WOOLLEN INDUSTRY

Southland Times, Issue 20110, 22 February 1927, Page 2

WOOLLEN INDUSTRY

NEW ZEALAND CONDITIONS UNSATISFACTORY. DECLINE IN PRODUCTION. Although in a few instances normal and even flourishing conditions were reported by the woollen milling companies that furnished returns of factory production during the year ended March 31, 1926, the majority of the companies reported that conditions in the industry were generally unsatisfactory. Actual declines in output were re. corded in a number of mills (says the Gov ernment Statistician). Heavy importations of woollen materials and made-up clothing, as well as a certain amount of substitutes at prices that woollen mills were unable to compete with, were generally quoted as being the cause of the unsatisfactory conditions. The wider range of manufactured woollen articles obtainable abroad as compared with New Zealand manufactures also counts with the retailers to the disadvantage of New Zealand manufacturers. By dealing with overseas manufacturers the retailer is enabled to carry a wider range of stock than his competitors who purchase from New Zealand mills. DECREASE IN OUTPUT. The value of land and buildings and machinery and plant in use by twelve woollen mills at March 31, 1926, was recorded as £970,484, an increase of £155,813, or 19 per cent, over that reported in March, 1924. The whole of this increase is accounted for in the value of plant and machinery, which indicates that the capacity of the mills has been increased. The average number of persons finding employment in the woollen mills was returned as 2,326 in 1925-26, a decrease of 55 as compared with the number employed in the previous year.

The industry’s wages bill shows a steady decline over the last three years. From £418,905 in 1923-24 it fell to £381,886 the following year, and further to £362,020 in 1925-26; or, in other words, the amount paid as salaries and wages declined by 13 per cent, within the space of two years. The total cost of materials used shows a movement similar to that of the wages bill during the last three years, except that the downward tendency is a little more marked in this case. From £739,325 in 1923-24 this figure declined by approximately 18 per cent, to £607,077 in 1925-26. A proportionately similar downward movement was also shown in the total value of products. In this case the figure recorded in 1923-24 (£1,420,853) sank to £1,159,771 in 1925-26. The added value per employee and the wages per £lOO added value, potent factors in judging the progress of an industry, both afford prima facie evidence of the unsatisfactory conditions prevailing in the industry. The added value per employee has gradually shrunk from £254 in 1923-24 to £238 in 1925-26, while the wages per £lOO of added value has risen from £6l to £66 over the same period. The quantity of wool used has declined considerably during the last three years. In 1925-26 the quantity of scoured wool used was 1,936,4931 b, less than the quantity used in 1923-24 (5,810,4211 b

Evidence of the decline in the outputs of woollen mills is disclosed in a consideration of the quantities of the principal products. The production of tweed and cloth amounted to 989,652 yards in 1925-26, against 909,447 in the previous year, and 1,187,655 in 1923-24, while the quantity of flannel produced decreased from 1,242,139 yards in 1923-24 to 1,173,663 in the following year, and 1,073,209 in 1925-26. Fairly substantial increases were recorded in the output of blankets and shawls and rugs in 1925-26 as compared with 1923-24, but the production of yarn shows a substantial decline over the period. The quantity of yarn produced in 1925-26 (472,0451 b shows a decrease of 256,9781 b, or 35 per cent., in comparison with the output in 1923-24.

The value of the importations (chiefly from Britain) of woollen manufactures of pure or mixed wool and woollen apparel and ready-made clothing for five years was —1921, £2,562,754; 1922, £2,198,429; 1923, £3,248,853; 1924, £2,965,363; 1925 £3,138,992.