War Production Board

War Production Board
Agency overview
FormedJanuary 1942 (1942-01)
Preceding agency
DissolvedNovember 3, 1945 (1945-11-03)
Superseding agency
  • Civilian Production Board
JurisdictionUnited States Government
HeadquartersWashington DC
Agency executives

The War Production Board (WPB) was an agency of the United States government that supervised war production during World War II. President Franklin D. Roosevelt established it in January 1942, with Executive Order 9024.[1] The WPB replaced the Supply Priorities and Allocations Board and the Office of Production Management.[2]

The WPB directed conversion of companies engaged in activities relevant to war from peacetime work to war needs, allocated scarce materials, established priorities in the distribution of materials and services, and prohibited nonessential production.[3] It rationed such commodities as gasoline, heating oil, metals, rubber, paper,[4] and plastics. It was dissolved shortly after the defeat of Japan in 1945 and was replaced by the Civilian Production Administration in late 1945.

In 1942–1945, WPB supervised the production of $183 billion (equivalent to $2.46 trillion in 2023[5]) worth of weapons and supplies, about 40 percent of the world output of munitions. The UK, the USSR, and other allies produced an additional 30 percent, while the Axis produced only 30 percent. One fourth of the US output was warplanes; one fourth was warships. Meanwhile, the civilian standard of living was about level.[6]

  1. ^ Executive Order 9024 – Establishing the War Production Board (January 16, 1942)
  2. ^ Herman 2012, pp. 164–65.
  3. ^ Herman 2012, pp. 164–65, 193–94, 197–99.
  4. ^ Butler, Pierce, ed. (1945). "War and the book trade". Books and libraries in wartime. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. pp. 88–104. OCLC 1349001.
  5. ^ Johnston, Louis; Williamson, Samuel H. (2023). "What Was the U.S. GDP Then?". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved November 30, 2023. United States Gross Domestic Product deflator figures follow the MeasuringWorth series.
  6. ^ Industrial Mobilization for War: History of the War Production Board and Predecessor Agencies: 1940–1945. United States Bureau of Demobilization, Civilian Production Administration. 1947. pp. 961–62. hdl:2027/uiug.30112041826683.