CANADIAN INDUSTRIES

Wairarapa Times-Age, 9 December 1938, Page 8

CANADIAN INDUSTRIES

BUSINESS TREND DURING SEPTEMBER. INCREASE IN PRODUCTION. OTTAWA. Despite advances in business operations and in deposit liabilities, the political *hnsettlement in Europe affected prices of bonds and stocks in Canada in September as compared with the preceding month. The Dominion Bureau of Statistics reports, however, that ■‘a rally during the early weeks of October has counter-balanced the reaction. Commodity prices which had shown steady decline during. July and August exhibited greater resistance to despressing influences during September. Narrow fluctuations’ only have been shown during the last seven weeks.”

Five of the nine factors indicating the trend of mineral production in the Dominion recorded advances in September, the government index advancing from 198.6 to 202. Marked gains were recorded in copper and nickel exports, which were greater than in any other September. A minor decline was shown in shipments of gold, while the shipments of silver dropped off sharply. Industries engaged in the manufacture of foodstuffs recorded an advance in operations, the index moving up from 97 to 105. The meat-packing industry was considerably more active and the manufacture of sugar recorded an increase after seasonal adjustment. Exports of canned salmon moved up sharply. The textile industry was considerably more active in September than in the preceding month, the consumption of raw cotton advancing from 8,700,000 to 10,200,000 pounds. The production of newsprint was at a considerably higher level than in August and the exports of planks and boards showed a moderate increase after seasonal adjustment. Some decline v/as shown in the output of steel ingots. while the production of pig iron recorded a minor increase. The output of automobiles was greater than in any other September since 1930. Crude petroleum imports, indicating the trend in the oil industry, recorded a marked gain from 132.200,000 gallons in August to 184,300,000. The manufacture of tires showed a marked increase, while some decline was shown in the imports of crude rubber. The index of electric power moved up from 218 to 224. Augmented by the heavier grain movement, carloadings recorded a gain from 213,000 to 250,000. A slight gain was shown in merchandise imports while a marked gain was recorded in exports, augmented by the resumption of the outward shipments of gold bullion.