Haulage Opportunities
Page 57
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T"general engineering trade still shows signs of continuing improvement. Sheffield reports that the demand for steel shows no incli-a.tions of ap-. proaching diminution, whilst Lincolnshire is producing steel and pig iron at the rate of a million tons per annum, which is in excess of anything previously experienced and double the quantity produced in 1913. Suppliers to motorcar manufacturers are, of course, particularly busy just now. In addition,. the structural branch of the engineering industry is growing in activity and there is a bigger demand for heavy forgings and castings. Mechanical engineers are more regularly employed than they have been for some time past.
Shipbuilders on the Clyde launched a greater aggregate tonnage during August than during the previous nine months. A similar state of affairs prevails on the Mersey, where Cammell Laird and Co. is in receipt of some large orders.
Middlesbrough engineers have work for home consumers and are .anticipaling an almost immediate improvement in their export business. The home trade available to Scottish engineers is slightly less than it has been of late, but there is an expansion of export trade which counterbalances that slight deficiency.
The order books of Welsh manufacturers of tinplate are stated to be in a satisfactory condition.
Cotton and Wool.
The one bright spot in the cotton industry still appears to be the Indian market, notwithstanding the threats to that source of business which are so much in the air at the present time. There is a fairly steady export of Manchester goods to the Dominions. Fair orders have been booked during the past few days in the weaving sections of the woollen industry and there is a considerable amount of activity in the hosiery department.
Drapery and Clothing.
At the moment the position in the drapery arid clothing trade is a complicated one, involving sudden rushes for supplies and a corresponding problem with regard to deliveries. Increased business in fur coats, ties and accessories is anticipated during the autumn.
Boots and Shoes. Leather.
There is a definite improvement in the hoot and shoe trade to be noted since the holiday. A fair amount of business is being done, and more is expected to follow.
The hide and leather market is now better than it has been for the past week or two, and orders are more frequent, especially for sole leather. Manufacturers of glazed tiles for walls and floors still continue to be toe best sources for loads in this section of industry. Both the home and export trade in these commodities is flourishing. It is expected, too, that till's state of activity is likely to continue for years—one authority mentions five years. Pottery.
The month of September usually ushers in the demand for coal for household consumption. Hauliers who are interested in that branch of trade should therefore be making their preparations.
Sugar Beet and Chicory.
An important season for hauliers opens this month in the haulage of beet and, very soon after, for chicory. The former is mainly conducted in the counties of Essex, Suffolk, Norfolk, ,Lincolnshire, Shropshire and Yorkshire as well as Scotland. At the moment, chicory is mainly confined to the neighbourhood of St. Ives, Hunts.
Foodstuffs.
The season for cartage of fruit and vegetables to the canning factories is now drawing to a close, but to offset that there is the fact that deliveries 01 the-goods canned during the summer season now commence.
Hardware and Cutlery.
New business continues to develop in the hardware industry. The demand for building accessories of all kinds has not yet begun to abate to any extent, although next month may see a slight decline. Makers of wire and of wire nails are busy. Light casting founders are active. According to reports from Sheffield there is an improvement in the sale of cutlery, although the aggregate is not up to the figures for this time last year.
Timber and Building.
Any diminution in the demand for timber for building Which may develop during the forthcoming months is likely to be offset in two directions. In the first place the autumn invariably sees a revival in the furnishing and cabinet-making industries. In the second there is an increase in the requirements of the motor trade. It is to be anticipated, therefore, that the current demand for haulage fro M the timber docks will not diminish.
In Newcastle work has just started on a subway 430 ft. long and having a diameter of 12 ft. 6 ins. It is to be used to convey mails from the local sorting office direct to the trains.
Amongst large works contemplated
are the following extenfloes at Aberdeen, to cost £60,000; 124 houses in the same city (£45,580) ; public buildings in Belfast (£.50,000) ; a swimming pool at Bexley (E0,000); a fire station at Finchley (27,710); an abattoir at Leicester (£17S,000) ; hospital extensions at Manchester (£90,000) ; boulevards and recreation grounds at Paigntoa (224,800) ; a highlevel bridge at Scotswood (£873,000) ; and an hotel near the Miners' Home at Blackpool (£300,000).
Airdrie T.C. is to build municipal baths, at a cost of £11,000, on a site near the Town Hall. Hamilton Dean of Guild Court has paSsed plans for the erection of 52 houses and 12 shops, at a cost of approximately £25,000. Rothesay 'LC. is to erect SO houses at Ballochguy. Lanarkshire C.C. is to construct a road diversion of about 420 yds. at Burnside. Glasgow Corporation is to spend £20,611 on electricity mains extensions and £116,000 on tramway extensions.
Lace and Hosiery.
Business amongst lace manufacturers is better than usual at this time of the year, several of the factories being on full time. It is understood that there will be a considerable revival in the trade in tinsel la,ce, a branch of the industry which, hitherto, has been stagnant, chiefly because the material was imported from France. Thanks to the -import duties it will now have a new lease of life.
The reports concerning the hosiery industrymay this week be characterized as cheerful. Orders are Coming which will be sufficient to keep most a the factories busy for some time,