THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, February 13, 1995 TAG: 9502130209
SECTION: BUSINESS WEEKLY PAGE: 13 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JUANITA RAISOR, BUSINESS WEEKLY
LENGTH: Medium: 54 lines
Bankruptcy filings have declined in Hampton Roads.
Filings in federal bankruptcy courts in Norfolk and Newport News in 1994 totaled 8,479, down 8.4 percent from 9,260 in 1993. The '94 total marked a 16 percent decline from the 10,100 bankruptcies recorded in 1992.
Other statistics recorded in the economic indicators tracked by Business Weekly show:
Bell Atlantic installed 139,297 lines in 1994, up 5.16 percent from 132,467 installations in 1993.
Electrical consumption rose to 2 billion kilowatt hours in 1994 from 1.9 billion in 1993. Usage in 1992 was about 1.8 billion kilowatt hours.
Construction permits increased in the commercial area by 24.7 percent to $546 million in 1994 from $437.9 in 1993. The large increase reflects the permits for two new schools in Newport News.
Residential permits dropped slightly to $518.8 million from $553.6 in 1993.
Custom receipts totaled $274.8 million last year, up from $236.9 million in 1993, but down from the 1992 total of $313 million.
Total container units unloaded at the Norfolk International Terminals last year totaled 521,710. That was 14.5 percent more than the 455,565 units unloaded in 1993.
General cargo handled at the Hampton Roads piers totaled more than 7.9 million tons of in 1994. The port handled 7 million tons in 1993 and 7.5 million tons in 1992.
The number of commercial ships that arrived at the Hampton Roads piers last year totaled 3,006, slightly higher than the 2,562 for 1993 and 2,971 in 1991.
Coal loaded for export and coastwide shipment at Hampton Roads terminals weighed in at 43.3 million tons last year compared to 44.2 million tons in 1993 and 60 million tons in 1992.
Navy contracts awarded by the Naval Supply Center for a range of goods and services totaled $687.4 million in 1994 compared to $683 million in 1993 and $610 million in 1992.
Navy ship-repair contract awards to private shipyards in Hampton Roads totaled $110.3 million last year compared to $89 million in 1993 and $165 million in 1992.
The average unemployment rate figured over 1994 was 5.6 percent compared to 5.9 percent in 1993 and 6.9 percent in 1992.
New car registration for 1994 totaled 65,757 vehicles compared to 63,762 for 1993, the best year since 1989 when totals were slightly more than 64,000. by CNB