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

9 an all-out war; that for some few months ahead there will be plenty of merchandise available ; that we and the other members of the industry will learn how to use materials that are not critical and thereby keep production at a higher rate than we can now actually foresee." * * + * Week preceding Labor Day was again one of low TV production. RTMA reporting only 55,275 sets made (2400 private label). Week ended Aug. 31 showed about same as week before (Vol. 7:35), or less than third of comparable 1950 weeks (Vol. 6:37-38). But factory inventories didn't go down much, only about 11,000 units, to bring total remaining to 655,549 as of Aug. 31 as against preceding week's 666,695. Thus drop of 88,000 between Aug. 17 & 24 (Vol. 7:35) wasn't repeated. It's probable, though, that Labor Day week will show considerably greater drop. Five-week August output totaled about 255,000 units, compared with 4-week August 1950' s 702,287 (Vol. 6:37). Inventory decline during month ran: 768,766, Aug. 3; 765,916, Aug. 10; 754,854, Aug. 17; 666,696, Aug. 24; 655,349, Aug. 31. Radio output stayed at about same level as preceding weeks — 226,015 units (112,236 private label) as of Aug. 31, compared with 222,263 week earlier. Factory inventories went down to 383,604 from preceding week's 418,304. Week's radios were: home sets, 110,419; portables, 21,416; auto, 94,178. Topics & Trends ol TV Trade: Trade-in allowance counted against down payment under Regulation W must reflect “a bona fide trade-in or exchange of property having a value that bears a reasonable relationship to the amount credited,” Federal Reserve Board said at week’s end in mildly-worded interpretation that was scarcely the “crackdown” some people had anticipated. Board rapped knuckles of dealers who advertise that any trade-in will count as full down payment when it observed that practice of making “substantial uniform allowance for all so-called trade-ins irrespective of their make, model or condition” doesn’t conform with regulation. There’s no requirement that trade-in allowances be limited to “actual market value of the trade-in or to the amount for which [dealer] expects to be able to sell it,” interpretation says, but it stresses that “fictitious” tradeins aimed at evading down payment rules are banned. Other points made by FRB: (1) Dealer must actually receive and take possession of items traded in. (2) Dealer can’t raise price to compensate for trade-in counted as down payment. Agenda of RTMA conference Sept. 18-20 in New York’s Roosevelt Hotel includes board and committee reviews of defense requirements, shortage problems, TV freeze, FM promotion campaign, expanding association services. “Small business” manufacturers will hold own session Sept. 18 under president Glen McDaniel and committee chairman A. D. Plamondon Jr. Board meeting concludes conference Sept. 20. National Electronic Distributors Assn, second annual convention and exhibit in Cleveland Auditorium, Sept. 10-13, will feature addresses by GE’s Dr. W. R. G. Baker, International Resistance’s Harry A. Ehle, and a manufacturers’ open forum including Norman A. Triplett, William J. Barron, J. Earl Templeton, Kenneth C. Meinken, Austin C. Lescaboura. Dun & Bradstreet’s monthly dealer inventory survey (Vol. 7:35) is being financed independently by these companies: Bendix, Corning Glass, Crosley, GE, Hallicrafters, Indiana Steel Products, Motorola, Philco, RCA, Sentinel, ^ Sprague, Stromberg, Sylvania, Westinghouse, Zenith. Lloyd A. Good, 69, Philco production mgr. for 15 years before retiring in 1940, died Sept. 7 in Philadelphia after long illness. Trade Miscellany: Federal Trade Commission case against Sylvania and Philco, involving preferential prices on replacement tubes, set for hearing Sept. 17 before Examiner Webster Ballinger . . . RCA’s Frank Folsom will arrange for RCA Victor record pressing plant in Israel during his flying trip there in latter Sept.; he’ll also confer in Rome with Italian distributor Joe Biondo regarding otherexpansion plans . . . Electronic Devices Inc., Brooklyn (Herman Weissberger, president), has purchased Precision Rectifier Corp., will operate it as division with Earl Steiker, ex-Federal, engineering director . . . Super Electric Products Corp., Newark (components), goes to hearing Sept. 18 under Chapter XI, offering to pay $350,000 in general claims with 10-year debentures or 25% cash . . . American Phenolic Corp. has completed new 80,000-sq. ft. plant in Chicago to produce Teflon coaxial cable and other devices. Merchandising Notes: Zenith expected to “make it official” — price-cutting of current stocks already advertised by dealers — by following lead of RCA, GE, Philco, et al (Vol. 7:33-35) and reducing lists when it introduces new line at distributor meeting in Chicago’s Drake Hotel, Sept. 14-15 . . . Hoffman Radio’s New York office (D. W. May, mgr.) is 30 Church St., with new warehouse at 163 Avenue A, Bayonne, N. J.; Chicago office and warehouse (Howard L. Bredlow, mgr.) is at 219 E. North Water St. . . . Silavox earphone attachment to TV sets being offered by Skinner & Pelton Inc., Chicago; phones plus installation cost $24.95. * * * Receiving tube sales for July were down to 13,185,567, compared with 27,667,099 in June and 21,128,017 in July, 1950. Yet RTMA report shows that total for first 7 months of 1951 well exceeds same 1950 period — 229,087,892 vs. 191,503,938. Sales for all categories have increased, but replacement and export have shown biggest jumps. This year, 54,730,948 have gone into replacement market, compared with 35,912,137 last year. Exports rose from 5,708,880 to 11,581,593. Statistics don’t show how many go into new TV or radio sets or military equipment, so trends aren’t discernible there. Round tubes have all but disappeared, as have sizes under 16-in. for new sets. RTMA report for July shows 99% of the 89,144 shipped were rectangular, 16-in. or lai-ger. The 20-in. continues to grow, totaling 12.5% of all units, compared with 10.8% in June, 7.7% in May. Value of picture tubes was $1,858,930.