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A GREAT INDUSTRY

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12th November 1929

Page 125

Page 125, 12th November 1929 — A GREAT INDUSTRY

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NEARLY a quarter of a century ago—to be exact, on March 16th, 1905— " The Commercial Motor" was founded. It was the first journal of its kind dealing with the use of mechanically propelled vehicles to meet the needs of industrial transport, and moreover it bore the title which it does to-day. Appearing at a time when the commercial-motor vehicles on the road could be numbered almost in hundreds, rather than in thousands, its production was no small enterprise and was only justified by the belief in the great future which lay before the road-transport industry.

In statistics officially compiled to midsummer's clay, 1904, it was shown that out of 18,340 motorcars registered in the United Kingdom, 3,158 were employed exclusively for commercial purposes. Compare the latter figures with the number of business vehicles in use to-day. There is now a total of over 400,000 of which nearly 100,000 are hackney carriages, including 24,000 motorbuses and 10,000 motor coaches.

It is extremely difficult—in fact, wellnigh impossible—to say how much capital is represented by the industry as it stands to-day. It may be stated, however, that the amount employed has been almost doubled in the past six years. The recent analysis of the position of the industry, which was included in the issue of " The Commercial Motor" for last week, showed that 1,704 undertakings for which figures are available have a total of nearly £.50,000,000 invested in the provision of public-motor-service facilities alone, and that this represents an increase of some £9,000,000 during the present year. When one considers the amount involved in connection with all the other sections of the industry, one can be quite certain that the total is very impressive.

Now another milestone in the life of the industry has been reached. At the fine Exhibition at Olympia, which opened its doors on Thursday last, is a display of products of which the commercial motor industry of this country may well be proud and, indeed, which many other national industries might well endeavour to emulate. It would be a great thing for the nation if they did so.

May I say that it is the intention of those associated with The Commercial Motor " that this journal shall continue to play an even greater part in helping to promote the ever-increasing growth and development of an industry which is already one of the foremost in the country. Our ways surely lie together, and the future would seem to have no limitation.