TEXAS BUSINESS REVIEW 

A MONTHLY SUMMARY OF BUSINESS AND ECONOMIC CONDITIONS IN TEXAS 
BUREAU OF BUSINESS RESEARCH 
COLLEGE OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION 
THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS 

VOL. XX, No. 4 May, 1946 
HIGHLIGHTS OF TEXAS BUSINESS 
APRIL, 1946, COMPARED WITH APRIL, 1945 
Life insurance sales____ -----------------------------· 
Retail sales ------------·--------------------------------· Farm cash income ---------------------------------· Bank debits ----·--··----------------------------------­Construction contracts -------------------------· Cotton consumption ----------------------------­Employment --------------------------------··---------­Pay rolls -------------------------·-----------------------· Postal receipts --------------------·------------------· 
Crude petroleum production_______________ _ Electric power consumption__________________ _ 
APRIL, 1946, COMPARED 
WITH MARCH, 1946 
Farm cash income___________________________________ _ 
Retail sales --·-------------·----------·-----------------­Crude petroleum production _________________ _ Life insura nee sales____________________ ·------------­Electric power consumption_____ ______________ _ 
Pay rolls ------· -·------------------------------__ ___ ____ _ 
Employment -------------------------------------------· Postal receipts -----------------------------------····· Cotton consumption --·--------------------------­Bank debits -------------------------·-----------------· Construction contracts ------------------·------· 


TEN CENTS PER COPY ONE DOLLAR PER YEAR 

FIGURES FOR Tl-IE MONTI-I 

COMPOSITE INDEX OF BUSINESS ACTIVITY (1935-39= 100)* 
Index of department and apparel store sales---------------------------------------------------------------­
lndex of miscellaneous freight carloadings in Southwestern District______________________________ Index of crude oil runs to stills_____________________________________________________________________:____________________ Index of electric power consumption_____________________________________________________________
_
__ _ 
Index of employment----------------------------------------------------------------------­lndex of pay rolls--------------------------------------------------------------­
TRADE 

Retail sales of 922 independent stores--------------------------------------------------------------------------­
Ratio of credit sales to net sales in department and apparel stores____ __ 
_
_,_________________ Ratio of collections to outstandings in department and apparel stores_______________________ Ratio of credit salaries to credit sales in department and apparel stores__ _ 
_______________ 
Postal receipts in 52 cities--------------------------------------------------------------------------------­
PRODUCTION 

Southern pine production (weekly per unit average in board feetL---------------------------· Cotton consumption (running bales) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------­Cottonseed crushed (tonsl ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------· Manufacture of dairy products (1000 lbs. milk equivalentl --------------~---------------------­Man-hours worked in 508 manufacturing establishments------------------------------------­Building permits in 45 cities-----------------------------------------------------------------­Construction contracts-----------~-----------------------------------------------------------------------------­
lndustrial electric p,ower consumption for 10 companies (thousands of kilowatt hours) Crude petroleum production (daily average in barrelsl --------------------------------------------------­
AGRICULTURE 

Farm cash income____ -=-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------­Shipments of fruits and vegetables (carloadsl -------------------------------------------------------­Shipments of livestock (carloadsl ------------------------------------------------------------------------­Shipments of poultry and eggs (carloads) --------------------------------------------------------------­
FINANCE 

Bank debits in 20 cities (thousandsl -------------------------------------------------------------------------· Loans, reporting member banks in Dallas District (thousand;,) ----------------------------------­Loans and investments, reporting member banks in Dallas Di trict (thousands) -------­Demand deposits adjusted, reporting member banks in Dallas District (thousands)_______ Time deposits, reporting member banks in Dallas District (thousands) -------------------------­Ordinary life insurance sales (thousands) --------------------------------------------------------------------­
April March April1946 1946 1945 
184.4 175.3 226.2 
304.1 261.9 189.4 
150.6 145.4 184.0 
173.2 184.3 181.4 
346.2 233.4 277.3 
108.3 105.2 160.5 
185.7 178.3 314.6 
$36,582,036 $32,463,444 . $23,619,696 45.8% 47.4% 42.0% 68.6% 70.6% 66.0% 1.0% 1.1% 1.5% $2,561,176 $2,568,153 $2,619,435 
194,513 199,943 202,454 17,656 17,854 15,287 19,554 34,802 65,084 98,007 72,565 116,013 3,010,378 3,005,573 5,127,438 $19,633,641 $42,860,794 84,326,290 $41,682,822 $35,182,401 $71,388,452 210,326 203,574 258,113 2,007,050 1,817,500 2,163,550 
$86,493,000 $56,630,000 $69,165,000 15,862 9,245 10,855 14,882 7,220 12,210 
871 916 1,112 
$2,387,615 $2,423,969 $1,963,287 $684,000 $691,000 $403,000 82,096,000 $2,141,000 $1,671,000 $1,413,000 $1,408,000 $1,269,000 $300,000 $295,000 $242,000 $69,008 $63,283 $35,208 

*The composite index is made up of the indexes listed. All component indexes except employment and pay rolls are adjusted for seasonal variation, and all indexes are bas<:<! on the average month of the years 1935-39. 
PERCENT 260  IN DEX  OF  TEXAS BUSINES S ADJtJSTED FO!' SE ASONAL VARIATIO N 1935-39, 100  ACTIVITY  PERCENT.60  
220 200 180 160 140 120 100 8 0  _J 1935 ~ 1936  -~ 1937  -1938  ~ 1939  _/ ~ 1940  r )-_/ /" 1941 1942 r /'-"\ J ,./ I ~..-v 1943 1944  -~ ~ v 1945 ,_ . v 1946  ' 200 !O ' I I I I I 60 40 ?J) 00 80  

1'he Business Situation in Texas 

Business activity in Texas hounded hack in April to its February level, according to the index of business activity prepared by the Bureau of Business Research. This sudden rise represented an advance of 5.2% over the March index and compares with a 4.8% decrease between March and April of last year. Business activity this past month was 18.5% less than it was twelve months ago, when Texas business was on the downgrade from its all-time peaks in January and February, 1945. By prewar (1935-39) standards, however, business activity in this State last month was still up 84.4%. 
At present Texas business is in a period of compara­tively slow recovery from its high wartime levels. The steady rise in business activity beginning in early autumn of 1940 and extending through the first two months of 1945 was followed by a gradually accelerated decline from March through October of last year. Two months after V-J Day, business in Texas stood just where it was in the middle of 1942. By April, 1946, business was back to its levels of the last quarter of 1942, hut the gains over the six-month period from October, 1945, average only 1.5% a month. Reconversion to a peace­time economy has clearly been a slow process, measured in terms of what has been achieved to date. 
Of the six component indexes making up the general 

index of State business activity, five rose and one fell 
during the month of April. Four of the five gains were 
small. Employment was up 2.9%, the seasonally-ad­
justed index of miscellaneous freight carloadings went 
up 3.6%, pay rolls climbed 4.2%, and the index of 
THIS MONTH 

The Bureau of Business Research has added another four pages to the TEXAS BUSINESS REVIEW to accommodate a number of new features. In this issue for the first time the Bureau has prepared a series of city tables and combined them into a section on local business conditions (see pages 12-13). A section on prices has also been intro­duced (page 22). New series showing labor force estimates for the State and local areas, place­ments in employment, estimates of manufactur­ing employment, wheat grindings and flour pro­duction, and the man-hours worked in Texas manu­facturing establishments have also been added to appropriate sections of the REVIEW. The Bureau is indebted to the State office of the United States Employment Service for the first two series. 
For those readers of the REVIEW who like their statistics in graphic form a full page of new charts is presented on the back cover. All of the indexes shown on this page have been computed on a 1935-39 base and adjusted wherever possible for seasonal variations. 

electric power consumption gained 5.5% after seasonal adjustment. The outstanding increase for the month, however, was the 16.1 % jump in the sales of Texas de­partment and apparel stores in terms of the seasonally­adjusted index. The only component business index to decline between March and April was the index of crude oil runs to stills which dropped 6.1 % when seasonal factors were taken into account. 
Last year at this time electric power consumption was the only series to show a rise and the gain was small 
(1.1 % ) . Indexes for the other five series were lower in April than in March; crude oil runs to stills by 3.6%, employment by 3.3%, pay rolls by 3.9%, mis­cellaneous freight carloadings by 4.5%, and the sales of department and apparel stores by 21.9%. 
The complete reversal in the movement of Texas busi­ness between March and April this year and last sug­gests that business was not dominated by seasonal fac­tors in either period. In the spring of 1945 activity in the major lines of Texas business was undoubtedly af­fected by the approaching end of the war in Europe, while in 1946 the obstacles to reconversion played hob with seasonal variations. Retail sales comparisons were also affected by the late Easter in April, 1946. No trace of normalcy was apparent in the business situations pre­vailing in the springs of 1945 and 1946. 
The influence of inflation upon Texas business during the past 12 months is reflected in the behavior of the principal business series for the State. Retail trade, which has felt the full force of inflation, was the only one of the six component series to show a gain in April, 
1946, over April, 1945. The advance in trade, as measured by the seasonally-adjusted index of department and apparel store sales, was a startling 60.6%. Physical volume indexes were down: crude oil runs to stills by 4.5%, electric power consumption by 11.2%, and mis­cellaneous freight carloadings by 18.2%. The cessation of wartime production produced decreases of 32.5% and 41.0% in employment and pay rolls, respectively, between April, 1945, and April, 1946. 
Compared with prewar (1935-39) averages, the level of business activity last month in all major lines was still high. Employment was up only 8.3%, hut miscel­laneous freight carloadings were up 50.7%, crude oil runs to stills 73.2%, pay rolls 85.7%, and department store sales 204.1 %. The consumption of electric power in the State was also 146.2% greater in April, 1946, than in the average prewar month. 
Behind the present business situation in Texas, as re­flected in the leading indexes of business activity, are sev­eral noteworthy factors. While reconversion has been rela­tively slow, there is little doubt that considerable progress has been made in the changeover from wartime to peace­time conditions. The same progress is noticeable over the entire nation. Consumer spending is a dominant factor in the present situation, and no sudden change is evident, here or elsewhere in the country. It is rea­sonable to expect that a solution of the current labor difficulties in other parts of the country, no matter how temporary, will permit a greater production of consumer goods to meet the present swollen demand. National business analysts believe that the decline in over-all pro­duction was halted by the end of the first quarter of 1946, and now predict a gradual upturn. The bull mar­ket in securities is now in its fifth year and is the third largest on record from the standpoints of both length and advance. Although the opinion is expressed in some quarters that the bull market is entering its final phase, few students of the financial markets profess to see the end. 
The retail sales of independent stores in Texas tell the same story as the seasonally-adjusted department store sales index. April, 1946, sales by independents were 54.9% above sales in April, 1945, and 12.7% higher than sales in the previous month. According to the credit ratios of Texas department and apparel stores, more and more business is being done on credit, despite the retention of wartime credit controls for consumers; the ratio of collections to outstanding accounts has fal­len slightly; and credit salaries represent a smaller frac­tion of credit sales. Postal receipts, more stable indi­cators of trading activity, were about the same for 52 Texas cities in April as in March of this year, and they decreased only 2.2% from April, 1945, to April, 1946. Last year at this season postal receipts declined 5.6%. 
The situation as far as production was concerned con­tinued spotty throughout the month of April. The manu­facture of dairy products jumped 35.1 % for the month, crude petroleum production advanced 10.4% on a daily average basis; the industrial consumption of electric power was 3.3 % greater and the man-hours worked in manufacturing establishments were fractionally (0.2%) higher in April than in March. Last year between the same two months there were smaller increases in both crude petroleum production and the manufacture of dairy products, while industrial electric power consumption was down slightly (2.6%). On the decrease side in the March-to-April comparisons this year were southern pine production (2.7% ), cotton consumption (1.1 % ) , cotton­seed crushings (2.7% ), and the value of construction contracts (41.6% ). The only production series to show increases from April, 1945, to April, 1946, were cotton consumption ( 15.5% ) and the value of construction contracts (18.5% ). Man-hours worked in Texas manu­facturing establishments were down 41.3% for the 12­month period. 
Texas agriculture improved its position in April over March of this year. Farm cash income rose 52.7%, shipments of fruits and vegetables 58.2%, and shipments of livestock (106.l % ) . Shipments of poultry and eggs were off 4.9% for the month. In 1945 the gains in farm cash income and livestock shipments between March and April were smaller than this year, while shipments of fruits and vegetables declined and poultry and egg shipments dropped still more. The cash income of Texas farmers during April, 1946, was 25.0% greater than in the same month a year ago; livestock shipments were 21.9% larger; and shipments of fruits and vegetables 
46.1 % heavier. Poultry and egg shipments from Texas stations were down 21.7%, however, from last year's totals. 
Indicators in the field of finance held steady between March and April this year and lait, but the 12-month changes were larger and more significant. Between April, 1945, and April, 1946, J.emand deposits of reporting member banks rose 5.1 %, time deposits 19.0%, bank debits in 20 Texas cities 21.6%, reporting member hank loans and investments 25.4%, loans 69.7%, and ordi­nary life insurance sales 96.0%. 
According to the most recent estimates of the Bureau of Business Research, employment in Texas manufac­turing totaled 296,900 in March of this year, as com­pared with 294,000 in February. Last year in March Texas gave employment to 402,100 in its manufacturing industries. During April employment in all types of establishments (manufacturing and nonmanufacturing) rose 2.9% and pay rolls 4.2%. If the large employers in shipbuilding and aircraft manufacture are excluded from the comparisons, Texas employment in April, 1946, was 3.6% greater than in April, 1945, and pay rolls were 1.7% higher. 
Prices continued to work upward in March. The national index of wholesale prices prepared by the Bureau of Labor Statistics advanced 1.1 % for the month to stand 3.4% above the March, 1945, level. The index of con~umers' prices in Houston rose 0.6% between February and March of this year but was 2.2% above last year's index for March. 
Federal internal revenue collections in Texas this past month amounted to $72,288,435, or 5.4% less than in the same month a year ago. Thus far in this fiscal year the revenue collections of the federal government in Texas have been 4.9% smaller than in the correspond­ing months of the fiscal year 1944-45. Cash receipts of the State government in April were $33,717,629. From the start of the current fiscal year in September, 1945, through April, 1946, the State government has received approximately 18.2% more revenue in cash than in the same eight months of the previous fiscal period. 

TRADE 
Retail Trade 

(The record of the movement of l'OOds Into the hands of the ultl· mate consumers Is one of the fundamental aeries of statistical data on buslneH activity, since for buslneH to be sound the volume of retail trade must be &'ood. It muat be rememb...ed, particularly ID a period of rlslnl' prices, that an lncreaae in salea may result from a rise in prices as well aa from aa increaaa la the amount of 
busineH.) 
Independent store sales for April increased 54.9% over sales for April last year, to establish a new monthly record for increases over last year, according to reports received by the Bureau from 922 establishments. March sales increased only 11.7% over the same month last year, while February sales increased 24.3%. Sales in April increased 12.7% over the sales in March of this year, and sales in March had increased 13.8% over February. 
Every kind of business showed an increase in April, 1946, over sales for April, 1945. The largest increase was in country general stores with a gain of 97.2% over April of last year. Automotive stores showed an increase of 88.9%, florists 70.2%, apparel stores 56.7%, jewelry stores 56.4%, department stores 55.7%, furniture and household 54.6%, lumber, building, and hardware 49.8%, filling stations 30.9%, drug stores 19.5%, and food stores 18.9 % . The late date of Easter this year would be expected to exert some influence on April sales this year, since last year Easter was on April 1 and the purchase of clothing that normally precedes Easter was all in the month of March. 

