The Nation~s Industrial Outlook Brightens
The hopeful view of leading industries for
1939 should he encouragement for coinmen;
industries with the brightest possibilities pro-
vide excellent vending machine locations.
"Industrial marketers"- so reports the
magazine, "Industrial Marketing," pub-
lished in Chicago-"face a new year
hopefully . . .. There are no particularly
bad spots on the industrial map, but
among· the industries which may be ex-
pected to stand out and greatly influ-
ence the activity of many others are
building and construction, electrical,
utilities, aviation, railroads, steel and
chemicals ."
To determine specific feeling within
the given branches of industry-at-large,
"Industrial Marketing" editors called
upon the editors of trade papers within
the variously classified fields for their
views and comments. A summary of
opinions from the major fields is given
here for two reasons: First, for the gen-
eral encouragement of the operator,
since good business means better coin
machine income; and second, as a guide
for operators who are seeking industrial
locations. It is a self-evident fact that
industries looking forward to better
times will be better spots for the opera-
tor, for employment will be at a higher
level, confidence will be greater, and
workers will spend more. If vending
machines are easily reached, workers
will spend quantities of coins there.
Here, then, are the reports of authorities
in the major fields of industry:
Air Conditioning.-Predicted increases
in new home construction during the
coming year, and an expectation of bet-
ter general business conditions make
prospects for winter air conditioning
equipment, warm air heating apparatus
and small capacity summer cooling
equipment bright, and should make 1939
a good year, ass erts J. D. Wilder, Editor,
"American Artisan."
Automotive Industry. - Automobile
manufacturers believe that a rapid rise
in automobile buying during the late
fall of 1938 forecasts an output of 3,500,-
000 cars and trucks during 1939-an ad-
vance of one-third over 1938. The pre-
diction is based on the premise that
there will be no reversal of current
trends of business generally.-Automo-
bile Manufacturers' Association.
Building & Construction.-With an es-
timated 500,000 dwelling units as the
outlook for 1939, dealers in lumber and
building materials, and the contractors
with whom they work, are looking for-
ward to a year of profitable operation,
according to Harold H. Rosenberg, Edi-
tor, "Building Supply News." Bernard L.
Johnson, Editor, "American Builder,"
maintains similar views in declaring
that "The building industry is face d with
better prospects for a prosperous y ear
than at any time in nearly a decade.~'
Chemical Process. - The re cord for
1938, however w e ll it was made by the
chemical industries, may e a sily b e ex-
ceed ed by that of 1939, sa ys H. E. Howe,
Editor, "Indu st rial a nd Engi neer ing
Chemistry." He declares one must not
forg et the fundamental position of the
ch emical industries in relation to all
other industries, and the fact that im-
proveme nt in almos t any business sec-
tor is reflected in increased demand for
products of the chemical industries and
its consequent improvement.
Electric Utility Industry-Barring an
unforeseen business calamity, states S.
B. Williams, Editor, "Electrical World,"
indications are that power output during
each week of 1939 will be larger than
the same week for any previous year.
If industrial production undergoes any
substantial increase, as is expected, ex-
penditures in this field likely will ex-
ceed a half billion dollars, the largest
expenditure since 1931.
Ceramics and Glass-Definitely tied
in with home life in many ways, the ex-
pected building boom will do much for
the ceramic industry which is concerned
with refrigerators, stoves, dinnerware,
window glass, ironers, washers, bath-
room fixture s and the like. Moderniza-
tion schemes already have done much
good in this direction. Remarkable prog-
ress in the glass industry has been
made recently with applications of
fibrous glass insulation in ships, railway
cars and for other uses. Fibrous glass is
hopefully looking forward to an even-
tual $78,000,000 annual market, reports
Rexford Newcomb, Jr., Assistant Editor,
"Ceramic Industry."
