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Owners of Overweight Lorries to be Punished ?

AN applicant who admitted that he was operating two out of three of his special A vehicles at weights heavier than authorized, was given verbal notice by the Northern Licensing Authority, Mr. J. A. T. Hanlon, at Newcastle upon Tyne on Monday, that he proposed to consider whether

he ought to revoke or suspend the Co. Durham, were applying for an A special A licences.

Giving evidence, Mr. Stanley Codling, one of three trustees carrying on the business of his late father, said that both vehicles had been acquired from K. and B. Motors (Newcastle), Ltd. The first, a 7-ton Commer, which was specified at 2 tons 12 cwt., but in fact weighed 3 tons 12 cwt. 48 lb., was purchased in June, 1957, at a cost of just over £2,000, and was to replace a vehicle with a body that was " rather light."

Mr. Codling said that he approached a member of K. and 13. Motors (Mr. Waters) and asked whether he could replace the vehicle with a Commer, and if so, whether Mr. Waters had a special A licence for it.

Taxed at Original Weight He was told that there was no need to buy a licence, as "that could be fixed." They ordered the vehicle and when it was delivered they found that it was already taxed at the same weight as the lorry they were replacing.

Mr. Codling said he was told that it would have to be re-declared "in a month or so" and the extra tax paid on it. He was informed that it was only a technical matter and no offence was being committed, but when the licence came up for renewal he would have to apply for the extra weight.

An application was made for the variation of the special A licence by adding the new vehicle and deleting the lighter one, although Mr. Codling admitted that he signed a blank aplication form, the other particulars being completed at K. and B. Motors in his absence.

7-8 Tons on 5-tonaer Asked what weight he was carrying on the vehicle, Mr. Codling said "7-8 tons," although the makers' recommended, payload was 5 tons. However, the vehicle had heavier springs and tyres.

Mr. Codling said that in August. 1957, another vehicle was purchased from K. and B. Motors and substituted on the licence in similar circumstances to the previous vehicle. The difference in weight, in this instance, was only 2 cwt. Mr. Codling said that when he approached K. and B. they told him they already had a Commer and could "get it down" to the required weight. It was not until the police had had the vehicle weighed that he realized it was heavier than the specified weight.

Adjourning the application, Mr. Hanlon said: "It is admitted that this applicant, and those acting for him, were going to put on a vehicle heavier than a8 vehicles. C. T. Codling, Birtley, licence in continuation of expired the Licensing Authority could grant. They were going to alter the registration book to show that it was a ton lighter than it really was.

"He takes a 50 per cent. heavier load, presumably for 50 per cent. greater remuneration and what you (Mr. Wardlaw) are going to say is that he acted in good faith and this is no worse than other cases."

Mr. Wardlaw: "That would be the position. It comes to this: what are you going to do about it?"

Mr. Hanlon: "It does not make it any less a fraud on that part of the haulage industry which is behaving honestly."

Asked whether the applicant desired an inquiry to be held, Mr. Wardlaw replied: "Yes." and the case was adjourned.

AUTHORITY REACTS TO "CONTEMPT"

RECAUSE of "complete contempt" of

licensing procedure, the North Western Deputy Licensing Authority has rejected in chambers an application for a B-licence modification by Mr. L. E. Edge, trading as Car Collection Service, Mancot, near Chester.

Mr. Edge was granted the licence in 1954 for a vehicle and trailer to carry used cars and trailers. This year he applied for its renewal with a modification to include caravans.

The hearing was listed for April 10 at Chester but adjourned because the applicant's witness was ill. It was re-listed for June 19 and July 30, but on each occasion Mr. Edge failed to appear. The Authority acted after no response had been made to a letter of reminder.

LORRIES DISPLACE SHIPS

ROAD transport was killing Scottish coastal shipping trade and threatening many of the smaller ports, claimed Mr. J. M. Figgins, harbour convenor at Montrose, in opposing a proposal that the Harbour Board should provide parking space for long-distance transport vehicles.

.Figures from Montrose this year show that revenue is approximately hail' that of 1958, which emphasizes the change in transport methods.

MORE TYRE PRICE CUTS?

LEADING tyre manufacturers have La announced a reduction of 7+ per cent. in the price of new car covers and tubes. It does not apply to giant and other sizes, but it is understood that consideration is being given to further reductions.

