Television digest with AM-FM reports (Jan-Dec 1951)

8 market will firm up after Labor Day, but not to the extent it did last year. Instead of 3 buyers for every set, there will be one reluctant buyer for each receiver and it will become necessary to increase stress on selling, including outside sales, home demonstrations and the like." Because of the uncertainty, he added, Westinghouse will formulate its production plans on a month-to-month basis rather than on an entire season. * * * * We won’t know over-all dealer inventory figure until end of August, now, due to fact Dun & Bradstreet survey couldn't get under way earlier. Plan is to contact 4000 to 5000 retailers early in August to ask them to count their total table TVs, all others, total portable radios, all others — and from this "sample" of units on hand to project an Aug. 1 total inventory figure for all nation's dealers. Thereafter, the monthly reports will automatically indicate month's sales and purchases — first such figure for the industry. Dun & Bradstreet is asking — \ and certainly should get — full dealer cooperation as it breaks this new groiind. ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ Statistics at factory level are available weekly from RTMA, of course — and output for week ending July 20 was reported as 44,196 TVs (1322 private label), good jump from vacation-time lows of 8270 and 12,817 first 2 July weeks (Vol. 7:29), reflecting reopening of factories. Radios totaled 180,339 (84,580 private label), of which 85,689 were home sets, 59,385 auto, 35,265 portable. Factory TV inventories went up to 754,717 from 744,162 preceding week, and radio inventory climbed to 375,066 from 351,368. Last distributor inventory figures reported were 622,080 TVs and 999,590 home radios as of May 25. NEW STEEL-COPPER CUTS IN PROSPECT: Air of optimism among top government materials control authorities showed signs of disintegrating at week's end, when DPA-NPA boss Manly Fleischmann pulled aside curtain on materials picture for fourth quarter. Consumer durable goods — including TV-radio — will have to take another 5% cut in steel, possibly more in copper, Fleischmann indicated. This caused some surprise, coming on heels of his July 10 statement that there probably would be no change in civilian steel-copper-aluminum supply for fourth quarter (Vol. 7:28). TV-radio and other consumer durables are permitted this quarter to use steel at 70% of first-half 1950 rate, copper at 60%, aluminum at 50% (Vol. 7:25). Fleischmann points out that while military program will engage only about 20% of nation's economy next quarter, total demands for the 3 basic metals by defense industries are "vastly higher" — mainly due to expansion of industry. Copper situation is particularly serious. Said Fleischmann; "If we were to prohibit manufacture of all constuner durables, including autos, it still would not free enough copper to satisfy the demand from other segments of the economy." Further copper pinch is inevitable as result of 4-week-old CIO Steelworkers strike at big American Smelting & Refining Co. smelter at Garfield, Utah. Stoppage is cutting into output at rate of 25,000 tons a month, about one-fourth of domestic production. President Truman has asked Wage Board to try to settle dispute. Whether or not consumer durables are brought under Controlled Materials Plan next quarter, the same amount of materials will be reserved for them. CMP, in this case, is merely method of assuring equitable distribution. * *1 * Military and defense-supporting electronics programs were again sliced sharply in latest division of CMP materials pie. It's good bet NPA Electronics Div. will appeal to higher echelons for more steel-copper-aluminum for essential production, as it successfully did for third quarter allotments (Vol. 7:26-27). In face of steadily increasing military orders and resumption of production after summer vacations. Electronics Div. was assigned these fourth quarter totals for Class B (standard part & product) manufacturers (third quarter figures are in parentheses): steel, 72,550 tons (56,500); copper, 33,385,000 lbs. (25,157,000); aluminum. 15,750,000 lbs. (14,800,000).