The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1920-07-31
TRADE EbuLLET|N
ON COAL COSTS
SHOWS PROFITS
Gives Average Sales Rea|iza.
tions and Reported Costs Of
812 Operators.

WASHINGTON, July 30.-The
federal trade commission has just
issued it's fourth monthly bulletin on
bituminous coal costs. The informa-
ton covers the month of April, 1920,
and shows the average sales realiza-
tions and reported costs of 812 oper-
ators producing about % per cent
of the total bituminous coal mined
in the "a mining districts of the
United States during that month.
While the whole Of the industry is
not therefore covered by the reports
upon which the computations in the
bulletin are based, it is believed that
the results shown are fairly repre-
sentative of the industry. All fig
ures in the bulletin are based on tons
Of 1000 pounds. Revised costs, it
is stated, will be published later; the
revision usually reduces reported
costs only few cents per ton.
The average sales realization of
the S12 operators reporting to the
commission for April was $3.26 per
ton, while their total reported +. o.
b. mine cost amounted to $2.76. OF
this latter amount $2.04 represented
labor costs per ton: 81 cents the cost
of supplies and IL cents general ex-
pense Cor overhead.) The difference
between the sales realization and the
f. o. b. mine cost per ton is the "mar-
gin," which was so cents per ton.
The commission emphasizes the point
that this margin" is not the same
as profit Not all of the margin is
profit. In order to arrive at the
s1oh
cess profits taxes, dividends, or sur
plus there must be deducted certain
items, such as selling expenses and
interest on borrowed capital, and
there must be- added certain, items,
such as income from outside invest
ments."
The commission also points out
that these average figures for COM
panies in all parts of the country
should not be considered applicable
to any one region or district because
of marked variation in costs and
sales realizations due to quality Of
the coal and market conditions. The
bulletin, therefore, gives figures for
six general competitive regions Of
! the country and also for the - dis
tricts in "a coal producing states.
| Along with the April figures, COM
parable information is shown for the
first three months of 1920 and for
the year 1918. The number of iden-
tical operators covered in the COM
parison between April and the first
three months of 1920 is 767, and $50
identical operators are covered in
the comparison of April with the
year 1918. The average working time
of the mines Of the 767 operators in
April was only 16 days as against
1S days per month for the same oper-
ators from January to March, 1920.
The sales realizations of the 767
operators increased from $2.77 per
ton in the first three months of 1920
Ito $3.50 per ton in April: so that,
though their total f. o. b. mine cost
increased from $2.3S per ton to
$2.74, the resultant margin of these
operators increased from 80 cents per
ton in the first quarter to Sc cents
in April. The increase in reported
cost of the 500 operators in April
1920, over 1918 was 81 per cent,
while their production in April fell
23 per cent below their average
monthly production in 1918.
The increase in total mining cost
Of the $50 operators in April, as
compared with the first quarter OF
1920, and with the average for 1915
is explained as chiefly due to two
causes: (1) Decreased production in
! Continued on Page Too.