MEAT & FREIGHTS

Dominion, Volume 14, Issue 223, 15 June 1921, Page 6

MEAT & FREIGHTS

SHIPOWNERS’ DIFFICULTIES COMMENT BY SIR THOMAS ROBINSON Sir Thomas Robinson, who is well known as an authority on matters connected with the produce trade, is visiting New Zealand again after spending two months in Australia- Ho arrived in Wellington on Monday, and he intends to leave for Sydney again to-mor-row, after attending to the business that brought him across. Ho stated yesterday, in conversation with a DOMINION reporter, that most of his time in Australia had been given to meeting old friends and renewing old associations. He had not been keeping in close touch with trade matters, and he did not feel that he could add very much to what he had raid when he visited New Zealand earlier in the year.

He had found Australia, like New Zealand. suffering from the decline of prices in the meat and the trouble was increased by high freights. He was fold in Queensland that nt present prices the pastoralists could not profitably produce cattle. He thought, however, that, as he had said before, low prices in the meat market were a temporary difficulty that would remedy itself. Shipping freights were a very important factor,’ of course, but farmers ought to recognise that tho reduced value of meat was not necessarily a reason why shipowners should reduce freights. The factors that determined freights were nor tho factors that fixed the price of meat, and it was just as well that they should not be confused. Shipning Freights and Earnings. The Federal Prime Minister ,(Mr. Hughes) had made a very interesting and informative statement -recently with regard to shinning freights, continued Sir Thomas Robinson. Mr. Hughes had special opportunities, through the Commonwealth Shipping Lino, to get firi(thand, information concerning the cost of. running sh'ns and he had recognised that New Zealand and Australia wei*e paying freights that compared very favourably with those charged other countries. This was in • enite of the fact that delays in the handling of cargo at this end and difficulty in obtaining cargo had. added verv much to the cost of running the ships. Mr. Hughes had pointed out that the value of the goods carried did not determine tho freights. It was necessary, in order to decide what the freights should, be, to know what was the cost of running tho ships. It was found on examination that since 1914 port charges had risen by 137 per cent., cargo-handling charges by 165 per eent., coal chnijres by 172 per cent., wages by 166 per cent., and other Tunning expenses by 255 per cent. The aggregate running expenses of a certain steamer had been found to have increased by 197 per cent, since 1914.. This meant, in effect, that 413 was being spent for each 411 snent before tho war. The earning’ of the q ame ship showed an increase of only 165 per cent. Mr. Hughes quoted these figures to show that the running expenses bad mounted even faster than the freights. Advantage to Shippers.

Sir Thomas Robinson added that as far as he had been able to test these figures they seemed to bo quite reliable. Thq point was important, because many people had an idea that reduced prices ought to carry reduced freights with them. It should be remembered that the rates now current for the carriage of meat from Australia and New Zealand to London were fixed by the British Government while the refrigerated tonnage was under requisition. The Ministry of Shipping based tho rates on figures showing tho actual working expenses of the. vessel J, and before any alteration was made the Ministry had to be satisfied that the expenses justified it. The shippers i;pder this arrangement had an assurance that they would not be overcharged, since the rates were, fixed by an independent authority on the basis of tho ascertained cost of the voyages. The requisition recently came to an end, but it did not appear.that there had been any change in freights since then, and consequently shippers were still receiving tho advantage of the check that had been placed upon excessive freights.