Evening star., 1937-07-01
RECORD IS SET
At STEEL PLANTS;
BOOM" STOPPED
Higher Farm and Urban
Buying Power Spurs
Broad Demand.
BY THOMAS L. FLANAGAN,

NEW YORK, July 1.-Trade and
industry rolled along at brisk clip in
the first six months of 1887.
Pace-setter was the steel industry,
speeding up to the highest peace
time top on record.
This energy, business observers said,
reflected the underlying momentum
Of recovery.
It owed its strength to higher farm
and industrial purchasing power. 1t
sluiced its fuel in through the chan
nels of expanding production of elec-
tric power, motors and host of other
manufactured products. And it bore
witness to long deferred demand for
durable goods and to freer consumer
spending born of increased confidence
Many Obstacles Faced
Progress during the first half of the
period was scored despite. floods in the
Ohio River basin and strikes in the
motor and other industries.
During the second half, spreading
OF boom psychology was checked by
declining commodity prices and by
strikes il the steel industry, paralyzing
so-called independent companies.
Although the strikes cut the weekly
output, most consumers were we'll
stocked with steel.
The decline in commodity prices
was welcomed In most business circles.
It reflected an attack of speculative
indigestion. most acutely felt in
London.
Soaring commodity prices in the
frst part Of the year had given busi-
ness men cause for concern. AS quo
tations climbed, prices Of various man.
ufactured finished goods were marked
up-notably shoes, clothing and auto
mobile tires.
This trend, it was feared, would
induce consumer resistance if long
continued. But wages of industrial
workers and the cash return to
farmers we're higher and apparently
able to offset in many instances the
burden OF higher retail prices.
Retail Sales Jump.
For the six months just closed
retail chain and department stores
reported sales well ahead of 1886 in
both volume and dollars. The turn
over after Easter was regarded as
disappointing, but post-Decoration
day sales jumped smartly.
That the public was in a buying
mood was shown by the spurt of
motor sales to record highs as the
selling season got under way.
Industrial statistics made cheerful
reading during the period Steel op-
erations ran up to the Spring peak
pf 92.3 per cent of capacity in the
week Of April II.
Motor output hit high of around
142 900 units in the week of MAY Is.
then slackened with the approach of
Summer.
Electric power production held well
above the 2,000,000,00O kliowatt-hour
weekly mark throughout the period,
but the margin of gain over 1886 was
reduced during the Spring.
Freight carloadings pushed up to
around 100000 cars a week and gave
promise Of Fall high of approx
tmately 100000, traffic experts said.
More Houses Built.
The plling up of orders along the
manufacturing and industrial front,
together with the accumulation of
improved profits, spurred construction.
OF prime importance, experts said, was
the faster movement of private dol
lars into engineering construction
projects.
The pulse of home building quick
sned, absorbing workers and raw ma
sertals. High hopes had been pinned
on this field, a laggard in the recovery
march. Signs of revival brought pre-
dictions of a major contribution to
general business.
But residential building in the
Spring fell short of estimates, per-
haps because of higher building ma
terlal costs and wages.