WELLINGTON NEWS

Hokitika Guardian, 5 September 1930, Page 2

WELLINGTON NEWS

TJ.S.A. MOTOR INDUSTRY

(Special Correspondent.)

WELLINGTON, September 3

In a pamphlet entitled “Facts and Figures of the Automobile Industry,” published in New \ork by the National Automobile Chamber of Commerce, there is .some striking statistical information. The number of passengers cars and trucks' produced by .the manufacturers of the United States and by. their plants, in Canada rose from: 1,682, 305 in 1924 to 5,621,709 in 1929. No less than half the output goes into the replacement market for the total number of ears .scrapped in 1929 is estimated at 2,800,000, and the average life of a car is now put at 65 years. Two very steady developments (from 29.8 per cent, in 1921 to 4.7. per cent 111 1929) in the use of solid tyres on trucks and the growth from (22.1% to 89.4% in the same period) in the percentage of closed passenger cars are noted. The growth in the use of the commercial motor transport lias been great. Of the 1928 crop Southern Indiana 65 percent was moved by truck and only 80 per cent by rail. A survey made in several cities of New York, Pennsylvania and New Jersey shows that 79.2 per cent of their fruit and vegetable supply was moved by motor truck. Passenger traffic is growing very rapidly, and the number of bus passenger miles, rose from 7,825, 090 in 1928 to 10,895,000 in 1929. The mileage of local bus service has inereas ed by 453 per cent since 1922. The foreign trade statistics show a very rapid growth in the proportion of the output of trucks sold outside the United States which has risen steadily from 11.3 per cent in 1921 to 41.8 per cent in 1929, but a much smaller growth in the export ratio of passenger cars, which was 7.2 in 1921, 15.5 per cent in 1927 and 13.7 per cent in 1929. Foreign sales in 1929 of motor vehicles of United States design were 658,953 passenger cars and 338,518 trucks, 01 a total of 997,111. The world’s average is 06.6 persons per motor vehicle. The thinnest motor population is that China, who has 12,258 persons per vehicle, followed by Russia\vvith 6139. The United States comes first with one mot-, or vehicle to 4.6 persons, and Hawaii next with )7 persons per vehicle. Canada and New Zealand each .have 8 and Australia 10, while England lias 30, Scotland 41 and Wales 36 persons per vehicle.

GOLD AND DEPRESSION. Two newspapers widely apart have

made divergent predictions witli regard to world economic, conditions. The . j London foresees the erid oF ihe : depression, because London is choked with money waiting investment. The other newspaper, the Vancouver “Sun,” insists that, unless ' silver is restored in the ratio of one to twelve of gold the depression will get worse. Oue view is optimistic and the

other is pessimistic, and it is doubti ful if either view is correct or even approximately, The “Daily Express” is carried away by the fact that bank rate in London is 3 per cent, that short loans from day to day, or at most not exceeding seven days, are being done at 2 per cent, and three months fine trade paper is being discounted at a little more than 2 per cent. The bank rate in New York,. Paris and Geneva is 2) per cent and the rates are low in other European centres.

There was a period in the last century when bank rate was much lowe*. On February 22, 1924, the Bank oi England rate was reduced to 2 per cent, and that rate was maintained until December 10, 1926, when it was raised to 2\ per cent. Money was 'cheaper tor 2\ years, simply because following on the Baring criticism in 1860 and the collapse of Australian banks subsequen tly confidence was shattered and the demand for credit was very poor. The same thing is happening now, for their is an obvious lack of confidence throughout the world. The plea of the Vancouver “Sun” is for a return to bimetallism which is scarcely likely to receive any support The Gresham law is too strong for this. There is no doubt that there is a maldistribution of gold, for too much of the metal is located in the United States and France where it'is not functioning. The depression of to-day is not due to cheap money, on the contrary cheap money is the result of the depression and the utter absence of confidence.