Evening star., 1936-02-02
Retail Trade Above Week
Ago Despite Obstacle
of Cold Weather.
RECESSIONS ARE OFFSET
BY WINTER DEMANDS
Electric Power Output Up Sharp.
ly-Recovery in Auto and Steel
Activities Predicted.
BY RAIDER WINGET,
Associated Press Financia! Writer


strength last week despite the him
drance of weather, but industrial ac-
tivity continued its two-week decline.
Merchants in many sections Of the
Nation discovered that consumers
rushed to buy after being held snow
bound during the previous week. but
the retarding influence of tempera-
lures in a number of other communi.
ties still held the upper hand.
In the aggregate, retail trade was
higher on a week -to-week basis. and
authorities stressed that sales totals
for January show no departure from
the generally higher movement Of the
last several years.
The Department of Commerce in
survey of 33 cities found that retail
sub-zero temperature that spread over
much of the country during the week
ended Wednesday.
Seasonable Goods Active.
while the severe weather retarded
buying in many retail lines, this re-
cession was counteracted in other cases
by heavy demands for seasonable
clothing. fuel and certain drugs and
chemicals. Department store volume
in several cities continued to be sus-
tanned by special sales"
Industrial activity, as measured by
the Associated Press index, adjusted
for seasonal variation, declined to 1922
per cent of the 1e2e-30 average from
841 per cent the previous week.
Automobile production dropped to
a5,790 units in Grams estimate from
87,4l5 the week before because Of a
combination of partial satisfaction
of consumer demand. Winter weather
and the emphasis by dealers on used
car sales.
Authorities said time and the bonus
would likely dissipate all three bar
| riers.
Rebound Is Expected.
Although steel mill activity fell of
one-half of / percentage point to
49.4 per cent of capacity, analysts
asserted there was the immediate
prospect of an addition to automobile
demand to temper the decline. Heavy
orders by railroads Of rails and other
equipment also was looked upon as
distinctly heartening.
| For the week ended January rs,
electric power production rose 2 OF l
per cent to around the best levels in
kilowatt hours ever reached.
Freight carloadings for the same
period however. were somewhat lower
because of smaller shipments of every-
thing except coal and coke. The
| 584.69l cars, nevertheless, remained
So per cent above the same period
year ago.
Rejecting higher costs, machine tool
prices in many lines were lacked up
as much as Is per cent, and those
in the trade forecast the possibility
Of an industry rise in quotations.
Construction Mounts.
The Engineering News Record re-
ported engineering construction awards
last week amounted to s49,o20,000,
compared with s24 1922 900 a year ago.
At the same time there was an
other revival in predictions Of an up
surge in residential construction with
the coming Of Spring. The Federal
Government, in conjunction with pri-
vate organizations. laid plans for aid
ing the boom through better financing
and insurance terms.
Annual reports of U. S. Steel and
Bethlehem Steel showed 1885 was the
| best year for earnings since 1880 and
| General Motors did better than any
year since 1929.
Notification of the presidential veto
of the bonus bill, discussion of gigan-
tic taxation program and renewal OF
the imitation bogey combined with
other developments to press the dollar
lower in relation to other foreign cur
rencies, particularly the French franc.
Despite those events and the long
anticipated installation in power of the
new Federal Reserve Board and impo-
sition of higher margin requirements
| on stock trading Saturday, the New
York Stock Exchange during January
| did more business than for any other
January except January, 1929.
Detailed Reports Given.
Detailed reports by Federal Reserve
districts follow:
BOSTON.-Wool and leather mar
kets were marked by the absence OF
interesting trends. Cotton continued
to work out of recent confusing tax
tangles. Boston retail trade MAIN
tanned gains recently established IN
comparison with a year ago.
NEW YORK.-Retail trade in the
metropolitan district for January
gained to 10 per cent over 1885.
Home furnishings sales were heavy and
hardware markets active. An easing
in some demand was attributed to
price adjustments. Wholesalers moved
out their Winter supplies and pre-
pared for Spring.
PHILADELPHIA. - Unusual cold
weather cut into retail sales despite
the stimulus given to fuel and heavy
clothing. The volume of department
store sales was cut 10 per cent from
the preceding week. but general trade
remained to 10 per cent greater than
last year.
LEVELAND-Steel operations in
the Cleveland -Lorain and Youngstown
districts declined because of lower
automobile production. and tire
makers also eased their rates. Retail
trade was reported "seasonally good"
Clothing and coal distribution rapidly
expanded
| RICHMOND.-Reta trade slumped
because of unfavorable weather hut
was well over a year ago at this time.
Wholesale trade in Baltimore broad
| ened.