TYRE PRICES

Otago Daily Times, Issue 27080, 14 May 1949, Page 8

TYRE PRICES

EVENTUAL REDUCTION INDUSTRY MUST FIND ITS FEET PA WELLINGTON, May 13. “There is no reason to expect that the development of the tyre industry in New Zealand will differ from the experience in other countries, where increased production and improved labour efficiency resulted eventually in lower costs, and, therefore, lower prices to the consuming public buying tyres for cars and trucks and to assembly plants purchasing tyre equipment for imported motor vehicle chassis.” The Tyre Distributors’ Committee of the New Zealand Rubber Manufacturers’ Association made this statement to-day dealing with the new industry and replying to statements made about high cost of locally-manufactured tyres, The committee said that by reason of high capital and establishment charges the overheads and labour costs of the New Zealand industry in the short term were bound to be relatively high. But in the Ion? term, as volume of production increased, and the workers became more and more experienced in their new tasks the cost of making tyres, as distinct from the cost of the raw material content, should gradually to a point comnarable with that in other countries where the industry was established vears ago. In every country where a new tyre industrv has been established, said the statement, the same problems had arisen, and some form of protection against the imported article had been needed during the early years of manufacture.