State Percent chanre Capitalization Apr. 1960 Mar. 1950 Apr. 1949 Apr. 1950 Apr. I950 from from Apr. 1949 Jl(ar. 1960 Over $100,000 ___ 9 12 12 -25.0 -25.0 $5,000 to $100.000 ___ 198 159 190 + u + 24.5 Less than $5,000 ___ No capital stock --- 107 69 119 69 95 71 + 12.6 -2.8 -IO.I 0.0 Capitalization not specified -----­ 0 l& 2 More new corporations were issued charters during April than in either last month or in April of last year, as 383 new ventures were given permission to begin operations, compared to 372 in March 1950 and 370 in April 1949. Real estate ventures with 74 new starts and merchandising with 67 led all classes. The medium· sized businesses, those capitalized at $5,000--$100,000, accounted for 198 of the new charters. Only nine of the new corporations were capitalized for more than snoo,. ()()(). The number of business failures in Texas remained almost ~table as 17 went out of operation in April 1950, 18 in March 1950 and 17 in April 1949. In Texas, life insurance sales increased 8.9% over April of last year but decreased 12.5% from last month. In the United States as a whole the increase from last year was 0.5% and the decrease from last month 9.23. B USlNESS FAI LURES Source : Dun a.nd Bradstreet, Inc. Apr. Mar. Apr. Ma.r. 1950 1950 1949 1949 Num~r 17 18 17 22 Liabilities' s 412 s 933 $ 363 $1,117 Anrage liabilities per failure-• _ S 24 $ 52 $ 21 s 51 ' ln thousands. Government Finance (F..s.n.J ancl State tax collec:tiona Y&ry direct!,, with the level of ~proaperltJ' ancl con.aequentlJ' aenr• u an index ef economic ....t.itiou.) Revenue receipts of the State comptroller for the first eight months of the 1949-50 fiscal year were 3.5% above the same period of 1948-19. Ad valorem tax collections showed the greatest increase (74.0% ) over the pre· ceding fiscal year. Crude oil production and unemploy- REVEN E RECEIPTS OF STATE COMPTROLLER Source: State ComptroDe.r of Public Accounts September 1-April 30 Item April 1950 1949-50 1948-(9 Percent chanire TOTA.L $55,170,173 $364 ,605,915 $352,308,478 + 3.5 -- -­ Ad n.lore:m taus _ 843,.528 29,836,.316 17,148,376 + 74.0 Crode oil production tues 6,440,«7 51, 493.~5 64,128,753 -19.7 lllotor foel taxes ( n~) 9,046,627 66,821 ,620 59,274,418 + 12.7 Cigarette tax a nd lioo:n.... %,505,974 17,679,546 15,.368,798 + 15.0 lilinva.J lea.oes, rental& Lnd bone­ _ _ 46,.U5 3,.561,502 7,361,398 -51.6 l.ct.e..--est on e.eeurities owned 372,(82 5,584,994 (,803,«8 + 16.3 Unclaaoifi.ed rece.ipta from connty ta.x oollectora 169,2&3-­ S0 ,624 1,984,007 -98.5 Pedu&J &id-bi.irhwaya_ Fede..'"&! a.id-public 2,U.2,373 19,612,004 18,051,966 + 8.6 W"t!!are Fodera.I Lid-public 6,061,115 49,188,488 46,885,658 + (.9 educatian 1,%:1.8,107 15,366,379 12,958,048 + 18.6 Unemploymnit oom· ~naation ta.x __ 1,198,050 12.865,887 16,018,17!. -19.7 All other receipta - tS,163,.51 3 92,5&4,580 88,320,«8 + ( .8 ment compensation taxes each decreased 19.7% from the 1948-49 fiscal year to date, and receipts from mineral leases, rentals and bonuses showed a 51.6% drop. The reduction in crude oil production tax receipts was a direct result of cuts in crude oil allowables. Cigarette tax receipts rose sharply, reflecting the 10% tax increase levied by the special session of the State legislature. Total federal internal revenue collections in Texas dur­ing April rose 3.4% from the same month a year ago. Collections were up 51.7% from April of last year in the second district hut were down 26.2% in the first district. In the fiscal year to date comparisons, all col· lections were down in both districts with the exception of employment collections in the second which rose 2.0%. For the State as a whole, the "other" group reg· istered the largest decline (17.0% ). With estimates of the total federal deficit for the 1949-50 fiscal year at $6.7 billion, cuts in postal services were orflered by PMtmaster Jesse M. Donaldson. The rising deficit in the Post Office Department prompted the immediate cut in postal services which applied to all sections of the country. Reductions were made in post office window, delivery and processing services. FEDERAL INTERNAL RE VENUE COLLECTIONS Source: Ot!ice of thl! Colli!ctor, Internal Rl!venue S..rvlce, Treasury Departml!nt .Tuly I-April 80 District 1949-50 1948-49 Percl!nt change TEXAS _____ $1,074,185,101 $1,151, 779,662 6.7 Income Employment ___ Withhold ing __ 676,793,057 550,869,919 221,989,272 720,060,301 56,835,703 229,924,624 6.0 3.1 8.5 Othe.r 120,315,853 144,959,034 -17.0 FIRST DISTRICT _ 578,392,922 627,041,113 7.8 Income Employment ___ 874 ,783,960 23,675,970 398,H3,229 26,030,136 5.9 9.1 Withholding __ 117,948,086 125,455,635 6.0 Other 61 ,984,906 77,412,113 -19.9 SECOND DISTRICT_ 495,792,179 524,738,549 5.5 Income ----­Employment __ Withholding __ 302,009,097 31,410,949 104,041,186 321,917,072 30,805,567 104,468,989 6.2 + 2.0 0.