Coin Machine Review (& Pacific ...)
Issue: 1949 May - Page 10
BUSINESS REVIEW
(Continued f rom Page 7 )
portant sign. Decisive trends in the metals
market are not expected to show up before
June.
April, May and June are usually regarded
as the best' months of the year for coin
machines in general and operators have re-
ported a seasonal pickup, slower than usual.
Operators will know that while they work
through these three months, many other
lines of business are at the same time going
through a crisis which may decide just how
much of a recession the country will have
during this year and next_
One good point, the first three months
of the year didn't bring any sort of seri-
ous crash in business, as some bad feared
might happen. The big question now is
whether the present pickup will last through
the year, and how much of a letdown sum-
mer will bring.
In the January column (page 8) it was
stated: "The best guess for a real pickup
in business is that the bottom may drop
from under prices on metals in the spring."
Prices on metals have started falling but
only time will tell how much it helps busi-
ness in general.
In a previous column it was also sug-
gested that, whatever recession may come
to national business, the recession actually
began with farmers in February 1948.
Recently, the Department of Commerce re-
ported that it had been over-estimating
national income, that consumers did not
have all the money they were supposed to
have, and that the mistake occurred in
assigning too much income to farmers.
A review of reports on various points in
the business picture follow:
ALLO CATIO NS - Officially, the volun-
tary allocation program for steel was cut
20 per cent but the plan may be consid-
ered virtually at an end. Flow of steel
under allocations will drop sharply in' June
and steel will move on an open market.
Leaders, of course, are in a dither about
how much stockpiling can be done without
keeping materials prices too high.
AUTOMOBILES-Auto and truck out-
put is still a bright spot in the national
picture, setting new records, Price cuts by
Ford and Kaiser recently made headlines
and there will be a general drop in prices
by fall, if not sooner. The average age of
cars in use now is 8.8 years; the rate of
scrappage of old cars is considered 50 per
cent below normal; there are nearly 13 mil-
lion cars in use now that are 10 years old
or more.
BANKS-In a general way, banks re-
ported for the first quarter that deposiis,
assets and loans were down. Business loans
had been declining almost during the entire
period, but bank credit is expected to ease
as a result. Banks are in excellent condi-
tion and are considered as one of the mighty
props against depression. Although business
loans by banks are declining now, total
loans by banks have almost doubled in the
period since V-J Day. Savings accounts
made less gains in 1948 as compared with
1947, but an upward trend in savings is
now said to be under way.
B USINE SS F IRMS-A total of 6,362
new business firms were incorporated in
February, the smallest number since Sept.
1945, according to Dun & Bradstreet; total
for the first two months of the year was
14,268, a decline from the same months in
1947 and much below the all-time high of
23,560 new firms for the first two months
of 1946. It is normal for total new business
firms to drop in February. Business failures
jumped 64 per cent over failures in Feb.
1948; February had the largest figure since
Aug. 1942 but the rate is still 44 per cent
below the 1939 average; biggest increase
in failures was manufacturing firms.
CREDI T-Consumer credit dropped for
the first two months, the first such decline
since the end of the war; drop was chiefly
in charge accounts and was greater than
normal. Drop in business loans by . banks
is said to be due to lack of borrowers rather
than a tightening of credit_ Government
policy is expected to ease on credit rather
than tighten.
CO NSTRUCTIO N-Dealers in building '
materials and hardware have hit a definite
slump in sales. An official report says that
business firms will spend about 15 per cent
less for new plants and buildings in the
second half of the year, but outlay for the
first half will be slightly above the same
period' last year; manufacturing firms are
expected to curtail new buildings much
more than business in general. The federal
government is planning on how and when
to release its big construction program, if
unemployment increases.
CR OP REP O R TS-Weather has been
favorable to big crops thus far. For the sea-
son thus far, only the Denver and Omaha
areas have reported colder average weather
than last year; warmest areas have been
New York, Boston and Memphis by com-
parison with a year ago. Prospect of big
crops this yellr adds heat to the debate on
government price supports.
