Semiannual Issue I~ """ .TEXAS BUSINESS REVIEW A Monthly Summary of Busines& and Economic Conditions in Texas BUREAU OF BUSINESS RESEARCH THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS VOL. XXX, NO. 8 TWENTY CENTS A COPY-TWO DOLLARS A YEAR AUGUST 1956 • ELECTRONICS zn TEXAS Intercontinental ballistics missiles; huge, silent computing machines; stoves that cook without heat-these harbingers are ushering in the Era of Electronics. What role will Texas play in this new era? This report surveys Texas' booming electronics industry and outlines its potential for future growth. In the past ten years, petroleum and chemical manu­facturing has brought a tremendous industrial boom to Texas. Other industries bid fair to bring further expansion in the future. One of the most promising of these is elec­tronics. Almost unheard of (except for radio) before World War II, electronics came into its own during the war. Today it does a $9 billion-a-year business nationally and is de­scribed as "the fastest growing of all the world's major industries." By 1960 it may reach $15 billion a year; by 1964, $20 billion a year. What are Texas' chances of getting a share of this ex­pansion? In Houston, Southwestern Industrial Electronics, one of the world's largest makers of electronic geophysical equip­ment, recently sealed a $3 million merger with Dresser Industries of Dallas. The two firms are now pushing plans for a multimillion-dollar electronics research center. Last year SIE grossed $4.5 million, and officials expect 1956 sales to reach $5 million or $6 million. In Dallas this spring, Texas Instruments, world's larg­est manufacturer of germanium transistors and the only present commercial source of high temperature silicone transistors, added Burlington Instruments of Burlington, Iowa, to its list of subsidiaries. TI, which reported $28 million in sales last year (up 16% from 1954), hopes to reach $40 million in 1956. To provide space for increased output, plans are underway to build a new plant on a 250-acre site north of Dallas. Also in Dallas, Collins Radio, one of the largest elec­tronics manufacturers in the state, announced in March that it had obtained an Office of Defense Mobilization cer­tificate of necessity amounting to more than $2 million to cover building of new facilities in nearby Richardson. Last year Collins, which is headquartered in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, reported total sales of $108 million, some 20% up from 1954. Electronics, then, has already gone a long way in the Lone Star State. Experts think that as the industry grows, it will feel more and more at home in Texas. To understand why, it is necessary to pinpoint just what is meant by "electronics." And in this vast, diverse field, meaningful definitions are hard to come by. "Electronics" covers every­thing from electric-eye umpires, to beta-ray industrial gauges, to proximity fuses, to tomorrow's new product. Electronic scientists themselves argue the scope of their subject. The American Standards Association, however, hazards a definition: "Electronics is the branch of science and technology which relates to the conduction of elec­tricity through gases or in vacuo." To this, it adds that electronics covers devices based on the principle of electron emission and equipment employ­ing such devices. The two basic devices that use this princi­ple are the vacuum tube and the new (first discovered in 1948) transistor. (Please turn to page 13) TEXAS BUSINESS REVIEW;] The Business Situation in Texas In spite of some weak spots in the economy, the first half of 1956 was the best six months ever recorded for total business in Texas. The only discernible effect of the slow· ing down that has affected some lines of business is the fact that the increase in business volume for this year has not been as great as in some other years. The index of business activity compiled by the Bureau of Business Research was 3%higher during the first half of 1956 than in the first half of last year. For each month of this year the index of business activity has been above the same month of 1955. The June value of the index dropped 3% from May but was still 2% above the level of June 1955. This decline came after an unusually strong rise in the index for May and appears to be merely one of the erratic fluctuations always present in time series. The table below summarizes the variations in the differ· ent segments of the Texas economy, since the record level for the average of all kinds of business was not duplicated by all components of the composite index. INDEX OF TEXAS BUSINESS ACTIVITY AND COMPONENT SERIES (Adjusted for seasonal variation, 1947-49 =100) Average month Januar y.J une -----Percent Index Weight 1!}56 1955 change TEXAS BUSINESS ACTIVITY (COMPOSITE ) -------------------­-----------­100.0 169* 164t + 3 R etail sales, defl ated -------------------·--·-------···-·· 46.8 13Z* 140t -6 Industrfal electric power consum pt ion .... 14.6 Miscella neous freight carloadin gs___________ _ _ 10.0 336* 95 262t 95 + 19•• Building authorized, deflat ed ----------·-­·-···-­·­9.4 136• 160 -16 Crude petroleum p roduction ·-···---··-··········· 8.1 135* 128 + 5 Ordinary lif e insurance sales, deflated... 4.2 2.37 214 + 11 Crude oil r uns to stills __ ·····-···--··--·-··--·-····· 3.9 153 14() + 9 T otal electr ic power consumption ............ 3.0 305* 263t + 16 *Preliminary. **Change is less than one-half of one per cent. t Revised. Index . 200 150 100 0 The two components that declined were retail sales and'~ building authorized. These two series are to a certain ex~·-. tent also composite figures, since the retail sales series is :: the average of all kinds of retail business, and building _:( authorized includes both residential and all kinds of busi-.· ness buildings. From the more detailed tabulations of these ·· data given in the following sections of the Texas Business . Review, it can be seen that only certain elements of these · industries declined during 1956. · The largest decline was shown in building permits issued, but this decline was concentrated in the residential portion of the building category. Nonresidential building, which includes industrial, commercial, institutional, pub· lie utility, and public building, increased 23% during the first half of 1956 in comparison with the first half of 1955. Residential building, on the other hand, declined 28% over the same period. This trend in nonresidential building has prevailed all over the country, with industrial construction running 27% ahead of last year; commercial building, 20%; and utilities, 10%. For the country as a whole, home build­ ing for the first six months of 1956 was down 10% from the same period last year. However, the strength of the nonresidential building boom was enough to push the total outlay for new construction in the United States to a new high. The highway construction program is due for an early expansion and will give added impetus to the non· residential construction boom already in progress. The only other component of the index of business ac· tivity that declined between the first half of 1955 and the same period in 1956 was retail sales. Sales of nondurable· goods stores, however, were 2% higher in the second period than in the first, while sales of durable-goods stores declined 16%. Sales of automotive stores, including both motor vehicle dealers and tire, battery, and accessory TEXAS BUSINESS ACTIVITY Adjusted for seasonal variation . 1947-1949-100 1940 '41 '42 '43 '44 '45 '46 '47 '48 '49 '50 '51 '52 '53 '54 '55 '56 stores, were 20% below the level of the first half of 1955. Furniture and appliance stores registered a 5% decline, and the combined group of lumber, hardware, and farm implement stores declined 11 %. The sample of this latter group is not large enough to permit measuring the changes of each of the subgroups, but there is considerable evidence that the farm implement dealers were the hardest hit in the group. The decline in farm income in Texas has apparently had a serious effect on the buying of new equipment by farmers. There is also some evidence that sales of appli­ances contributed more to the decline in the furniture and appliance group than furniture sales. . The rise in the volume of sales of nondurable-goods stores was somewhat uneven, but in total it has reflected the increased income of Texas consumers. Apparel store sales increased 15% between the first half of 1955 and the first half of 1956. Service station sales rose 17% and drug store sales 11%. The most important category of nondurable-goods stores to report a decline was food stores, down 4%. Consumer income continued to rise during the first half of 1956. Although specific statistical data are not available for Texas, there is no reason to believe that the trends shown by the national figures are not accurate for Texas. For the first five months of 1956 the Department of Commerce reported that personal income earned by individuals was at the annual rate of $319.4 billion. This compares with an annual rate of $298.1 billion during the same period of 1955. The data already available for June indicate another increase will be registered. The rise in Texas nondurable-store sales during the first half of 1956 can he attributed to the continued increase in consumer income. The weakness in automobile and farm implement sales resulted from specific conditions in those industries which offset the effect of the increase in total income. In many ways the weakness in the residential building market is similar to the problems encountered by the other consumer durable goods. The peak production during the past 10 years of all kinds of durable consumer goods, such as automobiles, appliances, furniture, and houses, has been sustained by a number of factors. First there was the prob­ lem of making up the accumulated shortages caused by the war. In addition, the population continued to grow and the standard of living continued to rise, with the result that the market still absorbed the increasing output of all kinds of durable consumer goods. In such a situation it is not unexpected that occasionallv the balance between production and demand should get out of line. There seems to be little doubt that 1955 auto­ mobile production borrowed some of the 1956 market, and the same situation has occurred in housing in certain areas. It appears that the first half of 1956 has been one of the periods when an adjustment was being made between production and demand, with the result already noted in the Texas figures. The sale of automobiles, appliances, farm implements, and houses has slowed down, and it seems quite likely that 1956 will not be a record year for these industries. The fact that the composite index of Texas business registered a gain for the first half of 1956 was due to the fact that the industrial segment of the economy has shown no letup in the expansion that has been under way almost without interruption for 10 years. It has already been stated that Texas nonresidential building increased 23% in the first half of 1956 over the same period of 1955. In­dustrial building (factories) showed an increase of 58%. Industrial electric power consumption increased 19% in comparison with the first half of 1955. Total electric power consumption rose 16% in the same period. Crude oil runs to stills increased 9% and crude petroleum production 5%. Industrial activity for the country as a whole maintained its high level throughout the first half of the year. The preliminary index of industrial production in the United States for June declined one point after adjustment for seasonal variation, although it is likely that the July measures of industrial activity both for Texas and the United States will show the influence of the steel strike. The Federal Reserve Board announced that the July index would probably show a decline, since the rate of production in early July was down approximately 4%. The first half of 1956 probably accounted for a larger amount of capital expenditure for new plant and equip­ment in Texas than any other six-month period. The esti­mated new capital expenditures for the United States for the first half of 1956 set an all-time record. The reports on new and expanded plants in Texas compiled by the Bureau of Business Research indicate that the national trend was matched by Texas industry. The continued high rate of industrial expansion seems assured for the re­mainder of 1956; if such is the case it will be an important factor in making 1956 another record year in Texas business. The index of bank debits corroborates the movements of the index of business activity. The series on debits to individual accounts compiled by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas for the largest cities in Texas measure the volume of business transacted by check and measure in a satisfactory manner the changes in the volume of total business activity in the state. This index averaged 10% higher during the first half of 1956 than in the first half of 1955. Since the total amount of bank debits is affected by changes in the level of prices, the rising level of prices that has occurred during the past year has contributed to the rise in this index. The Bureau's index of business is a measure of the physical volume of business, so it did not receive any upward push from rising prices. When allow­ance is made for this difference in the two barometers, they agree very closely in their measurement of the change in business activity. The wholesale price level rose significantly during the first half of 1956, after remaining virtually unchanged for the previous three years. The index of wholesale prices published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics was 111.3 in December 1955 and was 114.2 in June 1956. The prices of industrial commodities have been rising for more than a year, but for a considerable portion of that time the de­cline in farm prices approximately offset the rise in other commodities. However, during 1956 farm prices also have been rising with the result that the all-commodity index has shown an increase from previous levels. Most of the increase in prices received by Texas farmers occurred in the second quarter of 1956. This rise came after prices had declined with little interruption for nearly five years. JOHN R. STOCKTON TEXAS BUSINESS REVIEW REVIEW TEXAS Editor ________________________ __ _ _____ __ _____ _ _______ ___John R. Stockton Managing Editor ____________________ ________________ Robert H. Ryan CONTENTS Electronics in Texas -----------------------------------------------­The Business Situation in Texas____ __ _ ___ ______ ____ _ ___ 2 Construction -----------------------------------------------------·----4 Retail Trade ------------------------------------------------------------6 Agriculture ---------------------------------------------·----------------8 Industrial Production ----------------------------·--____ _ ____ __ _ 9 Finance --------------------------------------------------------------------11 Local Business Conditions ·-------------------------------------16 Barometers of Texas Business ----------------------------------28 BUSINESS RESEARCH COUNCIL William R. Spriegel, Dean of the College of Business Administra­tion (ez officio): J. W. Cashin; A. F. Etier; J. L. Hazard; Eastin Nelson; and G. H. Newlove. BUREAU OF BUSINESS RESEARCH .John R. Stockton Stanley A. Arhlngaat Florence Escott Director Asaiatll"t Director Research SupeTfJiaorResourcee Specialiat A. Hamilton Chute H. T. Owen Francis B. May Retaii,itnu Specialiat 1nsura,.ce Specialiat Research Scie..tiat Richard C. Henshaw.Jr. Robert H. Ryan Alfred G. Dale Stlltiaticia" Research Associate Research Associate Anne K. Schuler Josef H . Perry Jo Overstreet Reaearch AMOciate Research Associate Senior CleTk Marjorie T. Cornwell Tina Piedrahita Mary Weber Admi,.iatrative Clerk Statiatical Assista"t Statiatical Assistant Roberta Steele Judy Vaughan Jean J. Harrison Cartographer Senior Secretary Se,.ior Secretary Beatrice Friedman Margaret Hainze Calvin Jayroe Statiatical Tech,.icia" Library Assistant Offset Press Operator Celesta Williams Secretary Assistants Charles R. Akin, Jr., Pierce Arthur, Jr., Alice M. Baghdassarian, Joyce R. Bunin, Bill E. Fritts, Karl M. Gibbon, Jr., James H. Keahey, Clifford McCormick, Jr., Marsha A. Murray, Candis Pattillo, Prentice W . Ward, and Clyde R. Williams. Pnblished monthly by the Bureau of Business Research, College of BU8iness Administration, The University of Texas, AU8tin 12. Entered as second class matter May 7, 1928 at the post office at Austin, Texas, under the act of August 24, 1912. Content of this publi­cation ls not copyrighted and may be reproduced freely. Acknowledge­ment of source will be appreciated. Subscription, $2.00 a year · Individual copies, 20 cents. ' CONSTRUCTION Fewer Houses Building construction authorized the first half of thiS year fell 11% short of the first six months of 1955, solely because of the decline in homebuilding. During the first half of 1955, housekeeping residential building accounte 62.3 42.8 66.1 A. HAMILTON CHUTE Men's clothing stores ---··············· 7 65.6 62.1 40.8 48.1 BY VOLUME OF NET SALES Over $3,000,000 ----------------------------21 64.3 63.0 33.0 37.5 POSTAL RECEIPTS $500,000 to $1,500,000 ----------------14 55.2 54.9 47.3 48.0 $250,000 to $500,000 -·········-·---·----11 49.2 49.() 44.5 41.4 Less than $250,000 ----------------------14. 