When the August set-aside for primary nickel was announced by BDSA, it was stated that additional set-asides would be imposed from month to month until Canadian production, the primary source of U.S. nickel, returned to normal. Production of nickel in Canada continued on a curtailed basis after the settlement of the strike and, accordingly, the 25 percent set-aside was continued for the months of September, October, and November 1966. On November 3, 1966, Public Law 89-740, authorizing the release of surplus nickel from the national stockpile was approved and, accordingly, the December 1966 set-aside for primary nickel was reduced to 12.5 percent of the monthly deliveries of U.S. suppliers for the first 6 months of 1966. This set-aside percentage was continued for the months of January, February, and March 1967. The April 1967 set-aside was increased to 25 percent of the monthly deliveries of the U.S. suppliers of primary nickel for the first 6 months of 1966 because the distribution of 24.5 million pounds of nickel released from the national stockpile under Public Law 89-740 had been completed. The stockpiled nickel was sold by the General Services Administration on the basis of allocations determined by BDSA for the months of December 1966, and January, February, and March 1967. The 25 percent set-aside was continued for the months of May and June 1967. The increased set-aside rate was necessary to assure an adequate supply of nickel for defense purposes, which remain at a high level. In addition, the demands of nondefense consumers also continue high, while Canadian production, the major source of supply, remains below normal. SPECIAL ASSISTANCE FOR MILITARY, ATOMIC ENERGY, AND SPACE PROGRAMS In some cases, extraordinary actions under the priorities powers may be required to assure the maintenance of particular national security programs on schedule. This may result from a variety of situations such as competing orders for a specialized type of product or material, conflicting priority orders on the supplier's schedule, inadequate facilities to produce the required product or material, and the like. In order to aid defense contractors in overcoming such production bottlenecks or to expedite deliveries, BDSA provides special assistance when needed. Such assistance includes improvement of deliveries by the issuance of special priorities or directives, including production and delivery scheduling. The special assistance actions shown in the following table, accordingly, represent only those cases in which the regular DMS procedures have been augmented by such actions. Aircraft..... Aluminum, building materials, copper, electrical equipment, elec- Missiles and space.... Aluminum, copper, electrical equipment, electronic equipment, Ships.... Weapons...... general industrial equipment, metalworking equipment, power Tanks-automotive..... Aluminum, copper, electrical equipment, electronic equipment, Ammunition....... Electronics and communications. Construction................. Canadian defense Other Total, special assistance actions. Aluminum, communication equipment, copper, electrical equip- Aluminum, copper, electrical equipment, electronic equipment, Aluminum, building materials, chemicals, communication equip- 1 Includes 679 cases for which no dollar values are available for the following reasons: (a) Interim actions and time extension due to engineering and production problems on newly developed products; and (b) Requests by DOD to change delivery sequence of scheduled orders. The 5,178 special assistance actions listed above represent an increase of 72 percent over the 2,996 actions taken during fiscal year 1966. This increase reflects the high rate of military procurement and acceleration of deliveries by defense contractors and their suppliers. It is significant that the special assistance actions (expediting) show an increasing degree of complexity. BDSA also serves as an alloting agency under the Defense Materials System. In this connection, BDSA authorizes the use of priorities for privately financed defense construction projects sponsored by the Department of Defense and projects connected with defense programs of Canada and other friendly foreign governments. Allotments of controlled materials and authorizations for the use of ratings are issued by BDSA to permit the preferential procurement of the needed products and materials from U.S. sources by the contractors or governments involved. The summary of authorizations for such activities, listed below, represents only the volume of authorizations issued for these special purposes and does not represent special assistance actions of the nature described above. SUMMARY OF AUTHORIZATIONS, FISCAL YEAR 1967 Program Canadian Department of Defence Production. Friendly foreign countries. Private domestic construction. Private domestic production. Production and allo cation directives. Total authorizations 2 Product category Aluminum, building materials, chemicals, communication equip- Aluminum, chemicals, construction equipment, copper, electrical 1 Dollar value not involved. 