EMPL O YMENT - This factor in the
business picture is of most vital concern
to operators and from time to time THE
REVIEW will publish special summaries on
the general situation. Vending machine op-
erators have been alert in observing em-
ployment trends in factories for the last
two years. National leaders say employment
will rise during the second quarter, prob-
ably above the point of 60,000,000 jobs, but.
they fear that unemployment will rise also
because population has increased to the
point where more than 60,000,000 jobs are
needed. Totlll wages and employment de-
clined in February but the experts think
that jobs' started upward in March, that
April and May will show the real trend.
An official report says that the last year
brought a general decline of 6 per cent , in
man-hours worked, while industrial output
dropped only 3 per cent. The shorter work
week is the problem that concerns opera-
tors, for it means the masses have less
money to spend. Industries are following a
policy of shorter work weeks in order to
give work to as many as possible. So, sta-
tistics on total number of jobs won't tell
the real story about how much people have
to spend in coin machines.
Some types of locations, such as taverns,
may gain in customers due to shorter work
weeks and machines may get bigger play
in such spots. But vending machines in fac-
tories suffer. Factories are providing less
than their share of jobs now.
EXP ORTS-The government report on
1· BALLS 5· BALLS
CONSOLES
ARCADE (jAMES
- - - NOW FEATURING ---
Spot Bell
WITH NEW SPOTTED SYMBOLS
Just the game you need for the Spri n g
a n d Summ er Tide ••• The Spot feature
in SPOT-BELL gives players extra win -
ners at mys t ery intervals ••• t he single
symbol idea is surely the biggest play -
getter on t h e market today . . . Try it
yo u rself and you will see why . • • Built
by a firm that h as the know-how t o origi-
nate big ideas like SPOT·BELL • • •
Thcre al'e good reasons why you should
Jet us k n ow your needs earl y- produc -
tion is lim i ted • . • Remember, it can
be quickly co n ver t ed to free p l ay -payout.
Paul A. Laymon, Inc .
. 1429·31 WEST PICO BLVD.
LOS ANGELES 15. CALIFORNIA
COIN MACHINE REVIEW
(Continued f rom Page 7 )
portant sign. Decisive trends in the metals
market are not expected to show up before
June.
April, May and June are usually regarded
as the best' months of the year for coin
machines in general and operators have re-
ported a seasonal pickup, slower than usual.
Operators will know that while they work
through these three months, many other
lines of business are at the same time going
through a crisis which may decide just how
much of a recession the country will have
during this year and next_
One good point, the first three months
of the year didn't bring any sort of seri-
ous crash in business, as some bad feared
might happen. The big question now is
whether the present pickup will last through
the year, and how much of a letdown sum-
mer will bring.
In the January column (page 8) it was
stated: "The best guess for a real pickup
in business is that the bottom may drop
from under prices on metals in the spring."
Prices on metals have started falling but
only time will tell how much it helps busi-
ness in general.
In a previous column it was also sug-
gested that, whatever recession may come
to national business, the recession actually
began with farmers in February 1948.
Recently, the Department of Commerce re-
ported that it had been over-estimating
national income, that consumers did not
have all the money they were supposed to
have, and that the mistake occurred in
assigning too much income to farmers.
A review of reports on various points in
the business picture follow:
ALLO CATIO NS - Officially, the volun-
tary allocation program for steel was cut
20 per cent but the plan may be consid-
ered virtually at an end. Flow of steel
under allocations will drop sharply in' June
and steel will move on an open market.
Leaders, of course, are in a dither about
how much stockpiling can be done without
keeping materials prices too high.
AUTOMOBILES-Auto and truck out-
put is still a bright spot in the national
picture, setting new records, Price cuts by
Ford and Kaiser recently made headlines
and there will be a general drop in prices
by fall, if not sooner. The average age of
cars in use now is 8.8 years; the rate of
scrappage of old cars is considered 50 per
cent below normal; there are nearly 13 mil-
lion cars in use now that are 10 years old
or more.
