Spring Pickup

Said General Motors' President Harlow H. Curtice last week: "Business generally" will "improve as the year progresses." G.M.'s sales for the first quarter were 5% below the 1953 mark, but the drop was largely in military orders. In keeping with Curtice's optimism, G.M., which has been producing cars at a record first-quarter rate this year, announced that its Fisher Body division was adding workers in three plants, putting men on overtime in eight others.

Many other businessmen were whistling cheerful tunes last week. Douglas Aircraft Co. reported first-quarter earnings of $8.9 million, more than double last year's $4.4 million, and voted a two-for-one stock split. Despite an 8% decline in sales, General Electric's net was up 42%, to $48 million, highest first-quarter earnings in the company's history. President Ralph J. Cordiner predicted that G.E.'s profits for the entire year would be better than in 1953. For those whose earnings were down, the drop was usually less, percentagewise, than the drop in sales. There were other encouraging signs. Dun & Bradstreet announced that department-store sales for the Easter season were equal to those last year. And the National Association of Purchasing Agents reported, for the third month in a row, that the majority of their members reported an increase in orders.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.