Tribunal Reduce Grant by One Vehicle

A GRANT by the Western Licensing I-1. Authority to B. R. Cecil and Son. Blakeney, Glos, of an A licence for he vehicles has been reduced, on appeal by the British Transport Commission and three private hauliers, to four vehicles by the Transport Tribunal. The hearing was reported in The Commercial Motor on May 15 and June -19.

The five vehicles had been employed by Factories Direction, Ltd., Lydney, Glos, under a C-hiring arrangement into which the Authority did not inquire, but which the Tribunal, in their decision published this week, describe as illegal. One reason was that the drivers were the servants of Messrs. Cecil, and not of Factories Direction, Ltd.

The Tribunal, however, are satisfied that there had been no attempt to flout the law: nevertheless the respondents had to suffer for their wrong-doing. This was why the grant should be reduced.

Furthermore, it would be an improvement if the terms of the licence were expressed as "mainly timber, plywood, veneers and ancillary products, England and Wales as required by Factories Direction, Ltd.," instead of simply " mainly goods for Factories Direction, Ltd."

Evidence about the amount of work which would be offered was satisfactory.

LEYLAND GAIN 200-BUS CONTRACT 0 British companies, Leyland Motors, Ltd., and MetropolitanCammell-Weymann. Ltd., have overcome fierce competition from Germany, the United States and Japan to secure a £11m. contract from Cuba for 200 oilengined buses. Delivery of the vehicles, for use in Havana, will agin in a few weeks.

They will have Leyland 150 b.h.p. underfloor engines, automatic gearboxes and automatic lubrication. They will be specially ventilated.

TROLLEYBUS CONVERSION

THE third stage of London Transport's £10m. trolleybus conversion scheme will come into effect on Wednesday. Four trolleybus services and 28 miles of route in cast and north-east London will be affected. Conversion is expected to be completed in 1962.

Next week, trolleybuses will disappear from two of the capital's traffic arteries. the Mile End Road and the Romford Road.

Two on A for Two Off B

CTING upon a suggestion made by L Mr. J. A. T. Hanlon, Northern censing Authority, at an earlier aring, R. Robert Durham and Sons, d., Haverton Hill, successfully applied Tuesday to add two eight-whcelers to ir A licence, conditional upon the rrender of two 3-ton tippers on their licence.

Mr. T. H. CAmbell Wardlaw, for the ncern, said that some months ago the mpany applied for an A licence for ur eight-wheelers. The Authority then Id that the case was in two parts, one neerning urea for Ltd., to the idlancls, and the other ilmanite and lphur for local delivery. Two vehicles were granted for the urea 'Inc but none for local work, Mr. inlon had said that a grant could be ark only on an exchange basis, but at at time the applicants were not pre'red to surrender vehicles.

Mr. T. B. Atkinson, for the British • ansport Commission, who objected gether with D. Tarren (Haulage), Ltd., d the Copley Haulage Co., said that ey would be satisfied if the case were be decided solely upon the previous idence, Mr. Hanlon remarked that if the applints had been prepared to surrender the licence vehicles at the earlier hearing, e case could probably have been settled en.

MORE PALLETED LOADS IN THE NORTH-WEST "HERE was an increasing demand for paneled goods in the north-west, Ited Mr. H. Kershaw Roscoe, director H.K.R. (Transport), Ltd., Bolton, at .anehester on Tuesday. That was why sought to vary his B licence by adding t articulated outfit.

His organization operated six vehicles, hich were used on a full-time trunk rvice between London and Glasgow. le new unit would be used only for 'Election.

As the current practice was to spread it the loads on vehicles, more space was !eded now than previously. If the applilion were granted it would facilitate illection, but the organization would be ) more competitive than before.

Mr. J. S. Wrottesley, objecting for the -itish Transport Commission, claimed at insufficient information had been ven about the traffic carried, and that

e figures produced were not detailed 'ough.

The North Western Deputy Licensing uthority, Mr. A. H. Jolliffe, granted the

WEEK-END SURCHARGE IECAUSE wages are much higher at 0 week-ends, Southport Transport CornAtte propose to introduce a surcharge id. on all fares after 1 p.m. on Saturys, and all day on Sundays and Bank alidays. The committee also want to 'dish the halfpenny fare. The new res would produce an extra £14,000 per ar, it is estimated.

Road Over Rail Plan To Be Started

NOW that Oldbury Council have given the Ministry of Transport permission to sink trial holes, initial work will start on the Midlands road-over-rail motorway link through Oldbury, Smethwick and West Bromwich.

