WORKING DAYS LOST

Southland Times, Issue 23166, 6 April 1937, Page 8

WORKING DAYS LOST

Dearth Of Railway Wagons DEPARTMENT MAKING SPECIAL EFFORTS (Special to The Times) AUCKLAND, April 5. With the season for the distribution of fertilizer at its height the shortage of railway wagons is stated by merchants to be handicapping their work and many tons of artificial manure are lying idle in the wharf sheds because of the failure of the internal transport system to cope completely with the heavy seasonal demands. The fertilizer is incurring heavy demurrage charges on the wharf at Auckland and delays have occurred to the ships carrying further consignments.

Coal mines in the Waikato province have also felt the effect of the shortage and the secretary of one company said that all collieries were losing days of work as a result. In the case of his own company there were seven days in February on which trucks could not be obtained, resulting in two and a-half actual working days being lost. The delays were equivalent to an approximate loss of 2000 tons a month and the miners were experiencing a great deal of broken time. “While we realize that there are insufficient wagons we will not connect ourselves with any criticism directed against the department,” the principal of a large fertilizer firm observed. “We appreciate what the department has been able to do for us, although the shortage has been a definite handicap and it has resulted in our being a fortnight behind schedule.” The strenuous efforts being made by the department to meet the position were explained when the complaints were referred to Auckland railway officials. It was stated that the trouble had arisen from the department’s failure to make provision for the revival in trade in time and, when the building programme was put under way, their efforts were handicapped by difficulties in obtaining adequate supplies of steel. Realizing that seasonal industry would be affected the department made special endeavours to cope with the position, even to the extent of running special freight trains at considerable expense throughout the province on Sundays. It had been anticipated that sufficient new wagons would be available in time for the peak of the seasonal traffic, but unavoidable delays in the arrival of materials has since occurred. However, with the stocks that are now available the department is completing new wagons at the rate of 10 a week, and it is considered that they will serve to ease the position. The difficulties were accentuated in February by the comparative lateness of the fat lamb season and the movement of store sheep, which increased in number by 140,000 over the previous year. To meet the demand for wagons some of the trucks ordinarily supplied for coal traffic had to be introduced into the livestock service.