Economic Ove rview

By llt. A" G. l{atamorOs v.p., chiEf economist Armstrong Cork Co.

cific assumptions can help chart the way through the next 12 to l8 months.

Regarding wage and price controls it now seerns reasonable to assume that after their scheduled ex. piration date next April, some kiud of surveillance mechanism r:overing the largest industrial companies and labor unions will be established as an attempt by the federal government to influence pricing decisions and collective bargaining agreements.

The building industry offers a good exbmple of how performance within the total econonry will vary. Housing production, which has begun to exceed demand in some parts of the country, will probably be subject to at least some slight downward adjustment next year. But nonresidential building, which hit its peak three years ago, should expand

Sfory ol q Glonce

Housing production will decline slightly, while overall industrial production should gain interest rates are not likefy to climb more than LVz percentage points.

by about I5/o in dollar terms over t972.

Although housing starts will slacken throughout 1973, the rate of housing completions and the market absorption of single family homes and apartments will nevertheless closely approximate 1972 levels.

We look for consumer spending for durable goods to increase by about l0% next year, compared with a 157b growth rate in 1972.

(Continued on Page 13)

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