Decreases from March of this year were registered by restaurants, food stores, drug stores, and women's spe­cialty shops. For the last two of these, the decline was less than one per cent. All other groups showed increases over March, most of these increases being substantial. Country general stores increased their sales volume 74.5% over the preceding month, florists 37.3%, auto­motive 31.9%, general merchandise 14.4%, lumber, building materials, and hardware 8.3%, apparel 7.3 %, jewelry 4.2%, and furniture and household 2.8%. 
RETAIL SALES OF INDEPENDENT STORES BY KINDS OF BUSINESS 
Source: Bureau of Business Research in co-operati"n with the Bureau of the Census, U. S. Department of Commerce 
Number  Percent change  
of establish­ Apr . 1946 from  Apr. 1946 from  
Business  ments  Apr . 1945  Mar . 1946  


ALL ESTABLISHMENTS -------------------922 +54.9 + 12.7 


==== 
+56.7 + 7.3 
Family clothing stores -----------------------27 +54.3 +14.0 
Men's and boys' clothing stores________ 42 +77.2 +19.5 
Shoe stores ------------------------------------------17 

APPAREL ---·--------------------------------------------123 
+72.6 + 5.9 Women's specialty shops ------------------37 +45.1 -0.2 AUTOMOTIVE• ------85 
+88.9
------------------------------+31.9 

Motor vehicle dealers ---------------------75 +89.l +36.4 COUNTRY GENERAL ---------------------82 +97.2 +74.5 DEPARTMENT STORES --------------58 +55.7 +a.3 DRUG STORES -----------------------------96 +19.5 0.9
-GENERAL MERCHANDISE -----------30 +29.3 +14.4 FILLING STATIONS -----------------------22 +3o.9 -2.7 FLORISTS -----------------------------------23 +70.2 +37.3 FOOD• ----------------------------------------------111 +18.9 -4.8 
Grocery stores ----------------------------------------30 +13.1 -7.3 Grocery and meat stores --------·----------76 +20.9 -4.5 FURNITURE AND HOU SEHOLD• 73 +54.6 + 2.8 
Furniture stores -----------------------------------67 +51.8 + 0.8 J EWELRY -----------------------------·---------·------25 + 56.4 + 4.2 LUMBER, BUILDING MATERIALS, AND HARDWARE• -----------------------149 +49.8 + 8.3 Farm implement dealers______________________ 16 +16.3 
+ 0.6 Hardware stores ---------------------------------49 +49.6 + 7.8 Lumber and building material deal­

ers --------------------------------------------------83 +56.3 + 9.3 REST A URANTS ------------------------------30 + 9.6 -5.8 
ALL OTHER STORES ________________________ 15 
+ 20.7 -0.5 
•Total includes kinds of business other than the classifications listed. 

All districts of the State showed substantial increases over April of last year. The Coastal Prairies (District 9) showed the greatest increase with 68.5%, and the Edwards Plateau the smallest decrease with 38.0%. Every district also increased over March, 1946 with the la!gest increase (21.7% ) in the Coastal Prai;ies (Dis­trict 9) and the smallest increase (4.5% ) in the West­ern Cross Timbers (District 3). 
The increase in sales was relatively uniform in the different cities of the State for which separate tabula­tions were made. Beaumont gained 132% over April 
RETAIL SALES OF INDEPE NDENT STORES BY DISTRICTS 

Source: Bureau of Business Research in co.operation with the Bureau 
of the Census, U.S. Department of Commerce 
Percent change 
Number~~~~~~~~~~ 
of Apr. HM6 Apr. 1946 establish­from fro m District ments Apr. 1945 Mar. 194 i 

ALL ESTABLISHMENTS -------------------922 +54.9 +12.7 
Northern High Plains (District 1-N) 60 + 46.2 +14.2 Southern High Plains (District 1-S) 25 +49.2 +15.7 Red Bed Plains (District 2) ------------------81 + 46.0 + 14.3 
Western Cross Timbers (District 3) ____ 37 + 42.7 +u Black and Grand Prairies (District 4) 221 + 56.9 +rn.o East Texas Timbered Plains (Dis­
trict 5) ------·----------------····----------------------102 +47.8 + 9.9 Trans-Pecos (District 6) ------·-----------------26 + 56.4 +18.6 Edwards Plateau (District 7) ______________ 50 +38.o + 9.0 
Southern Texas Prairies (District 8) 153 +50.0 + 6.5 Coastal Prairies (District 9) ________________ 100 +68.5 +21.7 Southern Texas Plains (District 10) __ 25 +40.6 + 7.0 Lower Rio Grande Valley (District trict 10-A) -----------------------------------------42 +46.5 + 3.5 
of last year, Wichita Falls was next with a gain of 78.4%, and Austin a close third with 77.4%. The four largest cities showed consistent gains with Houston (59.4% ) in the lead, but with Dallas (58.7% ) prac­tically the same. Fort Worth and San Antonio were slightly below the average for the State with sales in­creases of 49.8% and 43.5%, respectively. The average increase for these four cities was 53.7%, practically the same as for the State as a whole. 
The largest gains over April, 1945, were made by the cities in the 50,000 to 100,000 population group. Thie 
RETAIL SALES OF INDEPE NDENT STORES BY CITY-SIZE 
GROUPS AND CITIES 

Source: Bureau of Business Research in co-operation with the 
Bureau of the Census, U. S. Department of Commerce 
Percent change 

Number -------=--­
of Apr. 1946 Apr. 1946 City-size group establish-from from and city ments Apr. 1945 Mar. 1946 

ALL ESTABLISHMENTS -··-····-·····-······· 922 + 54.9 +12.7 
t---------· 

OVER 100,000 POPULATION -···---··-137 + 53.7 + S.4 Dallas ·····--·-·-·-------------·--·----------·--·-·-------28 + 58.7 + 7.0 Fort Worth -·--------------------·----------------28 + 49.8 +12.li Houston ······-·-··-·-··-·----------------------··---39 + 59.4 + 12.7 San Antonio .... ·------------------------------··--·---42 + 43.5 +u 
50,000-100,000 POPULATION .............. 117 + 67.3 +ao.6 Amarillo --···--··-··--·-··--------··--------·--·-·····-· 22 
+ 54.3 + u Austin ----···-·----···--·····-·--·-·-··--·······-··----··-· 15 + 77.4 +12.S 

Beaumont -·-----------·-·------·-··------···-··--·--·--· 12 +132.0 +72.2 Corpus Christi ---------------------------·-----------23 + 53.2 + 13.2 El Paso ······-···-···-·--------·----·----------··--------·-·-14 + 52.S +19.4 Waco --·····-·············-------····-························· 23 + 51.9 + 8.8 Galveston ···-······-----·-····---------·-·····-··-·----8 + 63.5 +u 2,500-50,000 POPULATION -···-········--··-463 + 53.8 + 17.4 Abilene ·····---·-···-·-···----------·-···-···-···--··-----· 18 + 62.0 +ls.o Jacksonville -··---··--·-······--------------------------11 + 58.6 + 7.i Lubbock --------------------··----------------------------15 + 60.6 +1s.1 Plainview -----·---·-·------------·--·-·-···-·-····-··---13 + 46.5 +29.2 San Angelo ·······-···-····--···------··-·----------10 + 45.1 + 9.9 Temple -------·-·-----------·-------------------------··-··· 13 + 22.9 + 3.4 Tyler -··--·----------------·-----·--·----·-···-·--··---------12 + 55.S + i2.1 Wichita F a lls ------·------------------------------14 + 78.4 +23.2 
Other ----··----------····--··--··------------------·····-·-·-· 357 + 52.9 + 19.5 UNDER 2,500 POPULATION ------------205 + 26.0 + 5.2 
TEXAS BUSINESS REVIEW 
aroup increased 67.3';·;;, compared to an increase of the March, 1946, ratio was 70.6 and the March, 1945, S4.9% for all establishments, 53.7% for cities over ratio was 70.4. The ratio of credit salaries to credit 100,000, 53.8% for cities between 2,500 and 50,000, sales declined to 1.0 for April, 1946, as the volume of and 26.0% for places with less than 2,500 population. credit sales increased. The ratio for April, 1945, was 
The index of department and apparel store sales 1.5, and for March, 1946, was 1.1. compiled by the Bureau increased 16.1 % in April, 1946, Dallas and Waco stores reported the largest ratio of as compared with March, 1946. Normally the seasonal credit sales to net sales, 53.1 and 49.6, respectively. 
influence on April sales is about the same as for March, These same stores reported the highest ratios for last 

but the unusually late date of Easter this year would month, as well as for April last year. The ratio of col­
tend to increase April sales somewhat at the expense of lections to outstandings was highest m Corpus Christi 
March. The seasonally-adjusted index for March de­(80.7), compared with 75.9 in April, 1945, when Corpus 

clined 9.3% m comparison with February, but this Christi ranked first. 
decline m March sales and the substantial increase m 
April may be due to some shift in the spring buying POSTAL RECEIPTS 
of clothing from March to April. 

The ratio of credit sales to net sales for April, 1946, Percent change was 45.8 m comparison with the ratio of 42.0 in April, Apr. 1946 Apr. 1946 1945, and 4 7 .4 in March, 1946. The ratio of co llec­Apr. Mar. Apr. from from 
City 1946 1946 1945 Apr. 1945 Mar. 1946

tions to outstandings stood at 68.6 for April, compared 
TOTAL ................$2,561,176 $2,568,153 $2,619,435 -2.2 -0.3

with 66.0 for the same month last year. Both of these 

ratios represent declines from the preceding month, since 	29,126 26,419 33,063 -11.9 +10.2 
Amarillo ---------------· 57,696 52,075 69,106 -2.4 +lo.8 Austin 107,676 105,514 107,452 + 0.2 + 2.0 
Abilene -------------­

CREDIT RATIOS IN DEPARTMENT AND APPAREL STORES Beaumont -----------­50,766 42,804 49,871 + 1.8 + 18.6 
(in percent) 
Big Spring ---------­9,626 8,146 14,165 -32.0 +18.2 Brownsvi1le ·--------­11,255 11,289 12,956 -13.1 -0.3 
Ratio of Ratio of Ratio of 

Brownwood ----­11,015 12,492 19,784 -44.3 -11.8 credit sales collections to credit salaries Bryan ----------------­8,957 7,703 11,395 -21.4 +16.3 to net sales• outstandingst to credit salest 
Childress -------------­3,835 3,362 7,170 -46.5 +14.1

Number----­of Apr. Apr. Apr. Apr. Apr. Apr. Cleburne -------------· 5,387 4,885 6,829 -21.1 + 10.3 Classification storei 1946 1945 1946 1945 1946 1945 Coleman -·-·-------·--­3,668 4,025 4,934 -25.7 -8.9 Corpus Christi ---­66,669 63,381 72,744 -8.4 + 6.2
ALL STORES ................ 61 45.8 42.0 68.6 66.0 1.0 1.5 

Corsicana -----------9,430 7,632 10,679 -11.7 +23.6

======================== Dallas ---------------648,347 657,006 576,083 +12.5 -1.3
S T 0 R E' S GROUPED 
Del Rio ------------­5,099 4,220 7,844 -35.0 +20.8

BY CITIES 
Austin ........................ 7 40.7 38.8 74.4 69.8 1.3 1.6 

Denison ---------------9,759 8,163 10,979 -11.l +19.6 Denton ................. . 13,287 10,809 14,031 -5.3 +22.9
Bryan -------------------------3 46.5 44.1 57.0 63.6 1.1 1.2 
Corpus Christi ------------4 45.4 36.8 80.7 76.9 1.5 2.0 

Edinburg -------------­5,420 4,829 5,346 + 3.3 + 12.2 El Paso -------------­94,761 90,963 94,761 0.0 + 4.2
Dallas -------------------------6 53.1 49.0 70.1 70.9 0.8 1.1 

62.6 60.9 1.2 1.6 	Fort Worth ------­264,606 305,855 249,501 + 6.1 -13.5
El Paso -----------------------3 44.0 39.2 
Gainesville -------­6,497 5,724 22,858 -71.6 +13.5

Fort Worth ---------------6 46.3 41.8 69.6 66.7 1.1 1.8 Houston ...................... 8 46.7 43.7 64.6 63.0 1.2 1.6 Galveston ------------­56.868 53,519 53,873 + 5.6 + 6.3 Gladewater ---------­4,267 4,299 4,893 +12.8 -0.8
San Antonio -------------4 39.9 36.3 64.6 58.8 1.3 1.4 Graham ------------·-·­3,633 3,149 3,808 -4.6 +16.4
Waco ----------------------------5 49.6 45.6 67.0 61.2 1.0 1.6 
Green ville ----------­10,421 8,728 11,016 -5.4 +19.4

Other ----------------------------16 40.8 38.0 73.8 69.5 0.9 1.2 Harlingen -----------­11,725 11,464 15,908 -26.3 + 2.3
S T 0 RE'S GROUPED 
Houston --------------­407,993 	426,364 400,693 + 1.8 -4.3
BY TYPE OF 
Jacksonville ------­5,780 5,489 6,388 -9.5 + 5.8
STORE 
Kenedy ----------------­1,974 1,683 2,464 -19.9 +1'1.3
Department stores 
Kerrville ------------­4,911 4,444 4,675 + 5.0 +lo.5 
(annual sales over 
Laredo -----------------­6,832 15,532 23,590 -71.0 -56.0 
$500,000) ----------------16 48.1 44.0 67.6 66.0 1.1 1.4 
Longview -----------­14,815 12,613 15,218 -2.7 +17.5
Department s tores 
Lubbock --------------·­32,939 29,660 34,308 -4.0 + u.1
(annual sales under 
Lufkin ----------------·­7,542 5,983 7,926 -4.9 +26.1 
$500,000) ----------------10 42.1 38. 7 69.4 62.7 1.0 1.5 
McAllen ---------------· 9,844 9,162 8,760 +12.4 + 7.4
D r y goods -apparel 
Marshall --------·--­11,012 9,697 11,531 -4.5 +13.6 
stores ------------------------4 36. 7 36.0 68.4 71.0 2.0 2.0 
Midland ·-·------·------12,373 11,016 16,185 -18.5 +12.3

W om en's specialty 	Pampa ______.._________ 
10,363 8,842 10,591 -2.2 +17.2 
shops -----------------------16 41.1 35.8 68.6 65.6 1.0 1.4 
Paris ---------------------11,465 9,821 22,204 -48.4 +16.7
Men's clothing stores 16 h.7 40.2 74.4 67.1 0.9 1.7 

Plainview ------------6,734 6,673 6,649 + 1.S + 0.9 ST 0 RES GROUPED Port Arthur ....... . 26,549 24,325 28,577 7.1 + 9.1
-
BY VOLUME OF 

San Angelo --·------­23,182 22,662 26,612 -1:2.9 + 2.3 NET SALES 
San Antonio ------­258,592 	234,125 256,764 + -0.7 + lo.5 
(1946) Seguin -----------------­4,000 3,820 3,811 + :s.o + 4.7 
Over $2,500,000 --------17 48.6 44.2 

67.3 66.0 0.9 1.3 Sherman ---.---------12,733 11,774 14,442 -1.:1.8 + 8.1 $1,000,000-$2,500,000.. 12 40.5 36.5 76.1 66.8 0.7 1.3 Sweetwater __________ 10,825 
8,557 9,847 + !9 .9 +26.5 $500,000-$1,000,000 --16 38.0 34.8 69.9 66.0 0.7 
1.0 Texas City ---------­5,372 7,530 7,647 -2;!9.8 -28.7 Less than $500,000.... 17 35.0 34.1 
65.3 	62.3 1.6 2.1 Tyler ·------------------· 27,994 26,711 29,754 -5.9 + 4.8 Vernon ---------------­7,713 5,628 8,906 -1.3.4 +37.0 
•Credit sales divided by net sales. 	Victoria ----------------8,531 8,637 12,987 -M.3 -1.2 
!Collections during the month divided l!Y the total accounts unpaid on Waco -------------------58,770 52,401 61,428 -4.3 +12.2 the first of the month. Wichita Falls ...... 47,875 42,147 49,572 :3.4 +13.6
-
tSalaries of the credit department' divided by credit sales. 

The large increase in retail sales in April resulted in a rise of 15.3% in employment reported by retail stores for April, 1946, compared with April, 1945. Employ­ment in April was 4.9% greater than in March of this year. Pay rolls for April of this year were 31.6% greater than for April, 1945, and 6.7% greater than for March, 1946. 
Average weekly hours worked in retail stores increased from 41.5 in April, 1945, to 42.3 in April, 1946, a rise of 1.9%. For the same period hourly earnings increased 13.8%, from 62.5 cents per hour to 71.1 cents per hour. The rise in hourly earnings and the increase in the hours worked per week increased the weekly earnings 16.0%, from $25.94 to $30.08. 
Gasoline sales for March, 1946, increased 27.0% over February, as indicated by tax collections of the State Comptroller, with a total of 149,682,000 gallons. The filling stations reporting to the Bureau as published in the April REVIEW, showed an increase of 24.8% in March sales over February. The small difference be­tween these two percentages of change is due to the fact that the Bureau's earlier report is based on a sample, and therefore is subject to slight variations. Further­more, the sales of filling stations consist of other products than gasoline, and to a certain degree the two percentages do not relate to exactly the same things. The State Comp­troller's report showed that gasoline sales in March, 1946, were 15.5% greater than in February, 1946, while the Bureau's sample of filling station sales showed an in­crease of 16.6% in March sales compared with Febru­ary. Gasoline sales to the United States Government in March, 1946, totaled 58,871,000 gallons, compared with 297,468,000 gallons in March, 1945, a decrease of 80.2%. Sales to the Government in March, however, were up 131.6% from February of this year. 
Total postal receipts in 52 Texas cities were 2.2% less than in April a year ago. In 13 cities receipts were above April, 1945, with Dallas showing the greatest increase 
(12.5 % ). Receipts in El Paso showed no change from April of last year. The greatest percentage decline was in Gainesville, where April, 1946, was 71.6% less than April, 1945. 
April, 1946, showed very little change from March, 1946, although receipts increased in 42 cities and decreased in only 10. However, Fort Worth receipts decreased 13.5%, Houston 4.3%, and Dallas 1.3%. ~h.e amount of d~crease represented by these large cities canceled the mcrease registered by the 42 smaller communities, although in six cities receipts increased more than 20%. 
. The index of miscellaneous freight carloadings ad­JUsted for seasonal variation increased from 145.4 in March to 150.7 in April (1935-39=100), a rise of 3.6%. The April, 1946, index was 18.1 % below the level of April, 1945, when the index stood at 184.0. 
Wholesale Trade 

h(Wbolesale aalea represent movement of l'Ooda to retailers and w en compared with the chanl'es In retail sales Indicate whether 
•tocks In the hands of retailers are beiq maintained at a constant ldaevel or are being allowed to increase or decreaoe. In the absence of 
ta on wholesale sales, data on employment and pay rolls may be used to indicate chllll.l'es in the level of the bualneH since It ma be l'•nerally assumed that they will cbanl'e with the volume J 
hua1-a.) 
Employment and pay rolls in wholesale establishments have risen along with employment and pay rolls in retail stores. April employment in 179 wholesale establish­ments was 11.8% greater than a year ago, and 1.4% greater than a month ago. Pay rolls were 19.2% more than in April, 1945, and 3.2% more than in March, 1946. 
Hours worked in wholesale establishments declined from 46.9 in April, 1945, to 46.0 in April, 1946, while hourly earnings increased from 78.3 to 86.0 cents, or 9.8%. The increase in the hourly earnings more than offset the decrease in the number of hours worked, with the result that average weekly earnings rose from $36. 72 to $39.56, or 7.7%. 

