THE UNITED KINGDOM

Dominion, Volume 14, Issue 91, 11 January 1921, Page 5

THE UNITED KINGDOM

SURVEY OF INDUSTRY AND COMMERCE THIRD QUARTER OF PAST YEAR The following article, abridged from one published in the British Board of Trade Journal, gives a survey, of industrial and commercial conditions in the United Kingdom during the third quarter of the past year: — "The general course of events during the third quarter of 1920 did not differ to any marked extent from that in the preceding three months. The chief features of the June quarter had been the sudden transition from “boom" conditions to others less decided and less active. Hopes that the break would bo of short duration were disappointed, and in the quarter under review the conditions of Ihe previous three months continued. Nevertheless the slowing up of commerce and industry did not proceed so far ns was predicted in some circles. "An index to the movement is to he found in the following table of British and American wholesale prices this year:

British and American Wholesale Prices. (1913 Average Equals 100). United Kingdom United States ("Economist") ("Bradstreet )

"It will be seen that there has been an accelerating fall in wholesale prices in the United States since the 'beginning of the year, while prices in the United Kingdom have fallen steadily since ■March, except for a slight recovery in July. Similar price movements are recorded in Canada, France, Japan, and other countries. The change in the course of trade may be assumed to have been caused in part by a general world •reaction against the very high pricelevel reached bv the end of 1919, and m part through the increasing strain put upon credit resources. Industry. . "The industries most depressed were those which would naturally respond most quickly to a reduced demand on the part of the public, boots and shoes, textiles generally and tho clothing trade, and the motor-car industry. Whether a revival can be expected in the near future it is mot easy to say, but in this connection it is noteworthy that reports as to harvests throughout the Northern Hemisphere are good. This cannot fail to affect the demand for manufactured goods. "Output in the basic industries has generally been maintained. Although in the United States of America, a very large decrease has taken place in the volume of shipbuilding, in this country the tonnag© now under construction is as much as 153,000 tons- more than was being constructed at the end- of the last quarter, and the progressive increase of . the amount of tonnage building in British yards has been maintained throughout the last twelve months. The tonnage launched was rather less than during the second quarter of the year, but tho tonnage commenced was actually somewhat larger. Nearly half the world’s shipping now being built is of British construction. "Again, the production of pig iron and of crude steel was distinctly encouraging. The output of pig iron during the April to June quarter averaged 712,000 tons a month, but tho monthly average during the period we are now considering was 748,000 tons, the highest figure since the armistice. In spite of production on this large scale, the demand for pig iron is still greater than the supply. "The monthly -average for the production of steel ingots and castings, being 794,000 tons, was not quite as good as the 828,000 tons produced each month during April- May, and June. But the output in September reached the highly satisfactory figure of 883,900 tons. No such quantity of crude steel has been produced in this country in one month either before, during, or after the war. The production of tinplates was well up to the average, and employment has been maintained in the engineering industry generally. In the case of. the manufacture of motor-cars, however, the effect of reduced demand in France and the United States, as well as in this country, is marked. The pottery and glassware industries have kent active, but in business in heavy chemicals, which was steady in the preceding quarter, has durim g the last ten weeks been quiet. Employment. “The beginning of this period saw Industry still continuing on the whole to absorb an increasing number of workers, not so quickly, indeed, as during the earlier part of the year, but still satisfactory. Over 16,000 more men, previously unemployed, were at work during July than during June, and by the end of the month the men whose names appeared on the books of the Employment Exchanges as out of work numbered less than a quarter of a million (223,662). As regards women, only 700 names were added during the month to the 47,138 already on the "live" Unemployment Registers for. Women.. "In August, however, unemployment began to increase. The “live" Unemployment Registers relating to women show that over 6000 lost their jobs in August, and over 7000 during September, and that at the end of the latter month over 61.000 were known to be out ct work. Among men, the increase of unemployment during August was but slight, less than 3500 being displaced from industry. In September, however, the number of men known to be out of work rose by 25,000 to over 252,000. This increase was largely accounted for by unemployment among dock labourers, who have suffered as a result of the fall (mainly seasonal) in the imports into the United Kingdom. “These figures are taken from tho Registers of the Unemployment Exchanges, which cover both skilled and unskilled workmen. In addition, returns made by certain trades unions with a membership of over 1J millions, show that at the end of June the percentage of their members who were out of work was 1.2, at tho end of August 1.6, and on October 1 2.2. None; of these returns, of course, have any reference to short time.

