Year Opens on Lower Note
Page 40
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in New Registrations
Markets Slump in Both Goods and Hackney Vehicles, According to Latest Returns of Ministry of Transport
THE year opened on a dull note so far as new .registrntions of commercial vehicles are concerned, and in reviewing the Ministry of Transport's returns for January we 'commented upon the fact that the industry appeared ,to be marking time, for the increase in goods vehicles was only 170, whilst hackneys were actually lower by 13. But the new registrations for February make an even poorer showing, and both sections were appreciably lower than for the corresponding month of the previous year, goods vehicles falling from 6,277 to 5,758, and hackneys from 480 to .432. The total for tra month for all vehicles was 33,446 a inst 32,854 for the previous year.
1-11-tonners a Bright Spot.
The fall on the goods side was almost completely accounted for by the fewer registrations of petrol vehicles, which, at 5,518, were 496 lower than for February, 1936. In this category there was only one section which displayed an increase, that being 1-14-tonners, which advanced from 518 to 587.
In the other divisions the following registrations took place, last year's total being given in parenthesea:—Not exceeding 12-cwt., 1,226 (1,362) ; 12-cwt.-1-ton, 719 (932) ; 14-ton-2-tons, 962 (1,032) ; 2-24-tons, 1,691 (1,776) ; 24.3-tons, 1.70 (203) ; 3-4-tons, 123 (124). Above this rating there were only 40 vehicles registered in February last contrasted with 67 a year earlier.
The goods oilers just about held their own at 104 registrations, almost half of them being equally divided between 3-4-tonners and 4-5-tonners ; 13 vehicles of an unladen weight not exceeding 24-tons were registered in this class.
The fall in electric vehicles, which was referred to in January, continued in the following month, when it was even more pronounced. The total for February last was 53, last year's comparable figure being 79. Once again the steamer drew a blank, but a point to note is the registration of a 24-3tonner equipped to run on coal-gas. Included in the goods-vehicle returns were 6 machines licensed for drawing trailers, which is much lower than the total (27) for the previous year.
The six-wheeled vehicle continues to fall from grace, a total of 64 for February of this year having to be set against 110 for the same month of last year. This year's figure is made up of 38 of the rigid type and 26 of the articulated pattern, last-.year's total being divided in the proportion of 46 and 64.
Out of a total of 20 eight-wheelers that were registered 12 were 6-7-tonners, which appears to be the most popular type in this class if recent figures are a criterion.
In February of 1936 and 1937 the number of agricultural vans and lorries registered was 73, all of them being petrol machines.
The registration of tractors, both in the agricultural and general-haulage divisions, advanced, last year's total of 7 in the former rising to 13, and that of 19 for the latter increasing to 23.
Hackney Oilers Gain Ground.
So far as hackneys are concerned, the fall which took place in the section for petrol vehicles was materially offset by the advance which occurred in the category for oilers. In the former there were 170 registrations, 109 in respect of taxicabs ; last year the figure for taxis was 124 out of a total of 277. In the oil-engined class 250 machines were registered, 153 of them being 48-56-seaters; last year's figures were more or less in proportion, when 200 oilers were registered, 110 of them being of this capacity. The number of trolleybuSes registered was 12 against 3 a year earlier.
The total number of goods vehicles registered in the opening two months of the year was 13,890 against 14,229 for the previous year ; the comparable figures in respect of hackney vehicles were 895 and 956, respectively.