New York and Cleveland report cancellations of orders for machine tools. The TVA has halted construction on three nuclear plants. Commercial construction is weak except for large office building in centers such as New York, Chicago, Cleveland, and Dallas. Steel and motor vehicle output are down sharply, but there are signs of improvement. Appliance output also is down currently.
Textiles are down in Atlanta and apparel in Dallas.
Petrochemical output is off in several districts. Richmond reports a rise in demand for cigarettes. Overall, manufacturing output remains depressed but may be past its low point. The housing picture varies from bad to worse throughout the nation. Dallas and Minneapolis report a recent rise in home sales, but Richmond, San Francisco, St. Louis, Chicago and most other districts have observed no improvement in starts from an extremely low level.