SCARCITY OF STEEL

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2824, 15 July 1916, Page 7

SCARCITY OF STEEL

MANY' BUILDINGS HELD UP. The scarcity of steel for building purposes in New Zealand is becoming more and mom acute as the grist war drags on, not because the steel supplies cannot bp obtained in the producing.countries, but owing to the difficulty in jetting the same .shipped lo New Zealand. One . leading 'Wellington architect, rerprring to the Subject, is highly indignant because steamers are • being allowed to carry big consignments of motorcars—as a general rule a luxury—whilst building propositions are being held up all over the "country for want of steamers to bring forward long-ordered consignments of constructional steel. The conditions are rendered more difficult by the restrictions placed on the delivery of steel for New Zealand. A caso was quoted where a Slats tiorernmeilt in Australia had turned down a consignment of some .5000 tons of steel because it did not, on analysis, come up to the required standard, 'fenders were called for its sale, ahd that of a, Now. Zealand firm whs accepted. A Small portion of the steel was forwarded on to New Zealand, when the State Government prohibited any further export of steel, and ill that manner a large quantity of steel ivhich could have, with safety, been used for constructional purposes was lost to New Zealand. In the hundreds of thousands of . pounds worth of buildings are being held up for lack of steel, even though- it has more than doubled in price nines the war began. As many tradesmen were dependant fin building activity, our informant was of the opinion that it was high time that somo embargo should bo placed 011 the importation Of luxuries, in order that building material, necessary to industrial and commercial development, might be imported.