_Organization of the industry._—There are 10 domestic producers of crude naphthalene, operating 52 tar-distilling plants in the following States: Ohio (7), Pennsylvania (6), Illinois and New York (5 each), Alabama, Minnesota, and New Jersey (3 each), Missouri, Rhode Island, Wisconsin, Utah, West Virginia (2 each), and Michigan, Massachusetts, Maryland, Kentucky, Oregon, Connecticut, Tennessee, Indiana, Virginia, and Washington (1 each). Although these plants do not all recover naphthalene as such, they are equipped to recover a crude mixture of naphthalene and tar acids for shipment to a central extracting and refining plant. The principal producing plants are located in Pennsylvania (2), New Jersey (2), Illinois (1), Indiana (1), and West Virginia (1). The purchasers of tar produced 77 percent of the total output of crude naphthalene in 1935 and 58 percent in 1936. There are 8 producers of refined naphthalene located in the following States: New Jersey (3), Pennsylvania (2), California, Indiana, and Ohio (1 each). _Trend of production._—Although the United States is the largest producer of coal tar, the limited demand for the main products of tar distillation (creosote oil and pitch) has tended to restrict the amount distilled, thereby reducing the output of naphthalene and the tar acids to a point where the domestic output was not sufficient to meet our requirements. As a result, large quantities of these products have been imported. In 1936 we produced 560 million gallons of coal tar, containing from 400 million to 500 million pounds of naphthalene.[17] In the same year we distilled about 300 million gallons of tar, containing 230 million to 270 million pounds of naphthalene,[17] and our actual recovery of crude naphthalene was 89,536,000 pounds. Early in 1935 the price of crude naphthalene was about 1.5 cents per pound or 15 cents per gallon, at which level there was little incentive to isolate it from the various fractions of tar distillation. Late in 1935 and in 1936 a serious shortage in naphthalene prevailed, largely because of increased demand by synthetic resin makers but also because of restrictions on exports from certain European countries. The price of the crude then advanced in domestic markets to from 2.5 to 3 cents per pound, with the demand greatly exceeding the supply. Between 1930 and 1936 the apparent consumption of crude naphthalene (production plus imports) increased from 59 million to 129 million pounds, or more than 100 percent. During the same period production increased from 31 million to 89 million pounds; and imports increased from 27 million pounds in 1930 to 48 million pounds in 1935 but declined to 40 million pounds in 1936.