564 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[July 1, 1914. 



GERMAN RUBBER EXPORT STATISTICS FOR 1913. 



A CCORDIXG to the olVicial German statistics for 1912 

 •** and 1913 (converted into American equivalents), the 

 following are the principal features of rubber goods exports: 

 GERMAN RUBBER GOODS EXPORTED. 



, 1912 V , 1913 



Tons. Value. Tons. Value. 



Soft rubber goods... 16,934 $27,224,250 18,393 $29,090,750 



Hard rubber goods... 1,342 2,903,500 1,313 2,980,250 

 Treated with rubber. 612 1,223,250 804 1,698,500 



Total 18,888 $31,351,000 20,510 $33,769,500 



Manufactures of soft rubber thus form about 90 per cent. 

 in quantity of the German rubber goods exported. 



The total German exports for 1913 of rubber goods, exceeding 

 20,000 tons, included the following articles : 



Tons. 

 About Principal Outlets. 



1. Motor Vehicle Tires 3,000 France 20 per cent., 



Great Britain 18 per 

 cent. 



2. Rubber combined with 



fabric 4,000 Great Britain 45 per 



cent. 



3. Rubber hose not else- 

 where specified 1,600 Great Britain 13 per 



cent., Austria 12 per 

 cent., Argentina 12 

 per cent., Italy 10 

 per cent. 



4. Textile goods combined 

 with rubber thread and 

 rubber thread combined 



with textiles or not 1,600 Great Britain 60 per 



cent. 



5. Bicycle tires 1.200 Netherlands 27 per 



cent., Denmark 22 

 per cent.. Great Bri- 

 tain 20 per cent. 



6. Xon-motor vehicle tires 800 Great Britain 30 per 



cent. 



7. Rubber tubes for tires of 

 other than power ve- 

 hicles 400 Xethcrlands 25 per 



cent.. Great Britain 

 22 per cent. 



8. Rubber tubes for use in 



tires of power vehicles. 2,30 Great Britain 30 per 



cent., .'\rgentina 15 

 per cent. 



9. Soft rubber paste and 



rolled sheets, etc 1.000 France 40 per cent., 



Austria 20 per cent. 



10. Driving belts of fabric 



with rubber 1.000 Great Britain 35 per 



cent. 



11. Steam packings, etc.... 4,500 



Others articles 1.180 



Total of principal articles 20.510 tons. 



The separate German exports of hard rubber goods are 

 shown for 1913 as 1,313 tons. Of this quantity, about 20 per 

 cent, went to Great Britain and 12}4 per cent, to France. 

 This figure shows a slight reduction from that of 1.342 tons 

 recorded for 1912. 



In the above table only the largest outlets are shown. 



6EBHAN RUBBER TRADE IN 1913. 



The annual report of the Berlin Chamber of Commerce for 

 1913 states that the German tire manufacturers have had 

 reason to complain of the operation of the guarantee system 

 as applied to automobile and bicycle pneumatic tires; while 

 inquiry has been on an increased scale for solid tires for 

 motor trucks, autobuses and electric cabs. The requirements 

 as to guarantee of the omnibus companies, the largest con- 

 sumers of solid tires, are, however, such that manufacturers' 

 profits have been cut down. 



Business in mechanical rubber goods during the -first nine 

 months of the year was satisfactory, in consequence of Jie 

 large purchases by the railways, navy and shipbuilding yards. 

 Trade during the last three months of the year fell off to 

 such an extent as to cause reduced working hours in the 

 factories specially devoted to mechanical products. 



In rubber shoes business was unsatisfactory during the 

 greater part of the year, but the heavy snowfall in the latter 

 part of December gave dealers an opportunity of clearings 

 their stocks, with the result of a fairly satisfactory total for 

 the year's trade. 



Export business showed in some cases an increase, par- 

 ticularly in hose for mechanical purposes. Reduced exports 

 were, however, recorded for bicycle tires, belting, rubber 

 shoes and for nearly all kinds of hard rubber goods. 



Owing to the depression marking the last quarter of the 

 year, the number of unemployed rubber workmen at the close 

 of 1913 was larger than is usual at that period. 



In waste rubber the year was disappointing, chiefly owing 

 to the large quantities of crude rubber which came on the 

 market. The absence of the normal American demand for 

 old shoes was one of the causes of the depression which 

 existed. The increased number of hospitals led to a develop- 

 ment in the trade for medical supplies. 



GERMANY'S COMMERCE. 



Consul General Robert P. Skinner of Berlin has reported the 

 provisional results of the German trading returns for the last two 

 years. A comparison of the figures for 1912 and 1913 shows that 

 in the latter year the combined total of imports and exports was 

 about 6 per cent, in excess of those of 1912. The actual figures 

 are: 



1912. 1913. 



Imports $2,544,549,868 $2,545,505,676 



Exports 2,131,718,400 2,399,184,228 



Total $4,676,268,268 $4,944,689,904 



The following are the figures more directly referring to rubber : 



1912. 1913. 



Crude rubber total exports tons 4,943 3.971 



Crude rubber exports to the United States 2,671 2.001 



Imports of India rubber goods 4,441 4,191 



Exports of India rubber goods 18.276 19.708 



BAYER COMPANY TRANSFERS LIBRARY. 



The "Farbenfabriken" (formerly Friedr. Bayer & Co.), of Elber- 

 feld, is removing its Bureau of Information to the factory at 

 Leverkusen, at which town the "Kekule" library will also be 

 located. Both sections will be under the direction of Dr. Gar- 

 tcnschlaeger. 



NEW DIRECTOR GENERAL OF EXCELSIOR WORKS. 



Herr Siercke, hitherto director of the Excelsior Rubber Works, 

 Hanover, has been promoted to the office of Director General, 

 vacated through the death of the late Kommerzienrat Heise. 