45.0 45.2 41.9 43.1 January-June J une Percent *Credit sales as a percent of net sales. City 1956 1956 1955 change tCollections during the month as a percent of accounts unpaid on the first of the month. TOTAL* .................. $6,470,631 $38,345,803 $37,058,807 + 3 Alice ---------···························--···· 4,364 21,707 2.1,203 + 2 among farmers. Easing credit is expected to stimulate Bastrop ···-······--·-----------------------2,387 10,305 9,960 + 3 housing starts. Automobile manufacturers are counting Belton -------------------------------------· 5,575 32,186 33,898 5 Borger -----------------·-················· 16,161 82,519 79,861 + 3 heavily on the market impact of new models. Producers Brownfield ·····--·----·····-·-·---------6,625 38,329 38,786 1 ·---··-------------------------­ expect color television to become significant in their market Cameron 6,340 43,691 45,178 3 this year. There is more eating out by consumers, and more Childress ----------------------·· 4,732 25,967 26,262 Cleburne .................................. 10,650 56,855 66,194 travel. Many merchants expect Christmas season business -14 Coleman .................................. 5,661 31,604 32,394 -2 to equal 1955 or to top it. Of course, a long-drawn-out Crystal City ........................... 3,081 16,426 15,967 + 3 steel strike, unpredicted political developments, or a serious Cuero ........................................ 6,161 28,601 23,775 + 20 change in international tensions could materially change Denton ················ 23,155 133,165 127,575 + 4 Eagle Pass . ........... ............ ..... . 6,091 31,555 28,343 + 11 the expected course of events. Edna ....................... 4,221 21,434 20,760 + 3 El Campo ................................ 8,808 46,841 45,672 Survey of Texas Trade Gainesville ······--·-··················-· 13,172 70,454 70,652 + ** 3 Gatesville 4,385 22,965 23,417 -2 Sales in June slipped from May by 5% (slightly less ····················· Gilmer ...................................... 3,964 20,807 24,769 -16 than the usual seasonal decline) and from last June by' Gladewater ·························-----5,983 29,628 32,135 -88%. Durable goods averaged 17% below June 1955. For Gra ham ---------------------------········· 9,104 40,372 36,735 + 10 the first half of this year, durable goods were below 1955 H ale Center ····-················-··--·-1,831 7,917 7,232 + 9 Hillsboro -----·--····-----·--····--·····---5,233 31,039 30,931 ** by 16% but nondurables were ahead 2%. Huntsville -------------------------------7,273 45,473 41,260 + 10 Reporting by cities, 303 Texas department and apparel Jacksonville 16,502 84,253 65,275 ··-························· + 29 stores fell from May by 20% but bettered last June (and Kenedy ----····-·-----·--···--------··--··· 3,909 18,614 18,816 -1 January-June 1955) by 1 %. All of the 35 cities included Kerrville ----------------------------------10,251 52,637 50,791 + 4 Kingsville ···········------12,057 65,548 67,184 -2 slipped from May by 8% to 35%. The best showings Kirbyville 2,740 14,291 16,595 -14 --------·-······-····----···-··· among the 23 cities topping last June were Galveston La Grange 4,115 22,695 21,231 ------------------------------ + 7 ( + 14%) ; Wichita Falls ( + 12%) ; Greenville, McAllen, Levelland ································ 6,906 36,819 36,511 + 1 and Vernon {each +11%); Amarillo (+10%); and Littlefield ----·---------------------··--·· 6,088 32,195 33,151 -3 Luling --------------------------------------4,649 20,365 19,276 + 6 Brownwood and Paris (each +9%). Of 19 cities bettering McCamey ................................ 4,019 20,411 17,421 + 17January-June 1955, the leaders were McAllen ( + 11 % ) , Marlin ---------------5,278 33,245 33,364 •• Odessa ( +9%), Galveston and Henderson (each +7%), Mission ······················---------····· 8,315 45,647 39,411 + 16 4,741 Paris ( +6%), Lockhart ( +5%), and Waco ( +4%). Navasota ------------····--···········-·--· 23,874 23,308 + 2 Odessa ··········-----------·----------------51,964 284,635 248,729 + 14 Among the 29 cities reporting enough retailers of vari­ 12,174 50,721Pecos ------··--···················· 52,503 + 4 ous types to be listed individually, only five bettered May, Pittsburg --------------------------------2,671 15,898 15,849 ** seven topped last June, and four surpassed the first half of Raymondville ··-····················· 5,904 29,826 29,905 ** Taft ················--------------------------3,752 14,489 13,494 + 7 last year. These led for May: Paris (+15%), Henderson Terrell ------·--············-----------------6,648 33,758 32,470 + 4 ( + 10%), and Greenville ( +9%). For June-to-June, Waxahachie ·---------------------------10,()71 55,054 52,114 + 6Plainview and San Angelo (each +6%), Corpus Christi Yoakum ----------························ 8,955 52,098 56,689 8 and Fort Worth (each +5%), and Houston and McAllen **Change is less than one-half of one percent.(each +4%). Paris topped January-June 1955 by 7% and *The total includes receipts for cities which are listed individually under San Angelo, by 4%. "Local Business Conditions." TEXAS BUSINESS REVIEW AGRICULTURE Golden Harvest Twice already, Lower Rio Grande Valley farmers have banked on citrus fruit-and lost heavily. But they are trying for the third time, and it looks as if they have a winner. In the rich alluvial delta sloping away from the river, where four crops a year have been taken from a single truck farm and natives say that your feet take root if you stand in one place too long, the golden harvest of citrus fruit has registered a total value as high as $18 million (1947-1948). But it has also plummeted to as low as $1,726,000 (1951-1952). Bonanza or bankruptcy de· pends on the weather man, for citrus trees die when ex­posed very long to temperatures below 26°. That is why Valley citrus growers sensed disaster in late January 1951 when the thermometer began to fall. Only two years before, the 20° freeze of January 1949 had cost some large grow­ers as much as $50,000 a night in lost fruit and stock and had ruined some 3 million of the Valley's 12 million citrus trees. Starting on January 29, 1951, temperatures ranging from 18° to 20° gripped the Valley for several days. Ex­cept for five hours at 35°, the thermometer hung below freezing for 92 consecutive hours. The disastrous result: 7,700,000 of the 9,550,000 pro­ducing trees were killed. In addition, most of the 2 million new trees planted since the 1949 freeze were destroyed. With loss in the multimillions, Texas' once great citrus industry seemed wiped out. But optimistic Valley men thought differently. Planting part of their blasted acreage to quick-dividend cotton and vegetables to tide them over, they developed new rootstock and started replanting their citrus groves. One grower, Stanley B. Crockett, owner of Crockett Groves, Inc. and director of the First National Bank of Harlingen, expressed LOWER RIO GRANDE VALLEY CITRUS PRODUCTION* Source: Agricult ural Marketing Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture Value of Number of Production Price marketed producin g September­ma rketedt per box production treest June (t hous of boxes) (dollars) (thous of dols) (thous) GRAPEFRUIT 1947-48 .............................. 20,900 0.49 10,209 7,919 1948-49 ······························ 11,300 0.61 6,853 8,420 1949-50 .............................. 6,400 1.95 12,350 8,887 1950-51 ······························ 7,500 0.99 7,361 9,550 1951-52 ...... ······················· 200 3.89 700 1,850 1952-53 .............................. 400 2.34 878 2,736 1953-54 ··········· 1,200 1.60 1,880 3,100 1954-55 .............................. 2,500 1.27 3,099 3,200 1955-56 (preliminary) .. 2,200 1.17 2,574 3,300 ORANGES, including small quan tities o f t a ngerines 1947-48 ······························ 5,200 1.50 7,695 1948-49 .............................. 3,400 1.36 4,529 1949-50 ······························ 1,760 2.29 3,870 1950-51 ··········· ·················· 2,700 1.21 3,182 1951-52 ················ .... 300 3.80 1,026 1952-53 ······························ 1,000 1. 76 1,672 1953-54 ················ 900 1.64 1,427 1954-55 ······················ ....... 1,500 1.61 2,343 1955-56 (preliminary) .. 1,600 1.75 2,800 *Includes Hidalgo, Cameron, Willacy, Brooks, Jim Wells, Starr, and Webb Counties. tEquivalent packing-house-door returns for all methods of sale. tEstimated and rounded. Includes all varieties of citrus trees producing but excludes immature trees. FARM CASH INCOME January-June Percent Commodity 1956 1955 change Thousands of dollars TOTAL ......................... . 571,925 648,920 -12 Cotton ................................... . 113,973 147,819 -22 Wheat .................................... 6,792 27,693 -75 Oats ....................................... . 4,132 7,940 -48 Corn ...................................... 4,536 3,861 + 17 Grain sorghum ................... . 22,072 19,228 + 15 Flaxseed ............................... . 285 1,635 -83 Peanuts ................................ 3,881 2,840 + 37 Cattle ................................... . 144,358 177,164 -19 Calves ................................... . H ogs ..................................... . 38,684 29,766 43,440 29,785 -11 •• Sheep and Iambs ............... . 15,748 .14.427 + 9 W ool ..................................... . 7,479 7,569 -1 Mohair ................................. . 5,535 6,290 -12 Poultry ................................. . 27,789 23,423 + 19 Eggs ···························-········· Milk a nd milk products..... . 28,524 58,799 33,122 52,286 -14 + 12 Fruit a nd vegetables ......... . 59,572 50,408 + 18 **Change is less than one-half of one percent. Farm cash income as computed by the Bureau understates actual farm cash income by 6% to 10%. This situation results from the fact that means of securing complete local marketings, especially by truck, have not yet been fully developed. In addition, means have not yet been devel­oped for computing cash income from all agricultural specialities of local importance in scattered areas. This situation does not impair the accuracy of the index shown on page 28. the typically optimistic, typically Texan outlook of the Valley: "The Big Freeze of '51 dealt a terrific blow-California and Florida termed it a 'fatal' blow. Yet, far from being fatal, those freezes actually are turning out, over the long­run, to be a blessing. Based on actual replanting experi­ences since the freeze, I feel we can reasonably expect 50 percent more fruit per acre per year from the new orchards, which are being replanted just as fast as good stock is available. This is brought about by better trees, better bud­wood, planted in our very best citrus land, with practical application of our citrus production know-how. The Freeze cleared the way for us to reap greater dividends from our research dollars." To safeguard their investment against future freezes and drouths, growers reset their orchards with care. Sites were selected with an eye for: • Proper soil drainage. The subsoil must be free from tight clay layers, which trap water in pockets and cause accumulation of soluble salts. Such spots eventually become too salty for good citrus growth. Where natural drainage was not adequate, farmers have installed sub· surface tile drainage systems. • Water sources. Because of proper planning for wa· ter needs, the citrus industry has been able to regain ground in the last several years, in spite of increasingly grave drouth conditions. • Soil texture. This is a more important factor than soil fertility, since Valley soils respond so well to proper fertilization. • Topography. Gentle slopes are the best sites for orchards because the cold air drains from them and does not form frost pockets as it does in low places. • Windbreaks. These rows of trees, frequently palms, protect against the high winds that bring the coldest tem· peratures, blow sand, and whip the branches. Nursery production was run at full capacity and trees were set out as fast as seedlings could mature in the seed beds. Usually, citrus trees are not planted until they are two years old. They reach full production four to six years later. Thus the trees which were planted in 1951 and 1952 directly following the freeze are now beginning to hear fruit in sizable quantities. The table on page 8 outlines the Valley's progress on the long road back. Orange trees weathered the 1951 freeze much better than grapefruit trees. Although the 1951-1952 crop of oranges was destroyed (only 300,000 boxes were mar­keted), the trees did produce a respectable crop the next year (1 million boxes marketed). A large part of the 1,850,000 citrus trees left after the freeze were orange trees; almost all of the grapefruit groves had to be bull­dozed over and planted anew. Thus the gains in producing citrus trees since 1951-1952 have been mainly in grape· fruit. These gains have been steady, and from the 1951-1952 low of 1,850,000, the number of producing trees has in­creased 78.4% to 3,300,000 in 1955-1956. In the same period, the total number of trees has increased from some­what over 3 million to almost 4 million. Growers are pre· dieting that by 1965, their tree losses will have been com· pletely recouped. And, in the words of one veteran grower, INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION Expansion-To Be Continued Churning cement mixers continued to lay the foundation for further industrial growth, as Texas passed the midpoint in its busiest year, 1956. With some of the largest projects still coming off the drawing boards in August, it appears that the last half of the year will mark no slowdown in in­dustrial building. Steel output will soar if a proposed $250 million to $300 million Jones and Laughlin mill is built in Houston, as observers are confident it will be. Congressman Albert Thomas, who has been working closely with Jones and Laughlin planners, says the company may install a blast furnace, four open hearth furnaces, two seamless pipe mills, a stretch mill, a blooming mill, and heating and tempering units. Lone Star Steel expects to add 100,000 tons of new ingot capacity to its mill near Daingerfield. The $4 million pro­gram will include building of a fifth open hearth furnace and a new stretching-reducing mill to convert 5%-inch casing to tubing size. Texas ingot capacity has soared from less than 5,000 tons in 1939 to a potential of over 3 million tons upon completion of current and announced projects. Further, the Howton Chronicle recently reported that U. S. Steel officials have been studying the possibility of erecting a new mill on a 3,000-to 4,000-acre site near Houston. A new million-dollar Michigan Seamless Tube plant at Rosenberg, west of Houston, will specialize in cold-drawn seamless tubing for the petrochemical and refining in­dustries. About 200 persons will be employed at the 37­acre site, and initial capacity will be around 500 tons a month. INDEXES OF PRICES RECEIVED BY FARMERS Source: Agricultural Marketing Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture Percent change J une 1956 June 1956 Index June 1956 May 1956 June 1955 from from May 1956 J u ne 1955 ALL FARM P RODUCTS -------­ALL CROPS ........................ 252 252 252 239 263 253 •• + 5 - 4 •• F ood grains ----­------------­················ Feed grain an d hay .................... 216 170 224 170 222 182 - 4 •• -- 8 7 P otatoes and sweet potatoes...... Fruit ---­-----------------··· ······-----------­---­ 232 103 229 103 234 119 + 1 •• -1 -13 Truck crops ······­--------------­-----------­ 443 262 352 + 69 + 26 Cotton -------------------------·-················· Oil bearing crops ·········-·----··-··-·-­ 251 240 254 240 259 262 - 1 •• -- 3 8 L IVESTOCK & PRODUCTS 253 269 275 - 6 - 8 Meat animals ................................ Dairy p roducts ---···---------------------­ 272 244 298 245 312 235 - 9 •• -13 + 4 P oultry and eggs .......................... W ool -------------···--···························· 204 248 216 248 209 273 - 6 •• - 2 9 •• Change is less than one-half of one percent. "they'll be better trees, producing better fruit-meaning a wider market acceptance and more money to the grower." The comback has been hard, and it's not over yet. But it seems clear that the Valley citrusmen have backed a winner. ]AMES H. KEAHEY Aircraft orders and construction plans at Texas plants total in the millions, and fluctuating Texas aircraft em­ployment should now be stabilized for several years. Cur­rently, Bell is spending $600,000 on new construction at Hurst. And Temco is building a large engineering research unit at its Garland plant and expanding its Greenville division. Texas' Big Four aircraft makers have all secured substantial numbers of new contracts. Refining capacity at the gigantic Humble plant in Bay­town will be boosted 55,000 barrels daily upon completion of a new catalytic reforming unit similar to two others REFINERY STOCKS* Source : The Oil and Gas J ournal J anuary.June A rea and June Average m ont h P ercent products 1956 l h56 1955 chan ge UNITE D STATES Gasoline ----·--·--·············· 181,601 188,699 173,593 + 9 Dist illate -·-·--------------­----­ 93,672 75,243 78,596 - 4 Residual ----------­-----­----­-- 38,374 35,854 45,311 -21 Kerosene ----·-··-····-···------­ 25,779 20,297 23,200 -13 TEXAS Gasoline ··············-·······-­ 31,229 33,898 30,543 + 11 Dist illate -­------­---------·----­ 15,092 11,022 9,850 + 12 Residual -­-­···················· 7,033 6,895 5,581 + 24 Kerosene -----------------------­ 4,161 3,093 3,024 + 2 *Figures shown are for the week ending nearest the last day of month. built there in recent years. The expansion, to cost $27 million altogether, will make the Baytown plant one of the world's most efficient. Butadiene output will be stepped up through a $20 mil­lion building program at Neches Butane Products Works, Port Neches. The present payroll of 1,000 will be raised TEXAS BUSINESS REVIEW ELECTRIC POWER CONSUMPTION January-June Use June 1956* 1956* 1955t Percent change Thousands of kw-hrs TOTAL 3,357,160 17,940,770 15,439,685 + 16 Commercial 463,429 2,142,221 2,036,755 + 5 Industrial .................... 