It is no simple matter to find a cure for these ills of the shipbuilding industry. The builders can apparently do little more to help themselves. They have tried rationalization National Shipbuilders Security has reduced yard capacity by one-third, but once again nearly 46 per cent. of berths are idle. They claim that, owing to the rigidity of steel prices and of wages and owing to the fact that yards are now concentrated mainly on the final stages of construction (thus making impossible the economies of an even run of work), they are unable to provide the usual slump remedy of reduced contract prices. Sull less are they uble to meet the subsidized competition of certain Continental and American builders. Mercantile shipbuilders, led by Sir James Lithgow, are therefore appealing for assistance from the Government, or at least for 2 diversion of Exchequer funds from recipients whose nee? is less urgent. As good a case coa possibly be made cut for them zs for most other industries now in receipt of State aid. Their sole customers, the shipowners, have been hard kit by the Governijent's agricultural policy, by duties and quotas. But their most powerful advocate is national defence. A modern tramp fleet of adequate tonnage is absolutely essential to the British Empire in time of-war. Germany is making every effort to restore her own mercantile marine to its pre-war tonnage and age composition figures, but is nevertheless with Government istence working on foreign orders exceeding 500,000 tons gross. Great Britain should therefore formulate a national ship-ving-shipbuilding policy designed to safeguard the vital lines of com: munication which lead to her storehouses and larders end, et the same time, enabling the shipbuilders to retain those export markets that will be conceivably important when the rearmament progiuinme is over. Obviously, the decision is one for the Government on grounds of the public interest. In the meantime, however, me single concession would be of greater assistance to the industry faon a speedy end substantial reduction in steel prices, averaging about three points despite the fact that several leading companies declared higher dividends for last year's business.
The following are the quotations of some leading German shares at the beginning and end of the week respectively:
Reichsbank German Dye Trust Salzdetfurth Potash United Steel Works Mannesmann Pipes Harpener Mining German Mineral Oils Continental Rubber Siemens and Halske General Flectrics AEG. Rhenish-Westphalian Power Hamburg-America Line North German Lloyd Remberg Raven Deutsche Bank Deutsch-Asiatische Bank Young Loan 19350 198.25 152.625 149.09 Ung. 140.00 111.635 108.25 114375 11100
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.