Defense Specialists

OPM last week figured that six U.S. corporations held 31.3% of the $9,839,000,000 Army and Navy supply contracts issued in the year ended May 31. This startling statistic has one simple explanation: munitions are a specialized product that few U.S. companies as yet know how how make. The big six:

Bethlehem Steel $927,000,000

New York Shipbuilding 507,000,000

General Motors 490,000,000

Curtiss-Wright 444,000,000

Newport News Shipbuilding 389,000,000

Du Pont 318,000,000

Holding the next 43% of all contracts issued during the same year period were 50 other concerns. Among them: Glenn Martin ($249,100,000), Consolidated Aircraft ($226,400,000), U.S. Steel ($209,900,000), Electric Boat ($126,100,000), Republic Aviation ($57,300,000), Savage Arms ($27,200,000).

But OPM's statistic was already out of date. Same day they released more comprehensive figures. Total actual and proposed defense expenditures through mid-July were $50,785,000,000 (including $3,669,000,000 in British orders through mid-June). Bethlehem Steel is still No. 1 war supplier with $1,228,242,000 in contracts; No. 2 is General Motors with $1,200,000,000 (placed or under negotiation); No. 3 Curtiss-Wright with $980,000,000. Consolidated Aircraft has $684,000,000, Glenn Martin $652,000,000. Many a newcomer was beginning to learn the defense business, getting a piece of the pie. But it will take the participation of many more little firms (via subcontracting) to solve the defense production problem.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.