2,206,662 12,371,243 10,396,082 + 19 Residential .................. 573,851 2,793,106 2,417,358 + 16 Other ............................ 113,218 634,200 589,490 + 8 *Prelimina.ry-based on reports of io electric power companies reported to the Bureau of Business Research and leveled to Federal Power Com­mission estimates. tRevised to preliminary Federal Power Commission data. to 1,400, and output capacity, now 20,000 tons annually, will be substantially larger. Wood products, one of Texas' most dynamic indus­tries, is still on the move. Southern· Pine and Temple Lum­ber Company', two of the largest, merged last February under the name of Southern Pine Lumber Company. Now the firm plans to build a $2 million electric sawmill at Pineland and a $4 million fiberboard plant at Diboll. The Diboll installation, with an annual capacity of 100 million board feet, will employ about 100 men in the making of exterior wall sheathing, acoustical tile, roof insulation, and other softboard products. These products will be marketed through an agreement with Certainteed Products Corporation (a leading gypsum-products maker with one Texas plant at Acme, near Quanah). Meanwhile, Southland Paper Mills, Lufkin, is complet­ing installation of a third newsprint production unit and preparing for purchase of a fourth. P ETROLEUM AND GAS ACTIVITY Source: State Comptre>ller of Public Accounts and Railroad Commission <>f Texas January-June Percent Product 1956 i955 change *For 26 weeks ending June 30. CRUDE OIL Production ( i,000 bbls ) ............. . 540,302* 512,569 + 5 Te>tal value ( $i,ooo) ................. . i ,604,011 l,444,2i3 + 11 Runs t<> stills ( i,000 bbls) ......... . 4i9,442 384,498 + 9 NATURAL GASt Production ( $i,OOO) ..................... . 243,062 2oi.275 + 21 SULFUR Recovered from gas (le>ng tons ) .. 2,027 i,027 + 97 •Preliminary. tincludes casinghead gas. Oxygen from Texas air, a plentiful commodity, will be produced at a new $750,000 plant to be built by Air Re­duction Company at Arlington, midway between Dallas and Fort Worth. District headquarters of the company will be moved to Arlington from Oklahoma City. Atomic Energy Commission plans include $5 mil­lion for expansion of the Pantex Ordnance Plant near Amarillo. The 500-man plant, operated for several years by Procter and Gamble under AEC contract, will be taken over S~ptember 30 by a i:iew operating firm. The plant expansion, AEC reports, will not greatly increase employ­ment, Industrial Electric Power Use in Texas Index · Adjusted for seasonal variation .1947-1949·100 400 350 ,,,. '00 350 300 250 200 150 100 50,_ L..-'.,.__., \).,._...-. c--­ -Vv '­[,J _,11" 1 1 300 250 200 50 00 so 0 0 19'0 ''1 '42 '43 '4' "'5 '46 '47 '48 '49 '50 '51 '52 ·53 '5' '55 '56 A $600,000 nuclear-powered-aircraft research labora­tory is slated for construction by' Pratt and Whitney (air­craft engines) at the Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio. The new "hot lab" will test the action of radi­ation on fuels and lubricants. The building, recessed in a hillside for safety purposes, will contain two test cells, each capable of handling up to 100,000 curies of cobalt 60. This is the second laboratory to locate in the $50 million "Science City" sponsored by the Southwest Research Insti­tute. Previously, ground was broken for a $750,000 Army Ordnance research unit. WELL COMPLETIONS Source: The Oil and GM Journal J an-June January-June i 956* 1955 Region Oil Gas Dry Total Total TEXAS -------------····­ 6,716 424 3,771 i0,911 9,953 Southwest ...................... 877 115 626 1,618 i,554 Gulf Coast ...................... 65 i i 29 558 1,338 1,281 East ............................. ... 2i9 44 294 557 448 North Central ·············· 2,i62 18 1,757 3,937 8,657 West ...... .......................... 2,344 23 467 2,834 2,490 Panhandle ...................... 463 95 69 627 483 A group of San Antonio residents recently offered to operate a $7' million irradiated food plant for the Army Quartermaster Corps. A Corps survey team has visited San Antonio to examine sites, but no definite decision has been made. STANLEY A. ARBINGAST INDEX OF WHOLESALE PRICES IN THE UNITED STATES Source: Bureau <>f Labe>r Statistics, U. S. Department <>f Labor ci947-49 = 100) 1956* June J uly Index July 1() July 3 i 956 1955 ALL COMMODITIES ........ 114.i 113.9 114.2 110.5 Farm products ............................ 90.4 89.2 91.2 89.5 Processed f<>Ods ···························· 102.5 102.i 102.3 103.i All other commodities ................ 121.4 i2I.4 12,1.5 116.5 "Indexes shown are weekly and are calculated as a percent change for the latest published monthly ce>mprehensive index. The weekly index is based <>n the actual weekly prices <>f a small sample (appr<>ximately 200 commodities ) <>f the ce>mmodities included in the monthly index and on the estimated prices for all e>ther ce>mmodities. FINANCE Savings and Loan The Texas savings and loan industry has experienced rapid growth in recent years. Operating mainly in the field of residential construction and home purchase fil).ancing, and as savings depositories for many Texans, the savings and loan associations have an important stake in the eco­nomic future of the state. Equally', the vitality of the state's economy is, to a substantial degree, dependent upon the vitality of the savings and loan industry. A new study, History of Savings and Loan in Texas, by Jack W. Cashin, to he published this month by the Bureau of Business Research, provides an interesting background to the his­tory of the industry and an up-to-date analysis of its func­tions and its status. Texas currently has 165 savings and loan associations; 84 of them operate under state charters; 80, under federal charters; and one is a "foreign" association. Their total assets have increased from about $70 million in 1935 to over $1 billion in 1955. This growth can he explained by two factors: increased income in Texas and returned con­fidence in savings and loan associations by investors fol­lowing the serious loss of reputation that the savings and loan industry, in common with other financial institutions, suffered during the depression. As Dr. Cashin points out, during the last two decades the quality of assets owned by savings and loan associa­tions has changed greatly, a change which has clearly in­creased the financial resiliency and flexibility of these institutions. For example, in 1937 savings and loan asso­ciations owned over $10 million worth of real estate other than office buildings. By 1953 these holdings had been re­duced to slightly over $100,000. The ratio of real estate owned, exclusive of office buildings, to total assets declined from 12% in 1937 to a negligible percentage at the present time. The volume of lending by the associations has increased very substantially in recent years. Total mortgage loans made by Texas savings and loan associations increased from $20.3 million in 1937 to $602.8 million in 1953. An especially interesting chapter in Dr. Cashin's hook relates to the complex and sometimes incorrectly under­stood role of federal legislation as it affects savings and FEDERAL INTERNAL REVENUE COLLECTIONS Source: Internal Revenue Ser vice, U.S. Treasury Department July 1-June 30 Percent Account and area 1955-56 1954-55 change T EXAS ---------------­ $2,394,091,138 $2,232,399,954 + 7 Income ---------------···-··--------·-· 1,298,350,169 1,262,861,388 + Employment ··---------------------­ 24,833,526 26,043,131 5 Withholding ···················-···· 902,120,386 792,379,244 + 14 Other ·········--··--·------­- 168,787,057 151,116,191 + 12 FIRST DISTRICT ____ 1,269,445, 760 1,189,427,916 + 7 Income ······-----·-····················· 705,757,066 688,825,779 + 2 Employment ··---------------------­ 4,988,955 4,552,161 + 10 Withholding ........................ 457,588,573 408,017,136 + 12 Other ------········-·--·----------------­ 101,111,166 88,032,840 + 15 SECOND DISTRICT 1,124,645,378 1,042,972,038 + 8 Income ---------------------------------­ 592,593,103 574,035,609 + 3 Employment -----------------------­ 19,844,571 21 ,490,970 8 Withholding -----------------------­ 444,531,813 384,362,108 + 16 Other ----------­---­--------------------­ 67,675,891 63,083,351 + 7 loan operations. For example, many people erroneously believe that state-chartered savings and loan assoc1at10ns are subject to income tax, while federal associations are not. Dr. Cashin emphasizes, by reference to the Revenue Act of 1951, that there is actually no difference in the tax treatment of the two types of association. Both are subject to corporate income taxes. However, the tax laws allow that dividends paid on withdrawahle shares (the only type that federal associations have) be treated as a business expense. State associations may, hut do not necessarily, have permanent shares, and dividends paid on permanent shares are not deductible for corporate income tax pur­poses. It is for this reason that a profitable state savings and loan association may pay corporate income tax, while a federal association of comparable size will not. In addition to analyzing the influence of federal tax legislation upon savings and loan operations, Dr. Cashin also examines the effects of recent federal nontax legisla­tion upon the industry. Apart from the more obvious types of legislation having a direct hearing on savings and loan associations, such as the Federal Home Loan Bank Act of 1932, the Home Owners Loan Act of 1933, and the Na­tional Housing Act of 1934 (which provided for the crea­tion of the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corpora­ tion), other legislation has had important indirect conse­quences for the industry. Dr. Cashin draws particular attention to the Housing Act of 1950, which, in enunciating the national housing policy involving "the realization as soon as feasible of the goal of a decent home and a suitable living environment for every' American family," provided REVENUE RECEIPTS OF THE STATE COMPTROLLER Source: State Comptroller of Public Account.a September 1-J une 30 Percent Account 1955-56 1954-55 change TOTAL ___ ---------------------------­---­-----­$789,342,884 $699,540,391 + 13 Ad valorem, inheritance, and poll taxes ---------­-­---------------------------------------­ 40,005,937 35,310,147 + 13 Natural and casinghead gas production taxes -----------------------------­ 34,862,394 32,491,495 + 7 Crude oil production taxes -----------­---­ 115,030,827 108,440,478 + 6 Other g ross receipts and production taxes -----------------------------­ 16,227,410 15,134,553 + 7 Insurance companies and other occupation taxes ---------------------------­ 23,097,173 21,470,865 + 8 Net motor fuel taxes ----------------­ 129,293,316 99,466,788 + 30 Cigarette tax and licenses -------------­ 36,248,104 28,843,863 + 26 Alcoholic beverage taxes and licenses -----­-----------------­---------------------­ 24,387,967 17,686,403 + 38 Automobile and other sales taxes ___ _ 19,279,327 18,190,740 + 6 Misce11aneous licenses and fees _______ _ 21,341,031 16,736,650 + 28 Franchise taxes ------------­ 31,475,679 29,461,655 + 7 Ali land sales, leases, r entals, bonuses, and easements ----­ 42,711,628 23,284 ,891 + 83 Oil and gas royalties -------------------------­ 22,406,130 20,395,700 + 10 Miscellaneous interest and penalties 17,996,042 16,240,594 + 11 Motor vehicle licenses, permits, and other unclassified receipts -----------­ 51,425,006 47,031,458 + 9 Miscellaneous revenue ----------------------­ 7,998,865 13,216,075 -39 Federal a id for highways -----------------­ 27,219,196 29,137,760 - 7 Federal aid for public welfare___ ____ _ 97,126,028 98,620,724 -2 Federal a id for public education_____ _ 8,280,802 8,950,849 - 7 All other federal aid ---------------­--­---­--­ 5,366,390 7,359,106 -27 Unemployment compensation taxes 17,327,076 11,929,192 + 45 Donations and grants -----------------------­ 236,556 140,405 + 68 12 TEXAS BUSINESS REVIEW for a much more active role for the federal government in ESTIMATES OF NONAGRICULTURAL EMPLOYMENT the housing field. This, together with the provision of the Act for direct loans to veterans, set a new framework within which savings and loan associations must operate. Source: Texas Employment Commission in cooperation with the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U. S. Department of Labor It also raised serious questions regarding the relative roles of private and federal enterprise in the field of real estate Thousands ---­---­ Percent change June 1956 June 1956 financing. The savings and loan movement in Texas has come a Industry TOTAL NONAGRI- June 1956* May 1956t June 1955 from from May 1956 June 1955 long way since the creation in 1866 of the Young Men's CULTURAL .................... 2,381.9 2.,354.1 2,306.4 + + Mutual Real Estate and Building Association of Houston­the first ancestor of the present-day Texas savings and loan MANUFACTURING ...... Durable goods .......................... 473.3 231.3 466.6 227.8 451.8 211.8 + + 2 + 5 + 9 association. The development of this type of financial institution and the history of its adaptation to the varied Ordnance .............................. Lumber and wood products Furniture and fixtures ...... 2.0 24.1 11.1 2.1 23.9 10.9 2.8 25.3 11.2 5 + 1 + 2 -29 5 1 needs of the modern, complex economic system is of major interest to anyone concerned with the financial aspects of Stone, clay, and glass ........ Primary metals .................. Fabrica t ed metal products 17.6 28.3 22.9 17.2 28.2 22.2 17.4 26.2 20.9 + 2 •• + 3 + 1 + 8 + 10 the Texas scene. Dr. Cashin has performed a valuable service in describing this evolution in his history of sav­ Machinery, except electrical ............................ Electrical equipment .......... 42.6 8.3 42.3 8.0 39.2 5.9 + + 4 + 9 + 41 ings and lo~m in the state. Transportation equipment Other durable goods .......... 66.6 7 .8 65.1 7.9 54.4 8.5 + 2 + 22 8 ALFRED G. DALE Nondurable goods .................... 242.0 238.8 240.0 + 1 + Food ........................................ 67.3 65.1 69.0 + 3 2 CHANCES IN CONDITION OF WEEKLY REPORTING MEMBER Textile mill products .......... Apparel .................................. 7 .4 29.1 7.5 29.1 8.0 30.6 •• 8 5 BANKS IN THE DALLAS FEDERAL RESERVE DISTRICT Paper and allied products.. Printing and publishing .... 7 .8 27 .6 7.7 27.5 7.9 26.8 + •• + 1 Source: Board of Governors of the Federal Resene System Chemicals and allied products ........................... . 46.3 46.1 42.3 •• + 9 Percent change Petroleum products .... . 48.6 47.8 48.1 + 2 + June 1956 June 1956 June 1955 Leather and leather Account from May 1956 TOTAL ASSETS .................. + 2 Loans and investments, less from June 1955 + 2 from May 1955 •• products ........................... . Other nondurable goods..... . NONMANU­ 4.2 3.7 4.3 3.7 4.6 2.7 2 •• 9 + 37 loans to banks and valu- FACTURING .................. 1,908.6 1,887.5 1,854.6 + + ation reserves -···--------------­- + 2 + 1 Mining ........................................ 132.2 126.1 130.1 + 5 + 2 Loans, less loans to banks and valuation reserves -----------­Commercial, industrial, and + 7 + 9 Petroleum and natural gas Metal, coal, and other 124.2 118.4 122.1 + 5 + 2 agricultural loans .................... 1 + 4 + 5 mining ................................ 8.1 7.7 8.0 + 5 + Loans for purchasing or carrying securities .................................... Real estate loans .............................. Other loans ........................................ + 3 2 1 + 14 + 7 + 15 + 19 + 9 + 18 Contract construction ............ Transportation and utilities Interstate railroads ............ 164.9 227.4 58.9 160.2 223.0 58.2 167.2 2·25.4 58.9 + + 2 + 1 + •• Total U . S. Government securities --------------------------·-········ Treasury bills ................................... . Treasury certificates of indebtedness ............................. . •• -15 8 -7 ~37 + 33 -6 -30 -44 Other transportation ........ Telephone and telegraph.... Public utilities ...................... Government .............................. 9·3.5 35.9 39._ 1 351.8 90.8 35.8 38.2 354.2 91.9 35.7 38.9 336.8 + •• + 2 + + + 1 + 4 Treasury notes ................................. . + 9 -12 8 Trade .......................................... 639.4 635.3 614.6 + + 4 Bonds ................................................. . Other securities ........................... . Loans to banks ...................... ... . Reserves with Federal Reserve Banks ................. . 1 •• +550 3 -5 -2 + 44 -l(} -8 -3 -47 + 1 Wholesale trade .................. Retail trade ........................ General merchandise ...... Food and liquor stores.... 165.5 473.9 75.0 90.8 163.1 472.2 75.3 90.7 157.5 457.1 72.3 84.7 + •• •• •• + 5 + 4 + 4 + 7 Cash in Taults ........................... . + 4 2 + 14 Automotive ........................ 51.4 51.1 50.9 + 1 + Balances with domestic banks .................................... Other net assets ........................ TOTAL LIABILITIES ...... + 37 + 1 + 3 + 9 + 12 + 1 + 14 + 1 •• Apparel .............................. Other retail trade .......... Finance, insurance and 29.0 227. 7 30.0 225.l 28.9 220._ 3 + 3 •• + 3 Total adjusted deposits .............. Demand deposits .............................. Time deposits ··········-----­-·-············----­U. S. Government deposits ............ Total interbank deposits ............ Domestic banks ................................ + + • • + 7 + 17 + 17 + 2 •• + 9 •• 3 -3 + + 2 3 + 13 + 13 real estate ........................ Banks and trust companies Insurance .............................. Real estate and finance ...... Service and miscellaneous .... 