Evening star., 1937-06-20
BUSINESS SHOWS
BASIC STRENGTH
DESPITE TROUBLES
Gains in Steel and Power
Outputs Regarded as
Signs of Vitality.
RETAIL TRADE STAGES
IRREGULAR ADVANCE
Strong Buying Undertone Seen.
Wholesale and Mail Order
Outlook Is Good,
BY THOMAS f. FLANAGAN.
Associated Press Flnancta, Writer

BY THOMAS f. FLANAGAN,
Associated Press Financial Writer.
Trade and industry last week showed
strength despite strikes which con.
tlnued to paralyze nerve centers Of the
Nations two top industries-steeI and
motors
Evidence Of vitality pulsing under
the surface Of industry at large were
gains In steel and electricity output.
An accent on the effects of strife
between workers and employers. on
the other hand, was provided by the
less than seasonal expansion of freight
shipments and drop in automobile
production
The Associated Press index Of in
dustrlal activity was unchanged at
lO4.5. indicating industry In general
was following seasonal pattern. In
the like week of 1885 it stood at o0.e.
Retail trade marched ahead but
progress was irregular In areas af-
f1lcted by strikes sales wilter, but
these losses were made up elsewhere
and indications of a strong buying
undertone were evident" the Depart
ment of Commerce reported.
Wholesale trade likewise rendered
a good account of itself. Chicago mail
order houses reported business steady"
Steel Operations Rise.
The steel industry stepped up opera
tons to 76.6 per cent Of capacity from
1852 the week previous and 70 in the
like week last year, the American Iron
e. Steel Institute reported.
Iron Age said, new business in
Pittsburgh and at one or two other
points was slightly larger in the past
week than in the week before. indi.
eating some diversion of orders from
strike affected companies to those not
involved, but the small amount Of
such switching Of business indicates
that the majority Of steel users are
we'll supplied for the time being"
Electric power output rose to the
highest point since the week Of jan
uary 30. The total for the week Of
June IL was 2214,l66,000 kilowatt
hours. a moderate gain over the pre-
vious week. which included the Memo
rial day holiday. Production was up
1873 per cent over the corresponding
period year ago, a rise which COM
pared with 109 per cent scored in the
week ended June 5.
Utility experts called attention 70
the fact the gain over the past two
weeks was only about 100000 kilo.
watt hours. compared with rise Of
about 5o,0OO,00O over the like period
last year.
Freight Loadings Higher.
Freight carloadings in the week
ended June II totaled 754360. tho
Association Of American Railroads re.
ported. This was an upturn OF 90
per cent over the preceding week, .
less than seasonal advance, trafnc ex.
perts said.
Failure Of freight shipments to re-
bound with more energy following the
holiday interruption was attributable
in some measure to strikes, it was
said.
Comparison Of loadings with those
for the week ended May 20, the last
previous week not distorted by the
holiday influence, indicated clearly
the lnroads of slower industrial pro.
duction on traffic, some said.
OF the drop Of 4o,495 cars from that
week, 1924 occurred in shipments Of
miscellaneous freight, coal and iron
ore. For these three classihcations,
which are most intimately related to
general industrial operations, the COM
bined slump from the May 29 level
was 62 per cent, contrasted with only
2.9 per cent for all other freight
groups combined
Auto Production Down.
Automobile output slid to 111,620
units from 1873 the previous week
and compared with l00.16l in tho
like week last year, Wards estimato
showed. A factor in the drop, it was
said, was the stoppage of production
at some plants occasioned by strike
at an equipment factory.
Dlagnosticians of the overall con.
dition Of business took cheer from
the Wel-sustained demand for COM
mercial loans shown in the condition
statement Of banks in 1Ol leading
cities for the week ended June 9.
They noted there had been no
+. slackening In the most robust volume
OF business loans for any Spring sea.
son since recovery started.
Considerable attention was given the
failure Of general construction activity
in early June to keep the pace set
recently. Although F. w. Dodge
tot fo1 CT;
cent ahead of the first five months
OF 1885, observers said rising costs
were tending to retard progress.
Construction Scars.
Engineering construction awards
for bridges and kindred projects
rose to s80,380,00 for the week, high.
est since January 8. 1896, and com.
pared with s57,621 900 in the {, like
week last year. Heavier flow Of pri.
vate money into this field was a high
spot.
The stock market, worried early in
the week by strike violence and the
threat Of a French fiscal crisis. re.
covered later but finished ragged.
Energy for the rise. brokers said, was
provided by appointment OF a Federal
Mediation Board designed to concili.
ate labor difficulties.
The bond market was quiet with
rails and utilities under pressure
most Of the week. On the home stretch
there was slight improvement In
corporate issues, while United States
Government loans lacked resistance.
The bond market welcomed the largest
crop Of new issues in many weeks
$149, 100000.
R1CHMOND.-Retail trade through May
was up 4.3 per cent scattered returns
from the district showed. Wholesale trades
varied. Grocery and drug houses reported