Show Saturation U Unattainable n HERE has b been n much apprehension In quarters remote from T THERE the automobile Industry lest this great l business with all it o accessories and trimmings should some day run smack emack into Int the flit bog bor of or a n saturated d market mark t. t find nd thereby by founder rounder carrying tb tb a n. muddy entombment all an hands and tho chauffeur How foolish h this Is may may not be apparent to any save rove those who wh have studied d tho the surroundings of ot tho thu Indu Industry tr with care To such uch It Is la evident that long Jong before saturation of ot tho the market Is reached if ft indeed 1 It t ever cr is ls oth other r and more remote influences will combine combino to ch check th the e growth of ot tho the Industry and automatically prevent pre the attainment o oa oa ot t It a saturated or supersaturated market I t The automobile Industry like all others is constantly subject t to general business Influences Therefore Its activities proceed witha with witha h a 3 wave like motion notion ascending toward a n crest when whon business influences ces nr are rn favorable and descending toward a n. valley Riley when general genera conditions are adverse Of or moro mono direct Interest t. t however ar are arc certain conditions affecting this Industry more particularly than an any other Of Ot these several crt arc pertinent b because aulo to attain th the muc much apprehended condition of ot saturation Uon this would have hn to become the biggest business In the world whereas at the present time It Is the tho tho second only in magnitude I While cars continue to wear out as ns rapidly as tho they do an at over Increasing share hare of ot activity must be devoted to offsetting lion This requirement will always alws 1 bo be 0 proportioned to the number numbe r of ot cars care in Jo use and will always YR act as an nn automatic stay on over oyer Inflation Still more Important however is the tho fact that thal th the greater an an n industry becomes becom s tho the moro more serious tho which it hasto has hasto to to overcome Thus labor seemingly has hRS almo almost t attained tho the peak wage wago In ir tho automobile line In common with manufacturers In other 01 of tho the moro mora active Industries automobile makers have already outbid I tho the more con conservative el classes of employers so 80 that to carr carry wages waged further upward they must mutt as It were bid against themselves es Already ady the wage Wab bill of ot tho the t Industry is tremendous while to render greater the purchasing power of tho dollar expended on the payroll still further advances in equipment 31 mid and 1 manufacturing method must be tIe made in shops chops which already nd are arc getting moro more return for tor their wage aS investment In than would be thought possible in many an older line Again As-aln advancing ad material prices are constantly working against that thal paring down of or m manufacturing costs which are usually relied upon to Indicate expansive tendencies Indeed the pr present sent situation Is working strongly against tho the attainment of or a 8 saturated market in this very ery respect Transportation difficulties apparently are arc due to endure for a a. period Jerod of or one and possibly two or more years car Transportation of or coal att after actor r labor and raw material the most vital factor in Industry f ls so 60 far h handicapped that many heavy y Industrial consumers getting little or nothing out of ot contract supplies are arc being forced to buy In Inthe the open market et for current ne needs dt and at at- spot prices Such I Influences nu nc s affect not only th the automobile plant itself but reach J k Into the prime materials RIs market withhold supplies 9 of ot fabricated fabri fahri- c dela delay deliveries of or components and stiffen prices for tor such equipment as the manufacturer installs In his product Plant extensions and the development nl of oC entirely new ne projects of Ot course arc Aro seriously handicapped th the on one class by tho the adverse building material situation and the other b by mono money stringency nhien Th These sc circumstances surely ty do tin not net arcue Aru any present risk of or over over- devel development but It anything continued difficulty In meeting tho the natural requirements requirement of or th the still growing market markett On tho the market mark t side of ot tho the equation the tho industry Is now sliding into tho the rut rul of or midsummer dullness tempered by the tho fa fact l that this year many manufacturers aro arc still b behind on orders but bul also Influenced to some somo extent by the continued postwar depression and preele hesitation Rising gasoline costs and local short shortages tes are a a. deterrent In some In Instances while tight money maney exerts a restraining Influence on those wholesalers and retailers who might continue continuo to expand beyond their reasonable capacity l From om two separate and d sources Automobile Topics this week weel gathers Rathers up the thought that the automobile m market at some points has outgrown tho the financial supporting capacity of ot tho the local territory Tho The d demand mand is there thero Tho The buying power Is there There is no question of ot continued stability much less Of f tho the essential essential essen essen- character of or tho the business The fact artfully camouflaged b by bythe bythe the banking fraternity la Js however that in some flome cases t the G local automobile business Is too bl big for the local banks to handle handlo Y It b has been len known o.-n o. for some some y years rs that the rate rato of ot growth of ot ott t thai automobile business was cO considerably greater than thano f ho rate of development of the gasoline business A close study of nil all circumstances circumstances circum circum- stances stAnc s bearing on the fuel situation Indicates b beyond yond qu question that until b better foci cc economy nomy Is fe available Ih in tho the average car arid and until both tho the rate of fuel fuet production nn and tho quality of fuel produced more nearly satisfy current requirement re fuel prices will continue to advance ance Here then is Js still another reason why saturation of ot tho the Automobile market is b not to be immediately apprehended In t td to all very large Industrial activities lU s there ma may bo be said ald to bo be a n sort sorl of oC automatic safeguard s ard influence ys at work determined b by the wide scope of ot interests which are involved ot and operating somewhat on tho the principle of ot a a. speed governor It Is this Invisible but providential mechanism which many times in the past has to u uc use e the current phrase saved the tho industry from Itself and which will continuo continue to do hOv Automobile sop Topics 1 II |