News of the Week
Page 24
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BIG EXTENSIONS TO L.N.E.R. SERVICES
SCHEM ES for the development of 16 railhead centres—three in England and 13 in Scotland—embracing transport services to 310 stations, the extension of cartage facilities and the displacement of 437 horses by motors, have been approved by the L.N.E.R. Board. To supplement the present fleet, 469 new motors and 1,205 trailers are to be purchased at a cost of £400,000.
Although the bulk of the additional motive units are to be 3-ton and 6-ton mechanical horses, the load-carrying units will be more varied. They will include moving-floor trailers, pole trailers, stretcher pole trailers, glass floats, end-tippers and livestock trailers.
Existing vehicles which have reached the end of their book life are also to be replaced. Orders exceeding £173.000 for 292 motors of all types, 100 trailers and five three-stall horseboxes have already been piled. The railheads 'concerned in the extension schemes are at Chelmsford, Ely, King's Lynn, Arbroath, Cowdenbeath, Dalkeith. Dundee, Glasgow, Haddington, Helensburgh, Mundy, Inverurie, Kirkintilloch, Leven, Markinch and Montrose.
JULY EXPORTS SET UP RECORD
BRITISH exports in July, valued at £91,900.000., were higher than in any month since the end of the war. In volume they were 120 per cent. higher than the 1938 monthly average, according to figures .issued by the Board of Trade. Exports of vehicles, valued at £11,000,000, topped the list, followed closely by machinery at £10,900,000. Outstanding increases in exports were recorded for agricultural machinery.
Retained imports in July amounted to £96,700,000.
The regional distribution of exports for the period, April-June, shows that India replaced South Africa as our leading market.
I.R.T.E. GOING TO SWEDEN
SOME 60 members of the Institute of Road Transport Engineers will be going to Sweden in October. Sailing to Gothenburg on October 5, the party will visit Swedish road-transport establishments and engineering works, beginning in that city on Monday, October 7. Three days will be spent in Stockholm at the end of the week. Swedish roadtransport associations are the hosts of the party and are making all the arrangements.
DEATH OF MR. S. ROYLE
AWELL-KNOWN member of the road transport industry, Mr. Samuel Royle, chairman of North Western Transport Services, Ltd., died at his home on August 21. He was 58 years of age.
Mr. 'Royle had had extensive experience of road transport, and was one of the original partners in the company known as Ex-Army Transport Association and, later, as Ex-Army Transport, Ltd., which was founded in 1919. That company is now styled North Western Transport Services, Ltd.
Mr. Royle was the first chairman of Ex-Army Transport, Ltd., when the concern was formed into a private limited-liability company in 1928. For eight years he was joint managing director of Transport Services, Ltd. Failing health compelled him to relinquish that post,. but he remained on the board. He was a member of the Institute of Transport.
BIG ADVANCE IN "SYNTHETIC"
PROD UCTION of synthetic fuel from France is to be increased by some 100,000 tons a year. At present, output is about 15,000 tons a year. A loan is being floated to enable the development to be carried out.
AGREEMENTS ON EMERGENCY VEHICLE RESERVE
'THE Road Haulage Association has I sent us copies of the memoranda of agreement to cover the emergency reserve of vehicles required by the Minister of Transport to replace the Government Road Haulage Organization. One is the managing agent's agreement (R.H.364), and the other the haulier's agreement (R.H.363).
AUSTIN ASSEMBLIES IN NEW ZEALAND AFACTORY with a floor space of 60,000 sq. ft. is nearing completion in Petone, New Zealand, for the assembly of up to 5,000 Austin vehicles per year. This is an enterprise of the Austin Distributors Federation (N.Z.), Ltd., which will employ 300 people in erecting C.K.D. trucks and cars received from the Longbridge Works.
SMITHS FORMS SCOTTISH COMPANY
ANEW company, S. Smith and Sons (Scotland), Ltd., has been formed to represent the Smiths group (Smiths Motor Accessories, Ltd.; Smiths English Clocks, Ltd.; Smiths Aircraft Instruments, Ltd.; Smiths Industrial Instruments, Ltd.; and their associated companies) throughout Scotland.
Thenew concern is operating from 153, Bothwell Street, Glasgow, C.2, where extensive facilities are available for speeding up the servicing, repair and fitting of Smiths products. Mr. T. E. Vitty is in charge.
MORRIS PROFIT DOWN
T AST year Morris Motors, Ltd., made 1.-ra gross profit, including dividends from subsidiaries, of £2,605,877, against £3,076,263 in 1944. To the gross profit has to be added interest on Government stocks, amount to £114,292, and certain other items, and the total becomes £2,725.236. After deducting various charges, there remains a net surplus on trading of £1,944,097, compared with £2,384,529 in 1944.
An interim ordinary dividend of 10 per cent., tax free, absorbs £265,000, and a final ordinary dividend of 7i per cent., tax free, takes £198,750. Having made certain other deductions, £264,879 remains to be carried forward.
MOVING FACTORY FROM LUTON TO WALES
A REPRESENTATIVE of T. W. ri Ward an Co., Ltd., Sheffield, a specialist in moving machinery, declared at a sitting of the West Midland Licensing Authority, that his company had on hand orders for the transfer of entire factories and the work would take five years to complete.
N. J. Grimsley (Haulage), Ltd., Aston Road, Birmingham, was applying for an A licence, in place of an existing defence permit, in respect of nine vehicles (281 tons) and a trailer (2.1 tons), and a B licence for three vehicles (71 tons) for the carriage of goods for the Hercules Cycle and Motor Co., Ltd.
Mr. G. Needham said, in support of the application, that the vehicles would be required to assist his company to remove an entire factory installation from Luton to South Wales, which would involve the carriage of some 1,000 tons of machinery over about six months. The applicant had been employed on this type of work since 1940, and the trailer applied for was specially adapted for it. Other hauliers approached by Mr. Needham had said they were not interested and, as there was no railway within a mile of the place concerned, it was impossible to move the machinery by rail.
The Deputy Licensing Authority (Dr. W. Dawson Sadler) granted the application, commenting that it was "one of the most interesting cases since the resumption of the traffic courts," having features recalling old times.
NUFFIELD TAKES OVER NEW WORKS FOR TRACTORS
PDOWER farming equipment andmotor vehicles will be manufactured by the Nuffield Organization at the Ministry of Aircraft Production factory at Eaglescliffe, on Tees-side. A beginning will be made with the production of the Nuffield universal agricultural tractor, prototypes of which are already
being used by farmers. Work has started on smelting alloys at Eaglescliffe and the factory is expected to employ more than 4,000 people.
In announcing this development, Sir Miles Thomas, vice-chairman of the Nuffield Organization, said: "The proposal is, with the co-operation of the Government Departments concerned, to establish at Eaglesdiffe, on an expanditrg scale, an assembly plant, and later a full-size machinery and productive factory for the manufacture of automobiles and power fanning equipment."
Mr. H. A. Ryder, managing director of Morris Motors, Ltd., will have charge of the administration at Eaglescliffe.
NO TILLING-STEVENS MERGER
AN earlier denial that Tilling-Stevens, Ltd., proposed to amalgamate with another company was reaffirmed by 'r. V. C. Ponsonby, chairman, at the company's annual general meeting.
He also declared that unless a halt were called in the steadily rising cost of materials and wages, which was reflected in the selling prices of Tilling-Stevens products, manufacturers would find difficulty in competing overseas.