It is estimated that it will cost £1m. per mile to construct the 24-ft. dual carriageway over the railway. The proposed three-mile-long road will form part of the 13-mile link between the Bristol and South Wales motorway.

DUTCH MOBILE DENTISTRY A MOBILE dental surgery, based on a Karrier Bantam chassis, with an allsteel body by Vermeulen, is now in service with the dental department of the Dutch municipality of Sittard. The interior equipment includes an instrument cabinet, washbasin, writing desk, dental chair and auxiliary apparatus, and

water-heating equipment. The body. is fully insulated and the floor is covered with plastics tiles.

Small-diameter tyres are fitted to achieve an extremely low floor line. With its excellent manceuvrability, the vehiele is capable of negotiating narrow streets and canal bridges.

GOODS HANDLING CONGRESS NAORE than 250 delegates from Euro pean countries will attend the seventh congress of the Federation Europeene de la Manutention, to be held in Lucerne from September 21-25, to discuss problems concerning mechanical handling equipment. Working meetings will be held by nine specialized sections and a summary of their reports will be given to a general meeting which will close the congress.

Bedfords for Colombian Swampland

roperate in swampland hitherto approachable only by helicopters or tratked vehicles, six Bedford R-type 4 x 4 chassis have been modified by All Wheel Drive, Ltd., Camberley, to carry oversize Terratire tyres.

The 40-in.-diameter tyres are 18 in. wide on the front wheels and 24 in. wide on the rear wheels. They operate at 5-15 p.s.i. and, when the vehicle is carrying its 4,000 lb. payload, exert a ground pressure of less than 6.5 psi. The vehicles, which were designed by Shell engineers, will be operated in Colombia by Shell Condor S.A.

They have power steering, lightweight oilfield bodies, winches for self-loading and will be supplied with Dyson pipe trailers also fitted with Terratires. For the dry season the Terratires can easily be replaced by normal equipment.

LONDON PEAK HIGHER

THE London Transport Executive's latest census of central London rushhour travel shows that more people than ever before are using public transport at peak periods. The total of passengers in the morning peak is now 1,148,000, with more than 10,000 people arriving in central London every minute between 8.45-9 a.m. The departure rate between 5.30-5.45 p.m. is 12,000 per minute.

DRIVERS' HEALTH FEARS ETARS that the health and working life

of heavy vehicle drivers will be affected by the increased tempo of modern traffic have been expressed by the Scottish Horse and Motormen's Association. Their delegates to next month's Trade Union Congress will raise the subject when they ask for legislation to reduce from 11 to 10 the maximum daily hours of driving.

Esso Petroleum Give Up Small Loads

REORGANIZATION of transport IN arrangements by the Esso Petroleum Co., Ltd., had resulted in the company withdrawing from the delivery of small loads of domestic fuel oils, the North Western Deputy Licensing Authority, Mr. A. H. Jolliffc, was told at Manchester on Tuesday.

Mr. H. Fallows, proprietor of Paraffin Deliveries, Prestwich, was applying for four tankers (In tons) on B licence, as an Esso representative had asked him to take over the traffic.

Mr. Fallows wanted to use two of the tankers throughout the year and the other two for six months each year, starting on November 1. He said his main customers were private householders and shopkeepers, and he occasionally took a load to an industrial undertaking. He wished to operate within a 20-mile radius of Manchester. At present he operated two vehicles on C licence and if the application was granted the other tankers would be obtained from Esso.

Objecting for the British Transport Commission, Mr. J. S. Wrottesley said that so long as the applicant did not intend to carry heavy fuel oils for industry he was satisfied. The application was granted.

SHOULD CUSTOMERS BE NAMED' rOULD it be damaging to a haulier if

the names of his customers were given in his normal user? This question was raised before Mr. J. A. T. Hanlon. Northern Licensing Authority, on Tuesday, when Appleby and Dowling, Billingham, sought to transfer a special-A licence vehicle to their public A licence.

Mr. F. Milton, for the. firm, said that the case had been adjourned so that the goods to be carried could be more precisely defined. This had been done, and "England, Scotland and Wales" had been proposed as the definition of destinations.

Mr. Hanlon could not accept this, but said that there was no objection to the term "as required," provided that customers were named. Mr. Milton submitted that naming customers could lead to loss of business, but finally the applicants agreed to it and the transfer was sanctioned.

WELSH TAKE-OVER BID I F an application to the South Wales Traffic Commissioners is approved, the Western Welsh Omnibus Co., Ltd.. Cardiff. will take over the jointly owned businesses of Prendergast Motors and Harries and Sons, of Have rfordwest. early in September. The transaction involves 11 vehicles.

