Evening star., 1932-07-04
RECOVERY IN AUTO
TRADE HELD DUE
Leaders of industry Believe
Better Business Is
in Prospect.
BY DAVID j. WILKTE.
Written for the Associated Press

DEROIT. July At used to be
said of the automobile industry that
Usually it was the first to be affected
by a business recession and the first
to recover from it through the normal
workings of economic law Motor
car manufacturers stood by this belief
during the first year that followed the
collapse Of the automobile market late
in 1929, and there were some who per-
sisted in it. even during last year.
Generally. however, automobile ex-
ecutlves last year abandoned the idea
that their business would be the first
to recover from what some of them
have called economic anemia." With
a few exceptions, they conceded that
the automobile industry was in a new
era in its development and that its in
terestS were so closely allied with these
of most other industries that it must
depend upon a general improvement in
business conditions for anv marked i'm
provement in their own line.
Boom Still in Future.
The new era referred to has been In
terpreted in various ways, but gen.
orally 1t was understood to mean that
the new fields for the motor car were
slowly but steadily shrinking as the
activities of the sales organizations in
troduced it to the far corners of the
earth
BY all tradition in the motor car In
dustry it should be experiencing some
thing resembling a real boom at this
time. The failure of this much-desired
condition to develop, sales directors
say. merely emphasizes the fact that
precedent needs TO be forgotten and
oil attention rf hA ND
devoted to the future. Those of the
executives who believed in the tradi-
ton that its business was governed
largely by economic cycles" declared
IN 1880 that the lean days of that year
would be followed by the recovery"
year of 1881 and the boom" period Of
1882.
All are agreed that the boom" still is
somewhere in the future-some even
say there will be no more ''booms" In
the strictest sense of the word-but few
can be found who do not honestly be-
lieve a real recovery is about due for
for the automobile industry.
None Of the conservatives among the
heads of the industry want another
boom such as was experienced in 1929.
A wear that would produce a market
to 3.501.000 vehicles right now would be
regarded as a period for real rejoicing
in the industry. In 1929. the industry
poured cut of its assembly pants more
than 5,600C00 vehicles, but despite the
most intensive salesmanship found
itself with elo-e to 100000 surplus
units on hand after the bottom dropped
out of the market.
Revised figures Just made public In
suthorita tive sources show that in 1881
the total wholesale value Of all cars,
parts and tires produced in the United
States end Canada was $2159,424, ,252.
While this is sharn drop compared
with 1880. and everything points to
further declire when final figures be-
cone availoble for the current year.
rnuch is bsing made in trede circles Of
the fP"t that virtIlallv all waste has
b~en elinirated in 10th nroducticn end
distribution divisions of the industry.
Inventory Reduction
In anticipation of a further reduc-
ton in the wholesale value figures for
1892. heads of the industry are pointing
to the fact that in the reduction OF
factory inventory. reduction of produce
ton ccsts generally and the lowering
of retail prices new ratio of valua-
tion has been established. At the same
tima, the fact remains that the unit
production of the industry this ysar
will be the smallest in its history, with
the possible exception of 1921, since
1918.
ToSal registration Of new passenger
automobiles in the United States from
January l to Nav 81, inclusive. is esti-
mated by r. L. Polk g. Co. of Detroit
at 514,8o6 units. May sales were
placed at 131, 1872 units, higher than
any preceding month this year, but
47.04 per cent under sales of May q
year ago.