New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1919-11-27
Record Sales of
AutOmOtive Parts
And Accessories
General Repairing of Motor
Vehicles Following the
War Results i'm a Large
Increase of Business

In a great industry little known to
the public which it serves, tremen-
dous boom is now in progress. The
production and sale of automotive parts
and accessories will be larger in 1919
than ever before and this years volume
of business will be exceeded next year,
according to NJ L. Heminway, general
manager of the Motor and Accessory
Manufacturers Association.
Reports covering the first nine
months of the year 1919," he said
yesterday, "jndicate that it will be the
largest year in the automotive parts
and accessory industry and that 1920
will see new high records established
both in dollars and in volume of pusi-
ness"
Three hundred and sixty manufac-
turers are members Of the association,
which Is clearing house for trade in
formation. The association is not yet
yeady to estimate how many cars will
be In use on December 81, 1919, but
unofficial forecasts indicate that there
will be 100000 cars and trucks on the
nations highways, an increase Of 1885,
So8 over December 81. 1918.
Explanation for Increase
Asked to explain the unprecedented
activity, Mr. Hemingway declared:
-Four underlying factors, 1t seems
to me, are responsible for this sign'h-
cant development.
after the long period of war produc-
ton. Second, the general high level Of
prosperity which tends to increase the
effective demand for motor vehicles.
Third, the enormous expansion Of agrl-
cultural uses for passenger cars, auto
mobile trucks, tractors and trallers, due
to the development of good roads and
the more extensive shipment of farm
products over the highways. Fourth,
the large demand for the replacement
and renewal of automobile parts and
ing use of automobiles by women and
by the repairing Of old cars by those
unable to secure immediate delivery
of new ones.
"There is another factor which can
be added with qualitications-the po-
tential and expected demand for ex-
port purposes. At the present mo-
ment this is confined largely to the
South American business, as the con-
rant an aggressive foreign selling
campaign. The leaders of the auto
motive industry are, therefore, watch
ing with more than perfunctory in
terest the problem of foreign ex-
change. The subject Of foreign
credits is of vital and immediate i'm
portance to the industry and sales
managers are to-day replacing the
maps of the United States on their
Office walls with maps of the world.
Credit Managers Hopeful
THE credit managers Of the lead
Ing parts and accessories manufactur-
ing companies, whose business it is
to be conservative analysts rather
than optimistic prophets, met at a
credit convention of our association
recently. Their outlook on the bust
ness world in general and on their
own industry in particular was char
rcterized by sane note of optimism.
These credit managers, it should be
remembered, are past masters in the
art of watching the fluctuations Of
business, and an optimistic report
from such group of men is really of
tremendous significance
The gross sales of the industry in
1918 reached one and quarter billion
dollars.