PRODUCTION 
Manufacturing 

(The volume of manufacturing activity in any industrial area is a sensitive measure of the changes in business activity. The vol­ume of durable goods manufactured tends to fluctuate more vio­lently than nondurable goods such as foods, and may serve to indi· cate at an early date changes in the business situation. Since many manufacturing industries-vary regularly with the seasons, this factor must be taken into consideration in interpreting the chanses from month to month.) 
The average weekly production of lumber per unit for mills reporting to the Southern Pine Association and the average weekly shipments per unit were down slightly in April from March. The figures for both groups during March and April, 1946, were also down slightly from the corresponding months a year ago. Average unfilled orders per unit at the end of the month of April, 1946, were nearly 38% below the figure for April, 1945. 
LUMBER PRODUCTION IN SOUTHERN PINE MILLS 
(in board feet) 
Source: Southern Pine Association 
Percent cha nge  
Item  Apr. 1946  Mar. 1946  Apr. 1945  A pr. 1946 A pr. 1946 from from Apr. 1945 Ma r . 194 6·  


Average weekly pro­ 
duction  per  unit __ _ 194,513  199,943  202,454  - 3.9  - 2.7  
Average weekly ship­ 
ments per unit -----­ 199,792  203,700  208,063  - 4.0  - 1.9  
Average unfilled or­ 
ders per unit, end  
of  month  ----------·--1,006,750  1,053,560  1,617,697  -37.8  - 4.4  

Consumption of cotton in Texas for April, 1946, although slightly below the figure for March, 1946, was 15.5% above the April, 1945, figure. Cotton consump­tion for the United States for April, 1946, was 5.8% above the figure for April, 1945. 
Consumption of cotton linters in Texas for April, 1946, was 72.7% over the amount for April, 1945, hut for the United States linter consumption for April, 1946, was 29.5% below the figure for April, 1945. 
Cottonseed received at mills in Texas for April, 1946, was nearly 80% below the comparable figure for April, 1945; the figure for the United States as a whole for April, 1946, was only 45% below that for April, 1945. Cottonseed crushed in Texas during April, 1946, was 
CONSUMPTION OF COTTON AND COTTON LINTERS 
(in running bales) 
Source: Bureau of the Census, U. S. Department of Commerce 

Percent change  
Place  Apr. 1946  Ma.r. 1946  Apr. 1945  Apr. 1946 Apr . 1946 from from Apr. 1945 Mar. 1946  

TEXAS  
Cotton  ---­-------­-----
 17,656  17,854  15,287  +15.5  - 1.1  
Linters  --------------­- 2,526  2,496  1,463  +12.1  +  1.2  

UNITED STATES Cotton ········-···..····· 813,732 803,937 769,209 + 5.8 + 1.2 Linters 89,442 95,401 126,849 -29.5 -6.2 
70% below that for April, 1945, and the comparable figure for the United States was a decline of 39%. Stocks at the end of the month for April, 1946, as compared with April, 1945, show a movement similar to cottonseed received at mills and cottonseed crushed for Texas and for the United States. 
COTTONSEED PRODUCTION 
(in tons) 
Source: Bureau of the Census, U. S. Department of Commerce 
=:---.-==--».."::======~====== 
Percent change 
Apr. 1946 Apr. 1946 Apr. Mar. Apr. from from Item 1946 1946 1945 Apr. 1945 Mar. 1946 
TEXAS  
Received  at  mills ....  1,760  4,272  8,330  -78.9  -58.8  
Crushed  .................... 19,554  34,802  65,084  -70.0  -43.8  
Stocks  at  end  of  
month  .................. 21,788  39,582  132,105  -83.5  -45.0  

UNITED STATES 
Received at mills.... 33,454 115,714 60,363 -44.6 -71.1 
Crushed ....................162,614 227,999 266,552 -39.0 -28.7 

Stocks at end of 
month ..._ ...........240,561 369,721 795,977 -59.2 -34.9 

Cement production and shipments for Texas in March, 1946, showed increases of 73.3 % and 79.3 %, respec­tively, over the figures for March, 1945. These percent­ages are similar to those for the United States as a whole for the same period. Texas stocks for March, 1946, however, were 40.3% below those for March, 1945, while the national figure for March, 1946, was only 
CEMENT PRODUCTION 
(in thousands of barrels) 
Source: Bur eau. of Mines, U. S. Department of Interior 
Percent  change  
Item  Mar. 1946  Feb. 1946  Mar. 1945  Mar. 1946 Mar. 1946 from from Mar. 1945 Feb. 1946  

TEXAS Production 998 742
------------------576 +73.3 + 34.5 
Shipments 1,072 810 598
-----------------+ 79.3 +32.3 
Stocks 595 669
------------------------997 -40.3 -11.1 
UNITED STATES  
Production  -----­--­------­-­11,215  9,250  6,398  + 75.3  + 21.2  
Shipments  -----------­-----­12,613  7,853  6,988  +8o.5  + 60.6  
Stocks  --------------------­--­18,601  19,999  21,581  -13.8  -7.0  
Capac.ity operated ·­ 55.0%  50.0%  31.0 %  

13.8% below that for March, 1945. Cement plants for the United States operated at 55 % capacity during March, 1946, in contrast to only 31 % capacity during March, 1945. 
Wheat grindings in Texas during March, 1946, regis­tered a decrease of 27.2% below the February, 1946, fi gure, and were 21.0% below the March, 1945, amount, 
Wheat flour produced in Texas during March, 1946, was 20.8% below the February, 1946, figure and was 14.0% below that for March, 1945. 
The amount of wheat ground in the United States during March, 1946, was 24.2% below the February, 1946, figure and was 12.3% below the March, 1945, figure. 
WHEAT GRI NDINGS AND FLOUR PRODUCTION 
Source : Bureau of the Census, U. S. Department of Commerce 
Percent change  
Place  Unit  Mar. 1946  Feb. 1946  Mar. 1945  Mar. 1946 Mar. 1946 from from Mar. 1945 Feb. 1946  

TEXAS  
Wheat ground .. 1,000 bu.  2,915  4,006  3,688  -21.0  -27.2  
Wheat  flour  .... 1,000 sks.  1,325  1,706  1,571  -14.0  -20.8  

UNITED STATES  
Wheat ground .. 1,000 bu.  44,975  59,361  51,284  -12.3  -24.2  
Wheat  flour  .... 1,000 sks.  20,933  25,511  22,053  - 5.1  -12.0  

Refinery stocks in Texas for April, 1946, were down only slightly from March, 1946. Distillate stocks showed an increase of 11.9% in April, 1946, over March, 1946. Gasoline and crude oil stocks registered only slight changes. In the two districts distillate and residual stocks show marked variations, although crude oil stocks for Inland Texas in April, 1946, were 11% below the April, 1945, figure. 
The number of wage earners in 48 petroleum refining establishments showed only a very slight increase from March, 1946, to April, 1946. The April, 1946, figure however, was 4.3% above that for April, 1945. 
REFINERY STOCKS* 
(in thousands of barrels) 
Source: The Oil and Gas Journal 
Percent change 
Section Apr. 1946 Apr. 1946 a nd Apr. Mar. Apr. from from item 1946 1946 1945 Apr. 1945 Mar. 1946 
T E XAS  
Gasoline  74,071  75,036  75,440  - 1.&  - 1.3  
Distillate  ---------------­ 21,092  18,844  24,590  -14.2  + 11.9  
Residual .................... 19,377  19,428  25,768  -24 .&  -0.3  
Crude oil ------­----------­ 5,445  5,398  5,482  -0.1,  + 0.9  
TEXAS GULF COAST  
Gasoline -----­-----------­-­ 61 ,763  62,504  63,611  -2.9'  -1.2  
Distillate  -----­---­-------­ 19,807  17,638  23,306  -15.0>  +12.3  
Residua l .................... 16,421  16,917  22,850  -28.1.  -2.9  
Crude oil -----­----------­ 4,583  4,546  4,513  +  1.0.  + 0.8  
INLAND TEXAS  
Gasoline --­-­-----------­--12,308  12,532  11,829  + 4.0>  - 1.8  
Distillate  -----­--­--------­ 1,285  -1 ,206  1,284  0.().  +  6.6  
Residual -------------..·---­ 2,956  2,511  2,918  +  1.3.  +17.7  
Crude oil -----­-----------­ 862  852  969  - 11.0>  +  1.2  

*Figures shown for week ending nearest last day of :zn.onth. 

Pay rolls, however, decreased 0.9 % from March to April, 1946, and the April, 1946, figure was 21.8% be­low that for April, 1945. 
Although the total milk equivalent consumed in the manufacture of dairy products in April, 194.6, was 15.5% below the April, 1945, figure, it was 35.1 % above the March, 1946, figure. Creamery butter production dur­ing April, 1946, was 34.3% below the April, 1945, figure, although it represented an increase. of 26.4% above the amount for March, 1946. American cheese showed like tendencies, but larger percentage changes, the figure for April, 1946, being 41.8% below the April, 1945, figure, and 74.6% above the March, 1946, figure. In contrast to these changes, ice cream for April, 1946, showed an increase of 57.4% above the April, 1945, figure, as well as a gain of 22.8% above the March, 1946, figure. 
MANUFACTURE OF DAIRY PRODUCTS 
Percent change  
Product  Unit  Apr. 1946  Mar. 1946  Apr. 1946 Apr. 1946 Apr. from from 1945 Apr. 1945 Mar. 1946  


TOTAL MILK EQUIVALENT* 1,000 lbs. 98,007 72,565 116,013 -15.5 +35.1 
Creamery  butter. ___ 1,000 lbs.  2,106  1,666  3,206  -34.3  + 26.4  
Ice  creamt  -----------­1,000 gal.  2,526  2,057  1,605  +57.4  +22.8  
American cheese ____  1,000 lbs.  992  568  1,704  -41.8  + 74.6  

*Milk equivalent of dairy products was calculated from production data. 
tincludes sherbets and ices. 

The volume of canned grapefruit juice in Texas for the 1945-46 season (November I-April 27) was only slightly higher (1.1 % ) than for the 1944-45 season. Shipments, however, were 11.7% higher, whereas stocks on April 27, 1946, were 21.3% below those for the comparable date a year earlier. 
GRAPEFRUIT JUICE CANNING 
(in cases of 24/2's) 
Source: Texas Canners Association 
1945-46 1944-45 Percent Item Season* Season• change 

Production  ---·--·----------------------­ 9,111, 729  9,009,169  +u  
Shipments  -----------------------------­ 6,915,440  6,192,479  + 11 .7  
Stocks  (Apr il 27)  ---------------­ 2,217,875  2,816,690  -21.3  

*November 1-April 27. 
Construction 

(Because of the accumulated deficiency of buildine in all sections of the State, data on the volume of construction work are an ex­tremely important part of the business situation. Building permits or contracts awarded are generally used to measure building activity. 
but it must be kept in mind that data on both permits and contracts reftect the value of new work begun, rather than the volume of actual conatruction activity in a particular month.) 
Building permits for April, 1946, for the 45 Texas cities listed in the accompanying table, were consider­ably lower than for March, 1946, having declined from $42,860,794 in March, 1946, to $19,633,641 durinu April, 1946. The figures for both April and March, 
BUILDING PERMITS 

City  Apr. 1946  Mar. 1946  Apr. 1945  
TOTAL  ------·­-------·-----------$19. 63 3. 641  $42,860, 794  $4,326,290  
Abilene  -···-----------------------­ 460,178  677,111  19,650  
Amarillo  -------------------------­ 6,577  1,1 06,507  104,187  
Austin  ---------------------­-­-----­ 1,648,116  1,917,725  135,773  
Beaumont  -----------­------­----­ 211,136  566,418  85,927  
Big Spring -----­-----­----·­---­ 73,711  184,225  97,410  
Brownsville -­-------------------­ 7,135  15il,440  9,400  
Bryan  -----····-··-·---------------­ 202.419  225,595  43,000  
Childress  --­--------------­-----­ 18,100  34,050  12,755  
Cleburne ---····--·­·-------------­Coleman ------­-····-------------­Corpus Christi -------­-----­ 47,325 19,850 561,985  44,500 21,550 1,747,857  10,191•205,339  
Corsicana  -----------------­-----­ 67,116  32,027  9,750  
Dallas  ------------··--·---------­--4,295,400  6,452,619  644.~12  
Denison  ---------------·-----------­ 41,260  106,009  12,934  
Denton --------------······--------­ 159,025  496,025  5,860  
Edinburg  -------------···-·-----­ 71,379  97,390  12,560  
El Paso ·--------------··-··-----­ 286,338  350,590  49 ,338  
Fort Worth ---------···-·-----­ 2,079,378  3,238,105  543,999  
Gainesville  ----------------­----­ 71,230  21,270  33,085  
Galveston  -----------------------­ 155,756  344,650  53,652  
Gladewater -------------­----­-- 27,145  8,150  1,125  
Harlingen ------···--------------­ 113,225  418,668  13,650  
H ouston  ------------------------­ 4,213,481  15,358,661  1,111,961  
J acksonville  -------------­-----­ 61,600  105,850  3,300  
Kenedy  ····-----------------------­ 13,310  51,200  5,500  
Kerrville  ·-····-----------------­-·  67,580  88,000  24,560  
Longview  ··-·-·····-----·······­ 56,065  133,407  5,050  
Lubbock  -------------------------­ 300,699  752,725  133,337  
McAllen -------------------·-···-­ 199,680  430,985  59,005  
Marshall  ······-----­-------­-----­ 59,119  158,678  11,034  
Midland  -------­-·······-------­---­ 145,500  443,650  61,650  
New Braunfels  -----------­-­ 22,170  99,120  5,630  
Pampa  ·······-···-----­-------­-- 163,750  96,700  60,600  
Paris  -···--····--·---·-······--·----­ 122,250  56,595  15,050  
Plainview  -----------··········--­ 74,350  244,000  15,325  
Port Arthur -----------­----···  115,785  299,689  66,607  
San Antonio ··-····--­---------­ 1,829,732  4,641i,577  433,361  
Seguin ············----------------­ 8,200  58,500  1,100  
Sherman -----­-------------­----­ 468,346  202,336  55,884  
Sweetwater -···-------······-··-­ 99,240  64,585  8,545  
Texas City -----·····--­----···­- 34,898  145,100  4,595  
Tyler  ···----------------·······-···­- 285,877  356,690  57,336  
Victoria  ----­----------­--------­ 86,525  93,475  11,630  
W aco  ·····--·······-···-·········---­ 379,565  519,973  57,840  
Wichita Falls ····----------···­ 202,135  209,817  23,403  

1946, were considerably higher than for the comparable months of 1945. During April, 1946, Dallas led in value of building permits with Houston a close second; in both cases, the figures for April, 1946, were lower than for March, 1946, and in the case of Houston, con­siderably lower. Fort Worth was third and Austin fourth in rank as to value of building permits for April, 1946; no other Texas cities went above the $1,000,000 mark for this month. 
Construction contracts in Texas for April, 1946, ac­cording to the data in the accompanying table, were 18.5% higher than in March, 1946, but were 41.6% below those for April, 1945. The largest category for April, 1946, was residential building, which was 84.9% above the March, 1946, figure, and more than ten times greater than the March, 1945, amount. The engineer­ing construction category also registered a considerable gain for April, 1946, over the March, 1946, figure, as well as over that for March, 1945. Nonresidential build­ing contracts for April, 1946, registered a decrease of 34.5% below the March, 1946, figure and a decrease of 52.3% below that for April, 1945. 
CONSTRUCTION CONTRACTS 
Source: T exas Contractor 
~---=-============================= 
Percent change 
Apr. 1946 Apr. 1946 Type of Apr. Mar. Apr. from from building 1946 1946 1945 Apr. 1945 Mar. l!M6 
.--------·---------·----­

