INDUSTRIAL ACTIVITY.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXV, Issue 4, 30 December 1912, Page 4

INDUSTRIAL ACTIVITY.

The one outstanding feature of the moment, the ‘Mercantile Gazette’ considers, is the industrial activity that exists practically in all the important countries of the Old World. In Great Britain, manufacturers are as busy as they can be. This activity, the ‘Gazette’ says, can in part be traced to the boom in shipbuilding. Shipowners are earning comparatively large profits, and at the moment there is an absolute dearth of tonnage. The effect of this is to bo seen in the extensive orders placed with builders. When the shipbuilding industry is active, it reflects on practically the entire industrial life of tlie country. The building of a ship calls into activity numerous sub-industries, and these re-act on others, and so the ball is kept rolling. In Germany and France and in Austria and Italy there is activity though not so pronounced as in Great Britain. In America the position is of the very best. A bumper crop has been harvested in the United States, and this has stimulated trade in every direction. A record crop of maize, estimated at 3,000,000,000 bushels, lias been produced, and this is of great importance, for it will give an impetus to cattle breeding and feeding. Practically every branch of American industry is active, and a boom of some dimensions may be expected to follow. With trade active! in Europe and America, the exporting countries must reap some measure of profit. Australasia is already feeling the good effects for the staple product, wool, has improved in value. Wool promises to be a. tremendously good asset this season', and the gain to New Zealand owing to increased prices will be not far short of £1,500,000; and this increased income must have a stimulating effect on the trade and commerce of the country.