BANKS-In a general way, banks re-
ported for the first quarter that deposiis,
assets and loans were down. Business loans
had been declining almost during the entire
period, but bank credit is expected to ease
as a result. Banks are in excellent condi-
tion and are considered as one of the mighty
props against depression. Although business
loans by banks are declining now, total
loans by banks have almost doubled in the
period since V-J Day. Savings accounts
made less gains in 1948 as compared with
1947, but an upward trend in savings is
now said to be under way.
B USINE SS F IRMS-A total of 6,362
new business firms were incorporated in
February, the smallest number since Sept.
1945, according to Dun & Bradstreet; total
for the first two months of the year was
14,268, a decline from the same months in
1947 and much below the all-time high of
23,560 new firms for the first two months
of 1946. It is normal for total new business
firms to drop in February. Business failures
jumped 64 per cent over failures in Feb.
1948; February had the largest figure since
Aug. 1942 but the rate is still 44 per cent
below the 1939 average; biggest increase
in failures was manufacturing firms.
CREDI T-Consumer credit dropped for
the first two months, the first such decline
since the end of the war; drop was chiefly
in charge accounts and was greater than
normal. Drop in business loans by . banks
is said to be due to lack of borrowers rather
than a tightening of credit_ Government
policy is expected to ease on credit rather
than tighten.
CO NSTRUCTIO N-Dealers in building '
materials and hardware have hit a definite
slump in sales. An official report says that
business firms will spend about 15 per cent
less for new plants and buildings in the
second half of the year, but outlay for the
first half will be slightly above the same
period' last year; manufacturing firms are
expected to curtail new buildings much
more than business in general. The federal
government is planning on how and when
to release its big construction program, if
unemployment increases.
CR OP REP O R TS-Weather has been
favorable to big crops thus far. For the sea-
son thus far, only the Denver and Omaha
areas have reported colder average weather
than last year; warmest areas have been
New York, Boston and Memphis by com-
parison with a year ago. Prospect of big
crops this yellr adds heat to the debate on
government price supports.
EMPL O YMENT - This factor in the
business picture is of most vital concern
to operators and from time to time THE
REVIEW will publish special summaries on
the general situation. Vending machine op-
erators have been alert in observing em-
ployment trends in factories for the last
two years. National leaders say employment
will rise during the second quarter, prob-
ably above the point of 60,000,000 jobs, but.
they fear that unemployment will rise also
because population has increased to the
point where more than 60,000,000 jobs are
needed. Totlll wages and employment de-
clined in February but the experts think
that jobs' started upward in March, that
April and May will show the real trend.
An official report says that the last year
brought a general decline of 6 per cent , in
man-hours worked, while industrial output
dropped only 3 per cent. The shorter work
week is the problem that concerns opera-
tors, for it means the masses have less
money to spend. Industries are following a
policy of shorter work weeks in order to
give work to as many as possible. So, sta-
tistics on total number of jobs won't tell
the real story about how much people have
to spend in coin machines.
Some types of locations, such as taverns,
may gain in customers due to shorter work
weeks and machines may get bigger play
in such spots. But vending machines in fac-
tories suffer. Factories are providing less
than their share of jobs now.
EXP ORTS-The government report on
1· BALLS 5· BALLS
CONSOLES
ARCADE (jAMES
- - - NOW FEATURING ---
Spot Bell
WITH NEW SPOTTED SYMBOLS
Just the game you need for the Spri n g
a n d Summ er Tide ••• The Spot feature
in SPOT-BELL gives players extra win -
ners at mys t ery intervals ••• t he single
symbol idea is surely the biggest play -
getter on t h e market today . . . Try it
yo u rself and you will see why . • • Built
by a firm that h as the know-how t o origi-
nate big ideas like SPOT·BELL • • •
Thcre al'e good reasons why you should
Jet us k n ow your needs earl y- produc -
tion is lim i ted • . • Remember, it can
be quickly co n ver t ed to free p l ay -payout.
Paul A. Laymon, Inc .
. 1429·31 WEST PICO BLVD.
LOS ANGELES 15. CALIFORNIA
COIN MACHINE REVIEW
Future scanning projects are planned by the International Arcade Museum Library (IAML).