"In addition to the large purchases
of goods for immediate consumption
there was also an exceptionally heavy
demand for houses and automobiles, i
as indicated by the growth in the !
construction of buildings and the
manufacture of motor cars. The au
tomobile output of the year will total
nearly 4,000,000. an increase of more
than 50 per cent over 1922.
"The building activity which had
been at a high lever during 1922
reached a maximum in the spring of
1923. and then slackened somewhat
owing to the rapid advance in wages
and in prices of materials. With the
subsequent decline in construction
costs activity was renewed and for
the eleven months ending in Novem
ber contracts awarded totaled more
than for the corresponding months of
1922.
o o o
Considerable llnilding Operations,
"The building operations on a con
siderable scale were general through
out the country and residential build
ings not only increased more rapidly
than construction for business and
industrial purposes, hut constituted
a larger proportion of the total than
in the four previous years.
"The large volume of construction
not only led to increased production
of building materials, but also re
sulted in large sales of furniture and
other household goods and was an
important factor in the demand in
many lines of trade.
While the business attitude has
been one of watchfulness the board
believed greater confidence had been
instilled by the continued industrial
activity of the fall months and the
steady demand for consumers’ goods.