TOTAL ..........$41,682,822 $35,182,401 $71,388,452 + 41.6 + 18.5 Engineering .. 10,229,387 3,748,369 2,465,604 + 314.9 + 172.9 Non resident ial 14,611,435 22,324,332 30,619,686 -52.3 -34.5 Residential .... 16,842,000 9,109,700 1,407,299 + 1196.8 + 84.9 War construe-
tion ---····-····-· ............... . 3,403,274 


Although the number of all loans by savings and loan associations in Texas decreased by 3.4% from March to April, 1946, the numbers for both of these months were considerably above the fi gures for the correspond­ing months of 1945. On the other hand, the amount of all such loans for April, 1946, was 5.8% above the March, 1946, figure, and the April, 1946, amount was 174% above that of April, 1945. Of the various categories of loans in April, 1946, purchase loans out­ranked by far all others in amount of loans made, while loans for construction ranked second. 
LOANS BY SAVINGS AND LOAN ASSOCIATIONS 
Source: Federal H ome Loan Bank of Little Rock 
Percent change  
Type  Apr. 1!}46  Mar. 1946  Apr . 1946 Apr. 1946 Ap r. from from 1945 A pr. 1945 Mar. 1946  


Number ALL LOANS 2,381 2,464 1,197 + 98.9 -3.4 
Construction  -------­ 461  406  88  +423.9  + 13.6  
Purch ase.  ------·--------­ 1,475  1,510  792  +  86.2  -2.3  
Refinance  --­---------­ 155  230  95  + 63.2  -32.6  
R econdition  ---------­ 152  138  138  +  10.1  + 10.1  
Other  --------­----­-­----­ 138  180  84  + 64.3  -23.3  
Amount  
ALL LOANS  ...... $S,785,367°  $8,300 ,240  $3,206,077  + 174.0  + 5.8  
·--­-­ 
Construction  ·········· 1,946,178  1,325,503  260,151  + 648.1  +46.8  
Purchase  ················ 5,927,096  5,622,721  2,318,148  + 155.7  + 5.4  
R efi na nce  -----------­-­ 401,690  732,756  280,430  + 43.2  -45.2  
Recondit ion  ----­----­ 176,477  135 ,262  147,729  + 19.5  +3o.5  
Other  --­--------------­---­ 333,926  483,998  199,619  + 67.3  -31.0  

Public Utilities 

(The consumption of electric power by industrial concerns is a measure of the volume of industrial activity, since it may be as­sumed that the amount of power used will be directly related to manufacturing volume. Residential and commercial power consump~ tion shows a seasonal variation due to the changing amount of li&'hting needed.) 
Texas electric power consumption during April, 1946, according to reports of 10 electric power companies, registered a gain of 6.3% over March, 1946, although it was 8.0% below the figure for April, 1945. 
Commercial power consumption registered the largest monthly increase of the several categories and the largest group, industrial power consumption, showed a gain of 3.3%. Industrial power consumption in April, 1946, was 18.5% below that for April, 1945. On the other hand, residential power consumption was 20.3% greater than for April, 1945, and was 2.5% above the March, 1946, figure. 
ELECTRIC POWER CONSUMPTION• 
(in millions of kilowatt hours) 
P ercent chanire  
Us e  A pr. 1946  Mar. 1946  Apr. 1945  Apr. 1946 Apr. 1946 from from A pr. 194.5 Mar. 1946  


TOTAL  ...................... 429,495  404, 144  466,697  - 8.0  + 6.3  
---­·­ ------­. --~----­·-­~  
Com mer cial  ·------------­ 89,154  78,184  81,696  +  9.1  + 14.0  
Industr ial  ·················· 21 0,326  203,574  258,113  -18.5  + 3.3  
Residential  ········-------­ 65,913  64,290  54,778  +20.3  + 2.5  
Other  -------·----------·-··-­ 64,101  58,096  72,110  -11.1  +lo.s  

•Prepared from reports of 10 <>lect ric power companies to the Bureau of Business Research. 
Electric energy production in Texas for March, 1946, was 6.6% above the figure for February, 1946, but was 8.7% below the March, 1945, amount. For the United States, electric energy production for March, 1946, showed a gain of 9.9% above the February, 1946, figure, but was 8.9% below the figure for March, 1945. 
ELECTRIC ENERGY PRODUCTION* 
(in thousands of kilowatt hours) 
Sou rce: Federal Power Commission 
Percent chanire  
P lace  Mar. 1946  F eb. 1946  Mar. 1945  Mar. 1946 Mar. 1946 from from Mar. 1945 Feb. 1946  


Texas ...................... 547,695 513,914 600,048 -8.7 +6.6 United States ·-····· 17,788,389 16,193,296 19,526,557 -8.9 +9.9 
----·---·.=·======:== ==== 
•Amount produced for public use. 
Natural Resources 

(The production of crude petroleum is a major industry In Texa1, and the changes in the volume of production have a direct effect upon the income produced in the State. Fiirures on the number of well completions by districts indicate the extent to which new sources of oil and gas are being developed and the areas of the State in which drilling operations are in proceas.) 
The daily average production in Texas of crude pe­troleum during April, 1946, was 10.4% greater than for March, 1946. All districts registered increases, and East Texas, Coastal Texas, and West Texas showed gains of 10% or more. Daily average production for the United States during April, 1946, was only 4.7% greater than for March, 1946. April, 1946, production in Texas was 3.8% less than for April, 1945, but it was 10.4% above the March, 1946, figure. The April, 1946, figures for all Texas districts except North Texas were below those for April, 1945. The greatest percentage change was registered by Coastal Texas, the amount for April, 1946, being 17.2% below that for April, 1945. 
Texas had 607 well completions in April, 1946; of these, 386 were oil wells, 33 were gas wells, and 188 were dry holes. North Central Texas led in number of completions as well as in number of dry holes. West Texas led in number of oil wells; North Central Texas ranked second, followed by the Gulf Coast. To date in 1946, North Central Texas leads in number of comple­tions, followed in order by the Gulf Coast and West Texas. 

DAILY AVERAGE OF CRUDE PETROLEUM 
(in barrels) 
Source: American Petroleum Institute 


Percent change  
Apr. 1946 Apr. 1946  
District  Apr. 1946  Mar. 1946  Apr. 1945  from from Apr. 1945 Mar. 1946  
TEXAS  ______,,___________  2,007,050  1,817,500  2,163,650  - 7.2  +10.4  
Coastal  Texas  -·-----­ 468,000  418,800  665,250  -17.2  +11.7  
East Central Texas  137,400  127.500  138.550  -0. 8  + 7.8  
East Texas  -------------­ 360,800  317,400  378,100  - 4.6  +13.7  
North Texas ............  166,300  146,060  150.000  +  4.2  +  7.0  
Panhandle -------------­ 82,000  81,000  90,000  - 8.9  +  1.2  
Southwest Texas ....  318,800  290,200  352,150  - 9.5  +  9.9  
West Texas ..............  483,760  436,550  489,600  - 1.2  +lo.8  

UNITED STATES 4,624,050 4,418,250 4,804,815 -3.8 + 4.7 
•Includes Conroe.  
WELL COMPLETIONS  
Source: The Oil and Gas Journal  
April•  Jan.-Apr. (all wells)  
District  Total  Oil  Gas  Dry  1946  1945  


TEXAS 386 33 188 2,515 2,297
-------------------------------607 

North Central Texas.......... 213  102  2  109  861  660  
West Texas .......................... 127  109  17  537  602  
Panhandle ---------------------­ 30  16  9  6  122  191  
Eastern Texas -----------------­ 52  43  2  7  238  101  
Texas Gulf Coast................ 131  89  18  24  572  629  
Southwest Texas --------------­ 54  27  26  186  214  
=  

•For four weeks ending April 27. 


AGRICULTURE 
Income 

(The amount of income received by farmers ia a composite meaaure of the prosperity of airriculture, taking into account both the volume of products sold and the prices received. Since the marketinc• of m•ny products are concentrated in certain seasons of the year, It Is important that the data be adjusted for seasonal variation In order to ahow the basic changes in the situation of 
•irriculture.) 
Texas farmers received approximately $86,000,000 from marketings of agricultural commodities during April this year, according to Bureau of Business Re­search estimates, and the index of farm cash income in April, adjusted for seasonal variation, was more than three times as great as in the average month of the pre­war years 1935-39. Compared with April, 1945, income last month was up more than 50%, and compared with March, 1946, it was about 25% greater. 
Higher prices and greater volume marketings com­bined to effect the over-all upturn in farm income in April. Fruit and vegetables were sold in record volume, as reflected in the index number of 961.5 (1935-39 average = 100) for District 10-A, the principal pro­ducing area at this time. Livestock sales continued to increase, yielding about three-fifths of all cash farm income in April. 
FARM CASH INCOME* 

Indexes, 1935-39=100, adjusted for seasonal Tariatlon  Amount. Jan.-Apr. (in thousands of doll&n)  
District  Apr. 1946  Mar. 1946  Apr. 1946  1946  1945  

TE'XAS ------------313.2 250.4 278.2 249,640 290,211 
1-N  -----------------­294.1  253.4  305.1  26,212  33,691  
1-S  --··-------------­310.3  293.8  380.6  18,229  29,330  
2 ------------------------255.6  171.4  217.3  1'6,186  30,938  
3 ........................ 254.8  152.4  171.1  8,619  11,628  
4 ---------------------­160.7  187.8  228.7  26,106  36,367  
5 ---------------------­204.4  188.1  194.2  8,688  11,250  
6 -------­--------------­317.3  224.5  304.1  14,884  14,441  
7 -----------------------­483.0  277.7  212.4  17,594  14,832  
8 -----------------------­466.5  230.1  291.4  23,024  21,333  
9 ---------------­------­219.3  149.9  195.4  14,008  23,032  
10 -----------------------­246.0  278.6  167.8  17,302  14,683  
10-A  ................ 961.5  545.1  770.5  58,888  50,186  

•Farm cash income as computed by the Bureau understates actual farm cash income by from 6 to lOo/o. This situation results from the fact that means of securing comi>lete local marketings, espe--­cially by truck, have not yet been fully developed. In addition, means have not yet been developed for computing cash income from all a~rf.. cultural specialties of local importance in scattered areas. This aitua­tion does not impair the accuracy of the indexes. 
Although income in the month of April showed decided gains over last April, income for the first four months of the current year has fallen some 14% below that for the comparable period of 1945. This decline has been due principally to the sharp drop in cotton pro­duction last season as compared to previous years. In fact, Texas cotton output in the 1945 season hit a 46-year low, according to the United States Department of Agri­culture, which estimated the 1945 crop at 1, 794,000 bales. Both the acreage harvested and the yield per acre were far below the level of previous years. 
Prices 

(One of the elements that brlnir about chanires In the level of farm income is the price received for products; ao chanires In prices are of primary concern to tha farmer and all hualneuea relylnir 011 the farm market.) 
Continuing an uptrend noted for the past several months, prices received by Texas farmers for most field crops and livestock again advanced in April. Cotton rose two cents per pound to reach its highest April level since 1923, according to the United States Depart­ment of Agriculture in its mid-April report on Texas farm prices. Cottonseed rose $1.00 a ton, while cattle and calves brought 30 cents more per hundredweight and sheep 10 cents more than a month earlier. Corn, grain sorghum, and oats were up slightly, along with oranges and grapefruit. Price declines were shown in relatively few items-rice, eggs, beets, cabbage, and potatoes-­most of which resulted from the normal seasonal factors of supply and demand. 
Compared with a year ago, most farm product prices were up substantially in April this year. The actual prices are shown in the accompanying table. 
The national index of prices paid by farmers rose again between March and April, moving from 187 to 188% of the 1910-14 average. Measured by the index are both commodities used in farm family living and commodities used in farm production. The April index 
-----------· ----------·· ---· --·--------··--·----­
-.------------·------·-----·-·---------·-----­




LOCAL BUSI NE 
Percent change 	Percent change 
Apr. 1946 Apr. 1946 	Apr. 1946 Apr. 1946
ABILENE 	Apr. from from CORSICANA Apr. from from 1946 Apr. 1945 Mar. 1946 1946 Apr. 1945 Mar. 1946 
Retail sales of 18 stores.................... $402,487 + 62.0 + 18.0 	Postal receipts .................................... $9,430 -11.7 + 23.6 

+588.4 +109.6

Postal receipts .................................... $29,126 -11.9 + 10.2 	Building permits ··············-------·········· $67,116 

Building permits ................................ $460,178 + 134.2 -32.0 Bank debits to individual accounts Bank debits to individual accounts 
(thousands) .................................... $7,402 -26.7 -2.3 

(thousands ) .................................... $22,901 + 45.6 2.5 Placements in employment__
___________ 682 + 35.0 + 9.8 
Civilian labor force·--·------------------------20,872 -82.7 + 1.0 
Percent change 
Apr. 1946 Apr. 1946
Percent change 
DALLAS 	Apr. from from 1946 Apr. 1945 Mar. 1946Apr. 1946 Apr. 1946
AMARILLO Apr. from from 
Retail sales of 28 stores................._.$7,782,531 ' + 58.7 + 7.0

1946 Apr. 1945 Mar. 1946 

Postal receipts .................................... $648,347 + 12.5 -1.3 
Retail sales of 22 stores.................... $407,473 + 54.3 + 6.8 Building permits ................................$4,295,400 +566.0 -33.4 
Postal receipts .................................. $57,696 -2.4 + 10.8 Bank debits to individual accounts 
Building permits ................................ $6,577 -93.7 -99.4 (thousands) .................................... $699,336 + 28.2 + 10.2 
Bank debits to individual accounts Placements in employment.____________ 4,153 -40.0 3.8 

(thousands ) --------------····················· $54,442 + 19.7 + Q.6 Civilian labor force____________________________ 207,932 + 6.5 + 4.2 Placements in employment.............. 738 -32.9 + 8.2 Civilian labor force ....-----------------····-· 27,655 -4.5 + 2.4 
Percent changePercent change 
Apr. 1946 Apr. 1946 

Apr. 1946 Apr. 1946 EL PASO Apr. 	from
AUSTIN 	from 
Apr. from from 	1946 Apr. 1945 Mar. 1946 
1946 Apr. 1945 Mar. 1946 Retail sales of 14 stores....................$2,034,885 + 52.8 + 19.4 Retail sales of 15 stores.....-.............$1,211,100 + 77.4 + 12.8 
Postal receipts ·····················--------·-···· $94,761 0.0 + 4.2 
Postal receipts ···············-·············-····· $107,676 + 0.2 + 2.0 
Building permits ·········-············--······· $286,338 +480.3 -18.2 
Jluilding permits ................................$1,648,116 + 1111.4 -14.1 


Bank debits to individual accounts Bank debits to individual accounts 
(thousands ) ...................................... $79,546 + 41.2 -2.0 
(thousands) .................................... $84,142 + 27.0 -20.5 

Placements in employment______________ 531 -49.3 -14.2 Placements in employment____ _________ 1,047 + 0.6 + 11.9 Civilian labor force____________________________ 48,000 + 2.3 + 0.8 
Ci~ilian labor force______________________ ______ 45,690 + 8.5 -1.8 . 777
Real ostate transfers (number) ...... + 55.4 -35.4 
Percent changePercent change 
Apr. 1946 Apr. 1946

Apr. 1946 Apr. rn46 	FORT WORTH Apr. 
from fromBEAUMONT Apr. from from 
1946 Apr. 1945 Mar. 1946

1946 Apr. 1945 Mar. 1946 Retail sales of 28 stores....______________.$3,400,974 + 49.8 + 12.5
Itetail sales of 12 stores ....................$1,287,767 + 132.0 + 72.2 

Postal receipts .................................... $264,606 + 6.1 -13.5


Postal receipts .................................... $50,766 + 1.8 + 18.6 Building permits ··················-·····-------$2,079,378 +282.2 -35.8
Buildini: permits ................................ $211,136 + 145.7 -62.7 

Bank debits to individual accounts ' Bank debits to individual accounts 
(thousands) ·--------·························· $209,835 + 9.3 3.8 Placements in employment______________ 2,907 -35.6 3.1
(thousands) .................................... $55,627 + 5.4 5.4 

Placements in employment (area ) 1,792 -52.5 + 2.6 
Civilian labor force____________________________ 
123,900 -9.0 + 	2.5
Civilian labor force (area) .............. 93,655 -1.5 + 1.0 


Percent change Percent change
Apr. 1946 Apr. 1946
CORPUS CHRISTI Apr. from from 
Apr. 194' Apr. 1946