The Haverfordwest companies operate two stage services (Haverfordwest to Broad Haven and Milford Haven I. express services for the Royal Naval station at Kete, to Birmingham. Liverpool and Manchester, and tours and excursions. The absorption will leave Western Welsh the sole operators in the Pembrokeshire area.

Government Should Allow Longer Buses

THIS country is lagging behind in its ideas as to the length a public service vehicle can be built," said Mr. 1'. Robert Williams, chairman, at the annual meeting of the Aldershot and District Traction Co., Ltd., last week. " The industry should be allowed to decide sensible operating dimensions and such sizes should be permitted by the Government," he added.

Mr. Williams had much to say on the subject of one-man-operated buses. He claimed that employees of the company had received with mixed feelings the demands made on their behalf by the unions for an additional payment of 50 per cent. The workers knew, he said, that one-man vehicles were operated mainly on routes that did not pay, and which, if the claim were successful, might well have to be discontinued.

Mileage operated on unremunerative services, chiefly in rural districts, had always been a heavy burden on the company. Despite mileage reductions on these services, the figure still stood at 37 per cent, of the total mileage.

Mr. Williams said employees had done a wonderful job in restoring good relations with the public, mainly with the one-man buses as a medium.

It was reported that this year the company would replace their remaining small 24-seat buses with new 41-seater underfloor-engined single-deckers.

NO TRADE PLATES FOR HORSED CARRIAGE

ALONDON garage company, which used trade plates on an articulated lorry carrying "an ancient French horsedrawn carriage," was at Guildford last week fined ES for using a vehicle without an excise licence and another £5 for misusing a trade licence.

It was stated that trade plates covered only the transport of mechanically propelled vehicles. For the company, Clabon Garages, Ltd., Cadogan Square, S.W.1, Mr. Geoffrey Atkins admitted the offences, but said that they were not aware that they were committing them at the time.

Air-Sprang Leylands In Service

A IR SPRUNG Leyland passenger 1-1 vehicles have recently been placed in experimental service with British and overseas operators. Most of them are Atlantean rear-engined double-deckers, of which the B.E.T. group have ordered 12 and Manchester and Sheffield municipalities one each.

Of the B.E.T. vehicles, two each are operated by Maidstone and District Motor Services, Ltd., Potteries Motor Traction Co.. Ltd., Ribble Motor Services. Ltd., and Northern General Transport Co., Ltd. One each is being run by Trent Motor Traction Co., Ltd., East Midland Motor Services, Ltd., Yorkshire Traction Co., Ltd., and Devon General Omnibus and Touring Co., Ltd. The Devon bus has not been delivered yet.

Another B.E.T. company — Western Welsh Omnibus, Co., Ltd.—has recently taken delivery of an interesting air-sprung disc-braked Tiger Cub single-decker. As with the Atlanteans, Dunlop equipment is installed, but whereas on the Atlanteans the Dunlop air springs work in conjunction with light semi-elliptic steel springs at the front only, the Tiger Cub has ail suspension for both axles.

Overseas sales of air-sprung vehicles include two Worldmaster chassis destined for Australia and one which will be operated in Holland by the Netherlands Railways group. It is reported that a fourth air-sprung chassis is to be operated by Coras lompair Eireann.

VEHICLE TESTS—FIRST MOVE

AFURTHER step towards introducing the testing scheme for vehicles more than 10 years old has been taken by the Minister of Transport. A Commencement Order which brings into force Section 1 of the Road Traffic Act, 1956, becomes operative on September 15. The Order gives the Minister power to make regulations under which official testing stations can be set up, and deals with the scope and conduct of the examina

tions. HOOFERS TO MOVE

BODYBUILDING and other activities carried on by Hooper and Co. (Coachbuilders), Ltd., at their works on Western Avenue, Park Royal, are to be transferred elsewhere, probably by the end of the year. The company's future plans are to be co-ordinated with those of the Daimler concern, A Hooper spokesman was unable to inform The Commercial Motor about the future use of the Western Avenue factory.

NEW £80,000 BUS STATION

rtA BUS terminal of contemporary design, which will cost £80,000, is planned for a four-acre site in Belfast by the Ulster Transport Authority. It is hoped that the new centre will be in full operation next summer, when it will be capable of dealing with 400 departures daily from 25 bays. There will be parking space for 80 buses, fuelling facilities and a mechanical washing plant.

