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384 British Shippin g Suffers (Continued from Page 18) number of vessels were laid up dur- ing several months in the River Plate in expectation of better conditions which did not often arise. The rates paid on time charter also were low and an average of 8s 6d ($0.85) was the rate offered for a modern steam- er of 8000 tons deadweight. The extreme period of depression of freight rates was in the summer months, as can be seen by the accom- panying chart. The index dropped continuously from 80.0 in January to 22.1 in July; it then ascended again gradually until it reached 26.1 in No- vember. Some time ago, the British and foreign companies trading be- tween the continent and South Amer- ica agreed to quote freight rates sim- ilar to those ruling in the services from the United Kingdom. A compet- ing line, the Byron Steamship Co., has decided to inaugurate a fortnight- ly service of cargoes between Ham- burg and Antwerp and River Plate ports; this company has not joined the conference and, as a_ protective measure, the British and foreign com- panies have given notice that they will reduce freight rates between Hamburg to ports on the east coast of South America. This is an instance of the kind of competition now pre- vailing. Surplus Tonnage Affects Rates Shipping and shipbuilding have been among the industries which were in the scope of the trade facilities act. The amount at present remaining for guarantee is comparatively small and there is a strong movement of opinion in favor of the condemnation of the policy. Whether owners are en- couraged to build new ships, even.-if they scrap obsolete tonnage, or wheth- er facilities are granted to the ship- yards to build new ships, the fact re- mains that there is a ‘considerable surplus tonnage available and that adding to the number would only have a further detrimental effect on rates. It is significant that 85 cargo- boat companies. on a capital of £29,- 195,632 ($141,000,000) with £16,918,- 979 ($82,000,000) of reserves, have only been able to pay an average dividend of 3.66 per cent. In 1925, 19 companies wound up, losing a paid- up capital of £2,874,427 ($14,000,000) ; of the 85 companies mentioned above, 18 showed a loss in working and 41 paid no dividend. In view of this state of affairs it is not astonishing that the ship- building industry of Great Britain should also have experienced an acute MARINE REVIEW period of depression in 1925, and there is little hope of a permanent revival in the near future. According to Fairplay, the shipyards of Great Brit- - ain and Ireland launched 549 mer- chant vessels of 1,043,072 gross tons in 1925. These figures compare with 575 vessels of 1,437,365 tons in 1924, 298 ships of 641,647 tons in the de- pressed year of 1923 and 93838 vessels of 2,186,607 tons in 1918. It is point- ed out that in 1924 the tonnage in- cluded output which would have been ascribed to the year 1923 had it not been for labor troubles. However, the past year was more unsatisfactory than the preceding year from every standpoint, although at the time of writing the outlook is slightly brighter. The financial results of 20 leading com- panies with a total capital of £54,- 169,073 ($262,000,000), £23,445,259 ($113,000,000) of debentures and loans, and reserves amounting to £11,252,- 609 ($54,500,000), showed an average yield of only 3.12 per cent in divi- dends. Seven out of the 20 com- panies paid no dividend and only nine declared a dividend of 5 per cent or over. At the end of last year, a pro- posal was made by the boilermakers, and also by mayors and townsmen of the northeast coast, to press a demand for a subsidy from the government, this subsidy to be paid out of the un- employment fund. This proposal was turned down, and a large number of shipbuilders were themselves against it. Foreign Competition Is Serious Much more important is the ma- chinery which has been devised fol- lowing the joint inquiry by the ship- building employers’ federation and the shipyard trade unions into foreign competition and conditions in the ship- building industry. An interim report was issued on Aug. 25 containing pro- posals to reduce production costs by the means of better use of various classes of workmen from the point of view of continuity of work, inter- changeability of craftsmen and _ sub- stitution of specialized workmen in cases of shortage. Later in the year, in December, the engineering and ship- building trade federation issued recom- mendations to their members for the purpose of avoiding trade disputes. This showing of close co-operation be- tween employers and workers is one of the gratifying features of the in- dustry. In the meantime the number of new orders obtained by the ship- yards has been small, one of the most satisfactory being a contract for six 9000-ton diesel motorships placed by the newly-formed Silver Line, Ltd., with two Sunderland shipyards. Al- é March, 1926 though a_ slight revival was noted toward December, it was not sufficient to encourage great hopes. It is con- tended in some quarters that there are too many shipyards at present to make working economical, not only in Great Britain but.also on the Con- tinent. In Great Britain alone the shipyard capacity is estimated as be- ing 20 per cent above the pre-war figure, the number of yards being about 100. Increase in Oil Burners Lloyd’s annual report reveals the progress of oil burners. It states that of a total tonnage now afloat aggregating about 62,880,000 gross tons, 41,862,000 tons are coal burn- ers and 20,518,000 tons are oil burn- ers, or a proportion of about one to two. However, it is pointed out that if coal prices could be brought down, the steam engine with coal-fired boil- ers might obtain a renewed lease of life. On the other hand, the high pressure turbine is being introduced for marine purposes. The British ship repairing industry also has suf- fered and many jobs were taken at prices under actual net costs, which otherwise would have gone to conti- nental shops. Two important Cardiff ship repairing and drydock owning concerns are on the point of consolid- ating. In the sale and purchase mar- ket the year has been disappointing. While the contract price for new ves- sels, based on 7500-ton cargo steamer, was £8 ($38.80) per ton deadweight on Jan. 1, 1926, as against £9 Is 4d ($44) on Jan. 1, 1925, the values of second-hand tonnage have also depre- ciated. The volume of business has decreased and many vessels were de- clined on inspection. In the second half of 1925, over 150,000 gross tons were reported to have been sold for » demolition purposes. However, break- ing-up values dropped to about 25s to 380s ($6.05 to $7.30) per gross ton for cargo-boats. Many ships of from 15 to 20 years old have been bought by the Italians and the Greeks. Giving evidence before the Royal coal commission, Sir Ernest W. Glover and Richard D, Holt, past-presidents of the chamber of shipping of the United Kingdom and Liverpool steam- ship owners’ association, laid stress on the influence of cnal on shipping and shipbuilding. The decrease of coal ex- ports and the high prices paid for coal are partly responsible for the present conditions of the British shipping and shipbuilding trades. The total ex- ports of coal from Great Britain dur- ing the first eleven months of 1925 were 46,185,067 tons, compared with 56,483,748 tons in the correspond- RS STE PM I eS