( Ot her --­-­ 58,330,947 67,546,921 -13.6 Reecent additions to the list of Small Business Aids reproduced by the Bureau of Busine~s Re­;.e!lrch in cooperation with the Office of Small Business of the United States Department of Com­merce are as follows: Cost Cutting Ideas for Retail Sales The Meanings, Purposes, and Uses of Discounts and Invoice Terms Facts About Retail Outdoor Advertising Proper Care and Handling of Meat Ten Factors in Successful Retailing Copies of these Aids are available without charge from the Bureau of Business Research. LABOR Employment (Employment stetistlc1 Include data on both the employed and unemployed portions of the labor force and on the number of place­ments made by th.. State Employment Service durln.11 the month. These data serve as measures of the demand for and the aupply of workers.) The April estimates of manufacturing employment in Texas, made bv the Texas Employment Commission in cooperation with the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in­dicate a drop of 3,200 persons in the nondurable goods industries which offsets an increase of 2,600 persons employed in durable goods production. The largest decline was registered by petroleum and coal companies which dropped approximately 5,100 employees from the pay rolls during April. However, in spite of this and other small declines from March, manufacturing em­ployment remains higher than the April 1949 totals, with the number of persons employed in the manufac­ture of "hard" goods at its highest point since February 1949. In the nonmanufacturing groups, every reported class­ification showed employment increases from March ex- ESTIMATES OF EMPLOYMENT IN SELECTED INDUSTRIES IN TEXAS (in thousands) Source: TexM Employment Commission in cooperation with the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U. S. Department of Labor Percent change Apr. Mar. Apr. Apr. 1950 Apr. 1950 from from Industry 1950* 1950 1949 Apr. 1949 Mar. 1950 TOTAL MANUFACTURING 331.3 331.9 324.3 + 2.2 - 0.2 Durable goods ······--------·­136.7 134.1 134.0 + 2.0 + 1.9 Primary metals -----------­ 13.3 13.0 12.5 + 6.4 + 2.3 M,achinery (except electrical) ------------------­ 23.3 22.0 25.4 - 8.3 + 3.1 Transportation equipment__ 32.7 31.3 29.7 +10.1 + 4.5 Fabricated metal products .. 13.0 13.3 . 13.4 - 3.0 - 2.3 Lumber and wood products 31.5 30.9 30.7 + 2.6 + 1.9 Furniture and fixtures ----­ 8.2 8.3 7.7 + 6.5 - 1.2 Stone, clay an d glass ····--·· 12.8 12.7 12.4 + 8.2 + 0.8 Other durable goods ····--··· 1.9 2.0 2.2 -13.6 -5.0 Nondurable goods ---------·-·-·· 194.6 197.8 190.3 + 2.3 - 1.6 Textile miil products --­ 9.0 9.0 8.0 + 12.5 0.0 Apparel ·----------­ 24.8 24.9 24.6 + 0.8 - 0.4 Food ----­-----------------­ 60.1 57.7 54.5 + io.3 + 4.2 Paper and allied products_ 5.4 5.4 5.0 + 8.0 0.0 Printing and publishing -­ 22.3 22.3 21.6 + 3.2 0.0 Chemicals and aJlied products ---··-----­··-­ 30.3 30.8 26.7 +ia.5 -1.6 Petroleum and coal ----­ 35.3 40.4 43.0 -17.9 -12.6 Leather ---------­--------­ 2.3 2.1 1.7 +as.a + 9.5 Other nondurable goods - 5.1 5.2 5.2 - 1.9 - 1.9 NONMANUFACTURING Mining ---------------·--­ 101.5 100.5 100.9 + 0.6 + 1.0 Crude petroleum a nd natural l?aB products____ 95.1 94.2 94.3 + 0.8 + 1.0 Metal, coal and other mining ·---··-····-----·-···· g.4 g.s 6.6· - 8.0 + 1.6 Transportation and public utilities ·-·----·-··-·-··· 220.3 223.8 218.4 + 8.2 - 1.3 Trade ·---------------····­503.5 498.0 499.3 + 0.8 + 1.1 Wholesale trade ---­ 133.6 134.9 134.6 - 0.7 - 1.0 Retail trade ------·-· 369.9 363.1 364.7 + 1.4 + 1.9 Finance, ser vice and miscellaneous ---·-·­ 296.4 289.6 294.1 + 0.8 + 2.3 Government ·-··­-·-···-··---271.3 265.1 265.0 + 2.4 + 2.8 -'Preliminary. cept transportation and public utilities. Without exCep­tion, all primary groups recorded larger pay rolls than at this time last year. In contrast to the estimated drop in the number of per­sons employed throughout the State, reports from 17 labor market areas in Texas indicated a 4.3% decrease in unemployment figures during April. Only two areas, Beaumont· Port Arthur (4.6%) and San Angelo (10.5% ) had more