Evening star., 1934-12-30
Manufacturers Kept Busy
RepIenishing Inventories
After Sales Rush.
PACTS HELP OUTLOOK
FOR FOREIGN TRADE
Brazilian and Colombian Houses
Arrange for Orders When
Agreements Are Signed.
BY JOHN A. CRONE.
Special Dispatch to The Star.

Special Dispatch to The Star.
NEW YORK, December 29.-With
the volume of trade during the Christ
mastide breaking records for the last
five years, many merchants in this
city have set sail for a weeks vaca-
ton, leaving year-end inventory tax
ing to their junior partners.
Equally tired physically, but eager
for holiday week in New York, were
the numerous out-of-town buyers who
arrived here the last few days. They
turned detailed stock-taking over to
assistants as they sought merchan-
disc to repleniSh much depleted in
ventories.
Manufacturers, many of whom re-
ported plant activities at the highest
rate at this season in five years, were
too busy to pay much attention to
forecasting or inventories, as they
sought to supply fresh merchandise
or complete Spring lines.
Retail trade this week in many sec
tionS was only moderate, for unlike
the last three or four years holiday
clearance merchandise was not on
hand and hence could not be pro-
NOTED. Wholesale markets were busy
with the usual January merchandise
Booked for Celebrations.
Railroads, steamships. hotels, res
taurants and clubs are heavily booked
for year-end celebrations. Liquor
orders are far ahead Of a year ago.
Cigar jobbers here report the best
Christmas trade since 1929 in domes-
tic products and the best they can
remember for most types of Havana
cigars which, because of the lowered
duty growing out of the reciprocal
trade agreement, have been reduced in
price.
Completion of additional reciprocal
trade pactS has cheered importers and
exporters. With our foreign trade for
the first l months well above the COR
responding period of 1888, and the
trade of Canada and Japan, likewise
showing improvement. shipping COM
panies expect world trade to flow more
freely next year.
Buyers for Brazilian and Colombian
houses were here this week to arrange
Tor purchases as soon as trade agree
ments are signed by their govern
ments. Most of the visitors were
chiefly interested in agricultural i'm
plements, machine tools, business ma
chimes and Office equipment. Export
ers believe many Latin American buy
ers will visit leading American mar
kets over the next six weeks.
Most of the leading industries in
the final week Of 1884 were either
operating at higher rate than a year
ago or were showing good net gains
for the year compared with 1888.
Wool. tin. cotton, silk, sugar MEETINGS
and lumber output were exceptions to
this general trend.
Steel Operations Climb.
Steel operations, for the tenth sue
ceSSlve week, were stepped up. with
capacity for this period the highest
since 1929. Building is much ahead
of year ago, and that is true of gen.
eral construction, despite the storms
in the last few days. Mills are turning
out more wheat flour, factories more
boots and shoes and refineries are
handling more crude petroleum for the
week as well as for the year. Electric
power was ahead of any week in the
last four years and not much below
its record week in 1929.
Bituminous coal has been stepped I'D
to meet increasing domestic and in
dustrial demand. Tobacco is far ahead
OF a year ago. Anthracite, kerosene,
lubricating oil. zinc, tires, lead. meat
packing, pig iron, cement. heavy and
fine chemicals and automobiles. both
passenger and truck. also are at higher
production rates than a year ago.
Commodity prices generally are we'll
above year ago, with predictions that
many of them will advance or hold
firm for the next few months. Ex-
ceptions to the upward trend are lead,
wool, raw sugar, gasoline, silk, refined
sugar, pine flooring, tin and burlap.
Retail food prices average the high
est levels since December 4. 1880, ac-
cording to Dun & Bradstreet, Inc,
who point out that rise of S cents
during the week, due chiefly to grains
and meats and their products, was
one of the sharpest this year.
(Copvright lQ24)