1946 Apr. 1945 Mar. 1946 GALVESTON 	Apr. from from 
1946 Apr. 1945 Mar. 1946Retail sales of 23 stores.__________________ $997,742 + 53,2 + 13.2 
-8.4

Postal receipts ··················-········--····· $66,669 + 5.2 	Postal receipts ··--·-···········-················· $56,869 + 5.6 + 6.3 Building permits ·············"·················· +190.3
Buildini: permits ................................ $561,985 + 173.7 -67.8 $155,756 -54.8 :Rank debits to individual accounts Bank debits to individual accounts (thousands) .................................... $67,564 + 30.0 -4.2 (thousands) .................................... $50,697 + 24.1 -13.5 Placements in employment____ __ ________ 1,008 + 23.8 + 79.7 Placements in employment (area) 1,641 -21.0 
+ 3.7 

Civilian labor force_.......................... 54,~00 -8.7 + 1.5 	Civilian labor force (area) ·····-······· 52,600 -6.4 + 0.9 

0 _____ =____ _ 
=__ 2

C0 NDI T I0 NS_ : ______ ___:::__ 
= == 
Percent change Percent change 
Apr. 1946 Apr. 1946 
Apr. 1946 Apr. 1946

HOUSTON 	Apr. from from SAN ANGELO Apr. 
from from
1946 Apr. 1945 Mar. 1946 1946 Apr. 1945 Mar. 1946 

Retail sales of 39 stores____________$3,615,117 + 59.4 + 12.7 Retail sales of 10 stores___________________ $447,916 + 45.1 + 9.9 
Postal receipts ----------------------------------$407,993 + 1.8 -4.3 Postal receipts ------------------------------------$23,182 -12.9 + 2.8 Building permits -------------------------------$4,213,481 +278.9 -72.6 Bank debits to individual accounts 
Bank debits to individual accounts 	(thousands) -----------------------------------$23,929 + 55.6 + 13.8 
(thousands) --------------------------------$624,524 + 10.7 -6.4 Placements in employment____________ 4,488 -57.1 + 13.7 Civilian labor force_________________________ 309,235 -0.3 + 0.6 
Percent change 
Apr.1946 Apr. 1946

SAN ANTONIO Apr. from from 1946 Apr. 1945 Mar. 1946 Percent change 
Retail sales of 42 stores____________________$4,072,789 
+ 43.5 + 4.3 Apr. 1946 Apr. 1946 Postal r¢ceipts --------------------------------$258,592 + 0.7 + 10.5

JACKSONVILLE Apr. from from 

Building permits -------------------------------Sl,829,772 +322.2 -60.6
1946 Apr. 1945 Mar. 1946 

Bank debits to individual accounts Retail sales of 11 stores·-------------------$527,908 + 58.6 + 7.0 (thousands ) ------------------------------------$201,146 + 36.4 2.1 Postal receipts -----------------------------------$5,780 -9.5 + 5.3 Placement in employment________________ 2,016 -33.0 + 
0.6 
Building permits --------------------------$61,600 +1766.7 -41.8 Civilian labor force_
_______________________ 177,404 + 40.2 + 1.8 

Percent change 
Percent change 
Apr. 1946 Apr. 1946


TYLER

Apr. 1946 Apr. 1946 	Apr. from from
LUBBOCK 	Apr_ from from 1946 Apr. 1945 Mar. 1946 1946 Apr. 1945 Mar. 1946 
Retail sales of 12 stores_:__________________ $526,461 + 55.8 + 12.0 Retail sales of 15 stores___________________ $603,976 + 60.6 + 18.1 
Postal receipts -----------------------------------$27,994 -5.9 + 4.S -4.0 ­
Postal receipts ---------------------------------$32,939 + 11.1 Building permits ------------------------------'-$285,877 +398.6 19.9 Building permits ---------------------·-------$300,699 +125.5 -60.1 Bank debits to individual accounts Bank debits to individual accounts (thousands) -----------------------------------$31,021 + 31.3 + 3.9 
(thousands) ------------------------------$38,559 + 34.5 -1.9 
Placements in employment_____________ 788 + 70.9 + 29.8 
Civilian labor force___________________________ 30,979 + 46.3 + 0.4 

Percent change 
Apr. 1946 Apr. 1946WACO Apr. from from 1946 Apr. 1945 Mar. 1946 
Percent change 

Retail sales of 23 stores____________________ $977,938 
+ 51.9 + 8.8 Apr. 1946 Apr. 1946 Postal receipts ------------------------------------$58,770 -4.3 .+ 12.2
PLAINVIEW Apr. from from 

Building permits --------------------------------$379,5C5 +556.2 -27.t
1946 Apr. 1945 Mar. 1946 

Bank debits to individual accounts Retail sales of 13 stores____ _______________ $136,961 + 46.5 + 20.2 $37,193 + 42.7 -14.4
(thousands) -----------------------------------­Postal receipt. ------------------------------------$6,734 + 1.3 + 0.9 Placements in employment______________ 725 -15.6 + 20.6 
Civilian labor force____________________________
Building permits --------------------------$74,350 +385.2 -69.5 	52,000 + 9.2 + 1.0 
Percent change 
Percent change 
Apr. 1946 Apr. 1946

WICHITA FALLS Apr. horn from
Apr. 1946 Apr. 1946

PORT ARTHUR 	1946 Apr. 1945 Mar. 1946
Apr. from from 
1946 Apr. 1945 Mar. 1946 


Retail sales of 14 stores___________________ $400,31& + 78.4 + 23.2 Postal receipts --------------------------------­$26,549 -7.1 + 9.1 Postal receipts -----------------------------------$47,875 -3.4 + 13.6 Buildinc permits ---------------------------­$115,785 + 73.8 -61.4 Building permits ------------------------------$202,135 + 763.7 -3.7 Bank debits to individual accounts Bank debits to individual accounts (thousands) ---------------------------­$25,855 + 12.1 0.2 (thousands) ---------------------------------$37,912 + 30.2 -12.7 Placements in employment (area) 1,792 -52.5 Placements in employment____________ 452 -36.2 + 3.2
+ 2.6 

Civilian labor force (areal ----------93,655 -1.5 + 1.0 Civilian labor force__________________________ 34,869 + 45.1 + 0.9 
was 8 points higher than a year ea~lier. Accordi~1g to tl.1e United States Department of Agnculture, the mdex m April was 50% higher than the 1934-39 averag~, 187o higher than the 1919-29 average, but it was still con­siderably below the 1919 peak. 
PRICES OF TEXAS FARM PRODUCTS 
Source: Bureau of Agricultural Economics, U.S. Department or Airriculture 
Commodity Unit  Apr. 1946  Mar.1946  Apr. 1945  
Cotton........ ·--------­lb.  $' 0.244  $ 0.2U  $ 0.189  
Cottonseed........... -­ton  55.00  54.00  53.00  
Wheat..-----·­····-····· bu.  1.55  1.55  1.47  
Corn... -------············· bu.  1.36  1.35  1.23  
Grain sorghums .... cwt.  2.45  2.35  1.72  
Oats.......................... bu.  0.84  0.81  0.79  
Rice_______________________, bu.  1.88  1.92  1.89  
Cattle_____·······--·-···­cwt.  12.50  12.20  11.70  
Calv.......................... cwt.  13.80  13.50  13.00  
Hogs............. ---·····-·· cwt.  14.00  14.00  13.60  
Sheep ...................... cwt.  7.80  7.70  7.90  
WooL---··-----··­·-···· lb.  0.42  0.40  0.41  
Eggs ..­..................... doz.  0.295  0.304  0.312  
Butterfat.. ------··-··· lb.  0.49  0.49  0.48  
Grapefruit_________ box  1.31  1.14  1.33  
Oranges•----­-----------box  2.59  2.50  2.46  
Beets........... ·------~ crate  1.65  2.73  2.58  
Cabbage ·············-··· ton  50.80  55.06  30.18  
P otatoes........ ---····" 50 lb,  sack  1.88  2.22  2.66  
Carrots..................... crate  2.89  2.43  1.95  
Tomatoes..... L ......... lugs  3.23  3.26  
Onions............... -­~ 50 lb.  sack  2.37  1.80  

•Equivalent on-tree returns for all methods of sale. 

Marketings 
(The level of farm Income is affected not only by changes in prices, but by the volume of products farmers send to market in a l'iven month. Data on shipments of farm products must also be used to explain the changes in the level of farm Income from month te montlo..) 
Marketings of fruits and vegetables, poultry and eggs, and livestock, as reflected by rail shipments of those items from principal producing areas, showed large gains over last month and over April of last year. 
Rail shipments of fruits and vegetables, totaling 15,862 carloads, were 58.5% higher in April than a month 
RAIL SHIPMENTS OF FRUITS AND VEGETABLES 
Chi carloads) 
Percent  change  
Item  Apr. 19.(6  Mar. 1946  Apr. 1945  Apr. 1946 Apr. 1946 from from Apr. 1945 Mar. 1946  

15,862 9,245 10,855 +46.1 +58.5
TOTAL -------------------­
Beets  ---------------------­ 222  443  466  - 52.4  -49.9  
Cabbage ----------············  476  1,858  469  +  1.5  -74.4  
Carrots  --------------­ 776  1,537  863  - 10.1  -49.5  
Corn  ---­--------------------­ 333  481  - 30.8  
Cucumbers  ---­-------­ 141  
Grapefruit  ----------­ 3,628  4,021  3,037  +19.5  -9.8  
Onions  ----­---------------­ 5,837  2,588  + 125.5  
Oranges -----------------­ 591  1,174  769  - 23.2  -49.7  
Potatoes  ------------------­ 1,987  212  708  + 180.6  +837.2  
Tomatoes ·­---------­-­-- 1,871  1,474  + 26.9  

*Fi2urea for oranges and irrapefruit include both rail and truck shipmenta. 
earlier. A record onion crop along with large potato and tomato shipments helped to swell the total, while shipments of beets, cabbage, carrots, oranges, and grape­fruit fell off as their respective seasons drew to a close. 
Shipments of fruits and vegetables last month exceeded the April, 1945, volume by 4.6.1%. Cabbage, grapefruit, onions, potatoes, and tomatoes were shipped in greater quantities than a year ago, whereas shipments of beets, carrots, and oranges showed declines under April, 1945. 
A year ago between March and April the total ship­ments dropped off 2.1 ){, and only oranges, onions, and potatoes went up. 
Livestock shipments by rail showed outstanding gains in all categories of livestock animals, both when com­pared to April, 1945, and to March, 1946. Total ship­ments in April this year were more than twice the size of those in April a year ago and were more than one­fifth larger than in the preceding month of this year. 
In the yearly comparison April sheep marketings climbed over 100%, calves 50%, hogs 21 %, and cattle about 14%. Over the month, cattle and sheep ship­ments were up more than 100%, calves more than 50%, but the movement of hogs was cut down 8%. 
SHIPMENTS OF LIVESTOCK 
(in carloads)• 
Source: Bureau of Busine£!1:s Research in co-operation with the Bureau 
of Agricultural Economics, U.S. Department of Agriculture 
Percent change  
Classification  Apr. 1946  Mar. 1946  Apr. 1945  Apr. 194& Apr. 1946 from from Apr. 1945 Mar. 1946  

TOTAL SHIPMENTS ...... 14,882 7,220 12,210 + 21.9 +106.1 
Cattle ·····-···················-------11,478  4,935  10,086  + 13.8  +132.6  
Calves  --------------------------·--­1,089  713  725  +  50.2  + 52.7  
Hogs  ----------------------------­-­ 740  804  613  +  20.7  -8.0  
Sheep  ----­-------­------------------­ 1,575  768  786  +100.4  +105.l  
INTERSTATE PLUS  
FORT  WORTH  _________13,604  6,238  11,139  +  22.1  +118.1  

Cattle  ·----------·········-······­-10,516  4,157  9,189  +  14.4  +153.0  
Calves  --------------------······-­ 939  552  594  +  58.1  + 70.1  
Hogs  -----------------­------·-·------­ 733  787  607  +  20.8  -6.9  
Sheep  --·­---···-­---------------·····-­ 1,416  742  749  +  89.1  + 90.8  
INTRASTATE  MINUS  
FORT  WORTHt  -···-··· 1,278  982  1,071  +  19.3  + 30.1  

Cattle --·--·--·······--·-----------·-·· 962 778 897 + 7.2 + 23.6 Calves -------------·-·--------····· 150 161 131 + 14.5 -6.8 Hogs ···-----------------------------·-7 17 6 + 16.6 -58.8 Sheep --------------··-·-----------·-·· 159 26 37 +829.7 +511.5 
•Rail-car basis : cattle, 30 head per car; calves, 60; hogs, 80; and sheep, 250. · 
tintrastate truck shipments are not included. Fort Worth ship­
ments are combined with interstate forwardings in order that the 
bul,k of market disappearance for the mollth may be shown. 
Poultry and eggs shipped from Texas stations in April did not differ materially from the amount shipped dur­ing March this year. Chicken shipments showed no change (20 cars each month); turkey shipments ad­vanced by some 30 carloads. On the other hand, the shell-egg equivalent of shell, frozen, and dried eggs 
shipped fell about 75 carloads. The bulk of Texas poultry and egg shipments continued to go to markets outside the State. 

In comparison with April a year ago, considerably more chickens and turkeys were marketed, but fewer eggs, especially eggs in the shell, were shipped. There was an increase in the volume of frozen eggs marketed, however, of some 15 carloads. 
As shipments of eggs from Texas declined during the past month, receipts from out of the State went up markedly. A similar movement prevailed between March and April, 1945, in the interstate receipts of eggs at Texas stations. More than five times as many carloads of eggs were shipped from this State in April, however, as came in from out of the State. 
RAIL SHIPMENTS OF POULTRY AND EGGS 
FROM TEXAS STATIONS 

(in carloads ) 


Source: Bureau of Business Research in cooperation w ith the Division 
of Agricultural Statistics, Bureau of Airr!cu!tural Economics, 
U .S. Department of Agriculture 

Apr.  Mar.  Apr.  
Claaslf!cat!on  1946  1946  1945  
TOTAL SHIPMENTS  
Chickens ··········-··-·--·--····-··-·-·····  20  20  2  
Turkeys ····----------·······­-····---------­ 44  14  0  
Eggs---i!hell equivalent* ····--··-·······-··  807  882  1,110  
Shell ----­-·············-··--­·········-··-·-··-··  25  21  86  
Frozen ··············--·-··························--···  135  114  120  
Dried ·····················-·····--·-···--···········-·  64  79  98  
INTRASTATE SHIPMENTS  
Chickens ····-·-·······-·-···················-······-·····  0  2  0  
Turkeys ··················-····-·········-····-···········-·  5  4  0  
Eggs--<1hell equivalent* --······················  148  82  308  
Shell ·-········------------·····-·-·····-·--·····  12  6  26  
Frozen ·····--------··········--·--·····-·-····  40  34  73  
Dried ·····-----·······-················--··-··········  7  17  
INTERSTATE SHIPMENTSt  
Chickens ····················---···-·······-·--··-··-·  20  18  2  
Turkeys ··-·­···­········--········--·-·········-·  39  10  0  
Eggs---i!hell equivalent* -·······--·····-·  659  799  802  
Shell ······-··-····-··-·····-···--···-·-···········  13  15  60  
Frozen ······------·-······-··-···-·········-­ 95  80  47  
Dried ···---~----····--·-·····-····-··-··---­ 57  78  81  

•Dried eggs and frozen eggs are converted to a shell-egg equivalent on the following basis: 1 rail-carload of dried eggs= 8 carloads of shell eggs and 1 carload of frozen eggs=2 carloads of shell eggs. 
tThe destination above is the first destination as shown by the ori~inal waybill. Changes in destination brought about by diversion factors are not shown. 
INT.ERSTATE RECEIPTS OF EGGS BY RAIL AT TEXAS 
STATIONS 

(in carloads) 
Source : Bureau of Business Research in co-operation with the 
Division of Agricultural Statistics, Bureau of Agricultural 
Economics, U. S. Department of Agriculture 

Type Apr. 1946 Mar. 1946 Apr. 1945 

TOTAL RECEIPTS­SHELL  
EQUIVALENT*  ······--··-·-·-···-·····-··  133  67  357  
Shell  ·······-·····································-·······-···  15  3  29  
Frozen  ······--····-······························-····--·-··  55  28  76  
Dried ···············-···································-···-···  22  

*Dried eggs and frozen eggs are converted to a shell-egg equivalent on the following basis: 1 rail-carload of dried eggs = 8 carloads of shell eggs and 1 carload of frozen eggs = 2 carloads of shell eggs. 
Cotton 

(The cotton balance sheet shows the basic demand and supply factors affecting cotton, which is an outstanding element In the farm income of the State.) 
Figures in the cotton balance sheet do not tell the whole story of the cotton supply. For one thing, the commitments for exports for the remainder of this crop year are much larger than is indicated by the average of exports to the end of March, the latest official figures. The proportion of qualities making up the balance is much more important. The prospective carryover of all cotton outside of mills in the United States promises to be less than 6,000,000 bales on August 1, of which an unusually large percentage will be low grade long staple cotton or very short staple. 
Because of the reduced supply and the unusual quality of it, the cotton market will be very sensitive to weather changes for the next six months. The size and quality of the new crop have already assumed dominant position in price movements. It is the first time in eight year!! that we have had such a condition as can be inferred from the balance sheet. 
(The foregoing table and analysis of the cotton bal­ance sheet were prepared by Dr. A. B. Cox, professor of cotton marketing in the College of Business Administra­tion at The University of Texas.) 
COTTON BALANCE SHEET FOR THE UNITED STATES AS OF MAY 1, 1946 
CarryoTer Year Auirust 1 
1936-37 5,397
·-··-----------------------------· 
1937-38 
---------------------------4,498 
1938-39 
··-·········-····-············--11,533 1939-40 
·-·········-········-········--·· 13,033 
1940-41 ----10,596
--------------------------·-­
1941-42 
----·········-··········--· 12,367 1942-43 10,590 1943-44 10,687
-------------·--------·--··---­
1944-45 10,727 1945-46 11,164 

(in thousands of running bales  except as  noted)  
Imports to May 1*  Final ginnings  Total  Consumption to Mayl  Exports to Mayl  Total  Balance as of Mayl  
167  12,130  17,694  6,017  4,762  10,779  6,915  
99  18,242  22,839  4,430  5,034  9,464  13,375  
108  11,621  23,262  5,153  2,964  8,117  15,145  
123  11,477  24,638  5,955  5,695  11,650  12,893  
119  12,287  23,002  6,993  885  7,878  15,124  
t  10,489  22,856  8,250  t  8,250  14,606  
t  12,437  23,027  8,440  t  8,440  14,687  
80  11,121  21,888  7,580  975  8,555  13,333  
106t  11,806  22,638  7,286  1,150t  8,436  14,202  
200§  8,781  20,145  6,772  2,001§  8,773  11,372  

°Fieurea are in 600-pound bales. 
tFigures not available. 
tFigures to January 31 (New York Cotton Exchange). 
§Figures to April l , 1946. 