persons unemploved than in March; while decreases ranged from 3.1 % in Houston-Baytown to a high of 13.3% in Austin. Five areas reported no change in the unemployment picture. The nonagricultural civilian labor force in the 17 labor market areas crept upward during April for the first time since December, showing an over-all gain from March of 0.5%. Only three cities-Austin, San Antonio and Texarkana-sho~ed slight decreases, while all other& reported either no change or increases of less than 3%. In comparison with April of last year, the labor force in the 17 areas stood 1.6% higher. San Angelo and Wichita Falls reported the largest increases (7.7 and 6.7%, respectively). Placements by the Texas Employment Commission made remarkable gains during April, exceeding those in March by 25.0% and those in April 1949 by 27.1%. The Beaumont-Port Arthur area was the most outstand· ing with an increase of 68.5% over March placements. Dallas (31.0%), Fort Worth (30.3%), San Angelo (32.5%) and San Antonio (27.3%) registered large gains over last month. In comparison with April of last year, San Angelo and EI Paso with increases of 91.5 and 73.0%, respectively, led all the other areas. Other changes ranged from a gain of 2.9% in Texarkana to an increase of 51.9% in Austin. The number of persons in Texas available for em­ployment during May is expected to show some decline as the great force of migrant farm laborers begin their annual move to the farms and orchards of the North and Middle West. Usually the great majority of these work· ers leave the State during the first two weeks of May, returning in the fall after circling from the vegetable canneries of the Great Lakes region to the sugar beet fields and late cotton harvests in the West. In the nation as a whole, total employment again crept toward the 60 million mark. According to Census Bureau reports, approximately 59,998 thousand per· sons were holding jobs early in April. This was the high point in the 1950 employment record. Accompany· ing this increase, unemployment was down 608 thousand from March, following an earlier decrease of 561 thousand from February. ESTIMATES OF MANUFACTURING Industrial Relations Hours and Earnings (A,,..... boarly earalns• are comput..t b:r dlvicllas the total pay..a. li:r tJae total man-hours work..! In reportins ..tabU.hmeDta.) Average hourly and weekly earnings in April for all manufacturing firms continued above those of a yea_r ago. Transportation equipment workers set th~ pace with a;i increase of $6.97 per week over last year s wages. T~1s riae was the combined result of a 9.9 cent an hour m­crease in wages plus two hours additional work~g time per week. With the effects of an 11.9 cent wage mcrease and a 1.2 hour longer work week, employees in the stone. clay and glass industries boosted their weekly earnings to $52.35, S6.60 greater than for the same period last year. Nondurable goods industries as a whole showed an average hourly wage increase of 4.3 cents, which hr~ug?t weekly earnings Sl.09 above those of last April m spite of a 0.5 hour drop in the work week. Persons em­ployed in the production of "hard" goods, with a wage increase of 7.3 cents and 1.5 hours more working time per week, raised their weekly pay $4.97 over the same period. The general increase in weekly earnings over April 1949 was also reflected in nonmanufacturing industries. F.mployees in wholesale trade received $8.53 more per week for 0.1 hour less work; those working in the pro­ duction of crude petroleum earned $6.25 more hut spent 2.3 hours more time on the job. In the comparison with March of this year, only a few large increases in take-home pay were noted. Work· era in crude petroleum production received an average of $4.32 more per week. (A lm_l..p of current developments In Industrial relatloaa la noceaaar:r to an undaratandin• of the Stat•'• labor picture.) The Texas Company refinery workers who were on strike will get no unemployment benefits, according to a Texas Employment Commission ruling. The T.E.C. held that the work stoppage was due to a labor dispute and therefore no claim could be approved. The union had contended that the strike was called off when the workers tried to return to work but the company refused to allow them to enter the plants. In rejecting the claims, the T.E.C. quoted the law: "An individual shall be disqualified for benefits for any benefit period with respect to which the Commission finds that his total or partial