THE WORLD’S SHIPBUILDING.

Otaki Mail, Volume XXVIII, 2 August 1920, Page 3

THE WORLD’S SHIPBUILDING.

REMARKABLE FIGURES. The quarterly returns of “Lloyd’s Register” shows that on June 30th ‘ 3,578,000 tons of merchant shipping i were under construction in the United | Kingdom, an increase of 184,000 tons ) as compared with the total for March 31st. The total for "all other parts of ' the world, including the British Dominions, was 4,142,000 tons, a de- . crease of 405,000 tons as compared i with March 31st, the cable message indicating that this falling off was due to a large decrease in building in the .’ United States. These figures deal only i with merchant ships actually under construction, and do not include the tonnage of ships completed during the respective quarters. The figures are remarkable, for they show that there is an unprecedented volume of tonnage , no w under construction in the world. * Whereas six years ' ago British and foreign shipyards had under consiruc- ' {; on just under 3,500,000 tons, now the : United Kingdom akme has more shipping in hand than that total by. nearly a quarter of a million tons, while tScfigures for the whole world is over 7.700,000 tons, or considerably more than double the total for 1914. The world’s shipbuilding yards were never so busy as they are to-day, as the foilowinff'statement of ships bqH'/dng on ‘ March 31st during thy past eight rears shows:— —t r ’ 9 *' T ~ j UK Total. 131" ■ ■ 2.064,000 • 3.441.000 1214 . - 1,891,009 .. 3,343,000 1915 .. 1.557.467 .. .• * . 1916 . - 1,423,455 1917 .. 2.905,600 t. 5,611,000 “ I9IS .. 1,579,523 1919 .. 2,256.000 '.. 7,736,002 1920 .. 3.334,500 .. 7,242,200 1922 .. 3,375,000 .. 7,720600