Milford chronicle., 1956-07-27
Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank
Reports On Current Trends

Resor5 Areas Look For A Good
Season-Buf Perhaps Not Another
1865
A significant feature in the 1855
trend of business seems to have
been it's sidewise movement at a
very high level for so many months
And this was aust about what most
qualified observers had been ex-
pecting. In some sections of the
economy, like business spending
and automobiles, the ups and downs
since the turn of the year have
proved Unexpectedly sharp. But
in other areas, like BODYBUILDING
activity has remained almost on
dead center below the 1855 level.
Overall, the sum of changes wit
messed these past six months or so
has probably come closer to what
is frequently spoken of as roll
ing adjustment" than anything yet
experienced in the postwar period.
Through it all. employment in the
aggregate has shown remarkable
stability. Total spending power also
has been well preserved, as indi-
Gated by continuation of the ris-
ing trend in consumer outlays for
both goods and services.
Until recently, the thought that
major adjustments were behind us
seemed to be gaining considerable
favor. The warn-weather months
of July and August were looked
upon as a period when the stage
might be set for a resumption of
the forward push in an increasing
number of lines. But that was be-
fore the nationwide steel strike
became a reality, injecting new un-
certainties into situation that
appeared so stable.
In addition to the steel workers
themselves, many railroad en-
ployees are affected Immediately,
because the nations carriers are
SO heavily dependent on freight
tcunages originating in the mills
or supported by their activity. For
the steel-consuming industries that
normally schedule plant closings
for vacations during July, the full
impact of lost steel production will
be delayed several weeks. Thus, the
extent to which recent business
thinking must be revised will de-
pend on how long it takes to settle
the dispute and get basic steel back
into full production.
Optimism prevails In Third Dis
trict resort areas. Meanwhile, vaca-
tion time is at hand with the pros
pect of ten weeks or more of "big"
business in the summer resort
areas all over the country. In this
Federal Reserve District the noun
tains and the seashore become the
focal points of interest where
proprietors have made extensive
preparations for the weeks ahead.
AS the influx of summer visitors
gets underway, hotelmen, restaur-
ant owners, and those who operate
amusements and retail shops in
our shore and mountain resorts
all seem to-make predictions COM
pairing this season with last. How
ever. 1855 as an unusually good
year and one that would be hard
to beat.
Advance bookings are near high
1866 levels. Hotels, guest houses,
and cottages along the New Jersey
and Delaware coasts and in the
mountain resorts of eastern and
southern Pennsylvania tell us of
heavy registrations for all of July
and in many cases for the first half
of August. AS always, the period
from mid-August until Labor Day
remains something of a question
mark. Weather seems to be the de-
Gliding factor. And, as we all know.
: last years August weather left
much to be desired from a resort
mans standpoint In our area, the
spring months frequently are too
cool and too wet to encourage either
early vacation planning or the
weekend jaunts that have become
so important in the whole seasons
picture. This was the case this
year. But by the time schools were
closed, preparations for the annual
holiday were in full swing and
warmer weather was encouraging
motorists to make those one-or
two-day preseason visits to a
favored shore or mountain retreat
MOtels are attracting more yisi-
tors. Commercial construction in
Third District resort areas has
been given decided boost by the
great number of motels that have
been built in the past two years.
This year the pace seemed to ac-
celerate in many places, particu-
larly in the shore areas, where in
some cases local ordinances were
changed to permit the existence of
motels. With new rperhighways
and bridges to encourage visitors
from greater distances, the motels
have been given credit for bring
Ing new guests into coast resorts
from southern Delaware to north
ern New Jersey. And i'm most places
this type of accommodation does
not appear to have drawn many
visitors away from the established
hotels and guest houses.
The growth and popularity of
Hotels also have been noteworthy
In parts of the Poconos and in
other mountain resort areas of
Pennsylvania. Current reports from
practically all of these vacation
spots indicate excellent patronage
for mo from aa,Ixy caocor