TEXAS BUSINESS REVIEW 
Reports from banks in 20 Texas c1t1cs indicate that 




FINANCE 

bank debits in April were 21.6% above those in April, 1945. The increase was general and occurred in all of 
Bank Credit 

the reporting centers, although there was considerable 
(Since bank: credit is essential to all business, the condition of the variation in the amounts of increase. The largest per­commercial banks and the Federal Reserve Banks is a significant indicator of the state of business. Changes in the volume of credit centage gains occurred in Abilene, El Paso, San Angelo, the banks have outstanding reflect the state of business. The con· dition of the Federal Reserve Banks in like manner reflects the con­dition of credit available to commercial banks.) 
CONDITION OF WEEKLY REPORTING MEMBER BANKS*

Total loans of weekly reporting member banks in the Dallas Federal Reserve District showed little change Source : Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System between March and April, 1946, but were approxi­mately 70% greater than those of a year earlier. Hold­Percent change ings of Treasury bills at the end of April this year were Apr. 1946 Apr. 1946 Apr. 1945 10% below those a year ago and there was a slight re­from from from 
Item Apr. 1945 Mar. 1946 Mar, 1945 

duction in holdings of United States Treasury notes. 
ASSETS
Weekly reporting member banks reduced their holdings 
Loans and investments ----------------------------+ 25.4 -14.0 + 0.4
of Treasury certificates of indebtedness and Treasury -1.0 -1.0
Loans ----------------------------------------------------------+ 69.7 
Treasury bills _______________:_____________________________ -10.0
bonds during April, but at the end of the month hold­+ 14.9 -7.7 Treasury certificates of indebtedness ...... + 8.2 -7.7 + 2.1
ings of both types were larger than a year earlier. De­
Treasury notes ---------------------------------------------5.8 + 0.5 + 1.8
mand deposits at the end of April were 11 % higher 
United States bonds ---------------------------------+ 22.7 -1.7 + 0.4 than a year ago, while during the same period time Other securities ------------------------------------------+ 41.7 + 3.0 + 4.3 deposits increased 26% and United States Government Reserve with Federal Reserve Banks...... + 13.5 -2.0 + 5.6 
Cash in vault-----------------------------------------------4.2 -11.1
deposits increased 143%. 
Balances with domestic banks__________________ -2. 7 
-0.5 -3.9 
The Dallas Federal Reserve Bank reduced its hold­

LIABILITIES
ings of United States Government securities 4.1 % dur­
Demand deposits adjusted............ ------------+ 11.3 + 0.4 + 3.1 ing April, but they were still about 20% greater than a Time deposits ----------------------------------------------+ 25.5 + 1.7 + 3.0 
year ago. The volume of Federal Reserve notes of that United States Government deposits ........ + 142.7 -17.1 -27.5 Bank outstanding declined slightly during the month, Interbank deposits: but was still 4.0% above that at the end of April, 1945. Domestic banks ------------------------------------+ 5.4 -2.3 + 5.1 
Foreign banks -----------------------------------------33.3 -33.3 CAPITAL ACCOUNTS --------------------------+ 18.0 + 3.6

Bank Debits 
*Percentage comparisons based on ending close

(Since the bulk of business transactions are settled by check, week nearest the 
of calendar month.
changes in bank debits represent changes in the volume of transac­tions and are a basic measure of business activity.) 
SUMMARY STATEMENT OF CONDITION OF THE FEDERAL 
, RESERVE B.ANK OF DALLAS BANK DEBITS* 

(in thousands of dollars) 
(in thousands of dollars) 
Source: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System Source : Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System 
Percent change 

Percent change Apr. Apr. 1946 1946 
Apr. 1946 Apr. 1946 from from Apr. Mar. Apr. from from May 1 Mar. 27 May2 Apr. Mar. 
City 1946 19·46 1945 Apr. 1945 Mar. 1946 Classification 1946 
1946 1945 1945 1946 

TOTAL ----------------2,387,615 2,423,969 1,963,287 +21.6 -1.5 ASSETS 
Abilen~ _________________ 
22,901 23,477 15,724 +45.6 -2.5 

Gold certificate reserves__ 517,918 477,743 528,024 -1.9 + 8.4 
Amarillo ______________ 54,442 54,100 45,481 +19.7 + 0.6
U.S. Government securi­ties 867,512 904,421 723,868 +19.8 -4.1 Austin -----------------­84,142 105,825 66,252 +27.o -20.5 
Discounts and advances_ 1,280 1,380 1,250 + 2.4 -7.3 
Beaumont ------------55,627_ 58,774 52,777 + 5.4 -5.4 Corpus Christi..____ 67,564 70,547 51,984 -4.2
10,924 13,443 8,529 +28.1 -18.7 +30.0 89,114 93,307 76,876 +15.9 -4.5 Corsicana ------------7,402 7,573 5,840 + 26.7 -2.3
Other cash ----------------------­
Other assets -------------------­
Dallas -------------------699,336 634,528 545,684 +28.2 + 10.2 ______ l ,486,748 
TOTAL ASSETS _____1,490,294 1,338,547 + 11.1 -0.2 El Paso ---------------­79,546 81,172 56,351 +41.2 -2.0 Fort Worth --------209,835 218,050 192,011 + 9.3 -3.8 LIABILITIES Galveston ___________ 
50,697 58,571 40,865 + 24.1 -13.5 Federal Reserve notes_____ 589,007 590,223 566,231 + 4.0 -0.2 
Houston -------------­624,524 666,873 564,337 +lo.7 -6.4 Deposits 802,422 802,922 696,684 +15.2 -0.1
----------------------------Laredo -----------------­15,495 14,858 12,223 + 26.8 + 4.3 
Other liabilities --------------73,769 76,191 58,550 +26.0 -3.2 38,559 39,310 28,667 1.9
Lubbock --------------·-· +34.5 ­Port Arthur ________ 25,855 25,899 23,058 
+ 12.1 -0.2

TOTAL LIABILITIES.. _l,465,198 1,469,336 1,321,465 + lo.9 -0.3 
San Angelo ----------23,929 21,026 15,374 +55.6 +13.8 in____________ 6,570 6,306 San Antonio _______ 201,146 205,436 147,452 +36.4 -2.1
Capital paid 5,656 +16.2 + 4.2 Texarkanat ---------­20,489 21,185 20,391 + 0.9 -3.3
Surplus ------------------------11,977 11,977 7,332 + 63.4 Other capital accounts__ 3,003 2,675 4,094 -26.7 +12.3 Tyler --------------------31,021 29,853 23,627 +31.3 + 3.9 Waco -------------------37,193 43,472 26,063 +42.7 -14.4 TOTAL LIABILITIES Wichita Falls ------37,912 43,440 29,126 +30.2 -12.7 AND CAPITAL AC­COUNTS -------------------1,486,748 1,490,294 1,338,547 + 11.1 -0.2 
*Debits to deposit accounts except interbank accounts 
tlncludes two banks in Arkansas, Eighth District. · 

and Waco, each of which showed increases of more than 40%. San Angelo registered the largest percentage gain, the increase being 55.6%. Compared with March this year, bank debits were somewhat smaller during April, although six reporting cities showed increases ranging up to 13.9%. 
Life Insurance Sales 
(Since the sales of life insurance are relatively sensitive to the 

changes in consumer income, they may be used as a measure of the 
consumer market.) 
According to data compiled by the Life Insurance Agency Management Association, sales of ordinary life insurance in Texas increased 9% during April and were almost twice as large as in April, 1945. Compared with a year earlier the percentage increase in Texas was substantially above that for the rest of the nation. Sales in Texas during April, 1946, amounted to $69,008,000 as compared with $35,208,000 in April, 1945. 
ORDINARY LIFE INSURANCE SALES 
(in thousands of dollars) 
Source: Life Insurance Agency Management Association 
Percent change 
Apr. 1946 Apr. 1946 Apr. Mar. Apr. from from Place 1946 1946 1945 Apr. 1945 Mar. 1946 

Texas -········-·--· 69,008 63,283 35,208 +96.0 + 9.0 
United States.. 1,473,519 1,356,821 842,011 +75.0 + 8.5 
·---------­


Failures 

(The number of failures and the amount of liabilities vary In­versely with the prosperity of business and reflect in simple and 
direct manner what is happening to business.) 
According to information supplied by Dun and Brad­street, there were no business failures in Texas during April. This is the third consecutive month in which no failures have been reported, and for the year to date only one failure has been reported. 

Credits and Collections 
(Expansion of retail sales depends to a considerable degree upon 

the expansion of credit, but the soundness of the expansion is 
related to the soundness of the extension of credit. Changes in the ratios of credit sales to total sales and collections to outstanding 
accounts indicate what is happening to this phase of business 
activity.) 
During April total sales of 61 department and apparel stores in Texas were almost evenly divided between cash and credit sales. The ratio of credit sales to total net sales during April was substantially larger than during the same month last year. The larger ratio of credit sales during April occurred in all parts of the State, although it was highest in Dallas where the ratio amounted to 53.1 %. The ratio of collections to out­standing accounts, which had risen to 70.6% in March, declined to 68.6% in April as compared with 66.0% in April, 1945. The ratio of credit salaries to credit sales continued to decline, amounting to 1.0% in April. 
(The foregoing analysis of financial conditions in Texas was written by Dr. W. Nelson Peach, Assistant Professor in the Department of Economics at The Uni­versity of Texas.) 



LABOR 

Employment 

(Employment statistics are among the most important indicators of Texas business and economic activity. The Bureau's statistics of manufacturing employment comprise production and related workers, whereas all employees are included in nonmanufacturinS' workers. Proprietors, officers of corporations, and other principal executives are excluded from both series.) 
Employment in Texas turned upward in April. The aggregate number of wage earners employed by 1,857 reporting firms rose 2.9%; that is, from 130,517 em­ployed in March, 1946, to 134,323 in April. The reports represented in these totals were collected by the Bureau of Business Research in co-operation with the Bureau of Labor Statistics, United States Department of Labor, and the percentage changes were computed for identical establishments reporting for the two months. 
This reversal of the downward movement of Texas employment since December of last year suggests that Texas employment has begun to recover from the impact of reconversion. The favorable employment statistics for Texas in April parallel the national employment sit­uation. Plagued by strikes in major industries for the past five months, nationwide civilian employment has moved ahead slowly, rising 3.0% between March and April. It is also interesting to note that Texas employ­ment went up in some fields closely allied with major industries now on strike. 
Excluding eight shipbuilding establishments that ex­perienced an 81.5% drop in employment from April, 1945, the over-all change in employment in 1,857 estab­lishments was an increase of 3.6%. This improvement, though still slight, was better than the 0.5% rise for the March, 1945-to-March, 1946, comparison. It would aiso seem to indicate a definite upturn for the longer period. 
The total number of persons working in Texas manu­facturing establishments during March was 296,000, as compared with 294,000 in February and 402,100 in March, 1945. These monthly estimates were prepared by the Bureau of Business Research in co-operation with the Bureau of Labor Statistics, United States Department of Labor. The gain for the month was an even 1.0%; for the 12-month comparison employment in manufac­turing fell 26.2%. 
The largest employers df manufacturing labor in the State during March of this year were the food products and petroleum and coal products industries with 56,000 and 37,800 workers, respectively. Following these two industries as job-providers were companies producing machinery (except electrical) with 29,300 workers, lum­ber and timber basic products with 26,500 workers, apparel and finished textile products with 22,200 work­ers, and transportation equipment (except automobiles) with 21,800 workers. 
TEXAS BUSINESS REVIEW 
PRELIMINARY COMPARISON OF EMPLOYMENT AND PAY ROLLS IN IDENTICAL ESTABLISHMENTS Source: Bureau of Business Research in co-operation with the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor 
EMPLOYMENT PAY ROLLS 
Number  N umber of wage earners •  Percent change  Amount (weekly)  Percent change  
Industrial group  of establish­ments  -----­Apr. 1946 Apr. Mar. 1946 1946 from Apr. 1945  Apr. 1946 from Mar. 1946  Apr. 1946  Mar. 1946  Apr. 1946 from Apr. 1945  Apr. 1946 from Mar. 1946  
ALL ESTABLISHMENTS ---------­ 1,857  134,323  130,517  + 3.6t  +  2.9  $5,665,349  $5,436,458  + l.7t  + 4.2  
=  
MANUFACTURING  
Food products ------­-----------­­Textiles --------------­---­ 187 19  9,875 5,020  9,791 4,909  -5.9 + 12.1  + +  0.9 2.3  350,114 168,686  355,256 162,798  -5.5 + 31.1  1.4 + 3.6  
Apparel -----------------­Finished lumber products -----­Forest products ----------------­Paper products -----­-­---­Printing and publishing --­----------­Commercial products -----------­Stone and clay products ---------­Iron and steel products ------------------­Nonferrous metal products -­-­Machinery (except electrical) _ _  36 32 20 10 38 136 35 38 13 50  3,128 2,562 2,435 1,533 1.427 32,413 3,210 4,046 3,616 9,990  3,204 2,564 2,473 1,581 1,395 32,180 3,081 3,814 3,576 9,025  -13.8 + 8.6 + 7.0 + 13.7 + 23.3 + 2.6 + 61.2 -19.1 -0.4 -36.4  2.4 0.1 1.5 3.0 + 2.3 + 0.7 + 4.2 + 6.1 + 1.1 + 10.7  78,738 85,250 74,969 62,835 72,451 1,760,522 114,929 172,180 180,122 504,653  77,866 84,905 75,315 62,674 70,345 1,789,209 106,801 160,712 177,544 411,686  -10.8 + 17.8 + 18.1 + 38.1 + 34.6 -3.2 + 59.3 -21.4 -6.8 -35.9  + 1.1 + 0.4 0.5 + 0.3 + 3.0 1.6 + 7.6 + 7.1 + 1.5 + 22.6  
Other manufacturing ---------­ 22  9,331  8,356  -77.2  + 11.7  398,439  325,827  -82.6  + 22.3  
NONMANUFACTURING  
Crude petroleum production ---­­Dyeing and cleaning -----­--­Hotels ---------------­--­Insurance -----­----­-------­ 60 10 18 128  5,540 147 1,822 2,787  5,493 147 1,841 2,643  + 12.9 + 10.2 + 2.5 + 20.8  + +  0.9 0.0 1.0 5.4  287,731 5,069 42,250 123,406  289,996 4,950 42,318 114,587  + 7.5 + 27.6 + 10.7 + 28.2  0.8 + 2.4 0.2 + 7.7  
Laundri.., ---­-------­Public utilities -----------· Quar ryinir Retail trade ------------­---­Wholesale trade ---------­-­ 14 218 14 547 179  792 6,380 1,519 20,298 4,523  758 6,304 1,496 19,344 4,459  -6.4 + 26.3 + 3.3 + 15.3 + 11.8  + + + + +  4.5 1.2 1.5 4.9 1.4  17,272 286,334 72,506 565,536 184,534  16,622 261,232 70,095 530,001 178,872  -3.5 + 34.5 -3.3 + 31.6 + 19.2  + 3.9 + 9.6 + 3.4 + 6.7 + 3.2  
Other n~onmanufacturing  33  1,929  2,083  + 55.3  7.4  56,723  66,847  + 32.4  -15.1  