110.7 27.3 47.8 35.6 282.1 108.6 26.8 46.7 35.1 280.1 105.0 26.0 45.l 33.9 275.5 + 2 + 2 + 2 + + + + + + + 5 2 Foreign banks .................................. Borrowings .................................... Other liabilities ............................ CAPITAL ACCOUNTS .... + 6 -62 -12 o -6 •• + 14 + 11 + 6•• -14 •• Hotels and lodging places Laundries and cleaners ...... Other business services ...... 2.7.9 32.6 221.6 27.9 32.3 219.9 27.0 31.1 217.4 •• + 1 + 1 + + + 2 Percentage changes are based on the Wednesday nearest the end of the month. ••Change is less than one-half of one percent. **Change is less than one-half of one percent. *Preliminary. tRevised. • ELECTRONICS in TEXAS (Continued from page I) Because the materials used in making vacuum tubes and transistors {e.g. glass, copper, solder, and mica) are rela­tively compact and high in value, they can he shipped any­where in the country easily and cheaply. This makes prox­imity to the source of the materials a negligible factor in the choice of a plant site. Plant locational factors in the electronics industry are numerous and rather subtle. There is usually no single, overpowering reason for building in any particular area. Some of the significant influences are: Market proximity. Nearness to major market centers, actual and potential, makes for faster, more responsive service and allows lower distribution and shipping costs on finished products. Labor resources. While electronics has helped bring automation to other industries, electronics manufacturing itself still requires large amounts of labor. For most jobs, highly skilled workers are not essential, so manufacturers usually train locally available labor. Women are preferred, since manual dexterity is needed. Living conditions. Like aircraft builders, electronics firms budget a big share of their spending for research and development. With some 2,000 Texas Division employees, Collins Radio has an engineering staff of 312. Since elec­tronics engineering positions are today perhaps the hardest to fill in all industry, companies are going to unprece­dented lengths to recruit qualified engineers. Inducements include free moving expenses, high salaries, and an increas­ing range of fringe benefits. But probably the key factor in recruiting is the location of the work. High-echelon techni­cal personnel must often he brought in from other parts of the nation. Personnel departments of California electronics makers have advertised the supposed delights of life on the West Coast. Texas firms, to compete, have emphasized the advantages of living in Dallas, Houston, Fort Worth, or wherever their plants might be. And since the electronics industry is more footloose than most, the attractions or shortcomings of living in a particular area undoubtedly have a strong, if untold, effect on company executives who may have to live where their new plant is built. Government policy. In establishing new plants in Texas, Collins Radio admittedly considered the federal policy of encouraging industrial dispersion. Like aircraft manufacturers, defense electronics suppliers must depend upon heavy government financial support. For this reason, government recommendations bear heavily upon company behavior. Further dispersion into some of the smaller cities of Texas and the Southwest may he the next step. Already, most of the electronics plants in the major metro­politan areas are being built in small suburban com­munities outside the central cities. The wide applications of electronics are not easy to classify. But in general, electronics has three basic mar­ kets: defense, industry, and entertainment. De/ense. War is becoming increasingly electronic. Pur­chases of electronic equipment already account for 6.3% of all defense spending, and the armed services are by far the largest customers of the electronics industry. Last year, they purchased an estimated $2.5 billion of electronic equipment-guided missiles, proximity fuses, radar, and earth satellites. Electronics manufacturing for defense in Texas is now concentrated in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Texas Instruments says its apparatus division, which builds military and commercial electronics systems, ended 1955 with a military backlog of about $14.5 million. Most of Tl's military contracts are for communication devices and guided missiles systems. Collins Radio, which makes vir­tually no consumer products, has large government orders for radar, communication, navigation, and flight-control equipment for the Air Force, and for commercial airlines, too. Collins officials hope to divert more of the company's activities to civilian work in the future, but the armed forces are still its biggest customers. Varo Manufacturing, at Garland, another large defense electronics maker, lost its plant in a $1 million fire on April 1 but is already back in operation. The company has been working on top-secret devices for the Navy'. Continental Electronics, in Dallas, maker of transmitting equipment, reports that about 90% of its work is for the government. Much of this work is on classified, experi­mental projects. The company, which builds many ultra­high-power transmitters, has recently been awarded a large contract by the Navy Department for a 2-million-watt very­low-frequency telegraph transmitter to he installed in Maine. Defense electronics in the Dallas-Fort Worth region is already big business, and potential growth in the area promises to make it even bigger. Most important of these expanding markets is the aircraft industry. One average heavy bomber has an estimated 350,000 resistors and capacitors in its electronic gear, and the giants of the future will require increasingly more. Over one-third of the cost of an all-weather Sabre jet is for electronic de­vices. The huge Convair plant at Fort Worth, which builds the intercontinental B-36 and B-52, and Chance Vought at Grand Prairie, makers of the Cutlass and the Crusader, along with Bell's helicopter plant at Hurst, Temco at Grand Prairie, and other local manufacturers, constitute a strong inducement for the location of electronics suppliers. With a plant near this market, an electronics company can cut shipping costs and, more important, improve the speed and quality of its service through closer teamwork with the aircraft makers' engineers. l":dustry. The surface has hardly been scratched yet, hut mdustry promises someday to be the largest consumer of electronic equipment. Last year national sales of in­dustrial electronics were approximately $640 million. Experts say that by 1964 the sales figures should he around $1.3 billion to $1.4 billion-a gain of 130% or more in less than a decade. Industrial electronics includes such heralded advances as radar brakes; electronic "brains"; microwave heating devices; and the all-pervading con­ cept, "automation." Most industrial electronics manu­ facturing in Texas is geared to supplying one industry­ oil. And it is focussed mainly' on the exploration and drill­ ing phases of this industry. Houston, world's largest center of oil field tool and equipment making, is home base of most Texas industrial electronics firms, most of which TEXAS BUSINESS REVIEW concentrate on geophysical instruments, such as seismo­graph equipment. Tremendous sales possibilities now opening up with automation of Texas' huge oil and chemical industries point toward a change in this pattern of electronics manu­facturing. Automation (i.e. "the use of automatic controls to replace human judgment in the operation of machines") is the coming market. Oil and chemical industries, with torrents of fluid-flow materials to be controlled through many complicated processes, are ideal subjects for appli­cation of automated electronic judgment. A few Houston firms have already branched into auto­mation. The McEvoy Company recently brought out a long-range push-button control system designed for ofI­shore production operations. This system permits valves on well rigs located miles offshore to be regulated com­pletely by remote control from the mainland. Southwestern Industrial Electronics is producing some servomechanisms and control systems for automation of refinery processes. And the Diatron Company recently' perfected a new elec­tronic gas detector and warning device to be used in chemical plants and oil refineries. With one eye on the potential of automation, Houston electronics manufacturers still weight their production most heavily toward geophysical equipment. SIE, largest electronics manufacturer in the city, with 400 employees, expects to gross $5 million to $6 million this year (as com­pared with $4.5 million in 1955) principally from its world-wide sales of geophysical devices. The Technical Instrument Company (27 employees), a Brush Electric subsidiary', does a $600,000 yearly business in manufactur­ing instruments for oil exploration. Electro-Technical Labs, Inc., employs more than 100 specialists to produce made-to-order seismographic equipment. Houston Techni­cal Laboratories, petroleum instrumentation division of Texas Instruments, of Dallas, has started construction on a 40,000 square-foot plant to house its operations. And McEvoy (250 employees), although it does some work in the automation field (e.g. its offshore valve-control sys­t~m), c~ntinues to concentrate on production of explora­tion equipment. In 1955 Houston electronics manufacturers reported aggregate sales in excess of $10 million. The limitless pos­sibilities of automation throughout the giant complex of oil refiner~es and chemical plants in the Houston area add up to a tailor-made market for industrial electronics right in these manufacturers' back yard. E'!tertainment. Electronics' best known applications are m the area of entertainment, including radio tele­vision, tape recorders, record players, and all 'other amusement devices that employ vacuum tubes or tran­sistors. Within this field, television has, of course, by far t~e. largest dollar-volume of sales. Year after year, tele­vision sales have broken records. Dealers sold 6.4 million sets in 1953 and 7.3 million sets in 1954. Experts predict that color television will raise the sales average to l'.5 mil­lion sets a year throughout the next decade. Meanwhile radio is still very much on the air. Last year customers bought some 7 million home radios and 4.3 mil­lion car radios. And in the last few years the record and phonograph sales, stimulated by the promotion of "high fidelity," have risen to new heights. Texas is probably' farthest behind in the use of fre­quency modulation-FM-for radio broadcasting. About a dozen FM stations are now in operation mostly in the heavily populated Dallas-Fort Worth, Hou~ton-Beaumont and Austin-San Antonio axes. But like television and un'. like conventional (AM) radio, FM signals do not travel around the curved surface of the earth. The size of Texas is a big disadvantage to FM-broadcasting, since each station is limited mainly to the audience in a single metropolitan area. Proponents think the crystalline clarity of tone and freedom from static will persuade increasingly more Texans to buy FM receivers and may encourage the es­tablishment of FM relay networks to spread station coverage. In Texas manufacture of electronic equipment for enter­tainment purposes is still small. At present only two plants are in operation solely for the production of entertainment electronics, Five-Star Manufacturing Company and Texas Electronics Manufacturing Company, both of Houston. Five-Star, which has 12 employees and does a $240,000 a year business, makes radio subassemblies, amplifiers rec· ord players, and radio-phonographs. The company' does not market its products under its own name but sells its output to assemblers to be used with their brand names. Texas Electronics is the only manufacturer of television picture tubes in the state and one of only six such manufac­turers west of the Mississippi. Company officials report a 400% sales increase since July 1955, and plans are being ~ade to add another work shift to the two now in opera· hon. The company manufactures both aluminized and non· aluminized picture tubes and markets them under the brand name "Tex-Ray." Through its sales representative, the Texport Company of Dallas, Texas Electronics has spread its distribution over six states and some 500 cities. C.ollins Radio is also in the commercial broadcasting equipment field. The company recently linked Dallas' KRLD-TV studios with the station's new transmitting t?wer through the installation of a microwave system, de­signed to carry sound and image for both black-and-white and color television. In the area of industrial communi­ca;ions, Collins is building a million-dollar high-density microwave system for Continental Pipe Line Company and Sinclair Pipe Line Company between Ponca City, Oklahoma, and Houston. .A third company will go into the production of enter· tamment electronics later this year. Vactron Corporation of Fort Worth recently broke ground for a plant to remanu­facture television picture tubes, and officials plan to branch ?ut into the manufacture of other types of vacuum tubes m the future. Several other Texas companies primarily in defense or industrial electronics also manufacture some equipment for the entertainment field. Scientific Service Labs, Inc., of Dallas, a geophysical equipment manufacturer, reports that it is doing research on an electronic organ. And Texas Instruments provides some 85% of the transistors being used in the newly-de­veloped transistor radios now being marketed. In the future, when the cost of transistors is reduced sufficiently, the midget electronic valves will undoubtedly be used in all electronic amusement devices. If TI can maintain its position of leadership, it should become a top component· maker in the entertainment electronics field. So it can be seen that Texas scores high in market proximity, one important test that manufacturers use in choosing new plant sites. The state has great potential in all three basic electronics markets-defense, industry, and entertainment. And Texas has an ace in the hole: the mar­ket for Texas-made electronics devices are not limited by the state's boundaries. Texas would be the logical center for plants to serve the whole Southwest and, more im­portant, all of Latin America. Texas Gulf ports, linked by sea with the nations to the south, would be ideal distri­bution centers for all three types of electronics products. Incongruously, while promising push-button factories for other types of manufacturing, the electronics industry is still heavily dependent on hand labor. The main reason for this is found in the physical form of electronic de­vices-jumbles of colored wires and components that defy the most agile assembly machines. Although printed-wire circuits promise to permit mechanization in the future, at present, mass production requires hundreds of workers, usually' women, to assemble the components. Mass pro­ducers of radio and television sets figure that labor takes about 15% of their factory costs; on low-volume military equipment, literally handmade, labor costs run as high as 30%. In the quality of its labor, Texas has two significant advantages over most states in the East, where the ma­ jority of electronics manufacturing is now located. This state has always been relatively free from strikes. As many eastern manufacturers have learned, costs can be spiralled by frequent or prolonged stoppages. In addition, Texas labor has the advantage of a high relative productivity. A recent study by the Area Development Division of the Texas Power and Light Company, based on findings of the Survey of Manufacturers of 1950 and 1953, states that Texas workers add more value per man-hour than those in 42 other states. In value added to product per $1.00 of wages, Texas was higher than 43 other states. No eastern state reported higher relative productivity than Texas. Because its unemployment is among the lowest in the nation (4.4% of the total labor force in June), Texas' ad­ vantages in availability of labor are somewhat more diffi­ cult to see at first glance. May figures of the Texas Em­ ployment Commission for 1 7 labor market areas report only 22,421 unemployed females in the state (4.08% of the total female labor force). However, this is not an accurate reflection of the availability of women workers. The TEC has helped staff new plants with women employees in several Texas cities where there were almost no unem­ployed females registered. The women who went to work in these new plants had been housewives and were not previously counted as part of the labor force. To measure this hidden labor pool and correctly appraise the labor resources of particular cities, the TEC runs spot checks on areas where manufacturers plan to locate new industries. These surveys determine not how many women are un­employed but how many would apply for jobs if they' were available. In these studies the TEC has found that when new jobs for women are opened up, housewives will take them, and manufacturers will have little trouble staffing their plants. Young and fast-growing (less than 30 years ago it was still in the laboratory) , the electronics industry has not yet had a chance to settle permanently in any one part of the country. According to information released by Syl­vania Electric Products, Inc., the optimum component or assembly plant occupies between 100,000 and 200,000 square feet, employs 200 to 500 workers, and represents a $1-million machinery-equipment investment. Because of these ty'pical characteristics of small-sized plants and relatively low per-plant investment, companies have great freedom in their selection of plant locations. It is cheaper to build new facilities in expanding market areas than to enlarge existing plants farther away. This footloose quality of the industry enables manu­ facturers to evaluate all sections of the country and then locate their operations anywhere that conditions are most advantageous. Texas is strong in two factors important to the location of an electronics industry-market proximity and labor resources. It is also strong in other factors, such as tax structure (Texas has no state corporate or indi­ vidual income tax and few sales taxes), cost of land and availability of suitable plant sites, climate and living conditions, transportation, and financing. Today, electronics does a $9 billion-a-year business. One expert, W. Benton Harrison, Sylvania's vice-president in charge of finance, predicts that by 1960 it will be up to $15 billion; by 1964, to $20 billion. This tremendous growth will call for great expansion of production fa­ cilities. With mushrooming markets and plenty of labor, Texas has an excellent chance to put its brand on a sizable part of this giant industry. JAMES H. KEAHEY Bank Debits in Texas Wholesale Prices in the U.S. Index-Adjusted for seasonal varialion.1947•1949-100 Index-Unadjusted for seasonal variation• 1947-1949•100 250 150 l 50 200 100 l 00 50 150 100 50 50 50 0 1940 '41 '42 '43 '" '45 ''6 ·q '48 '49 '50 '51 '52 '.53 '54 '55 '56 TEXAS BUSINESS REVIEW Local Business Percent change June June 1956 from June 1956 from January-June City and item 1956 May 1956 June 1955 1956 1955 Percent change ABILENE (pop. 55,000r) Retail sales..................................................................... . -14 -22 -12 Department and apparel stores....................... . -24 + 2 + 3 General merchandise stores-----------------·-······· -23 + 4 + 5 P ostal receipts................................................................ $ 80,711 + 8 + 14 $ 449,474 $ 421,509 + 7 Building permits, less federa l contracts.................. $ Bank debits (thousands) ............................................ $ 1,609,146 73,424 -20 4 -2 + 10 $ 13,400,183 $ 445,805 $ $ 9,711,123 388,891 + 38 + 15 End-of-month deposits (thousands ) 11 ........................ $ 55,633 + 1 5 $ 56,281 $ 59,512 - 5 Annual rate of deposit turnoverll ............................. . 16.0 2 + 17 15.8 13.1 + 21 Employmentll ............................................................... . 28,850 + 2 + 3 28,208 27,783 + 2 Manufacturing employmentll ............................. . 3,400 + 1 + 6 3,363 3,163 + 6 Percent unemployed ll ................................................... . 5.1 4 + 5.5 4.6 + 20 ALPINE (pop. 5,261) Postal receipts............................................................... $ 4,364 + 21 + 5 $ 2.1,707 $ 21,203 + 2 Building permits, Jess federal contracts.................. $ 0 -100 -100 $ 56,500 $ 105,370 -46 Bank debits (thousands) ............................................ $ 2,476 + 8 + 16 $ 13,406 $ 12,667 + 6 End-of-month deposits (thousands) 11 ........................ $ 3,978 + 1 + 17 $ 4,009 $ 3,900 + Annual rate of deposit turnoverll ............................. . 7.6 + 9 + 6 6.7 6.6 + AMARILLO (pop.108,034r) Retail sales..................................................................... . - 4 - 6 -14 Automotive stores................................................. . + 6 - 4 -27 Department and apparel stores....................... . -14 + 10 + 1 Drug stores ............................................... . Eating and drinking places............................... . -1 + 12 + 16 + 1 + 10 ' Florists ................................................................... . -42 - 8 -1 Food stores............................................................. . 9 - 6 - 4 Furniture and household appliance stores..... . 6 -35 -11 Liquor stores·---------------------------·-············-··--·-········· + 6 - 6 - 3 Lumber, building material, and hardware stores............................................. . -28 -12 Postal receipts................................................................ $ '140,950 4 + $ 810,132 $ 771,090 + 5 Building permits, Jess federal contracts.................. $ Bank debits (thousands) ·····························-············· $ End-of-month deposits (thousands) 11 ........................ $ 1,597,897 161,052 110,729 7 •• + 2 + 16 + 4 + 2 $ 10,337,438 $ 931,427 $ 109,900 $ 13,408,366 $ 899,872 $ 109,633 -23 + •• Annual rate of deposit turnoverll ............................. . Employmentll ............................................................... . 17.6 46,250 + 2 •• + 4 + 4 17.0 45,808 16.4 43,958 + + Manufacturing emp!oymentll ............................. . 6,180 - 1 5,178 6,029 + Percent unemployed ll .................................................. . 4.9 + 23 -14 4.8 5.3 ARLINGTON (pop. 27,550r) Postal receipts................................................................ $ 19,134 - 4 + 13 $ 115,337 $ 96,632 + 19 Building permits, Jess federal contracts.................. $ 396,137 -46 -55 $ 5,713,073 $ 8,068,959 -29 Employment (area) 11 ................................................... . Manufacturing employment (area) 11 ............... . 196,600 62,125 + + + 7 + 14 194,833 61,383 180,233 53,021 + 8 + 16 Percent unemployed (area) 11 ..................................... . 4.7 + 9 6 4.5 6.1 - 12 AUSTIN (pop. 168,500r) Retail sales..................................................................... . 6 - 1 - 4 Automotive stores............ .................................... . Department and apparel stores....................... . 2 -22 -16 + 3 -16 •• Furniture and household a ppliance stores..... . - 9 + 4 - 6 Gasoline and service stations........................... . + 12 -10 -10 Lumber, building material, and hardware stores............................................. . P ostal receipts ....................................................... $ Building permits, less federal contracts.................. $ Bank debits (thousands ) ............................................ $ E nd-of-month deposit s (thousands ) 11 ........................ $ Annua l rate of deposit turnoverll ............................. . Employmentll .............................................................. . Manufacturing employmentll ............................. . P ercent unemployed ll ................................................... . 235,673 2,903,896 134,585 118,390 13.9 68,700 5,080 4.0 + 3 -15 -8 -13 + 4 -12 •••• + 8 •• + 4 -31 3 + 2 3 + 5 + 10 + 5 $ 1,509,619 $ 26,427,132 $ 873,954 $ 117,196 14.9 68,133 4,967 3.9 $ 1,447,170 $ 22,423,332 $ 818,047 $ 115,315 14.2 64,117 4,457 3.5 -1 + 4 + 13 + 7 + 2 + 5 + + 11 + 11 BAY CITY (pop. 14,042r) Postal receipts................................................................ $ 11,304 + 15 + 4 $ 57,882 $ 53,196 + 9 Bank debits (thousands ) ............................................ $ 10,081 + 4 + 7 $ 58,602 End-of-month dep osits (thousands ) 11 ........................ $ 17,384 1 + 9 $ 17,876 Annual rate of deposit turnover ll ............................. . 6.9 + 5 -17 6.6 AUGUST 1956 Conditions Percent change J une J une 1956 from June 1956 from January-June City and item 1956 May 1956 June 1955 1956 1955 Percent change BAYTOWN (pop. 22,983r) Postal receipts........................------------------------­--------------$ 20,860 + 12 + 9 $ 110,816 $ 102,334 + 8 Building permits, less federal contracts___ ___ _____ _______ $ 279,950 - 13 + 95 $ 2,114,335 $ 2,424,055 - 13 Bank debits (thousands) -------------------------------------------­$ End-of-month deposits (thousands) 11-----­--­--------------­$ 18,294 23,889 -+ 6 6 + + 10 8 $ $ 112,703 23,617 $ $ 105,295 22,686 + + 7 4 Annual rate of deposit turnoverll ----------­----­-----------·­Employment (area) ll ---···-·---··---------·--·--·--·------------­-­----­ 9-4 404,600 - 13 •• + + 6 7 9.6 398,500 9.8 372,700 + + 2 7 Manufacturing employment (area) 11---------------­ 90,500 + 2 + 7 88,029 82,542 + 7 Percent unemployed (area) 11------------------------------­------­ 3.8 + 6 + 3 3.4 3.8 - 11 BEAUMONT (pop. 104,416r) Retail sales­--------·-·--------­----------­-----------------­--------­-­--------­Automotive stores*------------------­····························· Department a nd apparel stores_________________ _______ -11 -1 -23 + 4 7 6 •••••• Eating and drinking places*--------------­--------------­ - 6 + 4 - 2 Food stores* --------­--------------------------------------------------­ -18 + 13 + 15 Furniture and household appliance stores•____ General merchandise stores*.............................. -36 -23 + 2 6 + •• Lumber, building material, and hardware stores*............................................ + 4 -22 -14 Postal receipts---------------------------­---------­-------------------­----­-$ Building permits, less f ederal contracts______________ ____ $ 90,007 1,630,462 -9 + 128 + 5 + 179 $ $ 631,090 4,896,508 $ $ 507,044 4,439,270 + 6 + 10 Bank debits (thousands) -------------­----------------­-­-------­--­$ 134,259 - 2 + 6 $ 808,407 $ 730,709 + 11 End-of-month deposits (thousands) 11 ­-----------------------$ Annual rate of deposit turnoverll ----------------­----------­-­Employment (area) 11 ------------------------------------­------­-------­Manufacturing employment (area) 11--------------­ 104,849 15.6 83,400 28,876 + 3 •••• + 2 + 4 + 1 + 2 + 6 $ 107,096 15.1 83,317 27,934 $ 100,821 14.5 81,141 26,554 + 6 + 4 + 3 + 5 Percent unemployed (area) 11 --­----------­--------·-············­ 6.4 + 8 9 5.7 6.8 - 16 BEEVILLE (pop. 10,SOOr) Postal receipts.--------­--------­-­-----------------------------­---------­-­$ Building permits, Jess federal contracts____ __________ ____ $ 9,384 90,885 + - 14 19 + 8 -17 $ $ 48,057 789,836 $ $ 46,280 1,043,245 + 4 -24 Bank debits (thousands) ---------­------­-----­-----------------­--­$ End-of-month deposits (thousands) 11---------­-------------­$ Annual rate of deposit turnoverll ----------------­----------­- 7,744 12,362 7.5 -- 2 1 •• + 12 •• + 12 $ $ 44,477 12,532 7.1 $ $ 44,926 12,628 7.1 -- 1 1 •• ---­ BIG SPRING (pop. 20,654r) Retail sales­----------------­--------------------­-­----------------------------­ - 19 -24 -11 Automotive stores--­---­--------------------------------------­---­Department an d apparel stores____ ________ __ ________ __ -- 27 13 -39 + -18 4 Drug stores....................-------··----·--·-·-­·-· ---·­·-··-·-··--·­ - 10 + 2 + 4 Lumber, building material, and hardware stores.-----­--------------------------------------­ - 10 + 7 + 7 Postal recei pts.........--·----·----·­··-­----------·-·-----·-·--·--·-····---­-$ Building Permits, less federal contracts___ ___ ____________ $ 21,720 682,900 + + 11 29 + 8 + 42 $ $ 120,288 2,654,810 $ $ 112,254 1,115,280 + 7 +138 Bank debits ( thousands) ---------------------­-------­-------------­$ End-of-month deposits (t honsands) 11 ---­----·--· -··--·-·­$ 24,903 26,274 + 2 6 + 10 + 7 $ $ 150,998 27,372 $ $ 143,435 25,434 + 5 + 8 Annual rate of deposit turnoverII---------------------------­ 11.0 + 6 - 3 11.0 11.2 2 BRADY (pop. 5,944) Postal receipts---------------------------------------------------------­--­-­-$ 4,694 + 22 + 6 $ 22,148 $ 24,519 -10 Building permits, less federal contracts-----------------­$ 4,160 +1283 - 72 $ 30,086 $ 71 ,900 -58 Bank debits (thousands) ---------­---------------­-­------------­--­$ End-of-month deposits (thousands) "--­---------------­--­$ 3,614 6,407 - 2 •• 1 4 $ $ 21,069 6,415 $ $ 23,560 6,744 -11 5 Annual rate of deposit turnoverII--------------------------­- 6.8 - 1 + 3 6.6 7.0 6 BRENHAM (pop. 6,941) Postal receipts.--­------------------------------------------­--­--------------$ Building permits, Jess federal contracts___ _______________ $ 7,141 42,796 + 37 + 76 + 3 64 $ $ 35,829 247,690 $ $ 38,114 621,860 -6 -60 Bank debits (thousands) -------------------------------------------­$ 5,906 + 1 + 2 $ 36,120 $ 35,123 + 3 End-of­month deposits (thousands) 11-----------------­---­$ Annual rate of deposit turnoverII---------------------------­ 12,477 5.7 + 2 •• 1 5 $ 12,612 5.7 $ 11,080 6.4 + 14 -11 BROWNSVILLE (pop. 36,066) Retail sales*------------------· --------·-­---------· --------·-----·------------­ 5 - 15 3 Automotive stores* ------·----------------------------­-·-­----­--­ + 6 - 21 9 Lumber, building material, and hardware stores*­----·­····--------·------­-­-----­------­-- - 25 - 48 + 2 Building permits, Jess federal contracts__ __ _ _ ___ _____ _ $ 124,986 -59 - 67 $ 1,430,516 $ 1,177,702 + 21 TEXAS BUSINESS REVIEW LOCAL BUSINESS CONDITIONS Percent change June June 1956 from June 1956 from January-June City and item 1956 May 1956 June 1955 1956 1955 Percent change BROWNWOOD (pop. 20,181) Reta il sales---------------­-------------------------------------------------­---­ - 6 - 8 Automotive stores-------------------------------------------------­Department a nd apparel stores_____________ _______ ___ _ Furniture and household appliance stores______ -18 -17 + 12 -37 + 9 + 1 -22 Postal receipts---------------­--------------------------------------------­--­$ Building permits, less federal contracts----------­------­$ 18,314 16,230 + 15 -43 -9 -51 $ $ 103,287 193,753 $ $ 101,143 396,826 + 2 -51 Bank debits (thousands ) ­--------------------------------­---------­$ 10,151 2 - 4 $ 62,490 $ 60,655 + 3 End-of­month deposits (thousands) 11 ------------­-­------­$ 11,963 + 1 - 13 $ 12,124 $ 13,701 - 12 Annual rate of deposit turnoverll-----------------­-­-------­ 10.2 3 + 10 10.3 8.8 + 17 BRYAN (pop. 23,883r) Retail sales*--·-·--­---­·····---­-------··········---------·····--------········ Department a n d apparel stores____________________ ____ -12 -29 -4 + 8 + Food stores* --­---­-···-·······-------···············-----·············­ + 5 + 10 + Postal receipts­----------------------------------------------­----­----------­$ Building permits, Jess federal contracts__________________ $ 20,125 305,680 + 10 + 27 + 15 + 52 $ $ 116,093 2,547,798 $ $ 110,175 1,602,805 + 5 + 59 CALDWELL (pop. 2,109) Bank debits (thousands ) --------------------------------------------$ 1,699 + 2 -2 $ 9,909 $ 10,495 End-of-month deposits (thousands) 11----------------------$ 3,913 + 3 + $ 3,969 $ 4,018 Annual rate of deposit turnoverII ------··········-------···· + •• 5.3 2 5.0 5.2 CISCO (pop. 5,230) Postal receipts................................................................ $ 3,962 + 3 6 $ 23,530 $ 23,205 + Bank debits (thousands) --------------------------------------------$ 2,341 2 + 2 $ 14,034 $ 13,856 + End-of-month deposits (thousands) 11----------------------$ 3,769 2 9 $ 3,849 $ 3,873 Annual rate of deposit turnoverll------------------------------7.4 + 6 7.3 7.2 + CORPUS CHRISTI (pop. 122;956u) Retail sales............----------·-············----·---···-··-----------··-······ + 3 + 5 •• Apparel stores........................................................ + 27 + 13 + Automotive stores­------------------------------------------------­ + 9 + 10 Department storest----------­-----------------­----------------­ 6 + 11 + Lumber, building material, and hardware stores----------­------------­--­--------------­---­ + 8 + 3 + Postal receipts................................................................ $ 135,217 6 2 $ 787,859 $ 763,828 + 3 Building permits, less federal contracts­----------------­$ 2,323,325 - 57 - 47 $ 13,101,649 $ 18,503,483 -29 Bank debits (thousands ) ­---------------------­-­------------------­$ 174,764 + 4 + 4 $ 1,019,33 2 $ 997,099 + 2 End-of-month deposits (thousands) -----­-----------------­$ Annual rate of deposit turnoverll ---­··-··-··················· EmpJoymentll ················---·-·-·······················-················· 108,229 19.8 64,100 + 4 + 4 •• + 4 + 2 + 3 $ 106,218 19.2 63,900 $ 106,928 18.4 62,133 + + Manufacturing employmentll.-----------------­----------­ 8,200 + + 8,105 8,033 + Percent unemployed 11 ---------------------------------------------------­ 5.5 - 2 -19 6.2 7.2 - 14 CORSICANA (pop. 19,211) Department and apparel store sales___________ __ ___________ -29 -5 -2 Postal receipts...... $ 24,288 + 9 + 55 $ 101,387 $ 84,108 + 21 Building Permits, less federal contracts------------------$ 129,382 + 11 -71 $ 961,870 $ 1,251,444 -23 Bank debits (thousands) --------------------------------------------$ 14,540 -1 + 8 $ 90,158 $ 84,267 + 7 End-of-month deposits (thousands) 11----------------------$ 21,578 + 1 •• $ 21,915 $ 21,893 •• Annual rate of deposit turnoverll --------..................... 8.2 •• + 11 8.2 7.7 + 6 ················································ DEL RIO (pop. 14,211) Postal receipts................................................................ $ 10,965 + 15 -2 $ 61,292 $ 62,242 -2 Building permits, less federal contracts__________________ $ 55,225 -3g -53 $ 558,980 $ 751,13& -26 + 14 Bank debits (thousands) --------------------------------------------$ 10,063 -6 + 31 $ 54,445 $ 47,801 End-of-month deposits (thousands) 11 ----------------------$ 10,890 + 14 + 12 $ 10,856 $ 11,229 -3 Annual rate of deposit turnoverll ---------···················· 11.8 -4 + 39 10.0 8.4 + 19 DENISON (pop. 17,504 ) Retail sales ___ ________ _____________ __ ______ ______________________________________ •• -12 - 5 Department and a pparel stores____ ___ ___ ____ ____ ______ 8 5 + 1 Furniture and household appliance s tores___ ___ + 11 - 7 -16 Lumber, building m aterial, and ha rdware stores__ _____ _______________________ ___ ________ _____ -18 -23 -22 Postal receipts................................................................ $ Building permits, less feder al contracts___ __________ ___ __ $ Bank debits (thousands >----------­-------------------­------------­$ End-of­month deposits (thousands) 11-----------­---------­$ Annual rate of deposit turnoverll­--­------­------------------­ 12,859 58,998 14,032 15,936 10.7 -9 -68 •• + 3 -2 + 1 -76 + 12 -2 + 27 $ $ $ $ 83,726 488,246 83,634 15,855 10.5 $ $ $ $ 79,889 772,907 75,808 19,051 7.8 + 6 -37 + 10 -17 + 36 AUGUST 1956 LOCAL BUSINESS CONDITIONS Percent change J une 1956 June 1956 January-June June from from City and item 1956 May 1956 June 1955 1956 1955 Percent change DALLAS (pop. 538,924u ) Retail sales*...................................... ............................ . -11 -12 - 9 Apparel stores•..................................................... . -19 + 9 + 5 Automotive stores*............................................... . - 9 + 37 -34 Department storest............................................. . -16 + 2 - 2 Eating and drinking places* ............................. . + 2 + 4 - 3 Florists* ................................................................. . -24 + 17 + 19 Food stores•.......................................................... . + 2 + 5 + 9 Furniture and household appliance stores* ... . + 14 - 6 -20 Gasoline and service stations* .............................. General m.erchandise stores•--------------------··----···· Liquor stores*---------··-··············----------·-················· · + 1 16 •• + 4 •• + 23 + 10 + 2 + 8 Lumber, building material, and hardware stores*---··········----------··-···---·--······-·· -21 -29 -13 Office, store, and school supply dealers•....... . - 7 + 3 + 10 Postal receipts.................. .............................................. $ 1,585,813 - 7 + 2 $ 9,815,298 $ 9,484,663 + 3 Building permits, less federal contracts.................. $ 11,963,667 -13 14 $ 81,475,110 $ 90,088,008 -10 Bank debits (thousands) ............................................ $ End-of-month deposits (thousands) 11 ...................... $ 2,042,056 997,560 4 + 5 + 3 2 $ 12,641,030 $ 979,912 $ 11,832,743 $ 978,370 + 7 •• Annual rate of deposit turnoverll ............................. . Employment (area) 11 ................................................... . 25.2 327,300 4 •• + + 5 25.8 325,317 24.1 311,869 + 7 + 4 Manufacturing employment (area) 11 ............... . Percent unemployed (area) 11 ............................... . 83,200 3.0 + 1 + 36 + 7 •• 81,629 2.6 77,450 2.8 + 5 7 EDINBURG (pop. 15,993r) Postal receipts................................................................ $ 8,677 - 9 - 8 $ 51,446 $ 48,434 + 6 Building permits, less federal contracts.................. $ 61,196 -19 -54 $ 330,036 $ 423,897 -22 Bank debits (thousands) ............................................ $ 8,356 + 9 + 11 $ 47,025 $ 45,915 + 2 End-of-month deposits (thousands) !!...................... $ Annual rate of dep<>sit turnoverll ................. . 6,165 15.0 -14 + 22 -2 + 24 $ 7,556 12.4 $ 7,342 12.3 + 3 + 1 EL PASO (pop. 182,505r) Retail sales•................................................................... . - 6 - 9 - 5 Apparel stores* ..................................................... . -17 + 2 - 3 Automotive stores* ............................................... . 2 -21 -13 Department storest............................................. . 6 + 4 + 4 Drug stores•........................................................... . 8 + 13 + 11 General merchandise stores• ............................. . 2 + 2 + 4 Lumber, building material, and hardware stores•........................................... . -23 6 + 5 Piano and musical instruments stores•......... . Postal receipts................................................................ $ 194,664 -- 1 4 -11 •• $ 1,189,596 $ 1,183,882 6 •• Building permits, less federal contracts.................. $ 1,798,657 -34 -23 $ 14,514,624 $ 18,190,505 -20 Bank debits (thousands) ............................................ $ 245,685 1 + 11 $ 1,462,851 $ 1,352,102 + 8 End-of-month deposits (thousands) !! ...................... $ 128,352 - 2 1 $ 132,538 $ 129,883 + 2 Annual rate of deposit turnoverll ............................ . Employmentll ............................................................... . 22.7 77,600 + 2 •• + 9 + 3 22.1 76,700 20.7 73,683 + 7 + 4 Manufacturing employmentll ............................. . 12,510 + 2 + 5 12,216 11,587 + 5 Percent unemployed ll ................................................... . 4.9 + 14 + 2 4.7 4.4 + 7 FORT WORTH (pop. 315,578u) Retail sales•................................................................... . -11 + 5 •• Apparel stores• .................................................... . -29 -14 - 4 Automotive stores•............................................... . - 2 + 17 -19 Department storest............................................. . -17 + 13 + 7 Drug stores•........................................................... . 2 + 6 + 9 Eating and drinking places• ............................. . + 4 + 5 5 Food stores* ........................................................... . Furniture and household appliance stores*... . 2 4 4 + 20 + 13 + 8 Gasoline and service stations*-----·--·-·-·-­------------­ + 1 3 + 9 General merchandise stores*............................. . -25 + 6 + 3 Hay, grain and feed stores•............................... . - 4 2 9 Lumber, building material, and hardware stores*-··-····-·--··--·······---------·-·········· -23 6 + Postal receipts................................................................ $ 541,946 - 9 1 $ 3,334,770 $ 3,192,135 + 4 Building Permits, less federal contracts.................. $ 3,452,093 -39 -21 $ 22,260,382 $ 29,571,267 -25 Bank debits (thousands) ............................................ $ 672,749 + 3 + 9 $ 3,890,483 $ 3,529,694 + 10 End-of-month deposits (thousands) 11 ...................... $ 379,637 + 7 + $ 361,512 $ 358,944 + Annual rate of deposit turnover[! ............................. . 22.0 + 1 + 9 21.5 19.8 + 9 P ercent unemployedll ................................................. . 196,600 + 1 + 7 194,833 180,233 + 8 Manufacturing employment (area) 11 ............... . Percent unemployed (area) 11 ................................ . 62,125 4.7 + 1 + 9 + 14 -6 61,383 4.5 53,021 5.1 + 16 -12 TEXAS BUSINESS REVIEW LOCAL BUSINESS CONDITIONS Percent change June 1956 June 1956 January-June Juno from from City and item 1956 May 1956 June 1955 1956 1955 Percent change GALVESTON (pop. 71,527u) Retail sales---­--------------------­------------------------------------------­-­ -14 •• •• Department and apparel stores___ ---······ ··········· -16 + 14 + Eating and drinking places-----­-------------------­----­- + 6 + 1 + Food stor es-------------------------­-----------­-----­--------­--------­ + 8 + 14 Furniture a nd hou~ehold appliance srores__ ____ -24 1 Lumber, building material, and hardware stores--------------­-------­------­----­---------­- + 2 + 8 + Postal receip t•-------------------------------------------------­-------------­$ 72,233 -5 6 $ 422,006 $ 418,712 + 1 Building permits, less federal contracts __ ________________ $ 310,613 + 28 -11 $ 2,710,426 $ 1,508,853 + 80 Bank debits (thousands> ---------------------------------­-----­---­$ End-of-month deposits (thousands) 11 ---------------------­$ 89,349 74,925 + 6 + 11 + 13 + 6 $ $ 493,334 69,613 $ $ 470,379 69,953 + 5 •• Annual r ate of deposit turnoverll----------­------------------­ 15.1 + 1 + 13 14.2 13.5 + Employment (area) 11 --·--·-··· --····----··-····-·-------·---·-·········· Manufacturing employment (area) 11 ----············ 47,250 11,420 + 1 + 2 + 4 •• 46,625 11,255 45,392 11,323 + Percent unemployed (area) 11 ----------··········---·----------­ 5.5 5 -10 6.1 6.3 GARLAND (pop. 10,571) Postal receipts ---------···············-------------·················-----···· $ 13,871 -1 + 4 $ 84,065 $ 75,184 + 12 Building permits, less federal contracts.................. $ Employment (area) 11 --------·-·············-·-··-·-··--·---------­--·--­ 412,064 327,300 + 11 •• -70 + 5 $ 4,219,028 325,317 $ 7,624,149 311,869 -45 + 4 Manufacturing employment (area) 11 --------······ Percent unemployed (area) II ----------···-······················· 83,200 3.0 + 1 + 36 + 7 •• 81,629 2.6 77,450 2.8 + GIDDINGS (pop. 2,532) Postal receipts................................................................ $ 3,629 + 68 + 40 $ 15,215 $ 14,218 + Bank debits (thousands) ·-­-·-·­········-·············-·--­·-------­$ 1,825 4 + 2 $ 10,724 $ 10,593 + End-of-month deposits (thousands) 11 ---­-----------------­$ 3,370 1 -19 $ 3,565 $ 4,192 -15 Annual rate of deposit turnover ll ---·-·-----­·--· ··­·-·-·-····­ 6.5 2 + 25 6.0 5.1 + 18 GLADEWATER (pop. 5,305) Postal receipt•-·-·--------------­----------·--·­--·-·-------­·-------­-------­$ 5,983 + 18 + 7 $ 29,628 $ 32,135 Bank debits (thousands) --·­-------------------------­··--·­-------­$ 3,676 6 2 $ 22,076 $ 23,562 End-of-month deposits (thousands) 11 --··-­·-----·--------­$ 4,316 -1 + 9 $ 4,292 $ 4,082 + Annual rate of deposit turnoverlL---·-·---------------­-------Emp loyment (area) 11 --------­---------------------···--·--·--·-·-····--­ 10.2 24,850 -8 •• -11 + 3 10.3 24,617 11.5 23,867 -10 + 3 Manufacturing employment (area) 11 -------------­-­ 4,550 + 2 + 17 4,383 3,750 + 17 Percent unemployed (area) 11 --------­·--·-·--·--·-···-·----· 4.2 + 17 -19 4.1 5.6 -27 GOLDTHWAITE (pop. 1,566) Postal r eceipt•­-----­---·--­--·-·-·--··-·-·····-----------·-·­----­-------­-· $ 2,079 + 35 2 $ 9,079 $ 9,469 -4 Bank debits (thousands ) ·--· ---·----------------·---··-------------­$ 3,082 -23 3 $ 18,203 $ 15,316 + 19 End-of-month deposits (thousands) 11 --··-· -· ·----·--·-·-·· $ 3,222 + 4 + 1 $ 3.014 $ 2,967 + 2 Annual rate of deposit turnover ll -------·---­---­-------------­ 11.7 -25 3 12.1 10.3 + 17 GONZALES (pop. 5,659) Postal receipts................................................................ $ 6,922 + 36 + 46 $ 29,986 $ 25,937 + 16 Building permits, less f ederal contracts____ ___________ ___ $ 118,358 +230 +890 $ 239,492 $ 145,100 + 65 Bank debits (thousands ) --------­------­-------·-··--­--·------·--·­$ 4,297 4 -18 $ 27,997 $ 28,959 3 End-of-month depos its (thousands) 11 ----­---­------------­$ 5,347 + -14 $ 5,580 $ 5,942 Annual rate of deposit turnover ll --------·-·--·-···---·--·---·· 9.7 2 -3 10.0 9.8 + 2 GRAND PRAIRIE (pop. 14,594 ) Pos tal receipts --···--··­·----··--··-·----··--·-­·--·-·--·------­-------­----·· $ Building permits, less federal contracts ___ ···-·-·-··--·· $ Employment (area) 11 --­··-­·--·----··----·-··--·--·-----·--------­-----· Manufacturing employment (area) 11 -----------·-­Percent unemployed (area) 11 --·--·--­-----·-··-··-·--·-· ·­·--·---· 18,845 437,136 327,300 83,200 3.0 + 9 -83 •• + + 36 + 13 -70 + 5 + 7 •• $ $ 106,845 4,502,490 325,317 81,629 2.6 $ $ 99,217 3,544,583 311,869 77,450 2.8 + 8 + 27 + 4 + 5 GREENVILLE (pop. 17,500r) R etail sales•··-····-·---··-······--·········------·----·--------·-·-----­ + 9 -13 -24 Department and apparel stores_______ ____________ 8 + 11 + 2 Lumber, building material, and hardware stor es * ·---··-­----­---------­--------············· Pos tal receipts ...... -----·-·········------------··----­-----­------·-· ······ $ 14,884 + 12 •• -21 -12 $ 97,272 $ 101,990 -13 -5 Building Permits, less f ederal contracts.·-···--·-·-··--­-$ Bank debits (th ousands ) ·-.. -· -·--­----------­-------· --·--· ·-·-·--­$ End-of-month deposits (thousands) 11 ----------------­--··­$ Annual r a t e of deposit turnoverll-------·----··--·­ 151,450 12,722 15,242 10.2 + 109 + 11 + 3 + 9 -14 4 + 1 6 $ $ $ 649,243 70,235 14,814 9.5 $ $ $ 976,210 72,822 14,823 9.8 -33 -4 •• -3 HARLINGEN (pop. 30,038r) Postal receipt•----­-------­--·---·-----·----·------·-----··­·--·-------------­$ Building permits, Jess f ederal contracts...... __ ____ ______ $ 30,862 268,542 + 5 -20 + 7 + 4 $ $ 171,931 2,130,011 $ $ 155,980 1,737,091 + 10 + 23 Bank debits (thousands) ---··--· -------·--·-····--· $ End-of-month deposits (thousands) 11 ------···-------·­·--· $ Annual rate of deposit turnover ll ---······--------­-----­-----­ 34,102 20,454 19.9 + 6 1 + 8 + 2 3 + 2 $ $ 193,217 21,471 18.0 $ $ 179,134 20,950 17.1 + 8 + 2 + 5 AUGUST 1956 LOCAL BUSINESS CONDITIONS Percent change June J une 1956 June 1956 from from January-J une City and item 1956 May 1956 June 1955 1956 1955 Percent chang e HENDERSON (pop. 6,833) Retail sales•·····················---------·--·-····­_--­---­-----··-·----------·­ + 10 3 Automotive stores•­---------·-·····-·····························­ + 32 + 8 Department and apparel stores....................... . -19 + 6 + 7 Drug stores•---·--·--·-···-------­-·--·--·-­·-·······----·---·--·-··­--­ + 21 + 12 1 Food stores*-·-­---­-­--­·-----···--·------········--­-·-··············· + 27 + 31 + 8 General merchandise stores• ·------········-·········-­··· ~ 17 + 2 + 7 Lumber, building materia.J, and hardware stores•-----······································· Postal receipts................................................................ $ 10,167 -1 -36 + 36 + 6 $ 48,459 -22 $ 48,398 •• Building permits, less federal contracts.................. $ 70,510 +174 + 14 $ 586,534 $ 313,550 + 87 Bank debits (thousands) ···-·----·-·····---·-··-----·· ·········­-·-­$ 7,102 3 + 6 $ 41,161 $ 35,944 + 15 End-of-month deposits (thousands) 11 ............. $ 14,173 2 + 6 $ 14,34 4 $ 13,972 + 3 Annual rate of deposit turnoverll ................... . 6.0 2 + 2 5.7 5.1 + 12 HEREFORD (pop. 5,207) Postal receipts........ --·-·····--------·---·--·---·---------·----·---·--------$ 7,545 + 41 $ 33,324 $ 32,912 + Building permits, less federal contracts.................. $ 71,800 + 7 -56 $ 409,411 $ 865,392 -53 Bank debits (thousands) -·--······-··-···-----------·-·····---------$ 8,757 + 12 + 15 $ 46,609 $ 53,576 -13 End-of-month deposits (thousands) 11 ...................... $ 9,511 + 4 + 4 $ 9,538 $ 10,206 7 Annual rate of deposit turnoverll .................... . 11.3 + 13 + 15 9.8 10.5 7 HOUSTON (pop. 700,508u) Retail sales n·······--·-··----­-----·--·--·-·-------·--­--·-··--­-·----·----­---­ - 9 + 4 + Apparel storesU·---·----·-·······---·-­---·---·-·-----·--­----·--·--­Automotive storesU.--------·--·-·----·---­---·--·---­·-----·-·---­ - 23 •• + 2 •• + - 2 12 Department storest ............................................. . - 15 + 7 + 7 Drug stores U ····--·--·--····--·----··----·-······---­-­---------­------­ 5 + 13 + 13 Eating and drinking placesU.·-·-----------­----­------­ 6 + 3 + 10 Food storesU·····-----·······---·---·-­----·········---················· 6 + 4 - 3 Furniture and household appliance stores (area) n............................ . 5 + 34 + 11 Gasoline and service stations U ........................... . + 3 + 7 + 12 General merchandise storesU···--·-·---·-----·--·-·--­--·· Liquor storesU·····------·---····----------·--·--------------··------­ - 12 •• + 5 •• + + 4 3 Lumber, building material, and hardware stores n........................................... . - 11 - 3 3 Office, store, and school supply dealers U......... . Postal r eceipts......... ·-·---------·----·----­-·-·········-·--·-------·--­---­$ 1,092,800 -- 5 8 + + 31 3 $ 6,539,698 $ 6,515,893 + 31 •• Building perm.its, less federal contracts.................. $ 13,083,700 + 17 + $ 81,193,041 $ 83,500,228 - 3 Bank debits (thousands> ------·-···-·-·-·······················-···· $ 2,186,639 7 + 9 $ 13,054,103 $ 11,284,817 + 16 End-of-month deposits (thousands) 11 ...................... $ 1,260,349 + 6 + 11 $ 1,211,107 $ 1,160,708 + 4 Annual rate of deposit turnoverll .............................. Employment (area) 11 ----·-··--·-················---­-­-----­·-------·-·· 21.4 404,600 - 9 •• + + 7 21.6 398,500 19.4 372,700 + + 11 7 Manufacturing employment (area) 11 ............ . 90,500 + 2 + 7 88,029 82,542 + 7 Percent unemployed (area) 11 ..................................... . 3.8 + 6 + 3 3.4 3.8 - 11 JASPER (pop. 4,403) Postal receipts ··------·-····················-··-······-··-··----·-·----·-···· $ 5,601 + 17 + 17 $ 29,968 $ 27,297 + 10 Bank debits (thousands) ··················-------·-···········----·­$ 5,616 8 + 6 $ 35,680 $ 31,356 + 14 End-of-month deposits (thousands) 11 ...................... $ 6,787 + 2 + 3 $ 6,885 $ 6,416 + 7 Annual rate of deposit turnoverll ............................. . 10.0 3 + 2 10.4 9.8 + 6 KERMIT (pop. 6,912) Postal receipts................................................................ $ 6,365 + 29 + 8 $ 32,611 $ 30,400 + 7 Building permits, less federal contracts.................. $ 50,250 - 6 + 75 $ 362,925 $ 357,900 + 1 Bank debits (thousands) ............................................ $ 3,271 - 16 + 1 $ 22,027 $ 20,656 + 7 End-of-month deposits (thousands) 11 ...................... $ 3,271 - 14 - 1 $ 3,387 $ 3,277 + 3 Annual rate of deposit turnoverll ­-----­---·--·-------­-···-··· 11.1 - 15 - 10 13.0 12.5 + 4 KILGORE (pop. 9,638) Postal receipts............................................................... $ 13,750 + 12 + 1 $ 70,690 $ 66,835 + 6 Building permits, less federal contracts.................. $ 38,700 - 46 +237 $ 1,120,827 $ 525,407 + 113 Bank debits (thousands) ............................................ $ 15,634 + 6 + 8 $ 90,178 $ 81,117 + 11 End-of-month deposits (thousands) 11 ...................... $ 14,880 3 - 3 $ 15,410 $ 15,149 + 2 Annual rate of deposit turnoverll ............................. . Employment (a rea) 11 .............................................. . 12.4 24,850 + 7 •• + 10 + 3 11.7 24,617 10.7 23,867 + + 9 3 Manufacturing employment (area) 11 ............... . 4,550 + 2 + 17 4,383 3,750 + 17 Percent unemployed (area) 11 --·--·-··············-·--·-·····---·-­ 4.2 + 17 -19 4.1 5.6 - 27 KILLEEN (pop. 21,076r) Postal receipts ............................................................... $ 22,582 + 16 - 21 $ 124,246 $ 175,035 - 29 Building permits, less federal contracts.................. $ 281,160 + 92 + 1 $ 725,592 $ 1,956,889 - 63 Bank debits (thousands) ···-·-·--···-------·-······················· $ 6,986 7 - 13 $ 44,688 $ 47,104 5 End-of-month deposits (thousands) 11 --­-----------········ $ 6,056 + 5 + 3 $ 6,039 $ 5,963 + 1 Annual rate of deposit turnoverll ............................. . 