(0
z

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Ii
z ~,ooo
~ 4p00 51000

~ 2~0O
I—.
 COAL 411

the year the operators reported 3,073,000 net tons in their storage yards.
A sharp drop during the first quarter was followed by the usual seasonal
increase in preparation for the fall demand, but at the end of December the
stocks on hand stood at 1,732,000 tons, a net decrease of 1,341,000 tons
for the year.
 Stocks at the head of the Lakes and in the yards of retail dealers were
likewise drastically reduced. At the beginning of the year stocks on the
lake docks stood at 632,000 tons, while on December 31 they were 389,000
tons, a reduction of 38 percent. Complete figures on retail stocks are not
available, but a canvass of a selected group of dealers believed to be representative
of the trade as a whole shows that the draft on retailers' stocks was even
more pronounced, the tonnage on hand at the end of the year being 45 percent
less than on January 1. In normal times the reserves of anthracite carried
by producers and distributors are by no means excessive, and they contribute
to the stability of the trade. The reduction of inventories at this time,
however, may be taken as a sign of the general liquidation of stocks necessary
to recovery from a depression. It means that any







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3tocks in produ ers




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 ' * l,,Illuul lul''~~. I I'''~'*F*' I.
J A *J 0 J A J 0 J A J O J A J 0 J A J 0 J A J 0 J
 I 1927 928 I 1929 I 1930 1931 1932 I

FIGURE 24.—Current trends of production and stocks of Pennsylvania
anthracite, 1927—32.

revival of demand will be felt promptly in increased activity at the coffieries.
 Consumption.—As the drafts on storage went to increase consumption
the decline in the quantity consumed was somewhat less than appears from
the record of production alone. Allowing for exports, imports, and withdrawals
from producers' stocks, the apparent consumption in 1932was 50,545,000 tons,
a decline of 13.5 percent from the previous year.'6
 Movement through major distribution channels.—With requirements curtailed
and consumers relying as much as possible upon reserves, shipments of hard
coal declined in virtually all directions. The most striking feature of the
distribution statistics is the sharp decrease in the lake trade. Loadings
of hard coal at the lower Lake Erie ports amounted to only 294,000 tons in
1932, which, in comparison with the preceding year, is a decrease of 61.4
percent. Receipts at Duluth-Superior fell from 300,000 tons in 1931 to 66,000
tons in 1932 (a decrease of 78 percent). The decline is largely accounted
for by the action of the dock operators in liquidating stocks already referred
to. Including deliveries of storage coal, the total movement off the lake
docks came within 28.9 percent of the previous year, amounting to 512,000
tons as against 720,000 tons in 1931.
 "If allowance Is made for changes In stocks on the lake docks and In retailers'
yards, the consumption appears to be 51,302,000 tons. Comparable figures
for earlier years are not available.