2 Authorization cases are those in which an applicant for special assistance has been authorized, pursuant to the applicable BDSA regulation, to apply an allotment symbol or DO or DX rating to the delivery order which is specified in the authorization. PRODUCTION CONTROL SYSTEM FOR EMERGENCY MOBILIZATION AND RELATED ACTIVITIES As a result of mobilization experience and the various economic and statistical studies of supply, stockpile availability compared with total requirements and industrial capacity, BDSA is formulating a system of controls, regulations, and orders to be instituted at Presidential direction in an emergency. The basic framework of this system is now in being in the form of the Defense Materials System. The expansion of this system, when required, can be accomplished readily. Collateral orders under study and development will be instituted if needed to augment the basic allocation program to cover materials and products not available in required quantities during an emergency. In order to assure effective operation of an emergency control system, should it become necessary, BDSA is developing a capability to perform emergency functions nationally, regionally, and at State and local levels. This involves the development of guidance and instructional materials, training of headquarters and field personnel, including executive reservists, and cooperation with the Office of Emergency Planning to develop a capability for the emergency management of resources at State and local levels. OEP Comprehensive Program for Survival of Government and Management of Resources During the fiscal year under review, BDSA continued its active cooperation with the Office of Emergency Planning and the States to assure a coordinated Federal-State effort with respect to planning for the emergency management of production. BDSA reviewed 20 State production plans during the period and made appropriate recommendations to the Office of Emergency Planning. SURVIVAL ITEMS PROGRAM The survival items program is designed to provide for the availability, in the event of an attack upon the United States, of the required quantities of those items considered to be essential to the maintenance of life. Comprehensive national studies of designated survival items are required to determine production capability and supply requirements under attack conditions and the remedial measures necessary to alleviate indicated deficiencies in supply. Of the several hundred survival items named, approximately three-fourths come under the jurisdiction of BDSA. The Office of Emergency Planning, in April 1963. reactivated the Interdepartmental Survival Items Committee for the purpose of reviewing and updating the program. During the fiscal year, surveys were completed and final review of the results was made of: Anesthetics, inhalation, intravenous, and local. Ceramics, electrical and electronic. Circuit breakers, outdoor power type. Chlorine. Copper and aluminum electrical conductors. Eating utensils, disposable. Insulin and oral antidiabetic agents. Rubber and plastic footwear. Soda ash. Surgeons needles. Surgical dressings, sponges. Trenching equipment. Surveys were conducted and analyses are in process on: Anti-malarials, 8 types. Nonnarcotic analgesics and hypnotics, 21 types. It is expected that final review will take place during the next few months. BDSA is continuing to exercise a policy of selectivity with respect to survival item surveys; namely, that surveys will be undertaken only for items which appear likely to be in short supply in the event of an emergency. IDENTIFICATION AND RATING OF INDUSTRIAL FACILITIES OF PRIME IMPORTANCE TO THE NATIONAL DEFENSE The Industry Evaluation Board was established January 6, 1951, under NSC directive, and its function was reaffirmed by Executive Orders No. 10421, dated December 31, 1952, and 10999, dated February 16, 1962. Under this authority, the Secretary of Commerce has the responsibility for identifying those products, services, and their supporting facilities which are of exceptional importance to industrial mobilization and national survival. This responsibility is carried out for the Secretary wthin the Business and Defense Services Administration by the Industry Evaluation Board, an interdepartmental organization chaired by an official of the Department of Commerce and having as advisory members representatives of the Departments of Defense; Interior; Agriculture; Labor; Health, Education, and Welfare; the Atomic Energy Commission; and the Office of Emergency Planning. By authority of the Executive orders, any group of industrial experts within the Federal Government may be called upon to prepare an IEB analysis for Board action, but as the BDSA is responsible, in the field of mobilization preparedness, for the major portion of the national industrial economy, this agency contributes by far the largest number of analyses. The major output of the Board consists of a series of analyses of selected products and services covering the entire industrial economy of the United States raw materials, end products, producing equipment, and intermediate materials and components. The analyses demonstrate the importance of their subjects to industrial mobilization, national defense and survival, reflect industry trends, enumerate the producing plants, list