February 9, 1977
The Southeast reeled from the effects of unaccustomedly severe winter weather. Frost damage to the Florida vegetable and citrus crops promises to boost food prices. Livestock prices may also be increased. Shortages of natural gas closed industries and schools and limited the operations of commercial firms in several areas. Layoffs were widespread. The mobile home industry appears to be slowly reviving.
Florida's vegetable crop was decimated by an unusually severe freeze; only winter-hardy crops such as celery and lettuce were unharmed. Replanting began immediately, so new crops can be expected within about eight weeks. Some growers have reportedly purchased tomato plants from growers in Mexico to hasten the availability of new supplies.
Citrus fruit suffered losses variously estimated to range between 25 and 35 percent of the two-thirds of the crop remaining to be harvested. Damage to grapefruit was light compared to oranges. Since only 10 to 15 percent of the orange crop is sold as fresh fruit, these supplies should be affected only slightly. Most of the remainder of the crop is used for juice concentrate; the freeze-damaged oranges can be processed for this purpose, provided daytime temperatures remain below 60 degrees. At temperatures above this level, the fruit would deteriorate rapidly. To hasten processing, weight limits have been removed for trucks hauling citrus fruit; processors are operating at rates in excess of the normal maximum capacity level. A substantial carry-over of concentrate from last year may help limit price increases. Tree damage is limited mainly to growing twigs, so crops in future years should not be seriously affected, in the absence of another severe freeze.
Other cold weather effects include freeze damage to the unharvested half of the sugar cane crop. Again, mill operators are operating at maximum capacity to salvage the remaining crop, in a race against higher temperatures. Severe losses have occurred in the foliage plant industry in Florida. Fishermen fear damage to inshore fish and marine animal populations.
Livestock supplies have also been affected. A lack of forage crops, due to adverse weather, has stimulated marketings of beef. While this trend has cushioned current price increases, it is likely to worsen shortages during the remainder of the year. Poultry producers report curtailed production, as unheated housing compounds the problem of poor weight gain with losses due to freezing of chickens, as well as to decreased fertility of eggs.
Natural gas shortages have had serious effects on industrial, educational, and commercial activities. One large gas utility reported that it began dipping into its reserves in October; the normal beginning time for usage of reserves is in December. A survey found that over three-quarters of industrial users in Georgia have made no provisions for alternate fuel supplies. Firms which were continuing to operate by using stand-by fuels reported that supplies are low, threatening increased layoffs. A key element of the shortage is a delivery problem attributable to a shortage of rail cars and trucks designed to haul liquefied petroleum gas fuels. In some states, procedures for inspection of vehicles and compliance with other legal requirements have been expedited to hasten deliveries. Emergency procedures have been instituted to prepare heated public facilities for use by families whose household fuel supplies have been exhausted.
The impact of the industrial cutbacks varies from day to day. Carpet manufacturers in North Georgia, whose production was cut sharply, have resumed operations at close to normal levels. An auto plant in Atlanta has also resumed production. However, another auto plant states that production cuts by suppliers threaten to affect output.
Fuel shortages are not limited to natural gas. Some Tennessee coal retailers are experiencing delays in deliveries, since mining operations have been curtailed by the severe weather. Deliveries by retailers have fallen behind, new orders are being rejected, and some homeowners have run short of fuel for home heating.
A variety of other businesses have felt the effects of weather conditions. Building supply and auto parts dealers report unusually slow sales. Truck transportation has been slowed. Small businesses, including cleaners, laundries, and fast-food restaurants, have been closed down by rationing of natural gas. Retailers are operating fewer hours per day.
Layoffs resulting from the natural gas shortage are estimated to have reached at least 200,000 in Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Georgia. In Florida, a large number of migratory agricultural laborers, estimated to number from 50,000 to 135,000, have been left without jobs. Employment is available in central Florida, where the intense effort to pick and process the orange crop is under way; but these jobs will not last more than a few weeks.
One of the recession's casualties, the mobile home industry, appears to be reviving slowly. In Alabama, sales and output rose in 1976; two of the thirty-five plants which closed during 1975 have been reorganized and reopened.