February 1. 1914. | 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



269 



RUBBER NOTES FROM JAPAN. 



/>y 11 l\\-siilfiil (. iincs/'iiiiilt'iit 

 UKCI.AI.\li;ii urilKKR IN JAPAN. 



OFFICI.M. stati.^itics for the years 1911 ancl 1912 show almost a 

 five-fold increase in the quantity of reclaimed rubber im- 

 ported by Japan during the later year, the totals having been : 

 1911. 141.26.S pounds, value $23,779: 1912, 663,536 pounds, value 

 $112,490. This increase is attributed to the greater attention 

 paid to reclaimed rubber by Japanese manufacturers since the 

 visit to this country in the spring of 1912 of Mr. Ernest !•'. 

 Buckleton. general manager of the Xorthwestern Rubber Co.. 

 Litherland, Liverpool, for the puri)ose of developing relations 

 with our largest companies 



Twenty years ago Japanese rubber manufacturers were un- 

 acquainted with the use of old or waste rublier. and this was 

 thrown into rivers and watercourses ; Init with the increasing 

 number of waste dealers in Japan waste rubber acquired a com- 

 mercial value, the dealers buying it for 30 or 35 cents per 100 

 pounds and selling it to manufacturers at $3 to $5 for the same 

 ([uantity, thus making an enormous profit. Within the last ten 

 years the manufacture of old rubber has become more and more 

 familiar to the rubber goods makers. Its advantages have been. 

 however, chiefly recognized for the production of low grades and 

 its use has continued up to the present in a greater or less pro- 

 portion in cheaper qualities, the principal exception being its em- 

 ployment for insulation of electric wire, .\nnual consumption 

 of old rubber is about four million pounds — value $200.(XX). 



As shown by the above statistics, the year 1912 witnessed a 

 marked increase of deiiiand for imported reclaimed rubber, its 

 merits being appreciated for use in superior classes of goods, for 

 which grades alone its price renders it available. It will not 

 answer for common grades, for which tlie Japanese article is 

 used. Two of the large insulated wire manufacturing companies 

 have tried the latter variety — unsuccessfully — and have returned 

 to the use of imported reclaimed rul)ber. The outlook for the 

 shipment to Japan of reclaimed rubber is promising, as there 

 are at present no Japanese factories engaged in the work of high 

 grade reclaiming, and the consumption of these grades is not 

 sufficiently large to warrant the installation of works for their 

 production in Japan. The duty on reclaimed rubber is 20 per 

 cent, ad valorem, but efforts are being inadc to effect a reduction 

 to 10 per cent. It is understood that this .subject will engage 

 the attention of the government at the coming diet. 



It will be gratifying to note by the following table the United 

 States occupying the leading position for the year 1912 in 

 Japanese iinports of Reclaimed Rubber: 



Pounds. Value. 



United States 376,528 $69,953 



Great Britain 249,628 37.305 



Germany 37,325 5,214 



France 55 IS 



Total 663,536 $1 12,490 



KXPOUrs OI" J.\I'.\NESF. RfliDKK M.\NfF.\(TrUF.S. 



The question of exporting Japanese rubber manufactures is 

 receiving attention in connection with prospective augmented im- 

 ports of reclaimed rul)ber, by reason of the cheap labor available 

 in Japan. Besides the European and .\merican markets. China 

 offers exceptional opportunities for such trade, which has already 

 been inaugurated by shipments of electric wire and other rubl)er 

 goods. Owing to its relative proximity to Japan, China is the 

 natural market for the production of this country. Japanese 

 labor, with imported reclaimed rubber, would make a strong 

 combination in competition for the world's trade 



jap.vnf.se crude RunnER imports. 

 The official figures for the first nine months of the years 1911 

 t.. 1913 are: 



Pounds. Value. 



1911 1,547,306 $1,177,795 



1912 1,431,241 1,097,171 



1913 1,964,493 1,377,440 



The figures for the first nine months of 1913 for the respective 

 countries of supply were as follows : 



Pounds. V'aluc. 



Straits Settlements 1,111,623 657,396 



Great Britain 402,946 378,230 



British India 215,212 154,976 



United States 136,296 98,245 



Dutch India.... 13,928 8,908 



Other countries 84,488 79,685 



Total 1,964,493 $1,377,440 



HIGHEST AND LOWEST PRICES IN JAPAN. PER POUND, 1913. 

 (Coin-crted into Atiicrican ctirrciicy.) 



Highest. Lowest. 



L'priver Fine Para .March 27 $1.39 November 7 $1.10 



Para sheet -April 16 1.26 November 4 1.00 



Borneo Ko. 1 April 2 0.88 November 4 0.70 



Japan is thus closely following fluctuations in rubber prices, 

 with a view to profiting by the movements of the market. 



LARGE EXPORTS OF RUBBER WASTE FROM SCANDINAVIA TO THE 

 UNITED STATES. 



.\ resident of Denmark, who has l)een long in the rubber re- 

 claiming business and who frequently sends this publication in- 

 teresting rubber information, has compiled statistics showing the 

 export to all countries, and separately to the United States, of 

 rubber waste from Norway, Sweden and Denmark during the 

 last few years. His figures show that a very large percentage 

 <if tliese exports come to this country, but, large as they are, 

 the figures do not indicate the entire receipts in the United 

 .States from this source, as quite a good many of the lots e.x- 

 ported to England and Germany later find their way to .Amer- 

 ican ports. The figures are as follows: 



In 1912 Norway exported 585,816 pounds of rubber waste, of 

 which 480.568 pounds came direct to the United States. The 

 total exports of rubber waste from Sweden in 1910 and 1911 

 amounted to 2.987,468 pounds, 1,947,864 pounds coming to the 

 United States. The waste rublier exports from Denmark for 

 tlie three years 1911-12-13 amounted to 1,966,360 pounds, 544,060 

 pounds being shipped direct to .America. In other words, over 

 80 per cent, of the shipments from Norway, about 65 per cent. 

 of the exports from Sweden, and nearly 30 per cent, of the 

 exports from Denmark were shipped direct to this country. 



AUSTRIAN PRIZE FOR TRUCK TIRE. 



The .Austrian Ministry of War has offered a prize equaling 

 $10,000 for the construction under prescribed conditions of an 

 elastic tire for motor freight trucks. In addition to the specific 

 attributes of pure rubber it nuist possess essentially greater 

 durability, or, with equal durability, must have the advantage 

 of a smaller cost of construction : thus reducing the expense of 

 operation. It must, however, not weigh more than the pure 

 rubber tire. 



Competitors must send in a model of the tire in natural or 

 reduced size, with drawing and description, to reach the .Automo- 

 bil Ver.suchs-.Abteilung (.Automobile Trial Division) VI Gum- 

 pendorferstrasse 1. Vienna, .Austria, not later than June 30 next. 