relevant production data concerning them, and indicate the importance of each plant, to total national capability to produce the subject item. A single analysis may cover a large industrial segment involving several hundred producers, an entire service industry with many contributing facilities, or it may be limited to a single strategic item, or to a small specialized component, produced by one manufacturer. Derivative to the analyses, and serving as a summary of their findings, is the periodic issuance of the "Critical Industrial Facilities List." This is a compilation of those facilities identified in the analyses as being of exceptional importance to the national security. It is presented in two volumes, one listing the plants alphabetically by name of company; the other by geographic location. The Industry Evaluation Board output: (1) Provides a record of plant location, production capacity, and other information in uniform arrangement and of standard quality for use in Washington, at Federal relocation sites, OEP/OCD offices, and ultimately in the 42 Department of Commerce data centers. (2) Provides concise pictures of industries, both large and small, producing vital products. Data are so organized that the impact of added production demand for a conventional war, or the probabilities for the survival of postnuclear attack capacities in a general war, can be calculated. (3) Reveals potential industrial bottlenecks, and thus provides essential information and guidelines for mobilization planning, procurement activities, stockpiling, priorities, and the allocation of materials and components. (4) Provides information as to why the analyzed products are essential, what industries they depend upon, and how they enter into the chain of production toward the ultimate military, defense-supporting, or essential civilian end products. (5) Identifies industries and plants for which industrial preparedness and industrial defense programs are of particular importance preattack, and for which postattack repair and restoration might have a high priority. (6) Provides the Department of Defense with its primary source of information for placing industrial facilities on its key facilities list, and for meeting its responsibilities under the Internal Security Act of 1950. (7) Is the chief source of detailed industrial information in the computer data bank of the National Resource Analysis Center requested by the National Security Council, Air Force Directorate of Plans, Army Strategic Plans Groups, Office of Emergency Planning, and others, on industrial mobilization, on effects of nuclear weapons attacks, and on the restoration of selected activity in a postattack situation. (8) Provides information to sensitive agencies for planning intelligence activities. (9) Provides industrial information which, because of its selectivity and organization, meets a need of numerous specialized mobilization, defense, or security programs on a regular basis. In addition, special requests for IEB findings have been made by such groups as Director's Staff Group of Defense Research and Engineering (DOD), Strategic Air Command (DOD), Weapons Systems Evaluation Group (DOD), Defense Traffic Management Service (DOD), and Office of Research and Statistics (Selective Service System). (10) Reveals production or geographical concentrations when such is the case. This provides a basis for planning the continuity of production and, on occasion, the necessity for dispersal within particular industries. During the year ending June 30, 1967, IEB analyses covering 175 products or classes of products were completed. Many of the analyses issued were revisions of former ones to bring them up to date; others identified important products previously not analyzed. These products fall into the following industries: Batteries. Drugs. Electrical equipment and components. Electrical wire and cable of all types (copper and aluminum). Industrial machinery equipment and components. Medical and surgical hard and soft goods. Metals and metal mill products. Rubber products, Ships, self-propelled (oceangoing, 300 feet and over). Telephone and telegraph communications equipment. During the same period, additional industrial analyses reached advanced stages of preparation. Each IEB analysis serves as a foundation for further development according to the needs of the programs which utilize them. The end use patterns and key equipment requirements brought out in groups of analyses contribute to a ready recognition of the industrial intermesh that exists in the U.S. industrial economy. The IEB output, consisting of industrial analyses and the "Critical Industrial Facilities List" of those manufacturing facilities determined to be of exceptional importance to the national security, constitutes an indispensable reservoir of industrial information for the various mobilization and defense programs of the Federal Government. ASSESSMENT OF POSTNUCLEAR ATTACK PRODUCTION CAPABILITY The assumptions made as to availability of vital civilian and military production immediately after a nuclear attack on the United States, and at various stages thereafter, are of critical importance to strategic military and survival |