Haulage Opportunities
Page 57
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Trade Steadily Increasing, Heavy Demand for Coal. Bright Prospects for Glass Industry.
Footwear Boom
A STRIKING indication of the rtsteady increase in trade is provided in the report concerning the activities of the Port of London during 1934. The total weight of goods which passed through the port was 36,769,000 tons, the largest figure ever recorded.
During 1934, 173 Ships (460,000 tons) were built, as compared with the previous year's figure of 108 ships (133,200 tons), whilst the present total of 600,000 tons under construction is 80 per cent, greater than that of 12 months ago. Work is being more evenly distributed, and the finishing trades have now much more to do.
Coal.
The cold weather had an immediate effect upon the demand for household coal. Merchants' departments arc busier than they have been since last winter. The demand for coal for industrial purposes remains steady. Most hauliers will find that the regular deliveries under contract are expected to be maintained.
Iron, Steel and Tinplates.
Iron and steel Makers are looking forward with confidence to the forthcoming months. They are expecting big orders from the railway companies
and shipbuilders. Orders for semifinished steel now being received total a considerable tonnage. The demand for steel plates from Midland manufacturers is increasing. In Scotland, business in heavier gauges of black sheets is well maintained, but that in galvanized material remains quiet.
Welsh makers of tinplate have wellfilled order books.
Glass and Pottery.
It is stated that prospects in the glass trade are brighter than they have been for some time. Makers of bottles, in particular, are well engaged. Trade in the Potteries, too, is good.
Drapery and Clothing.
Reports from all over the country indicate that the public is buying more freely. A fairly rapid clearance is being effected of retailers' stocks and these will have to be replenished. Manufacturers of knitted wear and lace are now becoming busier, and preparations are being made for a big output of men's slipovers and sports shirts. Business in lace is better in Nottingham.
Boots and Shoes: Leather.
Many of the footwear-manufacturing concerns in Leicester have reached maximum output. In Leeds, the cold weather is having the expected effect, and makers of more substantial grades of footwear are becoming busier, In the country areas in the Midlands, it is stated that many concerns are working to capacity. The position of the leather trade is healthy.
Timber and Building.
The timber market in London is now beginning to improve. Stocks are still heavy, ansd recent shipments have been landed in the docks, because sellers have been unable to dispose of as large a proportion as they anticipated. The demand for building timber on Merseyside is good. Several of the large sawmills in Hull have good orders for home-grown timber.
Amongst large contracts placed are the following :—Road works at Birmingham (£74,793), Essex (£34,036), Poole ($76,000), Winchester (£360,000), Leeds ($56,000), Wallasey (£26,801), also bridge construction in the last-named town (£24,600).
Belfast contemplates building 1,000 houses, Glasgow 7,350, Gloucester 308, Bradford 441, Cardiff 230, Caterham and Warlingham 323, Grantham 106, Reading 288, Solihull 250, Wigan 78 and Worthing 216. Manchester proposes spending £813,525 on the re erection of 1,589 fiats. Plans have been submitted to Blackpool T.C. for a cinema, to cost approximately £100,000, and an entertainment centre at South Shore (£250,000).
The proposed joint institution for mental defectives, near Kidderminster, will cost about £236,500. Plans are being prepared for the Liverpool University Library (2100,000).
A school is to be erected in Nelson Street, Aberdeen, at an estimated cost of £36,500. Birmingham T.C. is to purchase part of the former Blue Coat School site (£114,000), and proposes erecting a public hall on the Billesley estate.
Cotton and Wool.
The demand for cloth improves, and a reasonable total of orders for fabrics is going through. There is an improvement in heavy-woollen production.
London Docks. ,.
The number of ships arriving at the London docks, wharves and jetties named, from January 25-February 2, is as follows :---DocHs : King George V, 7; Royal Albert, 9; Royal Victoria, 3: Surrey Commercial, 5; West India, 2; South West India, 1; Tilbury, 10.; Tilbury stage, 2; Millwall, 5. WHARVES : Hays, 5; Middleton's, 1; Tilbury Jetty, 1; Regents Canal, 1.