Men Idle Because Of Copper Shortage

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30895, 30 October 1965, Page 16

Men Idle Because Of Copper Shortage

Two Christchurch cable-manufacturing companies had men idle yesterday afternoon because a shipment of copper from Australia had been delayed. A third had enough copper to last about one month.

The freighter Kaitoke, carrying about 500 tons of copper, arrived in the stream at Lyttelton yesterday morning. The general manager of Associated British Cables, Ltd. (Mr J. D. Bull), said that his company ran out of copper stocks yesterday afternoon and men had been idle. Austral Standard Cables, Ltd., ran out of stocks on Wednesday, he said. The companies would have to take emergency action to transfer the copper from the Kaitoke to the factory by the road tunnel rather than wait for delivery by rail from the Christchurch railway yards. Factory production staff would have to stand idle till the supplies arrived. There was no suggestion that staff would be laid off, he said. “Utter Confusion” A state of utter confusion and congestion, he said, existed at the port and the Christchurch railway yards. The Hinakura arrived at Lyttelton on October 3 carrying plastic materials for his factory, but these had still not been received, he said. The Railways Department had also lost somewhere in the railway yards six tons of an earlier shipment of 150 tons of copper. Because of the price of copper—now about £5OO a ton —production relied on regular shipments from Australia, as a stockpile was too expensive. He understood, he said, that deliveries from the port would not improve before Christmas. Once a delayed shipment had halted the initial stages of production then, no matter how small the halt, it could snowball till the factory lost a whole week of production. Board Comment The general manager of the Lyttelton Harbour Board (Mr A. J. Sowden) said that the board was doing all it could to expedite the Kaitoke’s copper shipment. However, the ship had been three days late in arriving and another vessel had taken its place at Cashin quay. The board’s traffic manager (Mr J. B. Graham) said the Kaitoke would berth at No. 7

west today, but would have no particular priority for labour. Rain in Wellington had delayed the Kaitoke for three days after her Tasman crossing. Labour would probably be available to work the ship on Monday, and after discussions with the shipping company it was considered that within one hour of unloading being begun the first of the copper could be on its way to the factories by road, if the consignees adopted that course. The District Traffic Manager of Railways (Mr M. R. Leineweber) said that about 1100 waggons in either the railways yards or at Lyttelton were awaiting to be cleared. The rate of clearance was about 130 a week, men working from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. on four days, 8 a.m. till 5 p.m. on a fifth, and 8 a.m. till 12 p.m. on the sixth. Goods had piled up because shipping had arrived in two major waves, first in September and again last week, he said. The yards had not really dealt with the record influx of shipping in September when last week’s influx arrived. “Uncontrolled Influxes” “It is unreasonable to expect the Railways Department to maintain a staff sufficient to meet periodic uncontrolled influxes,” he said. “The shipping companies are also partly to blame because they have failed to use Cashin quay fully, and that has added to our problems.” In reply to Mr Bull he said that the plastics shipment was 300 bags as part of a total consignment. The main part of the shipment had been picked up from the goods sheds, and the 300 bags were available in the sheds all day yesterday, but were yet to be picked up. The missing six tons of copper, he assumed, was part of a major consignment, the bulk of which was delivered at the ship’s side. Through no fault of the Railways Department, part of that shipment was carried to the railways goods yards. Part of the material wrongly placed on the railway waggons was delivered on Wednesday, and the department was making strenuous efforts to find the remainder. Though it had been said there was a shortage of 383 waggons at Lyttelton that was the difference between the number the shipping companies ordered and those supplied. “Shipping companies have been known to over-order on the waggons they require,” he said. The department had been working extended hours at the goods sheds for some time and it was disappointing that cargo was not being picked up from the sheds as quickly as the department would like during the extended working hours. Manufacturers’ View

The secretary of the Canterbury Manufacturers’ Association (Mr R. T. Alson) said the present hold-up was a major crisis in a series of crises which had continued throughout the year. Nothing would result in an improvement till drastic action was taken. The association wrote to the General Manager of Railways (Mr A. T. Gandell) in April asking for delays which were affecting production of South Island factories to be looked into. Mr Gandell said he would look into the matter, but nothing further had been heard. The association was considering having talks with the

shipping companies so that peak periods such as had twice occurred this year could be avoided. Also, the association wanted more direct shipping to Lyttelton from overseas. “We are deeply concerned at the tremendous pile-up of goods and materials through Lyttelton,” he said. “The position has become worse, and local manufacturers are at a tremendous disadvantage in competing with their rivals elsewhere in New Zealand.” Wharf Labour At 7 a.m. yesterday the wharf labour shortage amounted to 18 gangs, about 300 men. Vessels idle included the Koraki at Cashin quay, the Squall, the Kaiimai, and the Kanna. Three overseas vessels were working with restricted labour. In all there were 17 vessels in port and two in the stream, including the Kaitoke. Three vessels sailed last night and 10 were scheduled to sail today, but it was doubtful whether all these would finish working in time. Six other vessels, including the tanker Maurea, are expected to arrive today.