unemployment is due to a work stoppage which exists because of a labor dispute . . . ." An immediate appeal and court test of the case is expected. A year ago in a similar case the Commission upheld the claims of employees of the Ford assembly plant at Dallas. The T.E.C. found that the stoppage was due to a lack of parts resulting from a strike at the main plant in Detroit. However, claims of many employees who were on vacation when the stoppage occurred were de· nied. A decision has not yet been reached in the legal fight before the Third Court of Civil Appeals in Austin con­ cerning the authority of the Texas Highway Commission to contract minimum wages at rates lower than. those considered to be prevailing by union labor. The case is being appealed from an earlier judgment which held in effect that the Highway Commission possessed the author­ ity to set its own prevailing wages. HOURS AND EARNINGS IN TEXAS* Source: T.xu Emplo:rment Commlsaion in cooperation with the Bureau of L abor Statistica. U. S. Department of Labor Industry llANUFACTU RING, TOTAL___ Durable i:oods, total -· Nondurable iroods, total __.______ A ver&ll'e weekly earnin1u (in dolla ra ) Apr.t 1950 Mar. 1950 Apr. 1949 55.50 55.19 62.17 55.64 54.36 50.67 55.51 66.47 54.42 ]\veraire hourly earninp Averaire weekly houra (in cents) Apr.t Mar. Apr. Apr.t Mar. Apr.1960 1950 1949 1950 1950 1949 41.7 41.4 41.4 133.1 133.3 127.5 43.1 42.4 41.6 129.1 128.2 121.8 40.7 40.4 41.2 136.4 137.3 132.1 Primary met.ah _ _ _______.. 61.76 61.96 60.65 40.9 41.2 39.9 151.0 150.4 152.0 llachinery (except electrical ) 63.50 63 .37 59.82 43.7 44.1 42.1 145.3 143.7 142.1 Transportation equipment 63.47 64.39 56.60 41.4 42 .0 39.4 158.8 153.3 143.4 Fabricated metal products 52.88 53.09 52.67 40.8 40.9 40 .8 129.6 129.8 129.1 Lumber and wood products ----­ 44.66 42.37 39. 66 44.7 42.8 48.3 99.9 99.0 91.6 Furniture and fixtures 50.83 47.52 41.08 '4.5 44.2 43.1 113.1 107.5 95.2 5t<>ne, clay and glass 52.35 49.20 45.75 44.9 43.2 43.7 116.6 113.9 104.7 Textile mill products Apparel 42.77 31.56 42.7' 32.43 38.70 28.98 40.2 36.7 40.9 37.4 41.3 37.3 106.4 86.0 104 .5 86.7 93.7 77.7 Food_ 48.13 48.98 46.67 41.1 41.5 43.9 117.1 117.9 106.3 Paper and allied product.. 59.33 58.07 56.98 42 .2 42 .2 43 .1 140.6 137.6 132.2 Printini: and publishinir-----­ 76.51 74.60 77.83 40.1 89.7 41.8 190.8 187.9 186. 2 Chemic&!. and allied products_ __ Petroleum and coal producta___ _ 64.9 1 76.26 63.10 72.46 62.75 71.89 44.4 40.5 44 .0 38.3 43.1 39.2 146.2 188.3 143.4 189.2 145.6 183.4 NONllANUFACTURING Cnide petroleum productlo 79.40 75.08 73.16 42.1 40.0 39.8 188.6 187.7 183 .8 Public utilities 63.05 52.45 52.07 41.0 40.1 39.9 129.4 130.8 130.5 Nonmetallic mlninir Retail trade 63 .76 41.58 61.1' 41.03 57.86 40.16 42.0 44 .0 40 .6 44.7 40 .6 43 .8 151.8 94.5 150.6 91.8 142.5 91.7 Wholaale trade 68.02 58.47 49.49 42.6 42.9 42.7 136.2 136.3 115.9 •Firuree do not cover proprietors, firm members, or other principal executi•• . All 1eria revised January 1960 and not strictly comparable with Prevloualy published data. lPniliminar,.-.ubiect to revlalon upoa rec.ipt of t.ddltioll&! rel>ORI. Some Comparative Advantages and Disadvantages in Shipping Fruits and Vegetables by Truck By Jean D. Neal, Associate Professor of Transportation, College of Business Administration The shipper of citrus fruits and vegetables from Texas is confronted with difficulties which arise out of the distance which he must ship these products to market and the nature of the product itself. Since much of the winter produce and citrus fruit produced in the Rio Grande Valley is marketed in the Middle West and in the Northeast, a long haul is involved. Of all vege­table shipments moving from Texas, 35% moved a dis­tance of from 800 to 1,250 miles and 5~% were shipped beyond 1,250 miles. This is nearly foµr times the na· tional average for all traffic. Since fresh vegetables and citrus fruits are perishable, they require fast and specialized handling. They must be chilled to protect them from heat and heated to protect them from extreme cold -sometimes both services are needed on the same haul. The need for these special services adds to the cost of transport­ing them. These products are high in bulk and weight compared to their value. As a consequence of these factors, a large portion of the delivered price is ac­counted for by the transportation charge, and shippers of fruits and vegetables are especially vulnerable to any changes