Chemical Statistics and Commerce's Chemical Division F. M. HOFFHEINS and OSCAR A. COLTEN
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Chemical and Rubber Division, Business and Defense Services Administration, U. S. Department of Commerce, Washington, D. C.
In programming chemical expansion and in studying supplies and requirements of chemicals, statistics are essential. Production statistics are obtainable through federal agencies, but data on plant capacities, uses, and raw material requirements are also necessary. Such data were developed by the Chemical Division of the National Production Authority on officially approved forms, which were sent to chemical producers. By the end of 1951, 92 specific chemicals were surveyed, analysis of data is in progress regularly, and results of such analyses are put to immediate use by the various chemical specialists.
D u r i n g periods of national emergency, a system of priorities and allocations of m a terials and facilities based on supply and requirement studies of products and services is essential for national security. The basis of such studies is accurate and detailed statis tical information. Chemicals and allied products are so vital to national security that a control system must be ready for immediate use. This requires that the Government have at hand at all times up-to-date statistics on a variety of basic chemicals. I n recent years the nation has gone through two such emergencies: World W a r I I and the Korean action. During World War I I , a series of war agencies was established to assume responsibilities for priorities and allocations. The last and best known of these was the W a r Production Board. Regardless of the name, however, each of these agencies had a division which was responsible for chemicals. I n 1947, i n enacting the National Security A c t , Congress made provision for establish ment of an agency which would be concerned with coordinating military, industrial, and civilian mobilization. The National Security Resources Board, as this agency was known, had both short- and long-range planning responsibilities in the areas of manpower; stabili zation of civilian economy; production, procurement, and distribution of goods; supplyrequirement statistics of manpower, resources, and productive facilities; stockpiles; and dispersion of industry and government. I n the period between World W a r I I and the Korean action, the Chemical Division of the Commerce Department's Office of Domestic Commerce continued its long-standing function of compiling and disseminating statistics of concern to the chemical and chemical process industries.
Mobilization Program Required by Korean Action The second emergency period started with the outbreak of the Korean action. The organizational setup of defense agencies during this emergency differed to some extent from that during World W a r I I , but the basic objectives were the same. 10
LITERATURE RESOURCES Advances in Chemistry; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 1954.
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HOFFHEINS AND COLTEN—CHEMICAL STATISTICS AND COMMERCE'S
CHEMICAL
DIVISION
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In September 1950, for example, Congress passed the Defense Production A c t which authorized the President to mobilize the economy. Under this act, N S R B remained a planning agency and several new agencies were set up to handle operating responsibilities in the fields of production and economic control. The organization, as i t finally shaped up, was headed by the Defense Production Administration (later Office of Defense Mobilization) which established policy and co ordinated the activities of various operating units. Except for the Office of Price Stabili zation, most mobilization agencies were set up within existing government agencies. One of the most important of these and the one which controlled chemicals, was the National Production Authority ( N P A ) set up within the Department of Commerce. N P A had 33 divisions, including the Chemical Division. The nucleus of this unit was personnel from Office of Domestic Commerce's Chemical Division. N P A ' s Chemical Division was responsible for promoting national defense and es sential civilian economy b y stimulating production of chemicals and providing production facilities as needed. Its duties also included restrictions on the use of critical materials for nonessential purposes, and taking measures to assure equitable distribution of critical materials for defense and civilian uses. The N P A Chemical Division was organized into seven branches, five of which were concerned with commodities and two with program and requirements and facilities.
Statistics Vital in War Planning The Chemical Division could not have performed its authorized function of stimulat ing defense production had i t not been for industry and commodity statistics. Personnel had to know current production, consumption, and stocks of chemicals and related prod ucts. It had to be informed of existing demand and possible future demand for hundreds of inorganic and organic chemicals. Because of its functions concerned with processing applications for rapid tax amortization and loan assistance, the division also kept i n formed of planned chemical expansions. One of the basic types of controls exercised over the nation's industry during the Korean action was the Controlled Materials Plan ( C M P ) . Under C M P , steel, copper, and aluminum were allocated to industry. The Chemical Division was responsible for allocating these basic materials to manufacturers of 16 groups of chemical products such as paint, catalysts, and plastics. On July 1, 1953, C M P was replaced by the Defense Materials System ( D M S ) . To control use of critical chemicals, various types of regulations were used. The basic one ( N P A order M-45) was designed to provide for distribution and use of limited supplies of chemicals so as best to serve the interests of national defense and civilian production. Approximately 10 chemicals were controlled b y this order. These included : naphthenic acid, polyethylene, resorcinol, sebacic acid, methylene chloride, methyl chlo ride, Thiokol, Teflon, sulfuric acid, and plastic-type nylon. Special orders were issued to control the sale and use of such chemicals as sulfur and chlorine. Use and interpretation of chemical statistics were basic to all these operations.
Certificates of Necessity Another major use of chemical statistics involved the handling of applications for certificates of necessity and loan applications. Under the certificate of necessity program, ''construction, reconstruction, erection, installation, or acquistion of facilities necessary i n whole or i n part i n the interest of n a tional defense during this emergency period" was allowed accelerated tax amortization on that portion of the amount applying to defense purposes. During the Korean action period some 1400 applications for certificates of necessity were processed by the Chemical Division. These certificates represented investments running over $3 billion. T o know when added capacity was needed, the Chemical Division had to obtain ac curate and up-to-date supply-requirement data. Some statistics for this purpose were LITERATURE RESOURCES Advances in Chemistry; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 1954.