Newcomer Gets A Licence

'HE unusual phenomenon of an

unopposed application for an A mace by a newcomer appeared at Newale upon Tyne on Monday. Mr. A. T. Hanlon, Northern Licensing Ithority, granted the licence to Lockly Transport Services, Wallsend. Mr. T. H. Campbell Wardlaw, for the plicants, said the reason why there re no objectors was that the firm cialized in carrying fats, offal, slaugh-house waste, bones and glue. These ivities were described in their profed normal user. 14r. Ronald McCulloch, proprietor, d he had six vehicles operating under atract-A licence granted in the Scottish ea for the conveyance of goods for the itish Glue and Chemicals Co. to their tories all over the 'country. Because of fieufty in clearing waste from the cornny's Newcastle works, he had transred to that area and now operated his .tt from Wallsend. or some time the company had asked n to place his vehicles on A licences that he could' carry return loads, in . hope that their own goods might be nsported at a cheaper rate. The reason y he had not applied earlier for an A that .nce was at British Glue and emicals were now loading vehicles Is a mechanical shovel, which :essitated the use of specially conacted tippers, and, because of financial acuities, he had not been able to rchase such a vehicle. He hoped to so later.

after the normal user had been ended to read "Goods of British ae and Chemicals and return loads,"

application was granted, subject to ; deletion of a contract-A licence in the )ttish Area.

7IREMASTERS FOR BRIGHTON CONFERENCE FIRE MASTER fire-engine chassis the Institution of Fire Engineersief Fire Officers' Association conence, at Brighton next month. The .emaster, the first fire-engine to be )duced by Leyland Motors, Ltd., since ',war days, incorporates many new agn ideas.

engine mounted below chassis-frame el and weighs 8 tons 14 cwt. fully len. Braking is by air pressure operat: .on a total brake-facing area of 1 sq. its. A two-speed rear axle with ctric gear selection and an electroeumatic gearbox are installed. rhe complete unit will be on the stand David Haydon, Ltd., Birmingham.

AST year 64,155 goods vehicles and 23,099 public service vehicles were olved in road accidents, compared h 39,770 and 17,062 respectively in 18. These figures are contained in Ioad Accident Statistics, 1958," publed this week by the Royal Society

the Prevention of Accidents.

N.S.W. Hauliers Compete Strongly with Rail r ROWING competition by hauliers %al with the railways is mentioned by the New South Wales Motor Transport Commissioner in his report for the year ended June 30, 1958. He says that although many loads could have been carried by rail on improved services, there was an increasing tendency to employ road transport to reduce handling and save packaging costs. Public transport operators carried more people and were in a reasonably stable financial position. In the year under review, regulations were introduced to reduce the speed limit on buses and coaches to 40 m.p.h. outside built-up areas. Previously such vehicles could, with other types, travel at 50 m.p.h. It was also made illegal for vehicles weighing over three tons unladen to travel less than 100 yd. apart on roads no more than 30 ft. wide outside built-up areas. The object was to facilitate overtaking by faster traffic.

COLLAPSIBLE TANKS PROVED IN AUSTRALIA

COLLAPS1BLE rubber tanks have been used successfully in trials by B.F. Australia, Ltd., for the transport of up to 1,200 gal. of petroleum products on semi-trailers. Three 1,000-gal, collapsible tanks will now be fitted to distributors' vehicles, which will-enable them to backload goods from distant delivery points. Although they are unbaffied, the tanks permit little surging while the vehicle is in motion. In fact, drivers report that the slight surge, resulting from the momentary pause when gear-changing, helps the vehicles to climb hills.

LAMINAIRE SPRINGS ON TRACTOR

WHAT is thought to be the first VY application of the Cary Laminaire leaf-spring suspension system to a tractor unit has been carried out by Merriworth (Engineering), Ltd., Dartford, Kent, on a Thames Trader 4D. The tractor is modified also to carry a standard Scammell automatic coupling gear. Coupling is said to be easier, with less shock because of the new rear suspension layout on the tractor, whilst bouncing, when running unladen, is much reduced.