in freight rates-particularly those adjustments which are upward. Following several general rate increases in the last four years, the general level is now approximately 57% above the prewar level. Since advancing highway costs have lagged somewhat behind the increase in rail rates, there has been a shift of traffic to the highways. The amount of traffic that is moving to market in trucks is difficult to establish because there are no records such as those kept on the volume of freight traffic moving by rail. However, some statistics are available on the amount of citrus fruit that is hauled by trucks since the United States Department of Agriculture and the State maintain stations for the inspection of this fruit. These inspection station reports indicate that the per­centage of the total carlot (car-load equivalent of 500 boxes to the car) shipments of grapefruit and oranges which move to market by truck fluctuated over the past 15 years. The trend was steadily upward from a low of 23.l % in the crop year 1936-37 to a peak of 59.6% in 1940-41. In the following year there was a shift of this traffic back to the railroads as a result of a sharp reduction in rates posted by the southwestern railroads in the spring of 1941. In the year 1941-42 the percent of citrus fruit moving by truck dropped to 35.5% of the total. In the succeeding years the trend continued down­ward until a low of 14.0% was reached in 1944-45. This trend was reversed in the following year, and each increase in rail rates has been succeeded by a further increase in the percentage of traffic moved by highway carriers. In the past season this amounted to 62% of the total. Testimony was presented in 200 ICC 665* to the effect that 16,000 cars of vegetables were moved by truck from •Docket Number 296(6 ; "Transcontinental Rates and Estimated Weiahta on Veiretablee." the Rio Grande Valley during the 1946--47 season. There is considerable support for the belief that practically all vegetables moving distances up to 500 miles are now going by truck. The Department of Agriculture reports that 44% of all fruits and vegetables received at 12 major wholesale markets in 1948 arrived by truck. The use of trucks to reach northern and eastern markets has certain definite advantages, but it also haa some limitations. Among the advantages to the shipper, one that ranks high on the list is the lower cost. For purposes of comparison the rail rates and the truck rates to six markets are set forth in the following table. COMPARATIVE RATES ON CITRUS FRUIT FROM THE TEXAS RIO GRANDE VALLEY Charge per 1 8/5 bushel box To: Rail freight and tax Refrig. cha.rge Total rail Truck ChicagoGrapefruit .._____$1.10 s .13 Sl.23 s.90 Oranges -----·--.... Minneapolis Grapefruit ____...._ Oranges ______ ,,__ 1.19 l.ll 1.21 .13 .13 .13 1.32 1.24 1.34 LOO 1.00 1.10 St. Louis Grapefruit ·-·----­Oranges _,,_______ .951.04 .13 .13 1.08 1.17 .80 .85 Seattle Grapefruit Cleveland -------1.49 .14 1.63 1.60 Grapefruit ---­--1.30 .14 1.44 1.15 Source: Exhibit of Texas Citrm and Vegetable Growers and Shippel'!I Association in ICC Docket No. 30074. In each case the advantage is in favor of the highway carrier. Another advantage of the truck, which is a particularly important one in the handling 0£ perishables, is its speed. A truck load of fruit moves as an individual unit from the packing shed to the market city with only brief stops enroute. As an example of this speed, motor com· mon carrier schedules call for third morning delivery in St. Louis. The best rail schedules show third evening deliveries in East St. Louis in time for placement for the fourth morning auction in St. Louis. Third evening arrival in East St. Louis is early enough to make east· bound connections for eastern markets. The private trucker is often able to cut as much as 24 hours off the motor common carrier's schedule. Use of the truck at times results in a saving in handl· ing. This is true in those cases where the carlot re­ceiver does not have a private rail siding. When the shipment moves by truck, the carrier unloads on the wholesaler's dock. If this wholesaler receives a shipment by rail, it must be spotted on a public team track ~d then trucked to his place of business. Physical handhng is also saved in those cases where the produce is trucked (by merchant truckers) direct from the field to "pro­duce row" in the market city. In the foregoing paragraphs a few of the advantages of shipping by truck have been set