Business & Finance: Soft Spots

There were more hints of deflation in the news last week. Samples: ¶Industrial production fell from 220 in the Federal Reserve Board index to 217 in April.

¶ Prices were still falling; for the sixth week in a row, the Bureau of Labor Statistics' wholesale price index fell again, to 111.2, lowest since December 1950. Consumers, who thought prices might fall still more, showed no wish to buy; the FRB reported a $35 million drop in consumer installment credit between February and March.

¶Soggy sales caused G.M.'s Frigidaire to announce layoffs for 2,000 workers in its refrigerator plant, and Westinghouse to cut electric-range production by 20%. (General Electric had laid off 2,500 refrigerator workers the week before.) Factory sales of household washers were 33% below a year ago; furniture shipments were down 16% from a year ago. ¶Big trucking firms, whose traffic is a sensitive barometer of business activity, reported their shipments were anywhere from 10% to 40% below a year ago.