“So far as unemployment, apart from the short time, is concerned, the trade# in which it was most considerable wore the wool, cotton, linen, lace, clothing, and boot and shoe trades. Also, during the latter part of the quarter to September 30 it increased in tho leather and furnishing trades, and, to a not unimportant extent, in certain sections of the shipbuilding and engineering trades. Miscellaneous metal trades were also affected. Specific figures from the trade union returns of men and women out of work were as follow: —Cotton trade, 2.5 per cent, of their members in that industry; wool trade, 2.2 per cent.; boot and shoe industry, 2.8 per cent.; engineering and shipbuilding, 3.4 per cent. In the leather trade, which is much smaller, the percentage was 7.1. "In spite, however, of depression in particular industries the total percentage of unemployment recorded by the trade union returns, namely 2.2. compared favourably with tho percentage for nine out of the ten years before the war. In 1914 it was 3.3 per cent.; in 1913, 2.1; in 1912, 2.4 (not including unemployment caused by the general coal strike); and in the seven preceding years it averaged over 5 per cent. Shipping. nffswt of the increased activity in

the shipbuilding industry during the war is clearly revealed in the 1920-21 «sue of Lloyd’s Register, which shows that world tonnage has increased by morn than 8,000,000 gross tons during the last six years. This increase, together with a-large volume of ex-enemy tonnage, has been absorbed mainly by the American and Japanese mercantile fleets, with the result that these two countries are now commonly represented in parts of the world where before the war their ships were seldom seen. How far the growth of these two nations as sea-carriers has affected the shipping trade of the world may be judged from the fact that whereas in the total shipping entered and cleared at British ports for the first nine months of 1913 the American (U.S.) quota was 0.9 per cent., and the Japanese 0 4 per cent., in the corresponding period of this year they contributed respectively 4.8 per cent., and 1 per cent, of the tonnage. . Freights. “The general anticipation of a maintained fall in freight rates has been realised but, taking the time-charter rates as the rate barometer, the .fall shows signs of a great easing up. Two months ago tonnage was available at 14s. per deadweight ton a month, and in tne middle of September at 2s. less. Other rates fluctuated during the last the three months. The tendency is still downwards, as ean only be expected in view of the excess of nearly eipht million tons of shipping at present over the 1914 figures. The downward tendency will no doubt be somewhat arrested when the wheat crops become available, and the coming into the market again of Danubian wheat will also bring tonnage »ntc greater demand. Export of Manufactured Goods. “Tho most important general feature of the Trade Returns is the movement of the exports of British manufactured, and mainly manufactured goods towards the 1913 level. This is shown by tho following table setting out these exports, by weight in recent periods in percentages of the exports of the same goods in the Corresponding periods of If 13: - British Exports of Manufactured and Mainly Manufactured Goods, by Weight. Percentage of 1913 total. First six months of 1919 52 per cent. Second six months of 1919 73 per cent. First quarter, 1920 86 per cent. Second quarter, 1920 ... 76 per cent. Third quarter, 1920 891 per cent. “In the total volume of foreign trade wo are still considerably below the prewar level. "An interesting table has been compiled by the Department of Overseas Trade, which shows the distribution of our overseas trade among?* various markets since tho armistice, and illustrates the tendency to return towards tho pre-war channels of trade. From this table it may be seen that the near markets, with the exception of Russia and Germany anti her allies, received a considerably larger share of British exports than they did in 1913. Each succeeding quarter, however, shows a decrease In the proportion sent to these markets, and the readjustment of proportions ot exports to something like the pre-war position had been very considerable by tho second quarter of this year. In the case of India and Ceylon, Far East, Africa, and the United States the pre-war proportions have been recovered.”

January .. 288.5 227.2 February .... March April May .. 303.1 .. 310.2 .. 903.7 .. 301.5 .. 291.4 226.4 225.5 2'25.7 216.4 210.7 July August 'September •• .. 292.5 .. 287.6 .. 284.1 205.0 195.7 184.0