The Washington times., 1924-11-29
IMPROVEMENT.
SHOWN IN
TRADE
Cold Weather Stimulates Re-
tail Buying, Trade Re-
views Report

NEW 1OfSh, NOV. zY.--Yn0eo Is
more confidence now and more dis.
position to increase commitments,
with larger buying both to fill i'm.
mediate needs and to make pro.
visions for future requirements, &C
cording to Dun's review Of the
trade. this week. Except in a few
instances, there has been no rapid
expansion Of operations, but the
current movement is the more
wholesome on this account and the
sound basic conditions are regard.
ed as foreshadowing a continuance
OF the commercial recovery along
conservative lines.
AS demand enlarges. manufactur-
ing capacity is being more fully
utilized, outputs rising In various
industries and employment OF
workers increasing, and producers
are more inclined to ask higher
prices than those ruling before the
election. Such phase has become
prominent in iron and steel, copper,
lumber and other important com.
modities, different markets turning
more strongly in sellers favor, and
Dun's list Of wholesale quotations
again shows some excess Of ad.
vances, 1t Is significant, more.
over, that pressure Of offerings has
decreased and that the initiative in
many dealings is now with the
buyer. The holiday this week nat
urally tended to reduce the volume
of business, but bank cleartngs out.
side OF New York city are 90 per
cent larger than those of a year
ago, and latest returns OF car load
ings disclose the heaviest freight
traffic on record for this season.
Bradstreet's Food Index Number,
based on the wholesale prices per
pound Of thirty-one articles used
for food, is $3.50, comparing with
$3.65 last week and $3.a7 for the
week ended November %, 1923. This
weeks number shows q gain Of IL
per cent over last week and Of 6.6
per cent over the like week Of
last year. OF the 50 commodities of
all kinds quoted weekly "a advanced
as compared with last week, IL de-
clined and 43 remained unchanged.
Those which increased follow: Red
wheat, spring wheat, oats, mess
pork, butter, cheese, raw sugar, cot
tonseed oil, tea, apples, eggs, pota.
toes, rice, sheep, lambs, cotton. basic
pig iron, steel bars, Philadelphia cid
car wheels, Chicago steel scrap, coke.
copper, spelter, rubber.
The following decreases were noted:
Corn, barley, corn flour, hams, lard.
coffee, tapioca. currants, hogs, cleo
oil, New York hops, linseed oil, hides,
antimony. tin. {
Commodities which remain un-
changed are: Flour, rye flour, sailed
ribs, smoked ribs. tallow, refined
sugar, beans, peas, peanuts, molasses,
raisinS, prIlneS, lemons, beeves Pacific
hops, condensed milk, evaporated
milk, macaroni, print cloths, gray
goods, brown sheetings, ginghams,
Ohio delaine wool, Ohio nale.blood
wool, kerosene, crude petroleum, gas
oline, leather, hay, Bessemer pig
iron. Southern pig iron, Bessener
steel billets, Open hearth steel bill
lets, steel rails, old Chicago car
wheels, Pittsburgh steel scrap, Chi
cago cast iron, wire nails, tinplates,
lead, yellow pine, Adirondack spruce,
Pennsylvania hemlock.
Improvement is the dominant
note in trade. prices and industry.
but there is still a lack OF uni
formity In reports as to distribu-
tive trade. according to Bradstreet's.
Cool weather. with rain or snow,
has given a further stimulus to
retail trade at most markets. At
places on the Pacific coast, how
ever. business has seemed to lag
behind expectations, as do collec-
lions the country over. Northern
and Western iobbing reflects better
retail buying.
In industry progress Is more uni
forTnly good than in distributive
trade and operations have expanded
very generally. This Il especially
true in iron and steel. lumber and
in cotton and silk manufacturing.
Interesting features herein are a
marking up Of productive outputs
in pig iron and steel manufacturing,
with prices Of iron and steel firm.
ing up in keeping. First quarter
of 1925 buying is noted in all the
metal trades. Structural steel is
active. and wire and sheets tend up
in price. Cotton mills are resum-
ing fun time In eastern areas, with
some wage reductions noted