14.2 7 - 14 14.8 15.7 6 TEXAS BUSINESS REVIEW LOCAL BUSINESS CONDITIONS Percent change City and item June 1956 June 1956 from May 1956 June 1956 from June 1955 1956 Jan uary-June 1955 Percent chan ge LAMESA (pop. 10,704 ) P ostal receipts------------­------------------­-----------------­---­---------­$ 11,341 + 61 + 42 $ 47,710 $ 45,190 + 6 Building permits, less federal contracts____ ___ _______ ____ $ 120,600 +rn; + 23 $ 462,900 $ 211,200 +119 Bank debits (thousands> -------­---------------------­-------------­$ 8,154 6 + 4 $ 57,185 $ 52,095 + 10 End-of­month deposits (thousands) 11-------------­-------­ $ 12,501 + + 8 $ 13,313 $ 12,865 + 3 Annual rate of de p osit turnoverll------------­------­---­-----­ 7.9 2 8.6 8.0 + 8 LAMPASAS (pop. 4,869) Postal receipt•-----------------­---------­--------------------------·--------­$ Building permits, less f ederal contracts ___ ___ __ __ ________ $ 4,596 35,450 + - 34 41 + - 10 57 $ $ 23,999 345,585 $ $ 22,466 348,139 + -Bank debits (thousands ) -------------------­----­-----------------­-$ 4,490 - 12 3 $ 27,428 $ 27,745 End-of­month deposits (thousands) 11 ----------­--------­-­$ 6,510 - 11 6 $ 6,524 $ 6,794 Annual rate of deposit turnover ll ----·---------··············· 7.8 - 12 2 8.4 8.2 + LAREDO (pop. 59,350r) Postal r eceipts ·-------------­------------------------------------------------­$ 30,195 + 8 - 1 $ 159,962 $ 151,166 + 6 Building permits, less federal contracts__________________ $ 38,035 - 80 - 33 $ 557,054 $ 393,805 + 41 Bank debits (thousands> -------·------------­-------­-------------­$ 23,946 2 + 12 $ 137,978 $ 128,240 + 8 End-of-mont h deposits (thousands) 11 ---­-----------------­$ 18,793 4 - 6 $ 19,577 $ 19,173 + 2 Annual rate of deposit turnoverll------­----------------------­ 15.0 + + 14 14.1 13.5 + LLANO (pop. 2,954 ) Postal receipt•----------------------------------------­---­------------------­$ 3,112 + 53 + 24 $ 11,925 $ 11,690 + Bank debits (thousands) -------------­-------------­---------------­$ 2,509 4 + 19 $ U,252 $ 12,523 + End-of­m onth deposits (thousands) 11 ---------------------­$ 3,333 + 4 - 4 $ 3,141 $ 3,357 6 Annual rate of deposit turnover ll --------­---------­··------­ 9.2 7 + 24 8.4 7.5 + 12 LOCKHART (pop. 5,573)Department and apparel store sales__ _______ _________________ - 15 + 5 + 5 Postal receipt•------------------------------------------------­---­----------­$ Building p ermits, less f eder a l contracts__________________ $ 3,987 37,000 + + 13 53 -4 +142 $ $ 20,544 145,565 $ $ 21,735 188,150 -- 5 23 Bank debits (thousands) -------------------­------­----------------­$ 3,218 + 1 + 5 $ 19,454 $ 19,031 + 2 End-of­month deposits (thousands) 11---------------------­$ Annual r ate of deposit turnover 11-------­------------------­--­ 4,680 8.2 + 2 3 + + 4 $ 4,814 8.1 $ 4,684 8.1 + 3 •• LONGVIEW (pop. 34,328r) Postal receipts----­-----­------------­----------­---------------­---­--------­$ 32,675 + 2 •• $ 184,742 $ 174,665 + Building permits, less federal contracts___ _______________ $ 638,030 + 83 + 49 $ 2,573,105 $ 2,679,384 Bank debits (thousands ) ------­---------------------------------­--­$ 36,486 3 + 8 $ 217,338 $ 200,662 + End-of-month deposits (thous ands) 11 -------------------­-­$ 36,732 + 2 + $ 36,982 $ 36,757 + Annual rate of deposit turnover ll ----­-----------------------­Employ ment (area) ll ----·-···---··--·---­--------------·---------­-----­ 12.1 24,850 - 2 •• + + 9 3 11.8 24,617 10.9 23,867 + + Manufacturing employment (area) 11 -------------­ 4,550 + 2 + 17 4,383 3,750 + 17 P ercent unemployed (area) 11 ---------­---------­ 4.2 + 17 - 19 4.1 5.6 - 27 LUBBOCK (pop. 128,674r) Retail sales-------------------­-------------------­--------­-----··············· - 12 - 21 -21 Department and apparel stores ____________ ____________ - 20 - 11 -11 Furniture and h ousehold appliance stores_____ _ - 6 - 60 -14 General merchandise stores......... _______________________ - 23 - 12 -9 Lumber, building material, and hardware stores-------------------­----------­-------------­- - 3 - 26 -33 Postal receipts·-­---------­----------­----------­--­--------­------------­---­$ Building permits, less fede ral contracts___ ___ ____________ $ 105,312 1,583,879 + - 2 53 + - 16 38 $ 587,589 $ 12,107,978 $ 536,184 $ 15,274,758 + 10 -21 Bank debits (thousands> ------­--------­------------------­---­----­ $ 117,470 - 2 6 $ 777,699 $ 817,670 5 End-of­month deposits (thousands ) 11 --------------­------­Annual r a te of deposit turnoverll ----­----------------­-------­ $ 87,380 16.2 + 1 •• + 9 5 $ 92,531 16.8 $ 100,682 16.0 8 + 5 Employmentll ······-------------·············­·---------·····-···---·------­ 42,950 + 2 43,342 42,042 + Manufacturing emp]oymentll ---------------------­-------­ 4,670 + 6 4,700 4,390 + 7 Percent unemployedll ------­---­--------­-----------­-------------------­ 5.5 + 6 + 28 5.4 4.8 + 13 LUFKIN (pop. 18,600r) Postal receipts·---------------------­-----------­-----------------------­----­$ Building permits, less federal contracts____ ___ ______ __ ___ $ 17,988 185,950 + - 6 25 + - 51 $ 96,830 $ 1,404,862 $ 89,125 $ 1,343,877 + 9 + 5 Bank debits (thousands ) -----------------------­-------------------­$ End-of­m onth deposits (thousands) 11 ---------------------­$ Annual r a t e of deposit turnover ll --------­····-----·-· ······· · 25,976 20,983 14.1 + -+ 14 9 18 + -+ 16 3 22 $ 138,479 $ 22,642 12.2 $ 114,200 $ 24,036 9.4 + 21 -6 + 30 McALLEN (pop. 25,326r) Reta il sales-----------------------­----------­----------------­----------------­-Department a nd apparel stores ________________________ P ostal r eceipts____ ____________ __ ________________________________ ____________ __ $ Building permits, less federal contracts__ ________________ $ 20,422 119,560 --+ - 4 30 9 64 + + + - 4 11 6 70 $ 116,364 $ 2,016,889 $ 106,723 $ 1,066,977 -1 + 11 + 9 + 89 LOCAL BUSINESS CONDITIONS Percent change June June 1956 from June 1956 from January-June City a nd item 1956 May 1956 June 1955 1956 1955 Percent change McKINNEY (pop. 10,560) Building permits, less federal contracts. ................ $ 95,060 +122 + 42 $ 531,134 $ 715,751 - 26 Bank debits (thousands) ............................................ $ 7,278 + 14 + 14 $ 38,266 $ 35,862 + 7 End-of-month deposits (thousands) II ·····­ $ 13,661 + 13 + 27 $ 11,849 $ 12,122 - 2 Annual rate of deposit turnoverll ········-­-­--········· 6.8 + 8 + 6.5 5.8 + 12 MARSHALL (pop. 25,479r) Department and apparel store sales - 18 •• - 4 Postal receipts .............. --------····------------­ ................ $ 19,862 + 28 + $ 105,112 $ 106,145 - 1 Building permits, less federal contracts ... $ 100,510 - 44 - 42 $ 1,253,618 $ 1,794,613 - 30 Bank debits (thousands) ... ..... $ End-of-month deposits (thousands) 11 ··-··············· $ 14,359 20,652 - 5 •• + 2 $ $ 91,389 21,003 $ $ 89,527 21,182 + 2 Annual rate of deposit turnoverll 8.3 - 5 8.7 8.4 + 4 MERCEDES (pop. 10,081) Postal receipts................................ .......................... $ 4,901 + 12 - 33 $ 27,083 $ 29,193 - 7 Building permits, less federal contracts $ 16,200 +283 + 39 $ 75,288 $ 37,745 + 99 !J:l11 k debits (thousands ) ............................................ $ 6,191 - 2 - 5 $ 37,879 $ 34,615 + 9 End-of-month deposits (thousands) 11 ...... $ 4,249 - 7 - 11 $ 5,339 $ 5,572 - 4 Annual rate of deposit turnoverll .................. 16.8 + 18 + 15 14.2 12.2 + 16 MIDLAND (pop. 42,600") Postal receipts ........ ---------------------------.. ........................ $ 55,948 + 1 -1 $ 323,747 $ 298,603 + 8 Building permits, less federal contracts ---------------·-$ 1,445,900 -16 -21 $ 10,530,005 $ 10,747,024 -2 Bank debits (thousands) ............................................ $ 64,822 7 + 16 $ 407,699 $ 333,276 + 22 End-of-month deposits (thousands) 11 ...................... $ 81,966 + 4 + 10 $ 79,031 $ 72,878 + 8 Annual rate of deposit turnoverH...................... 9.7 8 + 8 10.3 9.1 + 13 MONAHANS (pop. 6,311) Postal receipts ..................................... ......................... $ 5,572 -8 + $ 33,469 $ 31,047 + 8 Building permits, less federal contracts.................. $ 38,900 -63 -55 $ 285,195 $ 569,705 -50 Bank debits (thousands) ............................................ $ 7,386 -14 + 5 $ 49,675 $ 43,827 + 13 End-of-month deposits (thousands) 11 ...................... $ 7,582 + 2 5 $ 7,554 $ 7,726 -2 Annual rate of deposit turnover[I ... 11.8 -15 + 9 13.2 11.3 + 17 NACOGDOCHES (pop. 12,327) Building permits, less federal contracts ---·-·-$ 22,175 -68 -76 $ 495,200 $ 332,212 + 49 Bank debits (thousands) ............................................ $ 10,992 1 + 4 $ 65,110 $ 61,108 + 7 End-of-month deposits (thousands) 11...................... $ 15,152 + 5 + 5 $ 14,832 $ 14,375 + 3 Annual rate of deposit turnoverll ........ ----------------·--8.9 2 + 2 8.8 8.5 + 4 NEW BRAUNFELS (pop. 12,210) 17,066 11 34 $ 90,190 $ 72,185 25 Building permits, less federal contracts.................. S 57,400 -49 -66 $ 1,018,890 $ 1,217,875 -16 Bank debits (thousands) ............................................ $ 8,233 •• + 9 $ 49,610 $ 45,669 + 9 End-of-month deposits (thousands) 11 ...................... $ 9,702 5 -9 $ 9,949 $ 10,140 -2 Annual rate of deposit turnoverll ..... ------------------------9.9 + + 15 10.0 9.0 + 11 Postal receipts ...... ························································ $ + + + ORANGE (pop. 21,174 ) Building permits, Jess federal contracts ---­ $ 112,648 - 50 - 58 $ 1,231,351 $ 1,373,849 - 10 Bank debits (thousands) ............................................ $ 19,471 3 - 7 $ 117,595 $ 123,323 5 End-of-month deposits (thousands) 11...................... $ 26,037 + 3 + 12 $ 25,119 $ 24,354 + Annual rate of deposit turnoverll ............. 9.1 3 - 15 9.4 10.1 7 PALESTINE (pop. 15,063r) Postal receipts __ __ 11,586 + 10 + 10 $ 64,438 $ 60,768 + 6 -··---------------------------···················· $ Building permits, less federal contracts.................. $ 180,938 + 16 + 41 $ 1,214,878 $ 803,754 + 51 Bank debits (thousands) ............................................ $ 6,978 + + 14 $ 39,745 $ 36,318 + 9 • End-of-month deposits (thousands ) 11 --·············-····· $ 13,278 •• + 6 $ 13,220 $ lS,077 + Annual rate of deposit t urnoverll 6.3 + 5 + 11 6.0 5.5 9 -····-·····-··-·············· + PAMPA (pop. 20,448r) Postal receipts ..................................... ......................... $ 19,739 + 20 + 4 $ 100,667 $ 94,136 + 7 Building permits, less federal con tracts.................. $ 801,540 + 87 +396 $ 3,095,707 $ 2,179,885 + 42 Bank debits (thousands) ............................................ $ E nd-of-month deposits (thousands) 11 ...................... $ 16,493 20,962 + •• + 8 •• $ $ 96,095 21,290 $ $ 95,505 21,276 + .. Annual rate of deposit tumoverll ......... 9.4 + + 7 9.0 8.9 + TEXAS BUSINESS REVIEW LOCAL BUSINESS CONDITIONS Percent change June June 1956 from June 1956 from J anuary-June City and item 1956 May 1956 June 1955 1956 1955 Percent change PARIS (pop. 21,643) Retail sales .......................... ------------···-······· + 15 6 + 7 Department and apparel stores........ -13 + 9 + 6 Postal receipts ....................................... ---·-···········-------$ 14,574 •• 2 $ . 87,656 $ 87,056 + Building permits, less federal contracts........ -----·-·· $ 169,146 +133 +112 $ 698,514 $ 623,717 + 12 PASADENA (pop. 22,483) Postal receipts................................................................ $ 22,423 -1 + 11 $ 137,372 $ 116,649 + 18 Building permits, less federal contracts . ........ $ 1,152,576 -22 -40 $ 7,916,946 $ 9,916,969 -20 Employment (area) ll............... ----·····-------······------···· ... $ 404,600 •• + 7 $ 398,500 $ 372,700· + 7 Manufacturing employment (area) 11 ........ ..... s 90,500 + 2 + $ 88,029 $ 82,542 + 7 Percent unemployed (area) II .. -···---------······--··········-3.8 + 6 + 3 3.4 3.8 -11 PHARR (pop. 8,690) Postal receipts......................... -----------·-········ ................ $ 4,700 + 2 -4 $ 29,481 $ 27,289 + 8 Building permits, less federal contracts .............. $ 20,450 -39 $ 192,860 Bank debits (thousands) ............................................ $ 3,886 •• + 5 $ 23,985 $ 21,048 + 14 End-of-month deposits (thousands) 11 .......... $ 3,777 + + 15 $ 3,928 $ 3,459 + 14 Annual rate of deposit turnoverll ...... 12.4 -1 -7 12.2 12.1 + PLAINVIEW (pop. 14,044) Retail sales ............................................. ··-···········-········ -5 + 6 -27 Department and apparel stores.... -10 + 2 -13 Postal receipts....... ----·-········------·-····--------........... $ 17,692 + 37 •• $ 81,535 $ 81,405 •• Building permits, less federal contracts.. .......... $ 101,000 -71 -37 $ 1,234,500 $ 2,071,900 -40 PORT ARTHUR (pop. 82,150u) Retail sales* ...................... --···········----····-········-······------­ - 10 - 11 + Automotive stores*............ ·········---------­ -17 7 + Department and appar el stores........................ Eating and drinking places............................... -24 •• + + 5 5 2 6 Food stores*-­--------------­----------------­---------------­--------­ + 2 1 -12 Fur niture and household appliance stores*.... 7 + 13 + 18 Lumber, building material, and hardware stores$_ ----------------------------­---------­--­ + 8 - 48 -15 Postal receipts -----------­------············································ $ 42,378 + 16 + 6 $ 226,191 $ 218,912 + s Building permits, less federal contracts.................. $ 260,754 -33 - 34 $ 2,150,319 $ 2,171,143 Bank debits (thousands ) ··········································· $ 53,219 8 3 $ 330,360 $ 316,752 + End-of-month deposits (thousands ) 11 ................. $ 43,175 + + $ 44,241 $ 41,837 + Annual ra.te of deposit t urnoverll ... -------------------------­Employment (area) 11 .. ...... 14.9 83,400 6 •• + 2 2 14.9 83,317 15.2 81,141 2 + 3 Ma nufacturing employment (area) 11 ...... 28,875 + 2 + 6 27,934 26,554 + P ercent unemployed (area) 11 ............. 6.4 + 8 9 5.7 6.8 - 16 ROCKDALE (pop. 4,550r) Postal receipts___ ______ ···-------·····-······------·-··· ............ $ 4,153 + 5 + 2 $ 23,328 $ 21,804 + 7 Building permits, less federal contracts.................. $ 23,300 -60 - 81 $ 380,224 $ 652,037 -42 Bank debits (thousands) ........ ·-----······-···-·-·· End-of-month deposits (thousands) II $ $ 4,055 5,147 + 6 •• + + 7 9 $ $ 24,581 5,222 $ $ 21,451 3,721 + 15 + 40 Annual ra.te of deposit turnoverll ............ 9.5 + 6 12 9.4 11.9 -21 SAN ANGELO (pop. 62,359r) Retail sales................... Department and apparel --------·-·-·-···· stores·-­----· ......... ___ _. -- 10 19 + 6 •• + •• Postal receipts ······················································· $ 55,114 - 10 + 2 $ 320,900 $ 318,264 + Building permits, less federal contracts.................. $ 512,762 - 11 + 11 $ 3,235,212 $ 3,779,283 -14 Bank debits (thousands) ............................................ $ End-of-month deposits (thousands ) 11 ..................... $ 43,293 44,362 - 4 •• 4 5 $ $ 263,099 45,382 $ $ 260,823 46,409 + Annual r ate of deposit turnoverll ................ 11.8 + 2 11.6 11.2 + Employmentll --------···················· 23,000 - 1 + 1 22,992 22,525 + Manufacturing emp]oymentll 2,960 - 2 7 2,984 3,032 2 Percent unemployed ll .................................... 5.2 + 21 + 4 4.8 4.9 SAN MARCOS (pop. 9,980) P ostal r eceipts ................... . ........................ $ 11,756 + 10 + 11 $ 70,751 $ 64,864 + 9 Building permits, less federal contracts..... ·······-·-·­$ 68,461 - 54 - 71 $ 723,198 $ 1,475,980 -51 Bank debits (thousands ) ............................................ $ 6,569 + 6 $ 38,675 $ 35,521 + 9 End-of-month deposits (thousands ) II ·---------·-······· $ 9,078 + 3 + 7 $ 9,256 $ 8,537 + Annual rate of deposit turnoverll ............................ 8.8 + + 8.4 8.3 + AUGUST 1956 LOCAL BUSINESS CONDITIONS Percent change City and item June 1956 June 1956 from May 1956 June 1956 from June 1955 1956 January-June 1955 Percent change SAN SABA (pop. 3,400) Bank debits (thousands) _____ ----------------­ $ 2,579 16 11 $ 16,214 $ 15,999 + End-of-month deposits (thousands ) II $ 3,783 + 7 3 $ 3,627 $ 3,845 Annual rate of deposit turnoverll 8.4 19 7 8.9 8.3 + 7 SEGUIN (pop. 14,000r) Postal receipts......... . ·····-$ 8,721 + 5 - 1 $ 50,275 $ 51,227 - 2 Building permits, less federal contracts $ 82,225 + 176 + 44 $ 478,885 $ 722,880 -34 Bank debits (thousands) ---···--­$ 9,020 + 20 + 14 $ 49,275 $ 44,192 + 12 End-of-month deposits (thousands) II ·-------------------­$ 15,962 + + 8 $ 15,579 $ 16,588 6 Annual rate of deposit turnover ll 6.9 + 17 + 15 6.3 5.3 + 19 SAN ANTONIO (pop. 449,52lu) Retail sales•... Apparel stores*__ -8 -18 1 3 - 1 •• Automotive stores* ··-····--·-·· ·--------· Department storest __ .. ___ ....... ........ . -6 -10 + 6 - 4 •• Drug stores*... ----------­---·--··------­Eating and drinking places*----­ 7 •• + + 1 + 3 7 Food stores*--­ + + 9 + Furniture and household appliance stores•__ -14 6 Gasoline and service stations* - 7 6 + 5 General merchandise stores* -16 4 Lumber, building material, and hardware stores*····-·--····----·---··-·----·· -11 17 17 Postal receipts ------------------------­------------------------------­----­$ Building permits, Jess federal contracts. $ 572,584 5,413,152 -2 + 55 + 9 4 $ 3,298,017 $ 34,840,483 $ 3,133,044 $ 31,234,105 + 5 + 12 Bank debits (thousands) -----------------------­ $ 486,624 5 + 3 $ 2,897,321 $ 2,724,016 + 6 End-of-month deposits (thousands) II .. $ 343,978 + 2 + 4 $ 345,719 $ 335,003 + 3 Annual rate of deposit turnoverll --------------------­--­Employment~ 17.2 184,300 4 •• + + 2 16.8 184,050 16.2 178,900 + 4 + 3 Manufacturing employmentU 23,025 + + 22,733 21,296 + 7 Percent unemployedll 4.5 + 32 ~ 24 4.5 6.0 - 25 SHERMAN (pop. 25,855r) Retail sales.