•Does not include proprietors, firm members, officers of corporations, or other principal executives. Manufacturing employment comprises production a.nd related workers; nonmanufacturing employment comprises all employees. 
tExcluding eight aircraft-shipbuilding establishments that declined 81.5% in employment and 85.3% in pay rolls from April, 1945. 
The most significant change in the number of workers 
ESTIMATED CIVILIAN LABOR FORCE
employed between February and March of this year was 

the addition of 5,800 by the iron and steel products Source: United States Employment Service group. The outstanding decrease was the dropping of 
Percent change
1,100 workers by the food products industries. In the 12 months from March, 1945, to March, 1946, 

Apr. 1946 Apr.1946 there have been widespread shifts in manufacturing em­Apr. Mar. Apr. from from 
Area 1946 1946 1945 Apr. 1945 Mar. 1946
ployment in Texas. Last year the number one industry of the State was the manufacture of transportation 

Abilene ---------------------20,872 20,660 120,600 -82.7 + 1.0 equipment, principally aircraft and ships; this industry Amarillo 27,655 27,000 28,943 4.5 + 2.4 alone employed 109,100 workers. It was followed in Austin ---------------------45,690 46,506 42,100 + 8.5 -1.8 size by the food products industries (59,000 workers), Beaumont-Port Ar­thur-Orange --------93,655 92,706 95,076 1.5 + 1.0
petroleum and coal products industries (39,300 work­
Brownsville --------------18,054 17,820 11,535 + 56.5 +u
ers) , machinery manufacturing ( 36,300 workers), and 
Corpus Christi 54,800 54,000 60,000 8.7 +1.5
the iron and steel products industries (with 30,300 work­
Dallas ------------------------207,932 199,600 195,200 + 6.5 + u 
ers). From every standpoint the 80.0% fall in the 

El Paso --------------------48,000 47,600 46,925 + 2.3 + 0.8 number of persons working for companies turning out Fort Worth 123,900 120,933 136,140 9.0 + 2.5
---------.-­

transportation equipment is the most important change. Galveston-Texas Approximately 87,300 workers left this industry in the City -------------------·--52,600 52,133 56,202 6.4 + 0.9 period from March, 1945, to March, 1946. The next Houston-Baytown --309,235 307,304 310,145 0.3 + 0.6 
Longview --------------28,400 27,616 52,767 -46.2 + 2.8
largest decrease for the 12·month interval was the loss 
Lubbock -------------------30,979 30,849 21,172 + 46.3 + 0.4
of 13,900 workers by the iron and steel products indus­
San Antonio ------------177,404 174,200 126,519 + 40.2 + 1.8 

tries. Other changes that would be significant in more 0.0 
Texarkana -------------51,500 51,520 21,900 + 135.2 
stable times appear nominal in comparison with these 

Waco ---------------------52,000 51,500 47,610 + 9.2 + 1.0 enormous shifts. Wichita Falls 34,869 34,561 24,035 + 45.1 + 0.9 Estimates of changes in the civilian labor force in 19 Total ---------------------1,377,545 1,356,508 1,396,869 -1.4 +u 
urban areas of the State made by the United States Em­ployment Service show a 1.6% rise between March and 


TEXAS BUSINESS REVIEW 

ESTIMATES OF TOTAL MANUFACTURING EMPLOYMENT IN TEXAS (in thousands) 
Source: Bureau of Business Research in cowoperation with the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 
U . S. Department of Labor 
Percent change 

Mar. 1946 Mar. 1946 from from Industrial group Mar. 1946 Feb. 1946 Mar. 1945 Mar.1945 Feb. 1946 
ALL MANUFACTURING 	296.9 294.0 402.1 -26.2 + 1.0 
Iron and steel and their products---------------------------------------------------------------------····---------16.4 10.6 30.3 -45.9 +54.7 Machinery, except electrical ------------------------------·-·--····--·-····-·--···-···-·---···-------------------29.3 29.1 36.3 
-19.3 + 0.7 Transportation equipment, except autos.......... ·--------··-------·-----------------------------------------------21.8 24.7 109.1 -80.0 -11.7 Nonferrous metals and their products---------------------··-···-·-·--···--------------------------------------·-·· 9.0 
9.6 10.0 -10.0 -6.3 Lumber and timber basic products____________________·-----------···-·-··-------------····--····-·-···--·······-·-····--· 26.5 26.3 23.4 +13.2 + 0.8 Furniture and finished lumber products..... -..-------------------------------------······-······-·-····----11.1 11.0 10.1 + 9.9 + 0.9 
Stone, clay, and glass products------------------------·-·-·--·----------------------------------------------····-··-·--·· 9.4 9.0 7.0 +au +·U Textile mill products and other fiber manufactures ______·----------------···--·--------------------------· 8.5 8.4 7.8 + 9.0 + 1.2 Apparel and other finished textile products·-··-----------------------------------------------------------------·· 22.2 21.4 22.3 -0.4 + 3.7 
57.1 59.0 -5.1 -1.9

Food --------------------------------------------------------------------···-·--·----·-······----·-···-···--·---·----------------········------56.0 
Paper and aJlied products_____···-··-········------------------·-····----···-------------------------····-·····--···--····----· 3.9 3.8 3.6 + 8.3 + 2.6 
Printing, publishing, and allied industries....-------------------------------------------····-----------------·-17 .1 16.6 14.6 +17.1 + 3.0 Chemicals and allied products______··-·------·-----··-···-··-------------------------------------------·-······------18.1 
18.7 20.8 -13:0 -3.2 

Products of petroleum and coaL.............. -------------------------------------------------------····--·-·-···· 37.8 37.7 39.3 -3.8 + 0.3 MisceJlaneous industries -------------------------·-------------·-··------····------------·-····---·-·· 3. 7 
3.7 3.6 + 6.7 0.0 
6.3 5.0 + 22.0 -3.2 

All other ··----------·---·······-·······-··-·--····-------·-········-----------------------------·-·····-··-··-· 6.1 
April, 1946. Austin was the only city to show a decrease Pay Rolls (1.8% ) in its labor force for this period, although no 
(Pay roll figures are generally recognized as significant indicators 

change was reported for Texarkana. The civilian labor 	of income and purchasing power by both economists and businessmen. Emphasis on the maintenance of purchasing power as a goal for the
force in the 19 areas covered by the estimates declined 
country's postwar economy gives particular importance to theae fisurea
1.4'/o from April, 1945, to April, 1946, with gains and 
at this time.) 
losses fairly evenly distributed among the major cities The rise of 4.2% in pay rolls in April over March
of the State. for the 1,857 establishments reporting to the Bureau of 
HOURS AND EARNINGS 
Source: Bureau of Business Research in co-operation with the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 
U . S. Department of Labor 
Average weekly hours  Average hourly earnings (in cents)  Average weekly earnings (in dollars)  Percent change April 1946 from April 1946  
Industrial group  Apr. 1946  Apr. 1946  Apr. 1946  Apr. 1946  Apr. 1946  Apr. 1946  Weekly hours  Hourly earnings  Weekly earnInge  
MANUFACTURING  
Food  products  -----------------------------­ 46.9  47.3  71.2  67.0  32.93  31.90  0.8  +  6.3  +  3.2  
Textiles ·····-··-··-··---····-----·-----------·-··  43.0  44.2  79.8  67.6  34.19  29.79  2.7  +  18.0  + 14.8  
Apparel ----------------­--------­Finished lumber products_________ Forest' products -------------------------­ 39.0 44.1 45.4  38.4 45.3 47.7  65.0 76.6 74.3  61.6 66.8 61.8  26.36 33.69 33.79  23.73 30.13 29.63  +  1.6 2.6 4.8  + + +  5.6 14.7 20.2  + 6.9 + 11.8 + 14.4  
Paper products -------------------------­--­ 45.6  42.8  89.3  78.5  40.65  33.47  +  6.6  +  13.8  + 21.6  
Printing and publishing ··--------------­Commercial products ---------------------------­ 43 .3 45.3  42.6 50.8  116.3 108.8  105.9 99.2  49.81 48.40  44.87 49.38  + 1.6 -10.8  + +  9.8 9.7  + - 11.0 2.0  
Stone and clay products--·········--···-----­ 42 .2  47.0  81.5  71.3  34.21  33.69  -10.2  + 14.3  + 1.6  
Iron and steel products--··········-----­-Nonferrous metal products_________ ___ _______ Machinery (except electrical)  44.2 42.8 45.4  48 .8 47.9 48.9  96.6 116.8 105.3  89.0 100.9 100.3  42.67 49 .73 47.59  36.74 48.22 49 .16  -9.4 -10.6 -7.2  + + +  8.5 16.8 6.0  + + - 16.1 3.1 3.2  
Other manufacturing ----··-------------··------­ 36.4  48.8  -117.5  114.6  42.77  55.92  -25.4  +  2.6  - 23.5  
NONMANUFACTUIUNG  
Crude petroleum p:roduction -------------­Dyeing and cleaning_______ __________ Hotels ----------------------­---------­--------­Laundries ----------­---------------------------­ 40.8 50.4 45.1 48.6  45.7 44.9 36.7 46.7  127.9 70.8 38.5 42.4  119.2 58.7 46.6 46 .1  52 .18 35.68 17.36 20.61  54.47 26.36 16.74 20.61  -10.7 + 12.2 + 22.9 + 6.3  + 7.3 + 20.6 -16.6 -6.0  -4.2 + 36.4 + 3.7 0.0  
Public utilit ies ------·---­------------------------­Quarrying -------------------------------------------­ 46:3 41.7  46.3 48.7  98.9 114.4  94.4 100.9  45.79 47.70  43.71 49 .14  0.0 4.4  + +  4.8 13.4  +  4.8 2.9  
Retail trade ----------------­---------------------­Wholesale trade ---------·-····--------·· Other nonmanufacturing --------------­ 42.3 46.0 36.1  41.5 46.9 45.0  71.1 86.0 69.0  62.5 78.3 67.9  30.08 39.66 24.91  25.94 36.72 30.66  + 1.9 1.9 -19.8  + + +  13.8 9.8 1.6  + + - 16.0 7.7 20.1  

Business Research was somewhat greater than the 2.9% increase in employment. If the eight aircraft and ship­building establishments which suffered an 85.3 % de­crease in pay rolls from April, 1945, to April, 1946, are excluded from the comparison, total pay rolls in Texas last month were 1.7% higher than in the same month a year ago. 
In April of this year as in March the decreases in manufacturing pay rolls (exclusive of aircraft and ship­building) were more than offset by increases in manu­facturing pay rolls both for the month and the 12-month interval. Ten of the 13 manufacturing groups showed higher pay rolls in March than in April, 1946, while only six groups had larger pay rolls in April this year than in the same month a year earlier. In the nonmanu­facturing category, on the other hand, 7 out of 10 groups reported larger pay rolls for the month, and eight groups registered increases in the April-to-April comparison. 
Hours and Earnings 
(Statistics on hours and earnings show clearly the effects of the shift of the State's economy and the general upward move­ment of wages since V-J Day. Average hourly earnings are com­puted by dividinir the total number of man-hours worked in re­porting establishments into total pay rolls.) 
The average hours worked per week in Texas manufac­turing during April was approximately 44 hours, as com­pared with over 47 hours in the same month of 1945. Only 3 of the 13 industrial groups-apparel, paper products, and printing and publishing-in the manufac­turing category worked longer hours in April, 1946, than a year earlier. 
The tendency toward a shorter work week was less noticeable in the nonmanufacturing category. Hours were up for the 12-month period for dyeing and clean­ing establishments (12.2%), hotels (22.9% ), laundries (6.3% ), and retail trade (1.9% ). No change was re­ported in the hours worked by public utilities. 
Without exception every major industrial group in the 
manufacturing classification showed an increase in hourly 
earnings and all but two (commercial products and ma­
chinery-except electrical) reported a rise in weekly 
earnings. Hotels and laundries indicated decreases of 
15.6% and 6.0% in average hourly earnings between 
April, 1945, and April, 1946; all other nonmanufactur­
ing groups registered increases. Weekly earnings were 
down in crude petroleum production, quarrying, and 
other nonmanufacturing. There was no change in the 
weekly earnings of laundry workers. Other nonmanufac­
turing groups experienced a rise in weekly earnings. 
Man-hours 
(The reports which the Bureau receives on employment include every employee who worked any part of the week. This means that changes in the number of employees in an industry do not always measure the changes in the volume of output. Changes in the number of man-hours worked, however, are closely associated with the rate of manufacturing activity, and may be used as a measure of the volume of production.) 
A hopeful sign on the Texas business horizon in April was the upturn in the man-hours worked in manufactur­ing establishments. The increase for April over March was small (0.2% ) , but it was a movement in the right direction and was generally shared by the several lines of manufacturing. Only 3 of the 13 major industrial groups failed to show a rise in man-hours worked in April. They were the groups engaged in the manufac­ture of food products (down 5.1 % ) , commercial products (down 4.4 % ) , and stone and clay products (down 
0.1 % ) . The biggest monthly increase (10.0%) was made in machinery manufacturing. 
The slump in industrial production, which accom­panied the end of the war, is evidenced in the 41.3% drop in man-hours worked in Texas manufacturing plants from April, 1945, to April, 1946. Gains and losses were generally large, with losses occurring in seven, and gains in six groups. 
Among the food products industries, the only man­hour gains for the month and year were in the manufac­ture of ice and ice-cream. Man-hours worked in car­bonated beverage plants were up for the month, but down in the April-to-April comparison. All other food products industries reported declines in the number of man-hours. 
Furniture factories in Texas worked fewer man-hours in April than in March, but more man-hours than in April, 1945. Gains and losses in man-hours worked in planing and saw mills canceled out into small increases for the month and year. The stone and clay products, the paper products, and the printing and publishing in­dustries turned in large increases in man-hours over April of last year, but showed little change from March to April of this year. 
Every branch of the machinery manufacturing indus­try in Texas showed a larger number of man-hours for April than for March, but a much smaller number of man-hours for April, 1946, than for April, 1945. 
MAN-HOURS WORKED IN IDENTICAL MANUFACTURING ESTABLISHMENTS 
Source: Bureau of Business Resear ch in co~operation wit h the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U. S. Department of Labor 
Number  Percent change  
of establish­ Apr. 1946 from  Apr. 1946 from  
Industrial group  ments  Apr. 1945  Mar. 1946  
AL L  MANUFACTURING  ............ 508  -41.3  -0.2  
Food products .................................... 123  -15.7  -5.1  
Textiles  ··············································­ 15  +  9.0  -1.1  
Apparel  ···························-·················  24  -15.4  + 0.9  
F inished lumber products_..............  28  +  5.5  +  1.6  
Forest products  ············-··················  17  + u  +M  
Paper products ..................................  10  +22.1  + 0.1  
Printing and publishing..................  31  +25.6  + 3.0  
Commercial  products  ··-·-··········-·­122  -H.O  -H  
Stone and clay products.......... ·-·····  32  + n.&  -0.1  
Iron and steel ·products·-·················  36  -26.3  + 5.2  
Nonferrous metal products..............  12  -15.3  + 0.6  
Machinery (except electrical) ........  40  -43.5  + lo.o  
Other manufacturing ·········--····-···  18  -82.9  + lo.4  

Unemployment 
(Data on the payment of unemployment benefits provide a rou1h m easure of unemployment in Texas. Only establishments emplcry­ing 8 or more workers for 20 or more weeks per year are covered in the series, but it is the most inclusive current information on 

unemployment for the State. Veteran's claim actions and dishurae­menta are less inclusive, but throw llsht on the important prob­lem of veteran re-employment. The number of placements reported by the United States Employment Service indicates the relationship of the supply of and demand for jobs in various parts of the State.) 
Unemployment benefit payments in Texas dropped back sharply in April to $1,378,202 from a high of $1,628,817 in February and $1,931,968 in March. Con­tributions to the Unemployment Trust Fund for the month totaled $1,906,435, once more exceeding disburse­ments by a substantial figure. This situation is interest­ing in view of the facts that industrial pay rolls in Texas dropped approximately $100,000,000 after V-E Day and lower tax rates have been awarded to 68% of the 20,634 covered employers with a small labor turnover. An offsetting factor was the addition of 1,276 employer-contributors thus far this year. The balance in the Unemployment Trust Fund on April 30 
($154,404,434) was up slightly over the total at the end of March. 
Disbursements to veterans rose almost 75% in April to a total of $9,143,206 for the month. To date veterans' disbursements in Texas have amounted to $31,394,842, of which $23,017,987 has been made in the first four months of this year. These sums completely dwarf the amounts paid out for regular unemployment compen­sation. 
Placements in employment by the United States Em­ployment Service were 6.4% greater in April than in March for 17 Texas cities. Of the cities covered in the tabulation only four-Brownsville, Dallas, El Paso, and Fort Worth-reported fewer placements last month than in the previous month. Placements for April, 1946, however, were 38.1 % fewer than in April, 1945, in the same cities. Nevertheless, Abilene, Austin, Corpus Christi, Longview, Lubbock, and Texarkana placements were greater this month than in the same month a year ago. 
The present situation has its brighter side. The United States Employment Service predicts a drop in unemploy­ment for the entire State, as more jobs open up. The Texas Unemployment Compensation Commission also points out that some 26,000 claimants have voluntarily removed themselves from the rolls of those claiming benefits, presumably because they have obtained jobs. The regional C. E. D. goal of a 20 to 25% increase in employment in private enterprise and a 35% increase in production have already been exceeded. Construction, however, is a critical problem and material shortages have retarded the absorption of unemployed workers into the construction industry. 


