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Senate passage of bill controlling w a g e s , prices and rationing chief W a s h ington a c c o m p l i s h m e n t . . . C h e m i c a l manufacturer freezes citric acid . . . Sales of paint, etc., n e a r l y reaches top of c h a r t . . . W a r needs 14°7ζ> of a l u m i n u m Τ Ή κ l'nitcd States escaped a calamity with the seizure of the railroads by t h e Government, but even so, it is most u n fortunate that labor should so press its claims at so critical a period. At least t h e United States is better off, for t h e m o m e n t , than Canada which for the first time in history is paralyzed by a complete railroad shutdown, which inconveniences the I'nited States as to goods we import, such as nickel, paper, and aluminum. T h e Senate has passed a bill providing for controls of wages, prices, rationing, a n d other controls, to be invoked at t h e discretion of President T r u m a n . Before the bill becomes a law the House and President must still approve it. Among the powers to b e granted may be involved the following: control of consumer credit; establishment of a $2 billion fund of fed eral loan to aid defense production; curb of hoarding; waiver of antitrust laws; req uisition of equipment for defense; also requirement of acceptance and preformance of defense contracts. Our Defense Secretary and other mili tary officials h a v e estimated that 49c of current steel o u t p u t is needed for t h e military, as well as 7r/f of copper a n d 149c of aluminum. Doubtless President T r u m a n will go slow in imposing controls, hoping that these controls will b e put into effect vol untarily. Thus Chas. Pfizer & Co. has frozen its prices of citric acid through Aug. 3 1 , 1951. Because of t h e F a r Eastern disturbed situation such items as tin and rubber a r e close to all-time price records. Chinese Reds are manipulating prices of several commodities. T h u s tungsten a n d antimony have risen. Typical is t h e case of Chinese pig bristles. T h e Pittsburgh Plate Glass Co. states: "Bristle exports from China are controlled b y t h e Chinese Communist Government. T h e Reds can raise prices or shut off exports at will. D e m a n d for t h e American dollar keeps a limited amount moving." An editorial in the N. Y. Herald-Tribune points out that " T h e r e is still more Tat* on this rather healthy economic carcass t h a n is always appreciated." Also: " T h e p i c ture is still o n e indicating large available margins of m a n power, productive ca pacity, individual incomes, a n d purchasing power from w h i c h another gigantic mili tary effort could still b e m o u n t e d without reducing our people below t h e living standards of 1 9 3 9 . " Hartley W. Barclay, writing in t h e New York Times, states t h a t : "America's w a r production industries are a thousand times better p r e p a r e d for all-out production n o w t h a n they w e r e before W o r l d W a r I I . " 3074
T h e president of D o w Chemical Co. stated that the chemical industry s h o u l d b e better able to serve n e w military d e mands than at any t i m e during W o r l d W a r I I . D o w has grown three and a half times in plant size since Pearl H a r b o r . Conversion from pc*· ·.* cliemicals t o w a r chemicals can be \. cumplished rapidly,
Dow Chemical Co. spokesman said. Turning to t h e a c c o m p a n y i n g graphs, an important barometer is t h e index of production of industrial chemicals along side total industrial production, with in dex based on 1935-39 equals 100. T h e two graph lines indicate that the two continue in close h a r m o n y as to trends. Though industrial production for July was merely tied with J u n e at 199, this was to be expected since July is a vacation m o n t h when many plants close down completely for a week or two. A preliminary estimate for August is 204. For August 1949 t h e index iigure h a d b e e n 174. Kor industrial chemicals the July figure is not yet available but J u n e at 455 com pares with 444 for a revised May figure.
INDUSTRIAL CHEMICALS vs. INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION BASE PERIOD INDEX 1935-1939 = 100 500
400 INDUSTRIAL CHEMICALS 300
200 TOTAL INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION 100
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CHEMICAL AND ENGINEERING NEWS
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NEWS
Again the graph emphasizes how chemi cal production has grown to four times its output in 1935-39, while industry as a whole is at only twice its prewar pace. In fact among the nondurable goods manufacturers the industrial chemical producers are head, shoulders, and waist above others in its chr . The classifica tion of "chemical products" stands over 250, alcoholic beverages at over 170, manufactured dairy products close to 200, and nondurable manufacturers, as an average, around 180. In fact there are but few industries to show such a surge. Current aluminum and plastics production are six times their prewar volumes. Other spectacular growths have been in radio equipment, aircraft, and certain other modern industries. Production of glass containers is natu rally interesting in view of the soda ash shortage due to strikes at producers' plants. So far this shortage has not shown up in glass container output. June stood at 9.1 million gross against 9.4 million for May, a longer month, com paring with 8.0 million in June 1949. The June production figures are classi fied: narrowncck, 5.7 million gross and wide-mouth, 3.4 million. No new records have been made this year. Thus in Janu ary, 1947, production had been 11.2 mil lion.
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Synthetic Rubber Output Gains Consumption of synthetic rubber is by no means a record these days. Thus in June it came to 45,501 tons against 43,866 tons in May and 36,084 tons in June 1949, yet in October 1946, it was 60,729 tons. Sales of paint, varnish, and lacquer are doing their best to climb through the roof of this chart, June sales having been $108.8 in value, compared with $103.2 in May and $88.5 million in June 1949. Sales were made by 680 manufacturing establishments and for the first half amounted to $533.6 million, against $494.7 million for the same 1949 period. Consumption of rayon yarn in July was 78.4 million pounds, following 78.0 for June and 76.8 for May; consumption of staple fibers in July came to 25.2 million pounds, versus 24.5 in June and 25.5 in May. Total shipments of yarn and fibers to domestic users for seven months have been 704.5 million pounds, 44.8% over the same era of 1949 and 11% over the 1948 period. Synthetic fibers are making "amazing inroads" in the men's clothing industry, according to the Textile Eco nomics Bureau. In the summer-weight suit division cuttings for the first four months indicated rayon and nylon ac counted for 4 1 % of the total—31% the year before. CHART CREDITS: Industrial and Chemical Production—Federal Reserve Board; Gloss Containers—Department of Commerce; Synthetic Rubber—Depart ment of Commerce; Paint, Varnish, Lac quer—Bureau of the Census; Rayon— Textile Economics Bureau.
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