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Signa. Corp.
Destruction to industrial plants created virtually complete economic
chaos in Germany following the surrender of the German Army
The story of industrial production in the
US Zone of Germany since the beginning of
the occupation has been the story of a con-
tinuing struggle characteristic of a deficit
economy.
Jn such an economy there will always be
a question as to who gets what and how
much - whether steel should be used in
desperately-needed  producers  goods  or
consumer items, whether manpower should
be increased at the expense of white collar
workers, whether output of finished products
should be sacrificed to the production of
spare parts.
It is questions such as these which must
be answered each day, each month and each
week. They can never be answered satis-
factorily until enough coal, steel, manpower
and transportation are channeled into the
bloodstream of industry.
What is the present position of industrial
output in the U. S. Zone and how has the
picture changed in the last year?
Industrial production in the US Zone
has shown a steady rise from ten percent of
capacity in the winter to twenty-six percent
during May. A number of favorable factors
currently evident point to a continuation of
this rising trend for some time to come. But,
in its broader aspects, the economic picture
is still basically discouraging.
Overall output is wholly inadequate either
to supply essential requirements in the in-
dustrial field or a minimum of consumer
goods, to provide work for all seeking
employment, or to provide an over-all zonal
industrial income sufficient to assure the
reduced standard of living provided for in
the Potsdam Agreement and in the Plan for
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