262 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[February 1, 1916. 



SUMMARY OF NEW YORK RUBBER PRICES. 



.$0.61@0.75 $0.45(310.58 $0.53@0.70 $0.. 



UNITED STATES AND CANADA CRUDE RUBBER 

 STATISTICS FOR 1915. 



Imports. E.\. Re- 



, A .^ ports, tained. 



Planta- Afri- ivliscel- r— ^— ^ r — * — v 



Month. Paras. tion. cans, laneous. Totals. Totals. Totals. 



Tanuarv ....Ions 2,673 4,084 102 758 7,617 226 7,391 



FebruaVv 1980 4 472 274 692 7,418 334 7,084 



March ' 2,452 5,371 260 829 8,912 254 8,658 



April 2,788 6,728 240 810 10,566 167 10,399 



May 1,454 5,713 208 628 8,003 92 7,911 



June 2,043 4,828 189 798 7,858 178 7,680 



July 1,800 4,785 277 620 7,482 107 7,375 



August 2,099 4,857 212 783 7.951 110 7,841 



September 2,550 4,840 208 714 8,312 335 7,977 



October 1,820 3,329 134 633 5,916 200 5,716 



November 1,912 3,635 253 643 6,443 185 6.258 



December 2,729 5,485 343 762 9,319 160 9,159 



Totals 26,300 58,127 2,700 8,670 95,797 2,34S 93,449 



Compiled by Gould Commercial Co. 



THE LONDON VIEW OF THE 1915 MARKET. 



DURING the year that has just closed the use of rubber has 

 increased beyond all expectations, due in large measure to 

 the heavy demands for military purposes and to the large num- 

 ber of automobile tires turned out by American manufacturers. 

 The supply of crude rubber has increased about 22 per cent, 

 over that of 1914, thus making the great gain in manufacturing 

 possible. Estimates show that plantations now supply about two- 

 thirds of the world's crude rubber. Of the year's production, as 

 estimated by leading authorities, at between 144.750 and 147.000 

 tons, 98,000 tons, or about two-thirds of the total, came from the 

 plantations. In 1914 the total production was 120,380 tons, of 

 which 71.380 were plantation grades. Back in 1910, six years ago, 

 the plantations yielded but 8,200 tons of the world's supply. 



THE MARKET, 



The year's market has been dominated largely by emergency 

 regulations arising out of the unusual war conditions. The trade 

 has been chiefly with the neutral countries and strict precautions 

 have been taken to prevent the raw material from reaching the 

 enemy. 



Until the middle of September the market presented no features 

 of striking interest. About that time, however, fear began to 

 be felt that there might be a shortage of tonnage both from the 

 East and to America. The situation of the canals also excited no 

 small influence on conditions. 



In December speculators who had oversold near delivery rub- 

 ber, quickly covered their requirements in part and advanced 

 prices Is. per pound. 3s. 7!4rf. being paid for pale crepe and 

 3.S. 6J4(/. for ribbed smoked sheet .After a rapid decline of 7d. 

 per pound prices again were forced up to 4s. Id. and 4s., many 

 interested in sales being frightened about obtaining freights for 

 their rubber contracts. 



Manufacturers and speculators bought freely for distant de- 

 livery and large sales for 1916 were made. The market closed 



with crepe at 4s. Id. and sheet at 4s., an advance on a year ago of 

 l.y. 6d. to Is. 9d. on spot and near. Para, which is much less 

 speculative, closed at 2s. 9d. for fine hard. 



Estimates place £16,000,000 as the value of the enormous quan- 

 tity of rubber that was shipped to the United States during 1915. 

 This should serve as some indication of the abounding prosperity 

 in America. 



The following table shows the production of crude rubber for 

 the last three years : 



THE WORLD'S PRODUCTION. 

 1915. 



1914. 



1913. 



Ceylon and India Ions 20,600 14,800 11,830 



Malaya, etc 72,800 49,700 36,200 



Amazonas (Brazil, Bolivia and Peru) 30,700 28,345 29,380 



Peruvian and Caucho 6,800 8,655 9,620 



West Coast, Africa 2,500 2,650 3,900 



Benguela and Mcssamedcs 1,900 1,500 1,300 



Loarida 600 450 400 



Congo, French Congo and Soudan 3,000 3.900 4,400 



From other sources 7,100 10,380 11,410 



Totals 146.000 120,380 108,440 



Wild rubber has decreased, although Brazil has sent an average 

 supply. The Para and r^lanaos markets were not controlled, as in 

 some former years, and showed but little speculation. Prices 

 have not been maintained relatively to plantation rubber, but 

 the entire Brazilian supply has been readily taken by consumers. 

 The following closing prices for recent years may be of interest : 

 Hard Negrohead Negrohead Caucho 



Fine Para. Scrappy. Island. Ball. 



1913 3s. lyid. 2s. 6d. Is. 5d. Is. lid. 



1914 2s. lOHd. 2s. lYid. Is. 3d. 2s. Ad. 



1915 



9d. 



lOd. 



Id. 



The lowest price at which hard fine Para was sold during 1915 

 was 2s. 4}/^d. and the highest Tss. 9d. 



The South American exports of medium grade have fallen off 

 considerably. The supply of Caucho Ball shows a heavy decrease, 

 with price relatively high. Bolivia sent a fair quantity; Mollendo 

 and Venezuela, via Orinoco, very little, and Ceara and Manicoba 

 rather less. Matto Grosso shipped a fair crop. The supply from 

 Mexico was very small. Good qualities of West Coast African 

 grades have sold well, but the yield shows decline. English and 

 German East Africa sent but little. 



PLANTATION RUBBER. 

 It is said that any planting which may have been done in 1915 

 has been fully counteracted by the falling out of cultivation and 

 the thinning of some of the previously planted areas. The fol- 

 lowing estimate shows the acreage of the chief plantations from 

 1913 to 1915 : 



1913. 1914. 1915. 



Ceylon , acres 220,000 220,000 235,000 



Malaya, Malacca 500,000 500,000 550,000 



Borneo 20,000 20,000 25,000 



Dutch East Indies, Java, Sumatra, etc 400,000 400.000 450,000 



India and Burma 45,000 65,000 60,000 



German colonies, Samoa, East and West 



Africa 60,000 40,000 25,000 



Totals 1,245,000 1,245,000 1,345,000 



The plantations, principally of Castilloa, in Mexico, West 

 Indies and Central and South America have not progressed and 

 have yielded insignificant supplies. India, Burma and the Mergui 

 have increased and are extending, but the East African planta- 

 tions of Ceara have sent but little. 



The following table shows the annual receipts and shipments 

 at Para during the years 1913 to 1915 : 



1915. 



Rec^ 



Shipme 



of Peruvian 



:s of Para and Peruv 

 :s of Para and Peruv 



