BRITISH RESOURCES

Wairarapa Times-Age, 30 December 1940, Page 5

BRITISH RESOURCES

STANDING STRAIN OF WAR 1 WELL BUT MAXIMUM EFFORT NEEDED IN 1941. OUTPUT WELL MAINTAINED IN SPITE OF RAIDS. (By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright) LONDON, December 28. “The Economist's” Trade Supplement takes a fairly favourable view of the business position in Britain. It says that the air raids and transport difficulties continue to hamper production, but the output is considerably higher than might be expected for a period of intensive bombing. Germany has obtained results nothing like those that she expected. The actual destruclion of munition factories has been very small.

“The experience of the last few months has shown that night-bombing on the present scale does not curtail the volume of production sufficiently to cause serious anxiety," the writer states.

“Though the shipping losses are heavy, large imports of essential materials still arrive safely, but still greater efforts are needed to speed up the turn-round of ships in the ports and to accelerate distribution of the cargoes to the centres of consumption." The writer concludes: "British industry has done wonders of improvisation in the last year and has achieved a measure of success in adjusting itself to the new and difficult conditions. The progress in many directions has been very considerable; but all told our achievements in 1940 have not been commensurate with our needs and resources, and only a maximum effort in 1941 will see us through the critical period.”