Evening star., 1938-05-14
CONTRACTS TOTAL
. $22,016,ODOFOR37
STATES IN APRIL
Awards for Building and
Engineering 18 Per Cent
Below Last Year.
SIX OUT OF IS DISTRICTS
IN EAST SHOW INCREASE
Months Figure for Residential
Far Below Peak Seen in
1887 Period.

Building and engineering contracts
awarded in the 81 States east of the
Rocky Mountains during the month
OF April amounted to $22016,00O. ac-
cording to the F. w. Dodge Corp.
While this total figure was 18 per
cent below the one for April, 1887
Qast years peak month";, it was only
2 per cent under the total for March
OF this year. Six out of Is districts
included in this eastern territory
showed increased total contracts over
April of last year.
While the number of small-house
units increased per cent over March,
apartment contracts we're somewhat
smaller, and the April dollar total for
all residential building. $74,577, 900,
dropped 6 per cent from the preceding
month and fell 81 per cent below the
peak figure of April, 1887.
Non-residential contracts in April
amounted to $s0,435, 900, compared
with s96,326.OoO in April, 1887, and
S87.823 900 in March, 1885, CONNER
cial and industrial building continued
on moderate levels and public build
ing projects have been somewhat on
the increase. Public works contracts,
amounting to S57, ,631 900 last month,
increased 81 per cent over the corre-
spending month of last year and 18
per cent over March of this year.
Utilities Construction Behind.
Public utilities construction, amount
ing to s9,37300O in April, fell some
what behind both April, 1887. and
March, 1888. Publicly financed prof.
ects of all kinds ran "a per cent
ahead OF April, 1887. and privately
financed projects ran 81 per cent be-
hind last April
Commenting on the April construc-
ton record, Thomas S. Holden, vice
president in charge of statistics and
research for F. W. Dodge Corp,
states: ''The April construction
record. little disappointing to hopes
OF speedy revival, seems to indicate
more than anything else a lag in the
return OF business confidence. New
plans for construction projects con-
tinued to accumulate last month.
During the past 16 months Dodge
has reported s2,077 900, 900 in contem-
plated residential building. during
which time s1.135 100000 worth of
residential contracts were let. This
80 per cent excess of contemplated
new work over contracts is a quite
reliable indicator of accumulated de-
mand, since the usual excess is only so
per cent.
Figures Are Confirmed.
confirmation of these figures is
seen In the records of mortgages
selected for appraisal by the Federal
Housing Administration, which began
to rise considerably in March, a..d
mortgages accepted for insurance IA
later stage of F. H. A. procedure),
which in April increased Is per cent
in total over April of last year.
Significant of better prospect for
future months is the fact that no
large-scale housing projects, either
private or public, of the many that
have been planned, have yet appeared
in the contract record Also indi-
Gated for later months are increased
public building and engineering prof.
ects under the proposed new Federal
public works program Deferred in
dustrial plant and public utility prof.
ects also await the starting spark of
revived business confidence"