forth. However, shipping by truck has some very serious disadvantages, eo far as the shipper of fruits and vegetables is con­cerned. The rail carriers offer certain valuable services which are not offered by highway carriers. The present system of marketing citrus fruit and fresh vegetables is one that is complex and highly organized. It has been developed over a long period of time and is based on rail transportation. The relationship between shipper and carrier is a close personal one of long standing. In the words of one shipper, ''We are railroad minded." In a number of northern cities the auction facilities are controlled by the railroads. In Chicago, where they are jointly owned by two railroads, fruit and produce are accepted regardless of whether they arrive by truck or rail. In other cities, however, the packer shipping , by truck has marketing difficultv because the terminal auction will not accept his fruit for sale. Another disadvantage of shipping by truck is the lack of control which a shipper has over a shipment after ii leaves the packing shed. Since much of the fruit is eold "rolling," the shipper must be able to stop the car enroute and divert it to the buyer. It works as follows: a rail shipment may be started towards a distant market Wore it is sold; then a buver is located and the deal is closed by wire. By meiIDs of passing reports, the shipper can locate his car and change its destination. There is a small charge levied for this transit privilege, but the through rate is protected so long as there is no back haul involved. If the car of fruit is not sold enroute, and the market is not favorable upon arrival at its original des· tination, the owner may hold it on track for 48 hours without charge unless there is need for re-icing. He may alN> elect to reconsign it to a more favorable market. This is a valuable service which the truck operator does not offer. He is under compulsion to unload as soon as possible and start seeking another payload. Equip· ment tied up at the terminal is earning nothing. As traflic congestion grows more acute, carlot receivers are reluctant to tie up dock space that is needed for eerving their customers. In the preceding paragraphs there have been set forth a few of the advantages and disadvantages of _aliipping fruit and vegetables bv truck as compared with rail. It is impossible to determine the extent to which the present trend towards a greater use of trucks will continue. However, there are some indications that the rail carriers are making a determined effort to re· gain some of this lost business and to hold that which they still have. Last year the New England roads re­quested permission to reduce the rates on potatoes, a traffic which had gone over to the highways almost en· lirely. This winter the eastern roads filed tariffs of reduced rates on iron and steel products, while cur· nmtly reduced rates on petroleum in the State are under lllSpeDSion by the Texas Railroad Commission. Per· haps the pendulum is at the end of its swing. In any 9'eDt, it is to be hoped that all carriers will proceed with a vigorous program that is designed to fit the needs of lhe business community. · TEXAS BUSINESS REVIEW Published monthly by the Bureau of Business Research, College of Business Administration, The University of Texas, Austin 12, Texas Material contained in this publication is not copyrighted nnd may be reproduced freely. Acknowledgment of source will be appreciated. Subscription $2.00 per year. J. Anderson Fltzgeradn ".'.l':'.:============='.:'..e~a'.'..' STAFF OF THE BUREAU OF BUSINESS RESEARCH John R. Stockton A. H . Chute Director Reta.ilin11 Sper.ialist Elizabeth Lanham St anley Arbingast Alva M. Clutts Personnel Specialist Resources Specialist Research Supervisor Eugene O. Beard M:ary A. Schneider Dan Hill Earlayne Meyer Secreta.rt1 Field Representatives Libraf"1/ Assistant Ruth Bruce Isabel Worley Margaret Hampton Editorial Assistan.t Statistical Assistant Publications A!6ista.nt Marjorie Towery Ch i:t rlotte w~t~on Eyvonne Cochran Research. Assiata.nta :Marshall Beasley E. L. Taylor Richard Schmidt Richard Henshnw Ri roha rd Graves Reaea.rch Aasocia.te• Business Research Council J . Anderson Fitzgerald (ex officio), J . Alton Burdine, F . L . Cox, Harvey Peck, and H. K. Snell. Co-operating Faculty A. B. Cox, Cotton; Clark Myers and W. H. Watson, Labor ; Ralph B. Thompson, Prices; 0 . C. Lindemann, Finance; Henry H. Schloss, Foreign Tra.do ; H . K. Snell and J . D. Neal, Trans· porta.tion. Assistants Katherine Brewton, Tommy Burris, Robert Carpenter, Lucille Dunlevy, James Falzone, Grady Hall, B. L. Hillman, Charles Hinkle, Bob Jackson, Calvin Jayroe, J ames Kelly, Lee Roy Kern, Robert Luter, Harold Manning, Carolyn Martin, Marvin Masur, Dale McGee, James Ocker, Jo Overstreet, Alma Rice, Elaine Tuley, Pa tsy B. Welmaker, Norman Wendler and Jack C. West­morelan d. TABLE OF CONTENTS Highlights of Texas Business..