GOODS TRAFFIC

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22611, 26 December 1936, Page 11

GOODS TRAFFIC

INCREASED ACTIVITY

RAILWAY REVENUE HIGHER

FIGURES FOR AUCKLAND Goods ti':iflic by rail in and out of Auckland during tlic Christmas period lias been particularly heavy this year, and since the beginning of the month there has been intense activity at ilie goods sheds and yards. .Merchandise of all kinds has been sent away to all parts of the province, and hundreds of bales of wool have been brought in to the stores. A considerable part of the out nurd Ira flic has consisted of trucks of fertiliser.

Eliminating bulk traffic, tho general outward merchandise handled in the goods shed and despatched by rail for December has consisted of 10.990 tons to date, an increase of 1000 tons over last year. The total outward traffic reached 2ii,798 tons, and produced a revenue of £25,371, compared with ] 1,543 tons and £23,725 respectively for tho corresponding period last year. The total number of individual consignments was 31,049, an increase of 3000 compared with 1935. A record was established on December 22, when 2255 separate consignments for country stations were dealt with, the highest figure previously being 1908.

Ail improvement has also been shown in the inward traffic, which compares favourably with the outward business. There has been a consistent improvement in the returns since the depression period of 1933-34, when tho gross inward and outward traffic for the year ending March 31, 1934, was 501,408 tons and the revenue £502.830. For the 12 months to last October the figures reached 62(3,964 tons and £624,914, an increase of 125,496 tons and £.122,084 in revenue. Of this, the outward traffic from Auckland represented 108,251 tons and £90,518, actually 44,820 tons in excess of 1931.