Evening star., 1937-04-11
Momentum Remains Great
as Retail Trade Holds
Well Above 1886.
CHRYSLER SETTLEMENT
PUTS 10000 TO WORK
Break in Commodity Prices Cited
as Another Major Factor.
Weather Favorable.
BY THOMAS E. FLANAGAN,
Associated Press Financial Writer.


Although the Nations industrial
motor slowed down somewhat from
its recently established high speed, ex-
pert observers said inherent recovery
momentum remained great.
Volume of retail trade, high above
last year in many sectors, presented
no accurate comparison with a year
ago owing to the earlier date Of
Easter this year.
The week produced two potentially
far-reaching developments: Settle
ment Of the month-old Chrysler motor
strike, returning more than $4,000
men to work, and a decline in the
average of commodity prices-ths
| first since January.
In a surprising number Of In
stances, retail trade for the week sur
passed that of year ago even though
the 1886 period fell Immediately be-
fore Easter" the Department of Com
merce said in its report on 81 cities.
Buying Power Gains.
Unusually favorable weather. Wig
orously exploited Easter sales and
increases in the public's purchasing
| power were factors in this situation.
In some important cities. never the
less, notably New York. the weeks re-
suits were disappointing. Wholesale
trade on the whole continued its ad-
vance movement"
The Associated Press index Of in
dustrial activity declined to lO4l
from 1852 (revised) last week. A
year ago it was 839.
Steel industry experts attached no
particular significance to a Slight let
down in operations and intimated
shut-downs for repairs might bring
unimportant irregularity in the pace
Of operations.
At 69,9 per cent of capacity. opera
tons compared with 90.7 per cent the
previous week and 64.5 per cent in the
like week last year, the American Iron
and Steel Institute reported.
More important than the slightly
slower rate of operations. steel men
said, were indications Of well-sustained
business ahead
As one example of potential orders
for steel, they pointed to opinions Of
! officials of the Association Of American
| Railroads that heavy freight loadings
in the Fall would seriously tax exist
! ing freight car facilities. In this con-
nection it was recalled the Fall of 1886
| developed a comparative shortage Of
freight cars.
Significant to business and indus
trial circles was the width of the gain
in freight loadingS in the latest week
| over the like week last year-18.4 per
cent, the association reported. For
the week ended April 3, however. the
| total declined As per cent to 726687
| cars, drop attributed mainly to the
sharp downturn in shipments of coal,
owing to the brief suspension of op-
erations. Also meaningful, traffic ex-
perts said, was the fact all other i'm
portant classifications of freight gained
except for trifing downturns in live
stock and coke.
Providing brightly colored back
ground for abatement of strike difficult
ties in the motor industry and sub
Sequent gain in output were opinions
from automobile centers a good selling
season lies ahead. Basis for this. it
was argued. is increased purchasing
power in both farm and industrial
sectors.
Outturn for the week expanded to
98,910 units from 95,627 (reNsed) a
week ago and compared with 1888
in the like week last year. Grams re-
ported.
Gradual lengthening Of daylight
hours and smaller demand from some
divisions of industry were mentioned
in power circles as explanations of a
drop in electric power production. The
total, reported by the Edison Electric
Institute at 2.146,959 900 kilowatt
hours for the week ended April s, was
Is per cent ahead of the like week
year ago. In the preceding week the
rise over last year was 1871 per cent.
Traditionally a barometer of busi-
ness activity and purchasing power is
the report on telephone installations
of the Bell System.
In March there was a gain of l05,-
999 in station installments. This COM
pared with an upturn of 76,30C stations
scored in March last year. Business
men said the rise was all the more sig
nificant when considered in the light
of the upturn of 1895.
Net profits and the rate of manu-
featuring operations are closely allied
to prices for both raw materials and
finished goods. This week prices Of
non-ferrous metals played an impor-
tant part in drop in the average Of
commodity price levels. At the same
time prices were marked up for such
diverse products as shoes, coke and
brick
An echo to recently booming grain
prices was the announcement bread
will cost more in the New York area,
beginning Monday.
Stock and bonds markets worked
irregularly lower during the week. In
Wall Street brokerage circles much
was attached to the fact settlement
of disputes between workers and en-
ployers in the motor industry had
failed to stimulate important demand
fo.' shares. This. they said, meant
traders were waiting clarification of
lsee BUSINESS, Page G-2)