Servicing Retoil Lumber Deqlers qnd Wholesqle Distribution Yords TnEl ol MtA Luttnl BEi R

Retcril Building Mqferiols Ssles Top t$323 Million in Cqliforniq's 3rd Quorter of 1959 Figures

Sacramento.-Self-assessed transactions subject to California's 3/o retail sales and use tax totaled $5,803,703,000 during the third quarter of 1959, according to George R. Reilly, First District member of the State Board of Equalization. This is an all-time high, 16.2/a above the same 1958 quarter and I.6/o above the previous record achieved in the second quarter of 1959.

Taxable transactions in the First Equalization District amounted to $917,463,000. The gains ran ftom 28/o in Santa Clara county to 8/o in San Francisco. Next highest sales occurred in San Mateo, up 22/o, and in San Luis Obispo, up 20/o. Ten years ago, San Francisco's sales were 7l/o greater than the combined sales of the six other counties in the district. In the quarter under review, they were almost 13/o less. This is mainly a result of the increase in sales in San Mateo and Santa Clara counties, which have more than tripled during the decade, while the dollar volume of sales in San Francisco has risen by less than one-half.

The most important statewide gain was reported by new motor vehicle dealers, whose taxable sales were one-third higher than those of the corresponding quarter in 1958.

Taxable transactions reoorted bv contractors and wholesale building materials dealers amounted to almost onehalf billion dollars during the quarter, up l5/o from 1958.

The retail building materials group recorded an increase of l7/o to top 323 million dollars. The greatest gains in this field were experienced by lumber and building materials dealers and plumbing and electrical supply dealers, each of which recorded increases of over 2I/o. Other related industries also did well. Sales of household and home furnishings stores and household appliance dealers each rose in the neighborhood ol 17/o.

Other notable gains were recorded by trailer, boat, motorcycle and plane dealers, whose sales were up 43.6/o to lead all categories in relative growth for the fourth consecutive quarter.

New Koppers Monoger in Orgville

Appointment of Lester E. Anderson, formerly of Kansas City, Mo., as manager of the Koppers Company, Inc. plant at Oroville, Calif., was announced by D. A. Mitchell, west- ern district manager, Koppers Wood Preserving Division, Los Angeles.

The Oroville, Calif., plant, one of 34 operated throughout the country by Koppers Wood Preserving Division, pressure-treats forest products with preservative chemicals. to make them resistant to attack by fungus, decay and termites.