Export-Though volume of exports to
Latin America suffered somewhat during
the first eight months of I 938 ( the period
for which figures have been completed) ,
showing a loss of 9½ % from the same
period in 1937, curtailed busines s in
Mexico was responsible for most of the
lowered revenue. For this period,
thirteen leading countries purchased
$310,396,000 worth of goods of all sorts
from the United States. The 1939 out-
look for the sale of capital goods to
Latin America is definitely favorable. J.
Seward McClain, "Ingenieria Internaci-
onal," declares that "Active demand for
industrial equipment and supplies is
widespread, and the Lima conference
may be depended upon to deepen the
channels of inter-American trade. Re-
cent developments in Europe and the
Far East are welding the Americas into
a trading bloc, despite misleading re-
ports of German victories on the com-
mercial front. "
General Industry-Pump-priming, im-
proved labor relations, • a more inde-
pendent congress and present-day atti-
tudes of management are all regarded
as favorable factors for improved 1939
business by C. L. Morrow, Editor, "Fac-
tory Management and Maintenance."
Morrow forese es early improvement re-
sulting from the aggregate of a large
number of relatively small improvements
in industrial plants, followed by larger
programs of modernization and new
construction a s confidence increases.
Hartle y W. Barclay, Editor, "Mill & Fac-
tory ," reports a re cent survey in ten key
cities shows the opinion of executives to
be one expecting a substantial improve-
ment in business volume-approximate-
ly 15 % , a ccording to average e stimates
-during the first three months of 1939.
There is, he declares, expectancy that
prices of finished products will advance
during 1939 as manufacturing costs in-
crease, and he strikes one unfavorable
note in reporting "a substantial pess i-
mism regarding the possibility of im-
proved profits."
Metal Working-The first half of 1939
showed a sharp decline in sales and
production in the metal-working indus-
try compared with the same period in
1937, but a strong upward surge brought
substantial recovery during the summer
and fall. Machine tool business doubled
from May to August; steel operations
jumped from 26% in June to 62% late
in October; motor car output dragged
through the first nine months of 1938
and soared to the highest point of the
year in December. Government orders
in connection with national defense
probably have been the greatest domes-
tic stimulant to the metal-working trade
during the past year, as orders ran into
tens of millions of dollars. Many influ-
ences are at work to accelerate the op-
erating rate in the metal-working indus-
try in 1939: qutomobile assembly, build-
ing construction programs, users making
consumer goods, and a continued na-
tional defense program, thinks Burnham
Finney, Editor, "American Machinist."
J. H. Van Deventer, Editor, "Iron Age;"
E. C . Kreutzberg, Editor, "Steel," and
those connected with other related pub-
lications stress the same points, but in-
dicate a belief that it will be more diffi-
cult to make a profit in 1939.
Oil and Petroleum-American Petro-
leum Institute estimates that the indus-
try spends in excess of $975,QQ0,0Q(J an-
nually for equipment and material~. Ex-
penditures were fairly well mqinfµitted
by oil companies during 1938, and de-
s pite drawing on large warehouse
stocks of equipment as well. These
stocks will not be available in 1939, and
it is expected that oil companies will
buy relatively more, reports Warren L.
Baker, Editor, "The Oil Weekly."
Plumbing and Heating-For the in-
dustry as a whole, a 35% gain in vol-
ume is expected as the probable upper
limit, with a 20% gain the lower limit,
thinks J. U. Farley, Marketing & Re-
search Bureau, "Domestic Engineering."
Wholesalers are expected to replenish
stocks allowed to be cut to an absolute
minimum during last year, and this like-
wise is expected to boost the industry's
general sales .
Pulp and Paper-The past few years
have witnessed the greatest building
boom in the history of U. S. pulp and
paper. New mills have been and are
being built all through the South, and
many of the already established mills
are working on extensive modernization
and expansion programs. Expectation is
that the pulp and paper industry will
continue its forward strides, and further
d e velopments in n ew sprint may result
in a rejuvenation of that division of the
industry which in 1937 supplied only
22 % of the dome stic consumption, a s-
9
COIIf
MACHDIB
REV1EW
https://elibrary.arcade-museum.com