PACIFIC COAST TIMBER,

Waikato Times, Volume 110, Issue 18521, 29 December 1931, Page 3

PACIFIC COAST TIMBER,

BID DROP. IN IMPORTATION. ONE STEAMER WITHDRAWN. The Christchurch Sun says:—To such an extent has the timber trade between the Pacific Coast ports of the U.S.A. and New Zealand dropped away, chiefly as a result of the adverse exchange rales, that one of th« regular steamers engaged in it has been withdrawn. The suspension of the gold standard has had tho effect of adding about 30 per cent on to tho landed cost of this timber in New Zealand, and this, on top of nearly 100 per cent increase in the import duties on rough timber and about 175 per cent on dressed timber, imposed by the Now Zealand Government in August, 1930, has made tho cost of it here almost prohibitive.

The steamer, that has been withdrawn is tho Oceanio and Oriental Navigation Company’s Golden Cloud, which was to leave Los Angelos with cargo from tho Pacific Coast for Auckland, Wellington, Lyttelton, and Dunedin. This Is the first oocasion on which tlqp Amerioan company’s monthly service has been interrupted for 10 years. Until the latter half of last year, the company’s steamers carried full cargoes of timber, case oil, and general goods to New Zealand ports, hut towards the end of the year the cargoes dwindled by nearly 50 per cent. It was usual for the steamers to unload at the main New Zealand ports and then return to the United States direct from this country. Because of the drop In the quantities of cargoes for New Zealand, an alteration was made in this service about eix months ago, and Australian ports wore included in the ports of discharge. Since then the steamers have proceeded from Dunedin to Australian ports to completed unloading. Bulk of tho Freight. For many years timber formed the bulk of the freight, some of the steamers having carried as much as 2,000,000 feet at times. About half Ibis would be for New Zealand. Tho drop, however, has been so pronounced that when the Golden Coast, another of the company’s steamers, reached Auokland on November 26, she did not carry a stick for New Zealand, though she had about 1,000,000 feet for Australia. The next steamer to arrive at Auckland is the Golden Cross, Which is due from Los Angeles on January 27. Following her will bo the Golden West, which is expected to. clear Los Angeles on February i and -reach Auckland on February 27. The effect of tho higher duties was to keep out large quantities of imported timber that competed with the Now Zealand-grown timber, but Hie increase in the exchange brought about by tha suspension -of tho gold standard would prevent importation altogether, a Christchurch timber merchant told a Sun reporter. “This Is extremely favourable to the local mills, but. unfortunately the opportunity of making sales and keeping the mills working has been removed to a large extent by the depression,’’ he said . ‘‘ln normal times our mills would be busy, but at present there is only about onc-thlrd of tho 470 mills in the Dominion aotually working. Prior to the Imposition of the duties last year millions of foot of timber were imported into this country every year. \Vhilo our sawmllle'rs wero sitting on.their logs doing nothing tho lumbermen on tho Pacific Coast wore busy doing the work our men should haves boon doing; it was the same with machinist* and joiners. Tho Worst Feature. “Tho worst feature of it was that we wero importing limber we did not want, and paying for It with money wo did not have, so to speak; we wor borrowing to pay for It. I should say that fully 75 per cent of the weather-boards used In buildings in tho North Island were Imported." One thing the mills had to look forward to was a revival of trado with Australia, which- had Imposed A tariff similar to ours on Importod timbers, he added. Australia In normal time’s took a lot of New Zealand-grown white pine and also big quantities of red pine, but becauso of the economlo difficulties the Dominion’s export trade had declined seriously. It was reasonable to assume that when slooks in Australia wore down and tho country’3 finances up, vory advantageous trading would resume. The timber trade did not want a boom; all It wanted was a return lo normal times.

production costs In New Zealand had come down by 60 per cent. In many cases, and with the heavy Import duties In his favour the sawmiller had a favourable start when things looked .up.