·--·----·-···-······-·------1 The Business Situation in Texas__ ____________ 2 Trade Retail Trade .................................................................. 4 Foreign Trade ..........................................................:... 6 Production Manufacturing .............................................................. 6 Public Utilities ............................................................ 7 atural Resources ...................................................... 8 Construction ·····-···············-·------·········-·---······-·--·--9 Prices ------------------------------------------10 Local Business Conditions -------------------11 Agriculture Income ···························-·····-········································ 15 Cotton ·································-··-······································· 17 Finance Business Finance ·················································-······ 18 Government Finance ················-······--···················-····· 19 Labor Employment .................................................................. 20 Hours and Earnings .................................................. 21 Industrial Relations .................................................... 21 Some Comparative Advantages and Disad­vantages in Shipping Fruits and Vegetables by Truck ·-····-···············--····-·-······-····-····-··--·-···-22 Barometers of Texas Business___ _______ 24 BAROMETERS OF TEXAS BUSINESS April March February January Averare 1950 1950 1950 1950 1949 ----------· -··-------------­ GENERAL BUSINESS ACTIVITY tlndex of Texas Business Activity§___________________________ 201.5 202.2 203.3 196.9 189.9 Index of bank debits in Texas cities__ _____________ _ ___ _ _ 486.6 493.2 478.2 467.1 448.6 Income payments to individuals in the U.S. (billions---seasonally adjusted at annual rate)------------------------------·---------------· $ 222.7 $ 219.1 $ 218.1 s 209.9 Index of wholesale prices in the U.S. (1926= 100, unadjusted) ·-------­1'53.U 152.6. 152.7 151.5 154.9 Index of consumers' prices in Houston (unadjusted) --------------------171.9 172.9 172.0 172.8 171.3 Index of consumers' prices in the U.S. (unadjusted) _________________ 167.3 167.0 166.5 166.9 169.! Index o.f postal receipts in Texas cities____________________________________ _ 277.4 303.9 287.2 292.1 286.2 tlndex of miscellaneous freight carloadings in the Southwestern Dis­ trict (17.6) §_______________________________ 134.0 137.0 137.5 134.6 131.4 Business corporation charters issued (number) 314 309 228 319 250 Business failures (number) _ 17 18 21 21 17 TRADE tlndex of total sales (adjusted for price changes) (47.7) •______ 173.l 173.4 172.2 163.6 164.2 Index of total retail sales•-------------------------------· 318.2 318.7 315.7 300.7 307.8 Durable goods stores__ ______________ ________________ 407.3 419.4 411.6 371.2 365.0 Automotive stores ------------------------------------· 436.6 423.7 431.4 369.5 363.5 Furniture and household appliance stores_________________ 256.1 271.2 256.6 275.0 251.7 Lumber, building material and hardware stores__ ___________ 426.7 486.9 448.5 422.4 420.7 Nondurable goods stores..----------------------------------·-· 274.1 269.3 268.6 265.1 278.2 363.l 329.9 334.5 Apparel stores -----------------------------------­353.8 339.l Country general stores------------------------------------­ 113.5 120.6 120.6 123.0 132.2 310.2 292.5 296.3 299.6 304.3 Department stores --------------------------------­333.9 341.6 345.6 330.8 317.9 Dn1g stores ---------------------------------------------------------­ Eatin11: and drinking places_______________ ______ 322.5 302.6 310.3 306.8 329.3 228.5 228.4 225.1 213.7 241.5 Food stores ··--------------------------------------------------­ General merchandise stores__________________________ 254.9 267.2 259.9 259.3 319.6 Inrlex of denartm1mt store sales in the U.S.