Haulage Opportunities
Page 43
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Retail Business Higher. Engineering Active. Satisfactory Tinplate Demand. Clothing Trade Boom. Leather and Foot wear Industries Busy
-Film monthly statistics in the Board .1 of Trade Journal indicate the trend ot trade in the country, and, for October, the total money •value of retail sales showed an advance of 3.2 per cent., as compared with that of October last year. There has been a con. tin uous increase for 13 consecutive months.
The shipping and heavy engineering industries show continuous improvement. On Tyneside the prospects are better than they have been for some time. On Tees-side a new industry is to be established for the extraction of oil from coal, Dorman, Long and Co., Ltd., Middlesbrough, has some large orders for constructional steel.
Engineering.
Steel works all over the country are very busy. In Scotland, the report is that heavy steel works are well supplied with orders and that prospects are good. Sheffield reports that steel production continues at a high level. In the Midlands, business continues its -upward trend, and there are many orders for bright drawn steel for local motorcar manufacturers. Steel-producing concerns in the north-west are also experiencing a steady and expanding demand from the Midlands. Makers of light castings are fully employed.
Sheet Steel and Tinplates.
• In the tinplate industry the demand is stated to be satisfactory and there is a fair volume of orders for home distribution. Export business is increasing, and, at the moment, sales are in excess of production.
Scottish mills report that the home market for black sheets is good. There is an increase in inquiries from overseas. Yorkshire and the North-east Coast find business more active than it has been for some time, and, in the Midlands, there is a good demand for black sheets of medium gauge.
Coal.
The demand for house coal is steady. • Yorkshire is using much house coal and there is a fair demand in Derbyshire. In the Midlands trade is not so good and in Lancashire is below normal. The Yorkshire demand for coal for industrial purposes is, however, not so gdod. In the Midlands it is particularly strong, but in Derbyshire the demand is mainly for the quick delivery of small quantities.
Timber and Building.
The consumption of timber is still considerable. In the London docks orders are mainly for small consignments for building and joinery, but there is increased activity in hardwoods for furniture and shop fitting, and an active and growing demand for plyWoods, In Liverpool and Manchester it has come to he regarded as a characteristic of the timber trade that orders are of the description which must inevitably be met by road. Buyers are determined to buy only in quantities sufficient to meet immediate requirements. Business, nevertheless, is good, both in the cities named and in Preston, which also reports a demand for quick deliveries of small quantities. 'A big improvement is to be made in the harbour at Wisbech by building a new wharf of 800-ft. frontage and developing a 10-acre site in order to improve the facilities for shipping.
Amongst large works contemplated are the following :--Pier extensions at Hastings (120,000) ; office reconstruction in Huddersfield (£114,000) ; college extensions at Salford (£120,000) ; a hall, etc-, at Thornton Cleveleys (£34,320) ; a library in Manchester (£45,000) ; and schools at Oxford (£108,035), Luton (50,000); and Dundee (£78,615).
Coventry proposes building 5,000 houses, etc.; Aberdeen is considering spending £62,685 on houses; 532 houses are to be constructed at Chislehurst-Sidcup; 180 at Granton Mains; 960 at Prestwich, Lanes ; and 100 at Stroud. Lancashire Mental Hospital Boael is considering the erection of a nurses' home at Whittingham Mental Hospital, at an estimated cost of £98,000.
It is reported ;that Cheylesmore Estate, Coventry, has been acquired by Messrs. Alfred Robinson, of Bradford, for building development, and the cost of constructing roads and sewers to serve the whole estate is estimated at £200,000. Huddersfield Industrial So ciety, Ltd., proposes to reconstruct the central premises at an estimated cost of £114,000. Kent C.C. proposes to provide further accommodation for mental patients at Leyboume Grange, the estimated cost being £163,882.
Dumfries and Galloway Royal Infirmary is to be extended at a cost ef over £60,000. Barrhead T.C. is to erect 200 houses.
Drapery and Clothing.
Business in winter clothing is now at its height and there are ample opportunities for loads from manufacturers to wholesalers and from wholesalers to retailers. Hosiery, both silk and rayon, is in good demand, and Leicestershire makers are experiencing a rush of orders for knitted underwear and for outerwear. As regards the latter, more business is expected if the weather gets cold. Nottingham has some big orders for lace net.
Cotton and Wool.
The cotton industry shows signs ot improvement. There is an increase in export business and in inquiries, especially from India. The home trade is good, both in piece goods and in yarn. The woollen industry is comparatively quiet, but has sufficient orders to keep going for some time.
Boots and Shoes: Leather.
Trade in this department seems to be particularly good. The country centres in the Midlands are fully occupied With orders, all for delivery during the forthcoming fortnight. From Leicester the report is that trade is fluctuating, but is likely to he brisk by the time these notes appear. The Leeds district, too, is busy on orders for delivery before Christmas. In Bristol and the West Country business is considerably in excess of that usually experienced at this time of the year. In Norwich business is steady.
So far as leather is concerned, Runcorn, Warrington and Liverpool have already reached the point which was prophesied in these notes last week, business being better than for some months. Some of the tanneries are working overtime. Bermondsey still lags behind, having a fair number of orders, but chiefly for small quantities.
London Docks.
The following is the number of ships arriving at the London docks, wharves and jetties named, from December 7-15 inclusive :—Doexs : King George V. 11; Royal Albert, 10; Royal Victoria, 5; Surrey Commercial, 7; West India, 5; East India, 2; South West India, 2; Tilbury, 8; Tilbury Stage, 3; Millwall, ; London, 3. WHARVES: Hays, 6; Middleton's, 1; Mark Brown's, 1; Tilbury Jetty, 6