BUSINESS IN CANADA

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXXI, 16 December 1937, Page 10

BUSINESS IN CANADA

APPROACHES 1929 LEVELS OPERATIONS lOR EIGHT .MONTHS ONLY SLIGHTLY BELOW BEST YEAR IN HISTORY MONTREAL, Ist. November. Productive operations in Canada for i the first (unlit months of this year j readied almost to the levels of 11)29 | Canada's best year, the business index maintained by the Dominion Bureau of I Statistics showing an average only six per cent, below the high record. As j compared with the first eight months of !92() the physical volume of business si wed a gain of 12 per cent. Marked progress was made by the mining industry during the last eight 1 years. An index of mincre! production based on nine factors showed a gain of no less than per cent. Each of the principal metals except silver recorded expansion. The output of the gold mining industry more than doubled and marked gains were recorded in copper, nickel, and zinc. The decline in coal production, on the other hand, was If) tier cent.

j Manufacturing plants practically recovered the level of j 929. the official index showing a recession of only 0.7 i per cent. Flour and sugar produclios I recorded declines contrasting with a : marked gain in the meat packing inI duslry. The release of cigars declined by about one-third, while the use of cigarettes increased by a similar percentage. A gain of 20 per cent, was shown in the operations of till' boot and shoe industry. Imports of raw cotton. measuring activity in the textile j industry, were nearly 0 per cent, greatJ or at about OB million pounds. | The forestry group achieved marked I expansion, the output of newsprint j ! having been 07 per cent, greater, while j ! the exports of planks and boards rose 1 7 per cent, to 1.204 million feel. I The activity of the primary iron and I steel industry was nearly restored, the | i output of steel ingots showing a reces- j ! sion of only 3 per cent. The use of; scrap in steel production assumed | greater importance, the output of pig I iron recording a decline of 21 per cent, j The production of automobiles during j the first eight months showed a decline) of 23.3 per cent, from the same period! of 1920. but as present policy calls fori more uniform operations throughout! may greatly alter the comparison. Expansion in the operations of the! oil industry was demonstrated by a I gain of 29 per cent, in the imports of j crude petroleum, the total having been 325 million gallons against 641. million. Crude rubber imports used largely by the lyre industry showed a decline of 23 per cent, and the output of tyres de- j dined 48 per cent.

The standing of employment in 1929 was not far from restored in the first eight months of the present year. The recession in the general index limited to I) per cent, corresponded closely with that in the index of the physical volume of business. Manufacturing showed a decline of 4 per cent. While marked gains were recorded in logling and mining, the drop in construction was more than 27 per cent, despite the increase of 13 per cent, in employment on the highways. Marked contrasts developed in banking operations. Deposits recorded a gain of nearly 5 per cent., while the three main classes of loans showed noteworthy declines, current loans dropping of 45 per cent. Readily avail-

able assets were 56 per cent, greater while security holdings showed the remarkable gain of 130 per cent. The standing of these oceounts indicates a stronger liquid position.