______ _ Department and apparel stores.. ­--------­--·------­ Furniture and household appliance stores . Lumber, building material, and hardware stores.... Postal receipts________ _________ ____ $ 25,596 Building permits, less federal contracts__ ____ $ 256,708 Bank debits (thousands ) _______ _____ $ 27,095 End-of-month deposits (thousands) II $ 17,352 Annual rate of deposit turnoverll 19.1 7 7 - 8 8 + 7 •• + 15 10 10 -26 - 19 + 3 + 1 $ 159,377 $ 152,245 + -81 - 12 $ 2,236,124 $ 1,592,994 + 40 + 8 8 $ 158,530 $ 163,746 3 + 3 $ 17,809 $ 18,026 + 9 2 17.8 18.2 2 SLATON (pop. 5,036) Postal receipts·-----------------------------·-------------------------------· $ 2,916 + 10 + 4 $ 16,367 $ 15,766 + 4 Building permits, less federal contracts.. $ 13,300 + 57 -65 $ 307,180 $ 163,915 + 87 Bank debits (thousands ) -----------------------· $ 1,942 6 $ 13,961 End-of-month deposits (thousands) 11----$ 3,361 4 -10 $ 3,840 Annual rate of deposit turnoverll .... 6.8 7.3 SNYDER (pop. 14,lUr) Department and apparel store sales.__ _ -21 -l + 1 Postal receipts----------------------------------------------$ 11,443 + 7 + 6 $ 61,652 $ 58,505 + 5 Building permits, Jess federal contracts $ 157,298 + 48 + 44 $ 883,564 $ 718,115 + 23 Bank debits (thousands) ________ ___ $ 13,154 + 5 + 14 $ 77,010 $ 77,039 •• End-of-month deposits (thousands) II $ 13,799 2 6 $ 14,352 $ 12,916 + 11 Annual rate of deposit turnoverll----------------------------11.3 + 6 + 13 10.7 14.3 -25 SULPHUR SPRINGS (pop. 9,890) Postal receipts____ _____________________________ _ --------$ 7,216 + 5 + $ 39,451 $ 36,824 + 7 Bank debits (thousands) ------$ 7,733 7 + 5 $ 47,064 $ 43,666 + 8 End-of-month deposits (thousands) 11 ---­$ 10,798 + 3 + 5 $ 10,825 $ 10,579 + 2 Annual rate of deposit turnoverll-----·-8.7 7 + 4 8.7 8.2 + 6 For explanation of symbols, see pa.ge 27. TEXAS BUSINESS REVIEW LOCAL BUSINESS CONDITIONS Percent change City and item June 1956 June 1956 from May 1956 June 1956 from J une 1955 1956 J anuary-June 1955 Percent change SWEETWATER (pop. 13,619) Postal receipts................................................................ $ Building permits, less federal contracts.................. $ Bank debits (thousands) ............................................ $ End-of-month deposits (thousands) 11 ...................... $ Annual rate of deposit turnoverll .. -··---··············-······ 12,052 158,440 9,494 11,748 9.8 -28 •• 3 + 3 + 7 +120 + 11 + 13 + 1 $ $ $ $ 78,391 686,995 58,189 11,618 10.0 $ 74,793 $ 881,635 $ 54,445 $ 10,440 10.4 + 5 -22 + 7 + 11 -4 TAYLOR (pop. 9,071) Postal receipts............................................ ··················· $ 7,801 + 6 + 8 $ 47,281 $ 44,699 + 6 Building permits, less federal contracts $ 35,880 - 20 - 69 $ 380,385 $ 568,680 - 33 Bank debits (thousands) ............................................ $ 6,573 + 10 + 6 $ 41,059 $ 54,263 - 24 End-of-month deposits (thousands ) II $ 11,915 + 2 2 $ 12,393 $ 14,965 - 17 Annual rate of deposit turnover ll ................... 6.7 + 10 + 16 6.6 7.0 - 6 TEMPLE (pop. 33,912r) Retail sales... ............................... ---·-···················· •• 8 -11 Department and apparel stores....................... - 12 6 8 Drug stores................................................ - 11 + 2 + 4 Food stores.................................... -------···---·······-···· + 10 6 - 9 Furniture and household appliance stores...... + - 14 -12 Lumber, building material, and hardware stores.............................................. + 19 - 13 -4 Postal receipts................................................................ $ 28,042 + + 7 $ 159,901 $ 159,185 •• Building permits, less federal contracts ................. $ 225,462 - 49 - 11 $ 1,950,913 $ 2,744,984 -29 Bank debits (thousands) ............................................ $ 20,465 + 12 + 5 $ 116,727 $ 114,293 + 2 End-of-month deposits (thousands ) II $ 28,118 + 6 + 6 $ 26,628 $ 22,426 + 19 Annual rate of deposit t ur noverll .............................. 9.0 + 8 3 8.8 10.2 -14 TEXARKANA (pop. 24,753) Retail sales§ ...................................................... 9 - 22 - 7 Automotive stores§................................................ 8 - 34 - 13 Furniture and household appliance stores§.... 12 + 9 + 22 Postal receipts§ .............................................................. $ 48,382 9 - 2 $ 288,711 $ 264,618 + 9 Building permits, less federal contracts.................. $ 91,075 70 - 42 $ 1,143,801 $ 1,088,267 + 5 Bank debits (thousands) § .......................................... $ End-of-month deposits (thousands ) 11 ...................... $ 42,707 17,320 + + 3 + - 11 1 $ $ 243,290 17,466 $ $ 217,581 17,459 + 12 •• Annual rate of deposit turnover ll .............................. Employment §11 .............................................................. Manufacturing employment§ II ............................ 13.8 33,600 5,350 + •• 1 + 18 4 3 13.2 83,60-0 5,367 12.1 34,300 5,375 + - 2 •• Percent unemployed§Il .................................................. 8.0 - 1 + 8.9 9.7 - 8 TEXAS CITY (pop. 23,000r) Postal receipts.................................................. ············· $ 15,924 + 12 + 5 $ 91,725 $ 87,489 + 5 Building permits, less federal contracts .................. $ 2,485,615 +711 +803 $ 5,189,205 $ 3,196,080 + 62 Bank debits (thousands) ............................................ $ 28,854 - 3 + 12 $ 180,314 $ 158,418 + 14 End-of-month deposits (thousands ) 11 ...................... $ 27,790 -14 + 3 $ 29,563 $ 26,995 + 10 Annual rate of deposit turnoverll ........................... 11.5 + + 3 12.2 11.7 + Employment (area) ll ................... ­---··---·-····················· Manufacturing employment (area) 11 .............. 47,250 11,420 + + 1 2 + 4 •• 46,625 11 ,255 45,392 11 ,323 + 3 Percent unemployed (area) II --·-·················· 5.5 5 -10 6.1 6.3 TYLER (pop. 49,443r) P ostal receipts..... ------················-. ................................. $ 59,749 3 + $ 405,144 $ 391,979 + 3 Building pe~mits, Jess federal contracts.................. $ 1,051,967 4 - 30 $ 6,117,170 $ 6,977,897 -12 Bank debits (thousands) ............................................ $ 73,455 3 + 4 $ 444,667 $ 417,016 + End-of-month deposits (thousands ) 11 ...................... $ 60,102 + 4 + 3 $ 58,623 $ 57,858 + Annual rate of deposit turnoverll .............................. 15.0 4 + 3 15.2 14.4 + VERNON (pop. 12,651) Department and apparel store sales....... Postal receipts... ............. $ ---·-·········-·····-------·--··--­-·--······· 11,942 -+ 23 30 + 11 •• $ 59,215 $ 59,062 + •• Iluilding permits, Jess federal contracts.................. $ 62,380 + 77 - 13 $ 593,930 $ 347,700 + 71 Bank debits (thousands) ............................................ $ 12,105 + 25 $ 60,505 End-of-month deposits (thousands ) 11 ...................... $ 19,469 + 3 $ 19,078 Annual rate of deposit turnoverll .......... ······----------·-­ 7.6 + 23 For explanation of symbols, see page 27. AUGUST 1956 LOCAL BUSINESS CONDITIONS Percent change June J une 1956 from June 1956 from January-June Cit y and item 1956 May 1956 J une 1955 1956 1955 Percent cha nge VICTORIA (pop. 49,I64r) Retail sales* --------------------------·-··········--···-­··---·-·------------­Automotive stores*-­---­--------·-········-·· -·-····-----------­Department and apparel stores_____________________ __ + 4 + 6 -20 -9 -13 -5 6 7 3 Food stores*---------------· ------············-·--···---------­-----­-· Furniture and household appliance stores•___ _ Lumber, building material, and hardware stores*.......................___ .................. Postal receipts.-----·------------------------------·--------·­--------------­$ Building permits, less federal contracts -------· $ 28,751 560,395 + 7 •• + 1 + 28 -2 + -14 -21 + 10 -12 $ $ 145,529 4, 473,973 $ $ 135,999 5,722,632 8 + 1 + 7 -22 WICHITA FALLS (pop. 103,192r) Department and apparel store sales..................... Postal receipts------------------------·-·-·---------------------------­------­$ Building permits, less federal contracts_______ __ ___ Bank debits (thousands) -------­----­--·--·-----­------------------­End-of-month deposits (thousands) II --··············· ·­Annual rate of deposit t urnoverll--------·--· ·­···------·· Employmentll ----------­---------·--··················-··-··---------­Manufacturing employment lL... ---------··········· Percent unemployedll .... ·-·--·-··-----···--·­----·-····· $ $ $ 84,570 1,158,137 98,818 105,191 11.4 37,600 3,520 4.S 9 10 + 2 4 + 2 2 •••• + 13 + 12 -7 + 33 + •• + + 4 + 6 $ $ $ $ 525,436 5,482,127 590,415 105,810 11.2 37,292 3,477 4.2 $ $ $ $ 490,420 6,466,648 561,314 105,013 10.7 35,492 3,423 4.7 + + 7 15 + + 1 + 5 + 5 + 2 11 WACO (pop. IOI,824r) Retail sales........................___ ___________ -··-·--·-···-·--·-·--·-········ - 9 - 3 2 Apparel stores ....... ··················-------­--·········-········· -23 + 6 + 1 Automotive stores................................................. + 7 -12 13 Department storest -·-·····-·-····-·-·····-·---­ -15 + 10 + 9 F urniture and hou.sehold appliance stores_____ _ - 2 - 1 7 Postal receipts ·······-········-··········---­---········-···-·-··-··-­ $ 116,533 + 2 + 1 $ 683,490 $ 668,476 + 2 Building permits, less federal contracts-------------­-·-· $ 1,272,831 + 14 + 43 $ 8,240,430 $ 6,810,879 + 21 Bank debits (thousands) ____ --···· ··-··-·· ·--··--·····--·-··--·--·­$ 85,803 5 + 2 $ 523,807 $ 511,023 + 3 End-of-month deposits (thousands) 11 ­--··-·-· -­.......... Annual rate of deposit t urnoverll ........_ __________________ $ 62,056 16.3 3 2 6 + 8 $ 66,126 15.8 $ 68,019 14.8 3 + 7 Employmentll ---·--··----········---········· Manufacturing employmentll ........ ···········-­--· ····· 46,550 9,030 •• + 1 + 3 46,592 8.767 45,717 8,508 + 2 + Percent unemployedll..................................._____ _ ___ __ __ _ 5.1 + 9 16 5.0 6.2 19 WEATHERFORD (pop. 8,093) Building permits, less federal contracts._______ ·-·· · ···· Bank debits (thousands ) ---­--­---------·----------------------­---­End-of-month deposits (thousands) U------­Annual rate of deposit t ur noverll --------------­..··­-­$ $ $ 10,000 10,974 11,997 10.8 37 + 8 2 + 8 -66 + 13 6 + 4 $ $ $ 14 8,900 ~0.365 12,263 9.8 $ $ $ 406,925 60,907 10,190 12.0 -63 -1 + 20 -18 •P reliminary. xChange is less than one-half of one percent. tReported by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. iMoney on deposit at the end of the month, but excludes deposits to the credit of banks. ~Reported by the Bureau of Bu.siness and Economic Research, Univenity of Houston for Harris County, §Figures include Texarkana, Arkansas (pop. 15,875i e.nd Texarkana, Texas (pop. 24,753). 'Revised for u.se by the Texas Highway Department. "1950 Urbanized Censu.s. llSix-months data are averages. 28 TEXAS BUSINESS REVIEW BAROMETERS OF TEXAS BUSINESS Year-to-date avg. Average June May month 1956 1956 1956 1955 1955 GENERAL BUSINESS ACTIVITY tTexas business activity, index ( 100.0)....................-----------------­------­----­00 ---­tMiscellaneous freight carloadings in SW Dist., index (10.0).............. 169. 94• 172• 95 169. 95 1'64 95 1164 96 tOrdinary life insurance sales, index adjusted for price changes ( 4.2) .................................................................................................. 233 260 237 214 219 Ordinary life insurance sales, index ..................................................................... Bank debits, index........................................-----------------­------­----·--------· .. ··--­---------..--­ 269 ·211 300 230 273 216 244 197 251 199 Bank debits in U . S., index...................... ............ ............... .......--------------­..-----­....... 183 193 185 170 173 Wholesale prices in U. S., unadjusted index.. ...................................................... :t: Consumers' prices in' Houston, unadjusted index..................._____________ ...._.. ___ ____ _ 114.2 114.4 116.8 113.2 116.7 110.2 115.6 110.7 115.8 Consumers' prices in U. S., unadjusted index...................................................... 116.2 115.4 115.1 114.3 114.5 Income payments to individuals in U. S. (billions, at seasonally adjusted annual rate) --·-··---·--·------·--­-----------------­-----------------------------­----..·---------------------­..-­Postal receipts, index_________ ___ _________ ____ ______________ __ ___ _.. __ ___ _ ____ ______ ____ _______________ ________ __ _ 338 $ 323.o• 335 $ 319.4. 307 $ 296.8 298 $ 306.l 310 Corporation charters issued (number) _.. ........................................__ _ _______ ____ __ 524 467 524 473 445 Business failures (number) _______ __ __________ ....................................... _ _____ __ ___ _ __ _____ __ 16 31 26 15 17 TRADE tTotal retail sales, index adjusted for price changes ( 46.8)__________ ____ ,,__ 133. 132 132* 140 '1 39 Total retail sales, index.................. .. ..... ...... .. . ····-···­-------­............__ ____ _ 150 149 148 155 155 Durable-goods stores ............. .. .. ...........-------------------------------------------------·-----­---­Nondurable-goods stores.. ........._______ _,, _______________________ ________ ·-----------­--­··------···--· 141 154 141 152 '140 152 167 149 162 152 Ratio of credit sales to net sales in department and apparel stores. ____________ .. .. 63.5 66.9 67.4 65.8 65.0 Ratio of collections to oustandings in department and apparel stores... ........... 33.8 35.8 36.2 39.0 39.l PRODUCTION tlndustrial electric power consumption, index (14.6)....................-------­tConstruction authorized, index adjusted for price changes (9.4).... tCrude oil production, index (8.1)______ ,,___________................................_..__________.. tCrude oil runs to stills, index ( 3.9)____ ..________________________ ,, ________ ___________ ............. 342* 118* 130* 154 • 344• 145* 133* 156 336. 136* 135* 153 282 160 128 140 288 148 125 139 tTotal electric power consumption, index (3.0) .........:._.._____ ______,, _ ________ _ 320* 311• 305* 263 278 Gasoline consumption, index... .. ............. .. ...................... .... .............................. .. ... Natural gas production, index........ ..............-----­--------------------------­--------------.. ·----­--­lndustrial _production in U . S., index... -------------­--· -------­...... ................................ Southern pine production, index________ ____ ___ _____________ .. _ .. _______________________________ _ ,, ______ _ '141* 186 183 142* '128 173 18'4 142* '122 175 176 136 122 172 177 139 122 Cottonseed crushed, index........... ·-· ----­· ----~-­--------· --· ·--·­-­---· -­---· ­--··---­-­----­--­--·-·-·-­-· Construction authorized, index________ ____ ______ _ ____ _____ ________ __ ___ ,,_______ _______________ _____ ____ .. 165* 120 203* 138 191* 138 215 131 201 Construction contracts awarded (thousands) ______ ------------­-----·-"··---.. --.. .. ... $1'18,613 $165,426 $156,709 $127,213 $123,957 AGRICULTURE Farm cash income, unadjusted ind.ex.. . .. .. ...... . __ __ .. __ ___ _______ ............___ _ 54• 68 65 67 97 Prices received by farm ers, unadjusted index, 1909-14=100............................ Prices paid by farmers in U. S., unadjusted index, 1909-14=100................... Ratio of Texas farm prices received to U . S. prices paid by farmers 252 286 88 252 286 88' 249 283 88 265 283 94 259 281 92 FINANCE Reporting members banks, Dallas Reserve District: §Loans (millions) ...... .......... ................................... ····-· ·-­-----­-­.. --................... .. §Loans and investments (millions) ....................... .. ...................................... Adjusted demand deposits (millions) -----------­-------­----·­---------­--·-­--­·-­---­-·--­-­Revenue receipts of the State Comptroller (thousands) .. .. . --­---------­----------­---­Federal Internal Revenue collections (thousands) . $ 2,406 $ 3,751 $ 2,638 $ 88,445 $323,793 $ 2,434 $ 3,778 $ 2,624 $ 89,525 $283,045 $ 2,418 $ 3,786 , $ 2,650 $ 82,638 $261,984 $ 2,177 $ 3,697 $ 2,702 $ 75,982 $258,008 $ 2,266 $ 3,750 $ 2,687 $ 73,348 $193,020 LABOR Total nonagricultural employment (thousands) ............................. Total manufacturing employment (thousands) --------·-­.. --................ Durable-goods employment (thousands) ..... ---------------­---.. ·-----·· ·-­Nondurable-goods employment (thousands) ..... ... ··-····-----­------.. ·----­---­Total nonagricultural labor force in 20 labor market areas (thousands) ____ _ Employment in 20 labor market areas (thousands) ---­-----­----------------­-.. ·--­Manufacturing employment in 20 labor market areas (thousands) Total unemployment in 20 labor market areas (thousands) ... ... .............. P ercent of labor force unemployed in 20 labor market areas............ 2,381.9* 473.3* 231.3* 242.0* 1,819.8 1,737.5 363.6 79.7 4.4 2,354.l 466.6 227.8 238.8 1,809.0 1,736.7 359.l 70.8 3.9 2,340.6* 465.1 * 206.6* 232.9* 1,799.5 1,722.9 356.3 75.1 4.2 2,257.2 436.9 206.6 232.9 1,727.3 1,645.8 332.9 81.2 4.7 2,292.4 446.l 211.l 235.0 1,745.8 1,671.4 340.l 73.8 4.2 All figures are for Texas unless otherwise indicated. All indexes are based on the average months for 1947-49, except where indicated: all are adjusted for seasonal variation, except annual indexes. Employment estimates have been adjusted to first quarter 1955 benchmarks. • Preliminary. t The index of business activity is the weighted average of the indexes indicated by a dagger ( t) . The weight given each index in computing the com· posite is given in parentheses. t Index computed for February, May, August, and November only. § Exclusive of loans to ba nks after deduction of valuation reserves.