U.S.S. HOUSTON 
STATE DEPARTMENT RADIO BULLETIN #166 (Continued) 
Price Movements (Continued) : 
1 ' 1 1 r 1 ' ’ 11 ' ' * 
Cattle and hog quotations advanced with steers at 1938" highs, 
and hide prices retained the substantial gains of the past 
month. Sugar prices firmed. 
Construction Contracts: 
Construction contracts awarded for residential and non- 
resident ial building during June were practically unchanged 
from daily average value of awards in May whereas a seasonal 
contracting normally occurs. As the result of a reduction of 
34$ in public works and utilities projects however, the total 
dollar volume of construction contracts in 37 eastern states 
was $251,000,000.00 for June as compared with $283,000,000.00 
in May. On a daily average basis awards fell 15% from May 
and were 21% lower than in June, 1937. Privately financed 
construction projects fell 28% from the large volume reported 
for May. 
During the first six months of this year the total volume of 
construction contracts awarded in the 37 states surveyed by 
the F.W. Dodge Service amounted to 1.3 billion dollars as 
compared with 1.5 billion dollars in the same period of 1937. 
This represented a decrease of 13% from 1937 but a gain of 5% 
from the same months of 1936. The decrease between 1937 
and 1938 was accounted for entirely by the curtailment in 
privately owned construction which was 28% lower. Publicly 
financed construction increased 11% and was the largest. for 
any recent year except 1936. The heaviest contraction in. 
dollar volume occurred in privately financed non-residential 
building which totaled $250,000,000.00 this year as compared 
with $380 ,000 ,000 .00 in the first half of 1937, a reduction 
of 34%. 
Contracts awarded for residential building showed a reduction 
of 23% from the first 6 months of 1937. Privately financed 
residential construction amounted to $393,000,000.00 as 
compared with $476,000,000.00 in the first half of 1937. 
Less than $6,000,000.00 of publicly financed residential 
buildings was placed this year while in 1937 projects of 
this type were valued at $40,000,000.00. An increase in 
publicly financed housing awards is anticipated as several 
projects of the U.S. housing authority are nearing the contract 
stage • 
Dollar volume of public works and ypi.ldties projects totaled 
$462 ; 000 ; 000. 00 in the first half o : f 1937 as compared with 
$410,000,000.00 in the same months of last year and was above 
similar awards in the first half of any year since 1931. 
Publicly financed works and utilities projects increased 31% 
from the first half of 1937 to $425,000,000.00 while privately' 
financed awards fell to 56% from last year to only $3-7,000,000. 
End of Bulletin. 