GOVERNMENT 
Federal Finance 

(Federal collections of income, pay roll, and excise taxes vary directly with the level of business prosperity. Durins the war period federal taxation has likewise become an important determi­nant of seneral business activity.) 
Federal internal revenue collections in Texas during April totaled $72,288,435, a decline of 5.4% from the total collected in April of last year. Collections in the First (or South Texas) District were up 9.3% over 1945 figures, hut not enough to affect the 30.3% decrease in collections in the Second (or North Texas) district. 
For the first ten months of the current fiscal year (July 1, 1945-April 30, 1946) the federal government collected $912,569,123 in Texas, or 4.9% less than in the same 10 months of the fiscal year 194~6. First District collections were down 9.6%, and Second District figures were up 1.2%. 
April saw the return of the federal government to a current deficit, after three months operation in the black. The federal deficit for the first ten months of the present fiscal period aggregated $20,000,000,000, 
PLACEMENTS IN EMPLOYMENT 
Source : United States Employment Service 
Percent change  
Area  Apr. 1946  Mar. 1946  Apr. 1945  Apr. 1946 Apr. 194'6 from from Apr. 1945 Mar. 1946  


Abilene  -------------------------­ 682  621  505  +35.0  + 9.8  
Amarillo  -----------------------­ 738  682  1,100  -32.9  + 8.2  
Austin  -------------­-------------­ 1,047  936  1,041  +  0.6  +11.9  
Beaumont-Port Arthur- 
Orange  -----------------.----­ 1,792  1,746  3,776  -52.5  + 2.6  
Brownsville  ·------------------­ "148  191  1,264  -88.8  -22.5  
Corpus  Christi  ------------­ 1,008  561  814  +23.8  + 79.5  
Dallas  ----------­---------------­ 4,153  4,319  6,922  -40.0  -3.8  
El Paso ---------------------------­ 531  619  1,047  -49.3  -14.2  
Fort Worth ---------­---------­ 2,907  3,000  4,513  -35.6  -3.1  
Galveston-Texas  City....  1,641  1,582  2,077  -21.0  + 3.7  
Houston-Baytown  -------­ 4,488  3,946  10,457  -57.1  +13.7  
Longview  ------------------------­ 556  512  280  +98.6  + 8.6  
Lubbock  -----------------------­ 788  607  461  + 10.9  +29.8  
San  Antonio  ----·-----------­ 2,016  2,003  3,010  -33.0  +  0.6  
Texarkana  --·----­-----------­ 911  736  859  + ·6.1  +23.8  
Waco  -------------------------------­ 725  601  859  - 15.6  +20.6  
Wichita  Falls  -------------­ 452  43 8  708  -36.2  +  3.2  
Total  --------------------------­ 24,583  23,100  39,693  -38.1  +  6.4  

FEDERAL INTERNAL REVENUE COLLECTIONS Source: Office of the Collector, Internal Revenue Service, Treasury Department 
April July 1-April 30 
Percent Percent District 1946 1945 change 1945-46 1944-45 chani,re 
TEXAS ··-······-···-····-····-····-··--·---·--$72,288,435 $76,395,654 -5.4 $912,569,123 $959,695,936 -4.9 
First District ·······--···-·---··---------45,825,785 41,923,433 + 9.3 489,761,216 541,997,412 -9.6 

Second District ···-·········-· 26,462,650 $34,4 72,221 -30.3 422,807,907 417,698,524 + 1.2 
as compared with $44,000,000,000 for the comparable period of 1944-45. 
State Finance 
(Statistics on State finance are closely connect~ with chan.ges in the level of business activity. State occupation, production., use, and sales taxes and license fees vary directly with changing hualnesa conditions.) 
According to the latest monthly rep?rt of the S~ate Comptroller of Public Accounts, Apnl cash receipts totaled $33, 717 ,629, raising the total receipts for the first eight months of the current fiscal . year to ~226,364,85?. This figure represents an 18.2% mcrease m the States cash receipts over the corresponding 1944-45 fiscal period. 
In dollar terms the greatest increases in receipts items this year over last came in the ad valorem, inheritan?e, and poll taxes, and in the use and sales taxes. Sig­nificant decreases occurred in receipts from occupation, gross receipts, and production taxes, and from contribu­tions and aid. Principal factors in these decreases were the declines in receipts from taxes on crude petroleum production and unemployment compensation taxes. Non­revenue receipts thus far this fiscal year were up 52.2%. 
One unusual feature of the State financial picture is the growth of State income from franchise taxes. This increase can be attributed to the flurry of activity in chartering new corporations, increasing the capitaliza­tion of old ones, and paying taxes on accumulated sur­plus and undivided profits. 
On April 30 of this year, the State's cash balance was $100,731,800, a gain of approximately $2,500,000 during the month. The balance of $29,928,109 on the same date in the general revenue fund hit an all-time high. In November, 1942, the general revenue fund showed a deficit of $34,244,864. The size of the changes in the State's financial picture indicates their significance. 
CASH RECEIPTS OF STATE COMPTROLLER 
Source : State Comptroller of Public Accounts 
September 1-April 30  
Item  Apr. 1946  1946-46  1944-46  P ercent change  

TOTAL CASH RECEIPTS -·-----·--$33. 717.629 $226.364,856 $191,488,484 +18.2 
TOTAL REVENUE RECEIPTS --·------30,746,647 200,212,289 174,305,965 + 14.9 
Ad valorem, inheritan ce,  
and poll t u es--.----··­ 1,693,286  28,631,980  20.139,935  +42.2  
Occupation,  gross  re­ 
ceipts, and production  
taxes  -----------------­ 6,026,687  38,774,707  40,073,384  -3.2  
Use a nd sales tax_________  10,100,414  76,619,368  60,732,010  +26.2  
License fees a nd m ainte-­ 
nance taxes ----­ 1,629,220  6,468,708  6,622,701  + 17.l  
I n come from public lands  
a nd  buildings  --­ 681,702  9,931,531  7,771,491  +27.8  
I nterest ---­---­ 986.870  5,958,613  6,976,608  -0.3  
Miscellaneous  revenues -8,109,211  11,427,349  7,711,022  +48.2  
Contr ibutions  and  aid.. _  6,624,641  89,689,789  41,051,484  -3.3  
N ON R EVENUE  
R ECEIPTS  --------­ 2,970,982  26,162,667  17,182,630  + 62.2  


PRICES 
Wholesale Prices 
(Changes in the prices of commodities are of fundamental Im· portance to businessmen, since the level of prices bas an Important effect on profits. The Index of wholesale price• compiled by t ... United States Bureau of Labor Stati1tica la the moet comprehensive measure of price changes publlahed In the United States.) 
The national level of wholesale prices continued to rise in March. The index of wholesale prices compiled by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics stood at 108.9 in March, 1946, compared with 107.7 a month earlier. This index is based on 889 price series, and is the most comprehensive measure available of the changes in the level of all commodities at wholesale. The base of the index is 1926, which means that prices now aver· age 8.9% above the level of that year. 
There has been a wide variation in the changes in prices of different groups of commodities; the price of farm products in March, 1946, was 133.4 in relation to 1926, while the average of all commodities other than farm products was 103.4. Building materials were 124.9, with lumber 167.6, but cement prices were only 102.3% of 1926. 
In the last year all commodity groups have been ad· vancing, although not at the same rate. The index of all commodities increased 3.4% over March, 1945, but farm products increased 4.9% and all other commodi· ties 3.0%. Building materials increased more than any other group, with a 6.7% increase for the group and and 8.6% increase for lumber. 
INDEXES OF WHOLES.ALE PRICES 
(1926= 100) 
Source: Bureau of Labor Sta tistics, U. S. Department of Labor 
Percent chan1re  
Group  Mar. 1946  F eb. 19'46  Mar. 1946  Mar. 1946 Kar. 19'6 from from Mar. 1946 Feb. 1946  

ALL COMMODITIES -·-··· 108.9 107.7 106.3 +u + 1.1 
F arm  products  ··-····-·-··--··­--­ 133.4  130.8  127.2  +u  + 2.0  
F oods  ·--·-······-·----·--···-­·---··-·--­10 9. 4  107.8  104.6  +u  + u  
Hides and leather products  119.8  119.6  117.8  +  1.7  + 0.2  
Textile products  -·---··------­-­-104. 7  102.2  99.7  +  6.0  +u  
Buildin g  materials  -----­-­124.9  120.9  117.1  +  6.7  +s.s  
Cement  --·-···---·--------­102.3  101.6  99.4  +  2.9  + 0.8  
Lumber  -----·--------------·-­167.6  160.1  164.3  +  8.6  +u  
All commodities other t han  
farm  products  --··-·----­103.4  102.6  100.4  +  3.0  +  0.9  
All commodities oth er tha n  
farm products and foods  102.2  101.3  99.2  +  3.0  +  0.9  

Consumers' Prices 
(All income figures must he used In connection with a m...unf of changes in consumers' prices, since tile purchulq po,,.,. e income is more significant than the &&"gre&"ate amount ID clollan; The increasing cost of llvin&", u measured by Indexes of CODS-• prices, is of vital importance to all hualneaamen and conaumwa.) 
The index of consumers' prices for moderate-income families in large cities was 130.2 for all cities on March 15, 1946. The base of this index number is the five·year average 1935-39, which means that consumers' prices have risen approximately 30% since the beginning of the war. This index, formerly known as the "cost of living index" measures the average changes in retail prices of selected goods, rents, and services, weighted by quantities bought by families of wage earners and moderate-income workers in large cities in 1934-36. The items priced for the index constituted about 70% of the expenditures of city families whose incomes aver­aged Sl,524 in 1934-36. The index shows only partially the wartime effects of changes in the quality and avail­ability of consumer goods, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that an adjustment of approximately 5% should be made in the index to take these factors into account. 

The index for Houston, the only Texas city included in the index, stood at 127.6, or 2.6 points below the average for all cities. The greatest increase for Houston prices was in housefurnishings (146.5 in relation to the base period) followed closely by clothing (145.6). The cost of food was 139.6, while rent (109.2) increased much less than the average of all prices. The index for fuel, electricity, and ice (88.7) declined. The miscel­laneous group at 125.5 was not significantly different from the average of all prices. 
The index for Houston increased 2.2% over March of last year. The greatest increase was in clothing (up 4.7%). The price of food increased 3.6% over March, 1945, housefurnishings increased 1.9%, and miscella­neous items 1.8%. The fuel, electricity, and ice group showed a 2.6% decrease, whereas rent remained almost unchanged. 
INDEXES OF CONSUMERS' PRICES 
(1935-1939=100) 
Source: Bureau o{ Labor Statistics, U. S. Department of Labor 
Percent change 
Mar. Feb. Mar. Mar. 1946 Mar. 1946 Group 1946 1946 1945 from from Mar. 1945 Feb. 1946 
Houston ALL ITEMS ................ 127.6 126.8 124.8 + 2.2 + 0.6 
Food ........................................ 139.6 139.3 134.8 + 3.6 + 0.2 Clothing 
---------------------------145.6 140.0 139.1 + 4.7 + 4.0 
Rent ---------------------------------109.2 109.4 + 0.2 Fuel, electricity, and ice .... 88.7 88.7 91.1 -2.6 Houaefurniahlngs 
--------------146.5 145.7 n3.8 + 1.9 + 0.6 
Miacell•neowi 125.5 123.3 + 0.3
-----------------------125.1 + 1.8 
U. S. 	Average ALL ITEMS -------------------130.2 129.6 126.8 + 2.7 + 0.5 
Directory of Texas Manufacturers 
The release date of the 1946 Directory has been delayed for reasons beyond the Bureau's control, but the printers promise delivery within the next few weeks. Attention is again called to the fact that the number of copies of the 1946 edition is limited and those desiring to order the Directory should notify the Bureau immediately. Price $2.50, postpaid, invoiced when shipped. 
TEXAS BUSINESS REVIEW 
Published monthly by the 
Bureau of Business Research, 
College of Business Administration, 
The University of Texas, Austin 12, Texas 

Material contained in this publication is not copyrighted and may be reproduced freely. Acknowledgment of source will be appreciated. 
Entered as second class matter on May 7, 1928, at the post c.ffice at Austin, Texas, under the Act of August 24, 1912. Subscription $1.00 per year. 
J. Anderson Fitzgerald ............. ______________________________________... Dean 

STAFF OF THE BUREAU 
OF BUSINESS RESEARCH 
Robert W . French J ohn R. S tockton Director Statistician Elsie Watters Elmer H. J ohnson Office Manager Industrial Geographer Clara H. Lewis Helen Woodcock Editorial Assistant Secr etary Marjorie Campbell 
B.L.S. Representative 
Business Research Council 

J. 	Anderson Fitzgerald John H. Frederick~ 
(ex officio) Transportation and Industry 

Banking and Insurance E. Karl McGinnis Robert W. French (ex officio) Business Law and Real E state Everett G. Smith \.. George W. Stocking 
Marketing 	Economics 
Asaistanta 
Evelyn Balagia Loraine Campbell 
Doris Coffee Marjorie Kidd Fred Comstock Evalyn Limmer Bettye Decatur Ernest Litzler George DeGraff Nora Dell MasseyNellie Dyer Neal McDonald Peggy Doole Mary McLain Alpha Elam June Perry Mr s. Ada Fenlaw Meta Ann Scott Leroy Geist J ean Swenson Edwin Gell Ila Mae Taylor 
Mary Grann Camilla Tetley 
Kenneth Irwirr Donald Tolliver 
Calvin Jayroe Andrew Vlasman 

J immy Witt 
I 
CONTENTS 
Highlights of Texas Business -------------------------·---------1 Figures for the Month --------------------------··------------·------2 The Business Situation in Texas --,---------------·-·-----3 Trade 
Retail Trade ------·---·-··--------------·--··--4 Wholesale Trade ---·------·-------·-------··-------·-7 
Production Manufacturing ----------------------------------------------7 Construction --------------------·-------------------------------------··--9 Public Utilities ......... -... -----·-------·----------10 Natural Resources --·-------·-·-·----------·------·-----10 
Agriculture Income .............. ·-------------------------------·-·-----·------··-· 11 Prices --·-···---·--··--·--·----------·----------·---·-··-·----·-·· 11 
Marketings ..... _ ..................... -..................... ·-·----·-----14. 

Cotton ··--------··-------------·--···----------··--·-···--···· .. ·--·-··--------15 Local Business Conditions --=-·---·--·----·----------·-12 Finance 
Bank Credit ... -... -----·----··--------···---.. -·----------16 Bank Debits -------------------·-·-·-----·--..-----------·-16 Failures ---------..---·-·---·-·---------·-------·-17 Life Insurance Sales ··---------·-------··-------·----17 Credits and Collections ·---··--···--------..·---·-·-·-------·-17 
Labor Employment .........·---··---·-·-------..------·-----··-----·--· 17 Pay Rolls ····-----········--·-----------·---····--·--··------·-19 Hours and Earnings --·---------·--··----···--·---·-19 Man-hours ---------··---··------·-·-·-.. 20 Unemployment --·-·--·-·----··---·----·-···---·-------·-------20 Government Federal Finance ---------------·-21 State Finance ............ ---·--·-·--------------22 Prices 
Wholesale Prices -·----·-----------·-·----·---· 22 Consumers' P rices ------------------------------22 ·Barometers of Texas Business ------------·~·------·--···-------24 

BAROMETERS OF TEXAS BUSINESS 


1NDEX OF MSC FREIGHT CAALOADINGS IN SOUTHWE.SrERN DIST 
•t)<. :£..,.....4, u,Q,•T¢" 
P("l(.[N1

INDEX OF CEMENT PRODUCTION IN TEXAS
INDEX OF SOUTHERN PINE 'PRODUCTION 


INDEX OF CRUDE  PET  OLEUM PRODUCTION IN TE 0''1. ~ i Yt lUM ..,~ · '9• IOO  AS """"' "'  
11