GERMANY PROSPEROUS

Hokitika Guardian, 18 November 1929, Page 8

GERMANY PROSPEROUS

A WHITE PAPER

LONDON, Oct. 3

The General prosperity of Germany, in spite of depression in certain of her industries, is brought out very clearly in the report on.the Economic and Financial Conditions in Germany in 1928-29, by J. W. T. Thelwall and Mr C. J. Kavanagh, which is issued to-day by the Department of Overseas Trade as a "White Paper. Four factors have slowed down industrial activity—the completion of the large scale re-equipment and rationalisation of German industry; the effect of the American demand for money; the resurgence of the reparations question ; and the exceptionally long and severe winter. Owing to the American boom, “the German money market was in a state of tension.,” and the rate of interest high.

Yet notwithstanding this the savings of the German people continue to show an upward movement. The deposits with German savings banks at the end of 1928 amounted to £454,000.000 The increase during 1928 amounted to about £135,000,009. While the. British iron and steel industries are labouring in deep water, +lro report tolls us that on the whole the (German) iron and steel industries may be said to have overcome successfully a critical period, and the situation was considered sufficiently favourable for an increase in the price of pig iron to he made in May 1929. Shipyards were better employed; the engineering industry bad a better vear than in 1927.

The motor vehicle industry has expanded to a remarkable degree, the value of its production having risen from £25,009.000 in 1926 t.o £45,000,000 in 1927, and approximately '£50.250.000 in 1928. A big increase of light motor-cycles occurred, the manufacture of which was stimulated by a raising of the tax-free limit. German foreign trade showed “the remarkable increase of £*0,860,000 in exports for 1928. This compares with a British increase of only £14.000.000 in the same year. The strain to which German economic life lias been subjected during, the first five months of 1929, states the report, serves to emphasise tbe fundamental stability and soundness which it has developed since 1921. Reference is further made to the “extraordinary' elasticity in Geituan commerce,” and to the ability ol German manufacturers and merchants to “force up exports to a remarkable degree if they make efforts in that direction.”

With regard to British exports to Germany 7, the melancholy iact is stated that they “consist almost entirely of raw materials or semi-manu-factures.”

One opening for British trade is indicated: There U undoubtedly a potential market in Germany for the British medium and light-power cars if they can be imported at a competitive price-level. In 1003, of 17.819 cars imported onlv 191 were British.

Rationalisation lias not everywhere boon a success in German industry. The Uordingen (railway wagon) works are renorted to have spent large sums of money for series manufacture of certain Reiclisbahn types, but their anticipations have proved so fallacious that they had again to reorganise their production basis to C,i in with the smaller volume of bndiV'SK obtainable. Tim German railways have taken measures by special rates “to imped ' i | lo import- of Dutch and British coal to Cbnith Germany.” An interesting account is given of the ranid pvogiw. of rationalisation in the German coal nml coke industry.