TRADE AND FLAG

Taranaki Daily News, 21 November 1933, Page 12

TRADE AND FLAG

FOREIGN COMPETITION HARDWOOD FROM AUSTRALIA. JAPANESE SHIP CHARTERED. “Please pick my pockets and kick me downstairs” was the. picturesque but biting phrase recently used to describe British tolerance of foreign shipping competition on the trade routes of the Empire. A Japanese steamer, which arrived at Auckland a few days ago with hardwood from Bunbury, Western Australia, illustrated the truth of the jibe. It was stated to be the first Japanese ship thus chartered, but similar cargoes from the same port have been brought to New Zealand before by Dutch vessels. There is a touch of irony in the fact that the Japanese vessel, the Meiko Maru, passed on the way into port a group of half a dozen New Zealand. ships, swinging at anchor through a slackness of trade. The manager of the Auckland firm which imported the hardwood said the charter was arranged in Perth. The Meiko Maru had discharged cargo from Japan in Australia, and was coming to New Zealand in any event to load scrapiron for Japan. He presumed that, under those circumstances, the Japanese were able to quote exceptionally low freight rates for the conveyance of the timber to New Zealand. PHOSPHATE IN DANISH SHIP. There are other examples of foreign ships competing with British vessels in the conveyance of cargoes between Empire ports,For instance, although most of the vessels delivering phosphates from Nauru and Ocean Islands to Australia and New Zealand are British-owned, the Danish vessel Victoria is also a frequent visitor to these waters with similar cargo. . “Nearly all the phosphate comes in under the British flag, ’ said Mr. A. F. Ellis, New Zealand commissioner on the British Phosphate Commission, when the point was referred to him yesterday. “When phosphate is brought in by a foreign vessel, that is done with the object of landing phosphate here at the lowest possible cost for the benefit of the New Zealand consumers. More than nine-tenths of the tonnage used is British-” , . XK Attention also has been drawn to the large number of tankers, mostly. Norwegian, which bring petrol and oil fuel, to the Dominion. The Union Steam Ship Company’s tanker, the Otakau, is laid up at Port Chalmers and the company has chartered a Norwegian vessel, the O. A. Knudsen, to transport oil from the United States to Wellington. AMERICAN COMPETITION. The reason for this apparent anomaly was explained yesterday. It was stated to be cheaper to charter a foreign ship, which had a greater capacity than the company’s tanker. On account of the increase in the consumption of oil by vessels refuelling in New Zealand, larger supplies had to be made available. Probably the greatest competition to British ships comes from America. At the moment New Zealand and Australia are negotiating with a view to countering the competition of American-owned steamship companies trading between the United States, New Zealand and Australia. It is felt to be unfair that British ships should not be allowed to trade between Honolulu and San Francisco, whereas American vessels suffer no such disability in trading between British ports. The point was strongly made by one shipping authority yesterday that vessels on New Zealand articles were at a distinct disadvantage, even in competition with other British vessels, because of the higher rates of wages which had to be paid. New Zealand firemen and seamen have been subjected to only one cut of 10 per cent., operative from last June, since the depression began. Australian rates were increased at the beginning of this month, but are still lower, than the New Zealand levels. It is contended that this is one substantial factor which makes it impossible to reduce freights to a competitive level, particularly in meeting the rates quoted by Japanese and some European shipping companies. EFFECT ON BRITAIN. Nevertheless, a study of recent balancesheets shows, that Britain, which pays lower wages to its seamen than does New Zealand, is also feeling severely the competition of foreign countries. Only nine of the 19 British liner companies which published balance-sheets in the first nine months of this year paid dividends. Those dividends amounted to £367,791, or only 0.745 per cent, on

the capital and reserves of the 19 companies. The accounts of 30 British cargo-boat companies showed equally depressing results. Only £80,322 was available for dividends, representing 0.73 per cent. There must further be considered the effect of such formidable foreign competition in throwing out of work thousands of British seafaring men. Backed by Government subsidies, the United States and other countries are able to capture in increasing volume the trade formerly held by Britain. However, as a cablegram published this morning indicates, the British Government has refused to grant subsidies, it being estimated that the sum required to place British ships on an equality with foreign would be £15,000,000.

Meanwhile, every day, Masefield’s “dirty British coaster” is losing ground, and greater quantities of its cargo of “Tyne coal, road-rails, pig-lead, firewood, ironware and cheap tin trays” are being carried in foreign ships.