U.S. Testing 57-ton Trailer Trains

L'XPERIMENTS are being conducted .1—A in the U.S.A. on the New York Thruway with semi-trailer trains of up to 57 tons gross train weight, according to a report in Transmission Topics, published by the Fuller Manufacturing Co., Kalamazoo, Michigan, These trains consist of high-powered tractors towing two semi-trailers, and make use of a dolly arrangement. The maximum permissible overall length on this road has been set at 98 ft., and this permits the use of two 40-ft.-long semi-trailers, each of which would be able to carry in the region of 20 tons of cargo. Regulations drawn up for these tests state that there must be a minimum of six axles and a maximum of nine, and this allows the six operators who are participating in the experiments to employ tandem-axle dollies. Experience with them has shown so far that they greatly reduce any tendency to snake that the second trailer might have. The gross weight of the towing vehicle and the first trailer must not exceed 31 tons, whilst that of the dolly and the second trailer must not exceed 26 tons.

Many people in America are interested in these experiments, as it is hoped that they wilL show the economic possibility

of operating such large outfits. The Thruway authority itself is primarily interested in the handling of such outfits ill bad weather, heavy traffic and when making emergency stops. Another factor receiving close study is the ability of such vehicles to maintain the proper speed, which on this road is a minimum of 20 m.p.h. and a maximum of 50 m.p.h. The Authority does not expect additional wear on the roads and, indeed, believes that less damage is likely to be caused than by standard tractortrailer combinations, The towing unitsbeing used for these experiments vary, but most of them have Cummins 335 b.h.p. oil engines, which give a ratio of some 6 b.h.p. per ton gross train weight when running at the maximum allowable figure. Most of the tractors have Fuller R-1150 Roadranger gearboxes and tandem-drive rear bogies. A typical outfit with two tandem-axle semi-trailers; a tandem-axle dolly and a six-wheeled tractor would have 34 wheels, all carrying 10,00-20-in. tyres.

MINISTER TO DECIDE MOTORWAY ROUTE?

AREPRESENTATIVE of the Ministry of Transport, on Tuesday, was unable to comment on report that if local authorities in Leicestershire did not reach a quick decision on the route for the new Birmingham-Yorkshire motorway, the Minister would take the unprecedented action of imposing his own choice. The report added that he was considering putting forward a compromise which would merge two proposed routes. The Minister, replying to a question in the House of Commons on July 28, said he was frustrated by the difficulty of `settling a route through Leicestershire. J.P. Will Not Give Judgment on Speeding AFTER a bus driver had been .fined £1 for exceeding the 30 m.p.h. speed limit, an East Yorkshire magistrate, Mr. Neville Hobson, said that in future he would decline to express judgment in certain kinds of case involving alleged exceeding of the 30 m.p.h. limit by commercial-vehicle drivers.

Mr. Hobson, who is a solicitor, made the comment from the bench when the case was heard at Beverley last week and added: "If I were thinking of going to Scotland in a modern motor coach 1 would not dream of going unless I knewl it would do 40 m.p.h."

COMING TO LONDON

AMEETING of the road haulage section of the International Road Transport Union (I.R.U.) is to be held in London on September 28-29. The Road Haulage Association propose to give a reception to the delegates on the evening of September 28.

The arrangements to be made were one of the subjects for discussion yesterday by the international road transport group committee of the R.H.A. Another matter on the agenda was taxation on vehicles entering France, which is causing some concern.

SAFETY CONGRESS IN OCTOBER

THE National Safety Congress will be held at Central Hall, Westminster, from October 6-8. "Traffic Engineering and Road Safety" will be one of the subjects for discussion. The speaker will be Mr. J. T. Duff, of the Ministry of Transport. Lord Brabazon of Tara will take the chair for the session.

Exports Rise, But Still Lag

XPORTS of 13,785 commercial vehicles in May represented the best monthly figure since January last year, whilst the April total, 11,646, was the highest since July, 1958. Aggregate exports for the first five months of this year. at 55,896, however, compare with 59.184 for the corresponding period of last year. Details are given in an accompanying table.

Production in May, which is also tabulated, totalled 28,156, compared with 28.894 in April.

GERMAN OUTPUT RISES

PRODUCTION of Mercedes Benz buses and goods vehicles and Unimog tractors was 33.8 per cent, higher last year than in 1957. Output rose from 123,851 to 156.691. Orders for goods and passenger vehicles were more than 35 per cent, higher than in 1957. Sales of Unimog tractors advanced by 15 per cent.

GEARBOX EFFICIENCY TESTS

THE Mechanical Engineering Research Laboratory, East Kilbride, Glasgow. is offering industrial concerns the use of its range of precision dynamometers to measure the efficiency of gearboxes and other transmission systems. Efficiency can be measured with an accuracy of about 0.1 per cent, of full-scale torque.