PANAMA CANAL

Hokitika Guardian, 10 April 1931, Page 6

PANAMA CANAL

TRAFFIC RETURNS iSfiiriSH SHIPPING’S SHARE. 'Fhe official analysis of Panama Canal commercial traffic for the year ended with June 30, 1930. shows that British shipping well maintained its position anion gtlie users ol that, great waterway. In this interesting review the hulk of the mercantile tonnage which utilised the canal is grouped in eight sections according to the ocean trade mutes followed, and collectively these accounted for 80 jut cent: ol the number of passages. 89.3 per cent of the total net tonnage. 91.2 per cent ol the cargo, and 89.1 per cent of the amount received in tolls. Ihe most important class, as determined by the number ol t ran sits, tonnage-of ■ Ships and cargo, and revenue to the canal authorities, was United States inter-coastal shipping, the proportion of such iu the gen end total being over one-third. V*®w/ numher of transits in the year increased hy 8.2 per cent and the cargo carried hy 387,107 tons, an advance of 3.8 per cent on the previous year. '! he second place was'licit!, hy traffic between Europe and the western seaboards of the United States and Canada. Here British shipping was predominant with 43(5 transits. M’his number, however, contrasted badly "with ‘t he' 653 passages? of the previous year:;- and. was lelleeteti in the cargo reduction of 611.780 tons. 'Fhe .explanation of the drop is furnished by t h«> reduced shipments o¥ North American wheat and the consequent smaller number of British tramps which used the canal. It is interesting to note that the vessel of Norwegian registry on this route were -44 in excess of the numher of 1028-29 and carried . 9.(590 more tons of cargo. 'hankers tonnage was responsible tor tile largev part of this augmented i raffle, 'though Britain only held second place among the shipping trailing between the United States and Smith America via Panama ..the position is very creditable. tlir numher of transits being sov- * n and the cargo carried 19.000 tons more -than in the preceding twelve months. 'Great Britain and the Unit-

cd States .shared about 80 per cent ol the trade on this route, their several proportions being about three and live. Though there was a decrease of 13 per cent in the Europe-South America trade. British ships carried over 200,000 tons more than tin* Germans, who held second place. In the New Zealand and Australian sections, both fifom European and United States ports, Great Britain outstripped her competitors, though in the latter ease tin l numbly- of transits and the cargo carried under the flag declined considerable