SERIOUS EFFECTS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26769, 12 May 1948, Page 4

SERIOUS EFFECTS

COASTAL SHIPPING MANUFACTURERS’ CONCERN GRAVE LOSS OF BUSINESS Claims that, because of the unsatisfactory position of coastal shipping at present, the production Of some Dunedin factories has been reduced, that orders to the value of thousands of pounds have been cancelled in recent weeks, that North Island buyers are turning to northern suppliers capable of maintaining continuous supplies, and that the development of Dunedin is in serious jeopardy are made bv the Otago-Southland Manufacturers’ Association in a statement released yesterday. After discussing the position at length, the statement gives three solutions to the problem. First and most important, the statement says, is a faster turn-round of ships particularly at the northern ports. Secondly, a return to the Dunedin service of some of the smaller vessels that were engaged in the service in 1940, and thirdly, the purchase of another ship by business interests, as was done after the 1914-1918 war. Dunedin’s Special Case “The coastal shipping position in Dunedin has reached a very serious stage, and if no improvement is obtained it will have a far-reaching effect on Dunedin itself,” the statement says. “Although other centres are suffering from the slow turn-round of ships, towns such as Auckland and Wellington have large local populations which enable manufacturers to dispose of goods that would have been consigned to the South Island. Because of rail and road transport, any town in the North Island is, in fact, less affected than Dunedin. “Dunedin is in a peculiar position inasmuch as it is definitely an exporting town. In fact, it can be compared with Britain whose livelihood depends on importing and exporting. Dunedin has some of the largest manufacturers of their kind in the Dominion, and they depend on the big North Island markets to keep their factories functioning in full production, and .in many cases also they depend on receiving some of their essential raw materials from the North Island. To-day, production in some factories has already been cut down owing to inability to ship their goods and others have been forced to reduce their production because the raw materials they require are held in northern ports. Delays at Auckland “Although the need for a regular shipping service is more essential to Dunedin than other centres, Dunedin manufacturers feel that they are receiving a worse deal than is justified. They point out that up to 1940 they had the best shipping services of any port. In that year, 309 coastal vessels loaded at the port of Dunedin, as against 115 vessels in 1947. This was largely due to the fact that some small ships were trading regularly between Dunedin and northern ports, but today these ships have been diverted by the Shipping Controller to other duties. Manufacturers realise that coal, timber and cement are essential, but they maintain that sacrifices should be uniform instead of one port suffering as it is doing to-day. “Another sore point with Dunedin manufacturers is that all the major delays occur in Auckland,” the statement adds, “ but boats have been known to by-pass Dunedin because of the possibility of a delay of a day or two here only to lie in Auckland for a much longer period. Manufacturers cannot see why, when a long delay in Auckland is obvious, an interim trip is not made to one of the other northern ports. “ It is felt that a continuation of the present position will have farreaching effects. Orders to the value of thousands of pounds have been cancelled just within the last' few weeks. Some of these cancellations are not of a temporary nature. North Island buyers are turning their attention to suppliers in the North Island itself, where

continuity of supply is guaranteed. To-day, many North Island firms, which a few years ago were of comparative insignificance, have grown by leaps and bounds owing to the inability of the well-estab-lished Dunedin firms to get their

products to their former markets. “ The development of Dunedin is also in jeopardy,” the statement continues. “It has more advantages to offer new manufacturers than other centres except a large local market. That is not an insuperable difficulty provided a shipping service comparable with that existing in 1940 is available, but to-day unless the object was simply to supply the South Island markets, a manufacturer would be foolish to commence operations in Dunedin. On the contrary, several manufacturers are considering establishing auxiliary plants in the North Island in order to preserve their connections. The effect of all these factors on the progress of Dunedin itself must be obvious.”