Rolling Along

The hopeful signs in the U.S. economy were more than just the usual spring tonic. Steel production hit 63% of capacity, with output for the month estimated at 7,500,000 tons--the highest figure in eleven months. A spring surge boosted mid-April auto sales 8.9% over mid-March as Ford and General Motors re called laid-off workers. Last week's production of 115,306 cars was down 7.4% over the preceding week, but still was the second-healthiest week the carmakers have had this year.

New orders for machine tools registered a sharp 49.9% rise in March over February's figure of $46 million. The increase underscored a McGraw-Hill survey indicating that industry had raised its sights on capital equipment expenditures for the year to $35.4 billion, only 1% less than in 1960. Railway freight-car loadings jumped for the fourth straight week. March retail sales soared to a record high of nearly $18 billion, up 2.6% over the previous record, set in March 1960, while the cost-of-living index held steady for the fifth month in a row.

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