WE HAVE REACHED ANOTHER MILESTONE!
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By "The Inspector."
IT SEEMS to be generally accepted in the more responsible manufacturing circles of the industry , that we have at last reached another economic milestone. Deniand has dropped away to a relatively negligible point so far as early delivery is concerned, and yet, paradoxically enough, demand, as such, for mechanical transport, is probably as existent as ever, if not, ilideed, more than ever. There are large numbers of instances known to us in which, but for the necessity of firmly restricting outgoings, deliveries would be urged and not pestPoned. The manufacturing • and transphrtation branches of the country's normal activities—at home, at any rate—have, during the past few months of acute financial depression; curiously enough, became more convinced that they must, in thee future, rely upon their own self-contained transport. Once it again becomes possible to spend money with any degree of freedom, one of the first things to be done by hosts of undertakings will undoubtedly be to ensure the consolidation of their transport facilities. Railways have become difficult for many classes of transport, and signs are not wanting that they will become worse 'rather than better.
Inquiries have, during the past—shall we say ?— eight weeks, been -very plentiful, but thore has, amongst buyers and amongst ,users, been a something in the air suggesting caution for fear of a general fall in selling prices. The old laws of supply and demand are again asserting themselves. Prices have already fallen, and that in spite of stocks, purchased at boom figures, waiting to be made up into machines. . The manufacturer has cut his profit to ribbons in a number of noteworthy instances already in order to stimulate the over-cautious purchaser. Further cutting is only possible if the labour factor in costs can be reduced—labour for manufacturing, raw, as well as finished, material, and not only that needed for assembly. It must go right back to the coal and iron mines and the foundry and the forge. If unemployment and under-employment are to be
arrested, eosts must be reduced. Profits have been already whittled away to next to nothing, as we know from first-hand information. Labour, now forced u. take a saner view from the bare prospect -of selfpreservation, must take its share. It must help to tempt the man who has, or will have, money to spend by either producing more for the same money or by taking less money for the same, amount of work—the former is, of course, as always, the sounder decision for labour to take.
We are at 'another and highly important milestone. Workers in our industry will, during the, next few. weeks, be faced with offers to continue work if they. are prepared to give better value fer money. They will accept, and, in no very long period, will be the better off for their decision. The swing of the pendulum makes this inevitable. War-forced profits; whether from wheat or cotton, whether by brain or brawn, will have very considerably to be foregone. They were come by without reference to the age-longlaws of value for money. and therefore they cannot be assured of stability. Until we have readjusted our values—fixed new rates--we shall find demand is But we are nearly at the other swing of the pendulum, and. our own industry will see recovery on a generous scale before the year is very much older, unless I am gravely miscalculating on the information that I have collected. It has to be borne in mind that many industries have remained very busy indeed, and not least of these are factories building factory plant of many kinds. A lorry is as much a part of modern factory plant as is a Diesel engine or an overheadcrane. The next few weeks of labour-charge adjustment will mark the turning paint. It has taken a while to get there, but those responsible for leading labour have learned a deal of sober truth in the last few months. And we shall see the results.