Figure 7. — Thefurniture industry 

 provides a local market for veneer, 

 plywood, dimension stock, excel- 

 sior, and hardwood lumber. 



7/ 



mi 



furniture manufacture (fig. 7) is by far the most important. 

 Most of the factories are located in the piedmont, and 

 the "furniture center of the South" is High Point. The 

 industry was established there about 1890, near a large 

 supply of suitable timber, but it has grown so rapidly 

 that at present most of the hardwood furniture stock is 

 shipped in from other areas. Although some office fur- 

 niture is made, wooden household furniture has continued 

 to be the major product, not exceeded in value by the 

 output of any other State in 1939. According to the 

 Census of Manufactures over 200 furniture plants of all 

 types were in operation, employing 20,000 workers who 

 earned $14,000,000 and made furniture valued at 

 $59,000,000. 



Planing mills separate from sawmills are also important. 

 The 155 planing mills operating in 1939 employed about 

 3,500 workers and manufactured various kinds of millwork 

 valued at $15,000,000. 



Table 2. — Average hourly and weekly earnings of workers in selected 

 manufacturing industries, April 1941 1 



Industry 



Firms 

 report- 

 ing 



Average earnings 



Per hour 



Per week 





Number 



Cents 



Dollars 



Pulp and paper _ ... 



Tobacco 



6 

 8 



69.7 

 63.4 



29.80 

 21.32 



Hosiery _ _ 



Cotton goods 



48 

 271 



58.0 

 42.7 



20.70 

 16.24 



Furniture 



39 



39.8 



16.62 



Paper boxes.. __ . 



13 

 37 



39.4 

 36.6 



15.54 



Lumber. ... _ ._ 



14.27 



Fertilizer 



31 



34.8 



15.58 



Brick and tile ... 



14 



32.6 



14.27 



North Carolina Department of Labor. 



Wage rates in the manufacturing industries are reason- 

 ably high, although less than the national average of 71 

 cents per hour in 90 industries. A comparison of average 

 hourly and weekly earnings in several of the leading 

 industries is shown in table 2. Wages paid in the pulp 

 and paper plants exceed even those paid in tobacco 

 factories. Lumbermill employees are among the lowest 

 paid. 



Pulp and paper mills require a relatively high propor- 

 tion of skilled workers, but southern labor can be quickly 

 trained, as experience has shown. These workers have also 

 the advantage of more employment per unit of wood con- 

 sumed, a higher rate of pay, more regular work, and greater 

 assurance of permanency. Furthermore, opportunities for 

 training and advancement are greater in the pulp and 

 paper than in the lumber mills and the dependent com- 

 munity life is usually more fully developed. 



Power 



The industrial expansion of the State since 1900 has 

 been paralleled by the increases in electric energy pro- 

 duced. By 1938 the 947,000 horsepower of installed capac- 

 ity in hydroelectric plants placed North Carolina fifth 

 among the States in generating capacity. In 1938 about 

 570 million kilowatt-hours were imported into North Car- 

 olina and 433 million were exported. Between 1935 and 

 1940 great progress was made in bringing electric energy 

 to the farms, rural industries, and small communities in 

 the State. As of July 1940, there were 21,000 miles of rural 

 electric power lines serving 115,000 customers. Every 

 county had some mileage of rural electric line, but Guil- 

 ford County led with 797 miles and 6,930 customers. 