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ADVANCES IN CHEMISTRY SERIES
available i n the form of published and unpublished figures of several government agencies which collect, compile, and distribute chemical statistics*. During this period, organiza tions like the Bureau of the Census, Tariff Commission, and the Bureau of Mines expanded their monthly schedules at the request of the Chemical Division. They obtained current data on production, consumption, and stocks on an additional 100 or more chemicals. ' O l d - l i n e " agencies were used to collect this material to avoid setting up duplicate or over lapping facilities. In some cases, where it was necessary to obtain statistical data of a type not collected by old-line agencies, the N P A Chemical Division collected the data. T y p i c a l examples are information concerning plant capacity, proposed future production, raw material requirements, power consumption, and end-use patterns. During the war the capacity and end-use data were not made available publicly. A s was the case at the end of World W a r I I when ' 'wartime end-use patterns" for approximately 60 chemicals were made public, current end-use data are being released by the Chemical Division. Individual company figures are not disclosed. In a l l of its operations, the Chemical Division utilized the services and advice of industry advisory committees. These committees, which totaled about 50, represented large, medium, and small producers of specific chemicals. The practice of using industry-trained personnel on a rotating basis was adopted by the N P A commodity divisions, including the Chemical Division. Those men served on a full-time or consultant basis, usually without compensation ( W O C ) . B y using industry advisory committees and industry trained men, the Chemical Division was able to get help i n intelligent interpretation and analysis of the chemical statistics it compiled.
New Postwar Organization The mobilization activities tapered off after the Korean action and controls on chemi cals were taken off. N P A was dissolved and the Commerce Department reorganized its commodity divisions with the object of furnishing a service to industry on a more normal peacetime basis. Inherent i n the reorganization planning, however, was the idea that the new setup should serve as the nucleus for any future mobilization programs. Business and Defense Services Administration, as the new organization is called, includes 25 commodity divisions. The Chemical and Rubber Division is one of these. The Secretary of Commerce has continued the policy of utilizing the services of i n dustry leaders on a rotating basis. These men serve as head of the Chemical and Rubber Division for periods of 6 months. T o assure continued smooth operations, the deputy director is a career government employee. The Chemical and Rubber Division is still carrying on certain activities called for by the Defense Production A c t . One of these relates to certificates of necessity and loan applications. This program calls for extensive use of chemical statistics, as noted above. Another activity relating to chemical statistics is the publication of end-use patterns of basic chemicals. Several of these have been issued, including benzene, toluene, sulfur, and sulfuric acid. New ones are planned and older ones are being updated. Of interest to those who use statistics is the Chemical and Rubber Division's pro posal to renew publication of regular reports on the chemical industry. These will be es sentially analytical, showing trends i n various phases of the industry. The Chemical and Rubber Division of B D S A is interested i n collecting and dissemi nating data and statistics concerning the chemical industry. Very often it has data, some of them unpublished, which are available for the asking, except for emergency periods when release of statistics could be a security problem. Realizing full well that "to give is to get," the Chemical and Rubber Division, as a service organization to industry and government, welcomes requests, whether they be letters, phone calls, or personal visits. LITERATURE RESOURCES Advances in Chemistry; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 1954.
HOFFHEINS AND COLTEN—CHEMICAL STATISTICS AND COMMERCE'S CHEMICAL DIVISION
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Sources of Statistics As noted above, the Chemical and Rubber Division is a secondary source of most chemical statistics data. I t compiles and analyzes data collected b y ' 'old-line" govern ment agencies. F r o m a chemical marketer's viewpoint, the Chemical and Rubber Division serves well as a point i n Government where information can be obtained as to the availability and location of chemical statistics issued b y government agencies. The only statistical reports currently issued b y the Chemical and Rubber Division are consumption and end-use patterns of various basic chemicals. These do not appear at any regular interval but when the data are available. T o date reports on benzene, toluene, sulfur, and sulfuric acid have been issued. Prior to the Korean action, the division issued monthly reports on the chemical indus try. These were discontinued. Plans to resume publication of the report "Chemical and Rubber M o n t h l y Industry Report" are still i n the discussion stage. Similarly, the synopses of information on major commodities were discontinued but may be resumed. These would appear i n the monthly report and possibly as separate reprints. Principal sources of statistics of interest to the chemical and chemical process indus tries are cited i n the "Chemical Statistics Directory." This publication was prepared by the Chemical and Rubber Division of the Commerce Department. The first edition of this appeared i n 1947 and covered the year 1945. The second edition was printed i n 1949 and covered the period 1946-47. N o revised editions have appeared since that time. Copies of the first are available from the Superintendent of Documents, U . S. Government Printing Office, Washington 25, D . C , at $0.15. Copies of the second are available at the same address at a cost of $0.20. The principal agencies cited i n these directories and the areas which they cover are cited below: Bureau of the Census, inorganic chemicals, export-import data; Bureau of Internal Revenue, alcohol; Bureau of Labor Statistics, wages, hours, employment, pay roll, and wholesale and retail prices and indexes; Bureau of Mines, metals and minerals; Bureau of Narcotics, narcotics; Department of Agriculture, chemicals from agricultural products, naval stores, fertilizer, agricultural chemicals; Department of the Interior, petroleum, gas, and coal; Federal Reserve System, business indexes; and Tariff C o m mission, synthetic organic chemicals, trade agreements data. R E C E I V E D for review April 22, 1952. Presented before the Division of Chemical Literature, Symposium on Literature Sources for Chemical Market Research, at the 121st Meeting of the A M E R I C A N C H E M I C A L SOCIETY, Buffalo, Ν. Y . The authors were with the Chemical Division of N P A when this paper was prepared, M r . Col ten as a W O C from Shell Chemical Co.
LITERATURE RESOURCES Advances in Chemistry; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 1954.