__ __ _____ ___________________ 289:1: 274• 279 282 :il85 Ratio of credit sales to net sales in department and apparel stores____ _ 64.6 65.7 65.2 63.7 62.5 Ratio of collections to outstandings in department and apparel stores_____ 46.1 50.1 49.0 50.3 49.l 232.2 230.6 217.5 208.9 Index of 1?asoline sales----------------------·----------·--· PRODUCTION tlndex of industrial electric power consumption (14.8) §_________ ___ ______ 328.4 324.1 330.4 327.6 302.l tlndex of crude runs to stills (4.5) §_____ __ ___________________________ 147.1 163.6 154.9 158.9 165.l 116.9 103.4 103.4 117.7 Jnrlex of wheat 1?rindin1?s ----------------------------------------------· 190.8 157.8 132.9 122.8 Index of cottonseed crushed§ ·---------------------------------------------­129 112 l18 119 Index of Southern pine production·--·--------------------------------------------·­TnrlP.x of dairv nrorlnct manufacturing --------------·---·-----··----------····--. ____ 84.4 81i.O 78.5 84.3 70.6 tlndex of urban building permits, (adjusted for price changes) (3.8) §_ ___ 386.3 405.4 436.0 392.3 304.2 Index of urban building permits§ __________________________________ _________________ 726.7 762.6 820.2 735.9 560.9 Vaine of construction contracts awardf'rl (thousands) _ _______________________ $ 61,920 $ 77,205 $ 64,979 $ 61,892 s78,282 tlndex of crude petroleum production (8.6) §__ _______________________________ 163.4 154.5 153.7 156.7 163.4 Tnn ex of natnra1 e:as production ·---·--· __ ·--------------·-··--------------------· 368.7 407.1 379.l tlndex of total electric power consumption (3.0) §_____________________ 379.0 379.4 376.9 370.3 353.3 Index of industrial production in the U.S._______ ________ _______ 188:1: 186. 180 183 176 Index of cement production___________________________ _____________ __ _ 277.1 277.9 263.8 243.2 AGRICULTURE Index of farm cash income____ _ ____ _ ______ ___________________ 442.0 212.9 199.6 175.9 287.9 Jnrlf'x of prires received by farmers (unarljusted) ---------------------··---------_ 274 274 272 260 275 Index of prices paid by farmers in U.S. (parity index, unadjusted) (1910--14=100) ·-------------------------------------------------------------251 250• 248 249 244 Parity ratio for Texas..------------------------------------­109 110 110 104 113 Shi nments of pou!try and e1?1?S (carloads)----------------------------------32 31 4 2 54 Index of prices received by farmers-livestock (unadjusted)______ 340 339 335 320 332 Index of prices received by farmers-all crops (unadjusted)-----------225 224 224 216 228 FINANCE Loans, reportinl? member banks in Dallas district (millions) ____ ___ _ s 1,166 $ 1,178 $ 1,186 $ 1,192 s 1,075 Loans and investments, reporting member banks in Dallas district (millions) ---------------------------------------------------$ 2,488 $ 2,495 s 2,500 $ 2,547 $ 2,335 Demand deposits adjusted, reporting member banks in Dallas district (millions) __________ ______ ____________________ ___ ___ _________ ___ s 1,195 s 1,991 $ 1,992 $ 1,984 $ 1,940 Bank debits in 20 cities (millions)....................................-............................ $ 3,774 $ 4,066 $ 3,560 $ 3,980 $ 3.625 Revenue receipts of State Comptroller (thousands) ___________ s 55,170 $ 46,665 $ 39,905 $ 52,487 s 43,294 Federal internal revenue collections (thousands) ______________________ $ 80,091 $136,817 $160,615 $157,214 $118,465 LABOR Total manufacturing employment (thousands) _______ _ ______ 331.3:1: 331.9. 330.0 332.5 331.1 Durable l?OOds employment (thousands)____________ . 136.7+ 134.1• 133.4 131.7 134.4 Nondurable goods employment (thousands)____ ____ _____ ___ 194.6:1: 197.8• 196.6 200.8 196.7 Nonagricultural civilian labor force in 17 labor market areas (thousands) 1,410 1,402 1,406 1,407 l,393 Unemployment in 17 labor market areas____________________ 69,430 72,520 81,640 77,910 67,915 Placements in 17 labor market areas____ _ ____________ __ _ _ 28,650 22,922 20,735 19,873 24,278 All figures are for Texas unless otherwise indicated. All indexes are based on the average months for 1985-89 except where indicated and are adjusted for seasonal variation (except annual Indexes). tThe index of business activity Is a weighted average of the Inda:• lndicalled b7 a dagpr(t). The welsht given each Inda: in computln11 the composite Is given in parentheshl. :Preliminary. •Revised. All retail sales indexes have been revised back through January 1949 on the basis of new tabulations (see explanatory note on page 5 of thill issue). !Revised on baaia ot postwar seasonal pattern. Fill'Ures for months prior to Janu&r)' 1950 can be obtained upon request.