What the Figures Mean

The Automobile Industry Presents Some Staggering Totals

GEORGE W. SUTTON, JR.

A GREAT deal more lies behind the tabulations of the automobile industry during 1922, just given out by the National Automobile Chamber of Commerce, than the mere figures indicate. Every fact presented by its own neat little set of numerals is worthy of a number of different interpretations, depending upon whether you are an automobile manufacturer, a broker selling automobile stocks, a car dealer, or, like the writer and most of the readers of this department, a mere spectator watching the progress of the automotive industry and its products with an interest which is keen but not vital.

We see, for instance, that during 1922 motor vehicles to the number of 2,577,220 were built, including 2,334,171 passenger cars and 243,049 trucks. A mild glow suffuses us when we realize that, in spite of the financially dark days of 1920 and 1921, the figures for last year represent the greatest achievement to date of this amazingly healthy commercial youth, the automobile industry. We realize, of course, that automobile prosperity bears a very distinct relation to the prosperity of all of us and the recordbreaking figures of the car makers cause us to look at our own personal pile of unpaid bills with a new optimism.

Then we learn from other sources that, of this almost incomprehensible total, Ford actually sold 1,354,717 cars and trucks during the year, or well over half of all the motor vehicles made in the country. There is nothing discouraging in this, for it means the little fellow is enjoying prosperity and many of him will graduate a little later into a class where they can afford more expensive cars. At the same time we read that, in the realm of higher priced cars, likewise, there has been a high degree of prosperity and that General Motors, for the ten months which ended October 31st, made net profits of $49,406,000.

Verily, we are a motorized country. There are approximately 11,500,000 motor vehicles registered in the United States, while the figures for the entire world are only 12,750,000, leaving us in the position of possessing 81% of the entire world's supply of automobiles. And 2,700,000 more are coming in this country during 1923, if Mr. Alfred Reeves, General Manager of the National Automobile Chamber of Commerce, is to be believed. And he is. No one in the industry speaks with a greater degree of sensible conservatism, based on actual knowledge, and when he predicts another record-breaking production year, he is, obviously, within reason, barring, of course, the possibility of a bubbling over of the seething kettle of discontent in Europe and elsewhere. Of the big output expected this year, Mr. Reeves says that 1,800,000 of these cars will go to replace machines now in use.

A thing that affects all of us who motor is that the average retail price of American automobiles dropped 14% during the year. During 1921 the average price per car was $900 and in 1922, $770. During the year there were two distinct price cutting waves, beginning in January and August, so that this material decrease in the cost of our cars is not attributable to the enormous percentage of Fords in the yearly production and the fact that they, too, were reduced in price. For this year there is no question that car prices generally are going to be higher, but whether this will affect those in the very low price classes is a matter resting in the lap of the Gods. Another month or so will tell.

To shoe these myriads of 1922 cars, 36,340,000 tires were built, which used up 83% of the country's supply of rubber.

We heard a lot during the war and immediately afterwards about the tremendous quantities of steel used in the automobile business. Congressmen grew red in the face and hoarse telling us that too much of this vital material was being used in the manufacture of luxury cars. The amount of steel consumed by the automobile industry during 1922 constituted 4% of the available supply!

But the gasoline consumption for the twelve months was 5,300,000,000 gallons, or a monthly average of 784,261,00c gallons. This is entirely too much. Engineers are constantly at work to improve the carburetion and cooling systems of our cars in order to increase the number of miles they will go per gallon of fuel. But the average motorist himself is the one to blame for the criminal waste of one of the country's greatest resources. Idling motors, while drivers are shopping, calling and running errands, account for the loss of millions of gallons of precious gasoline per year.

You may wonder where they are going to put the 2,700,000 cars that are coming this year and the countless hordes to follow. Certainly, drastic changes arc about to occur in our traffic facilities and our methods of regulating the growing streams of motor cars. In the larger cities the matter has long ago gone beyond reasonable limits and something revolutionary is bound to take place to correct the difficulty—if it can be corrected—within a short time.

There is one distinct ray of sunshine and that is that, during the fiscal year of 1922, 10,000 miles of splendid Federal Aid roads were added to the country's mileage of highways and that the total for 1923 will probably be in the neighborhood of 14,000 miles. The government never did a wiser thing than to pass the Federal Aid Highway Bill, which made available for needed road construction approximately $390,000,000. One result has been to assist in removing our road building from the hands of local politicians and grafters and place it under the jurisdiction of engineers whose sole aim is to see that we get as much possible highway of the highest quality for the lowest cost.

As an important factor in the transportation of freight and farm products, the motor car, and especially the motor truck, have proved themselves invaluable; 134,400,000 tons of farm products were moved during the year by gasoline vehicles and the freight hauled reached the staggering total of 1,430,000.000 tons. Truly, the motor car is a worthy assistant to the railroads!

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This industry, which is only 28 years old, gives employment to 2,431,400 peopie. There are 48,000 public garages in the United States. Three or four of these are pretty good. There are 63,000 service stations and repair shops and—no, I won't say it—there are enough warlike thoughts in the world now. Add to these, 63,700 supply stores, 38,000 passenger car dealers and 25,000 truck dealers, and you have the motor vehicle accounting for quite a considerable item in the retail commercial world.

In 1921 almost 84% of all the cars produced in America were made by only six companies—Ford, General Motors, Dodge Brothers, Studebaker, Willys-Overland and Nash—in that order. The figures for these companies have not yet arrived, but when they do, it will be interesting to see whether the order has changed and whether any newcomers have burst in. I am betting that Durant will turn out a lot of cars in 1923.

There are some other figures which do, and yet do not, belong to the industry, For instance, during 1922 more than 12,000 people were killed in the United States in automobile accidents. This total is too high and must be brought down, 12, 000 is entirely too many people to sacrifice to one mechanical device, even though that device be an extremely valuable one. The motor fatalities arc due entirely to the speed with which the automobile has grown in popular favor and the slowness with which we accept new ideas. Since the beginning of history man has been accustomed to use the highways of the world and he has trained himself to watch out for certain hazards, Suddenly there have appeared in the midst of the street crowds many millions of powerful swift moving engines which the pedestrian's traditions have not trained him to avoid. Politicians and public authorities, always particularly short sighted in this country, have given but little thought to the growth of the new menace, until today it is claiming an exorbitant toll. Now, at last, a number of highly placed men and organizations are pondering the subject and realizing that we have got to revise our methods of crossing the street and our methods of licensing the millions of drivers for these hordes of cars. During the next five years great strides will be taken to make motoring safer for pedestrians and motorists alike.

Approximately eight billion dollars will be spent in America during 1923 for automobiles, tires, gasoline, oil, road maintenance, depreciation, interest, taxes, insurance and other charges directly connected with the purchase and operation of the motor car. Is it any wonder that new companies are constantly entering the field to attempt to share in this vast flood of money? But, with the industry undergoing a very perceptible contraction in the matter of successful firms, it is getting harder and harder for newcomers to make headway without a wonderful product and enormous financial backing.