54 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[October 1, \920. 



The Oummi-Zcituiig reports from Riga that the rubber industiy 

 ill that city is still very quiet. It is proposed to resume work in 

 the well-known Prowodnik plant ai Riga with the aid of French 

 capital, and the activity of French and Fnglish tinanciers in Let- 

 via indicates a considerable influx of French and English cap- 

 ital in that country. The English tinancial group of F"ortington 

 dctnanded concessions as to the supply of hemp and wood as 

 security for its credits. The negotiations, however, have not been 

 settled and proposals are now made by a French group which 

 offers better terms, but no agreement has been reached in either 

 case. 



During the first live months of 1920 I'rancc imported rubber 

 goods valued at 100.000.000 francs; England supplied 55,000,000, 

 .-\merica 33.(XX).000, Italy and Belgium the rest. 



THE RUBBER TRADE IN NORWAY 



As REii)KTKU by C. I.. Pans, Commercial .Secretary to the British 

 Legation, Christiania, Norway, in Tluc India-Rubber Journal, 

 London, Norwegian stocks of raw rubber, balata and gutta percha 

 were very scanty at the commencement of the war. .A.s fresh sup- 

 plies were very difficult to obtain, Norwegian factories were at 

 various times compelled to reduce their production and even to 

 cease operations. After the conclusion of the Norwegian-Ameri- 

 can .\greement in 1918 the position gradually improved and the 

 manufacturers were once more able to operate upon normal lines. 

 Estimations place Norway's annual requirements at about ISO 

 tons of rubber and 200 to 250 tons of balata and gutta percha, 

 practically all of which is purchased from firms in the United 

 Kingdom. At the end of 1919 there was reported to be little 

 demand for new supplies, as the factories were subsisting on old 

 stocks. One reason for the diminishing demand is the fact that 

 Norwegian production of insulated cable is restricted because of 

 competition from British and American cable manufacturers. 



MOTOR CARS AND MOTOR TIRES 



Prior to the war, Norway imported motor cars from all Euro- 

 pean countries in which they were made, and also from the 

 L'nited States of .'\merica, which even then held the largest por- 

 tion of the trade. During 1919 the bulk of the cars imported 

 were supplied by America. On December 31, 1919, the number of 

 motor cars registered in Norway totaled 5.390, in addition to 2,703 

 motor cycles. 



Before the war Norway imported tires mainly from America, 

 Germany, France, Russia and the United Kingdom. It is reported 

 that the British trade was smaller than that of France, Germany 

 and America, and that the .\merican trade was largest. Germany 

 and Russia disappeared from the market early in the war, and 

 supplies were drawn chiefly from France and the United King- 

 <lom. Later, when shipments from France and the United King- 

 dom became more difficult, the bulk of the trade went to .America, 

 which now occupies the leading position. The demand for tires 

 has naturally increased "in proportion to the number of motor 

 vehicles in the country, and most of these vehicles were American 

 and therefore equipped with .\merican tires. 



Germany supplied most of the bicycle tires imported by Norway 

 prior to the war. A fairly large number were also received from 

 the United Kingdom, while smaller quantities came from France 

 and Denmark. Owing to the increased demand for bicycles Nor- 

 way's importations of bicycle tires and inner tubes at the end of 

 1919 is estimated to have been 300,000 of each. Of these the bulk 

 came from the United Kingdom with large shipments also from 

 France. Imports from the LInited States were not so large. 



GALOSHES 



On the outbreak of the war, Norway had one galosh factory, 

 namely. Den Norske Galoge og Gummifabrik, A/S., of Mjondalen, 

 near Drammen. This factory was able to maintain a limited 

 production during the war, but it was burned down last April, 

 ■and Norway is now dependent entirely upon imported galoshes. 

 It is reported, however, tliat a new galosh factory, .'\/S .\skim 



Gummifabrik, has recently been established and will probably 

 begin to produce in 1920. 



Norway's total annual consumption of galoshes is estimated to 

 be 800,000 to 1,000,000 pairs. During 1919 imports took place 

 chielly from America, for neither the United Kingdom, Sweden 

 or Russia has been in a position to export. Imports from Eng- 

 land arc reported to amount to a few thousand pairs only, as com- 

 pared with 500,000 or 600,000 pairs from .America, while for 1920 

 large orders have been placed in Sweden and .\mcrica. It is 

 estimated that owing to the high prices of leather the con- 

 suniption of galoshes in 1920 will increase very markedly. 



MACHINE BELTING 



The production of the two Norwegian belting factories is suffi- 

 cient to supply Norway with balata and leather belting, and with 

 the exception of a British-made balata belting which is said to 

 have an old market in Norway, it is not anticipated that leather 

 and balata belting will be imported to any large extent. Beltings 

 of hair, cotton and india rubber are not produced in Norway, and 

 it is considered probable that there will be a good demand for 

 such goods. 



DIVING MATERIALS 



The onh- diving materials manufactured in Norway are canvas 

 overalls, hose couplings and submarine telephone outfits. Com- 

 plete sets of diving materials of very high quality are staled to be 

 supplied by .\merica, and as quality is of primary importance, 

 price being a secondary consideration, American goods are in 

 demand. 



THE RUBBER TRADE IN GERMANY 



By a Special Correspondent 



THE German rubber industry begins to be dissatisfied with 

 the restrictions controlling foreign trade in Germany, and 

 with the necessity of appealing to trading bureaus before articles 

 can be exported, as some of the regulations are entirely out of 

 date and made obsolete by the rapidly changing situation. Ger- 

 man rubber manufacturers object to billing goods in foreign 

 money values. This was an advantage while the price of the 

 mark was low but is now a decided disadvantage when mark 

 prices are improving. The bureaucratic control of foreign trad- 

 ing is an impediment to the enterprise of German maimfacturers 

 who desire to compete with the other manufacturers of the world. 

 Attempts, therefore, are being made to remove these restrictions 

 and to return to the German manufacturer full liberty of trading 

 abroad. 



THE PRIVILEGE OF INTERROGATION 



One of the reforms brought about by the recent revolution 

 is the privilege of interrogating ministers which adds so 

 much to the interest of parliamentary proceedings in England. 

 Delegates to the Reichstag are permitted to ask ministers any 

 questions whatever, but it is left to the Secretary of State if a 

 difticult situation should result. The German rubber industry has 

 been concerned for several months over the alleged large imports 

 of rubber tires into Germany, and is now employing ministerial 

 interrogation as a vent to its grievances. It is argued by the 

 manufacturers who are supported in this matter by the factory 

 workers that the wholesale importation of tires creates serious 

 competition, with the result that tire factories have been com- 

 pelled to curtail production, and for that reason the German 

 rubber industry deinands the embargo of tire imports. The 

 representative of the German Department of Commerce, in an- 

 swering this question, said that the conditions were not serious 

 and that few tires were imported in the ordinary manner while 

 steps had been taken to prevent the illicit trading in smuggled 

 tires. The Government would not place an embargo on the im- 

 portation of tires unless the German rubber manufacturers would 

 reduce the present price for tires. The hint was taken by the 

 manufacturers and a considerable cut has been made in the 



