Vehicle Registrations Still Tumbling Down
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Figures for October Show that Marked Decline is still Apparent in Number of Goods and Hackney Vehicles Licensed
THE latest monthly returns of new vehicle registrations continue the tendency that has been apparent for many months past, and for October last totals in both the hackney-vehicle and goods-vehicle classes were well below the figures for the comparable month of 1937. As a matter of fact, this tendency is revealed in the five sections into which the statistics are divided, and -the total, at 30,915, for all new vehicles registered in October last contrasted with 33,844 for October, 1937. Of these returns, hackneys accounted for 495 in 1938 and 679 in 1937, whilst goods vehicles were responsible for 5,597 registrations this year and 6.494 last year.
So far as petrol goods vehicles were concerned, the actual fall was from 6,144 to 5,255 vehicles—a drop of 889, which almost wholly accounts for the total decline in goods-vehicle registra tions. There was only one class in which the total exceeded the 1,000 mark, this being in respect of 2-21tonners, with 1,784 vehicles licensed, although this figure is well down on the total (2,171) for October, 1937.
Apart from the actual totals in each division, the one bright spot of the petrol goods-vehicle section was that for machines with an unladen weight from 12-cwt.-1-ton, which, with 981 registrations, showed an advance of 135 on the total for the corresponding month of 1937.
The other registrations in the different categories for petrol goods vehicles were as follow, last year's
totals being given in parentheses:—Not exceeding 12 cwt., 867 (1,161); 1-ton11-tons, 511 (583); 1*-2-tons, 780 (919); 21-3-tons, 162 (260); 3-4-tons, 138 (139); 4-5-tons, 28 (47). Above this limit only four petrol goods vehicles were registered, as compared with 18 last year.
There was little change in the totals for the two years in respect of goods oilers, the figure of 148 for October last having to be set against 152 for October, 1937. In this division the peak was reached by the 4-5-tonner, with 48 registrations, being followed by the 6-7-tonner, with 37.
The electric vehicle was also somewhat depressed, and, with 76 registEations, was 18 down on the previous year's total; 70 of the vehicles were in the three classes covered by an unladen weight limit of 2 tons.
The number of goods vehicles licensed for drawing trailers was 13, last year's total being 6. The total number of multi-wheeled vehicles registered was 225, the five-wheeler (mechanical-horse type) heading the list with 124, being followed by the sixwheeler with 47, then the eight-wheeler with 28, and, finally, the articulated type with 26. Last year the fivewheelers were not registered independently, but in the other three sections 106 vehicles were licensed, compared with 101 this year.
There was a minor improvement in the registrations of agricultural vans and lorries, this year's total of 107 contrasting with 93 for October, 1937. Under the heading of agricultural engines (5s. class) 466 ploughing machines, etc., were registered, against 474 for last year. The number of tractors licensed was 26, 16 of them being for general haulage. Last year the total for the two types was 45, of which 24 were agricultural machines.
The outstanding feature of the hackney-vehicle returns was a big fall in oilers, the total of 423 for October, 1937, dropping to 240 a year later, mainly because the 48-56-seaters showed a big decline, i.e., from 301 to 132. The other two hackney classes stood still, the trolleybus figure at 18 being unchanged, whilst that for petrol hackneys, at 237, was only one below the figure for October, 1937. Actually there was a bigger fall in petrol buses and coaches than is suggested by the latter figures, for the reason that the registrations of taxicabs advanced from 184 to 210.
The aggregate figures for the 10 months ended October show that 56,925 goods vehicles and 7,682 hackney vehicles were licensed, the corresponding returns for last year being 65,014 and 7,331.