December 1, 1914.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



165 



THE RUBBER TRADE IN JAPAN. 

 By Our Regular Correspondent. 

 A STATISTICAL return lately issued by the Japanese govern- 

 ** ment showed an increase both in quality and value of 

 rubher imports for 1913 as compared with 1912. The following 

 are the details w ith si iui ces: 

 COMPARATIVE lAPANKSK RUBBER IMPORTS OF 1912 AND 1913. 



1912 -1913 . 



From — Pound-. Value. Pounds. Value. 



British India 167,063 $140,781 340,343 $239,281 



British Strait- Settle- 

 ment- 1,214,485 820,891 1,657,265 885,602 



Dutch Indies 124,904 73,171 13,928 8,908 



Great Britain 242.620 230.663 440,802 408,865 



Germany 25,600 1'>.307 15.425 10.425 



United States 158,176 160,556 139,624 100.112 



French India 3,805 3,874 4,464 3,032 



Other countries 67,377 65,314 70.092 69,697 



Total 2,004,030 $1,514,557 2.681,943 $1,725,922 



Increase in 1913 about 33 per cent, in quantity, 14 per cent, in 

 value. 



The progress made by the Japanese rubber industry has been 

 largely due to the manufacture of jinrikisha and bicycle tires, 

 which had hitherto been generally imported. Among the com- 

 panies which have gone ahead in this line are: the Kakuiclii 

 Rubber Co., of Osaka; the Yokohama Flectric Wire Works, of 

 Yokohama and Osaka; the Nipon Flectric Wire & Cable Co., of 

 Tokyo; the Sumitomo Electric Wire Works, of Osaka, and the 

 Settsu Rubber Co., of Hyogo. The recently established companies 

 include the I aisho Rubber Manufacturing Co. and the Xaigai 

 blubber Co., both of Kobe. 



i Iwing to the development of the industry at Kobe and Osaka 

 the total imports of crude rubber at these points now surpass 

 those of Yokohama, as shown by the following table: 

 APPROXIMATE RECEIPTS OF RUBBER AT PRINCIPAL JAPANESE 



PORTS. 



, 1912— , r— -1913— > 



Pounds. Value. Pounds. Value. 



Yokohama 1,023,052 $826,580 1,228,710 $851,814 



Kobe 970,897 676,850 1,438,893 862,483 



Osaka 10,081 11,127 14.037 11.319 



Nagasaki 303 306 



Total 2.004.030 $1,514,557 2,681.943 $1,725,922 



Eighty per cent, of the 1913 crude rubber imports from 

 Singapore consisted of plantation. While the fall in prices caused 

 an augmented import in 1913, many crude rubber importers are 

 said to have lost heavily. The imports of hard fine Para were 

 reduced owing to competition of plantation rubber. In con- 

 sequence the receipts from the United States declined. Imports 

 of African rubber fell off in 1912 and were altogether lacking in 

 1913, on account of the fall in plantation prices. Generally speak- 

 ing the imports of crude rubber were in 1913 well taken up by 

 consumers at the following price- : 



FLUCTUATIONS OF RUBBER IN JAPAN, 1913. 



Variety — Jan. -Feb. Sept. Oct.-Nov. 



Borneo yen 1.60 (80c.) yen 1.25 (63c.) yen 1.35 (68c.) 



Indian yen 1.60 (80c.) yen 1.20 (60c.) yen 1.00 (50c.) 



Plantation sheet. yen 2.25 ($1.13) yen 95 (48c.) yen 1.20 (60c.) 



Para yen 2.50 ($1.25 ) yen 1.80 ( 90c.) yen 1.70 (85c.) 



BICYCLE IMPORTS, 1913. 



Japanese imports of bicycles and parts in 1913 amounted to 

 $1,586,492, as compared with $1,558,118 in 1912, the net increase 

 being $28,574. 



Japanese exports during 1913 included insulated electric wire 

 $47,060 (principally for China) and jinrikishas and parts $358,141. 

 The largest exports of the latter were to the British Straits Set- 

 tlements. Exports of complete carriages fell off in consequence of 

 business depression in Singapore and British India, while in 

 Hong Kong and Annam many manufacturers are constructing 

 jinrikishas from imported parts. 



DISSOLUTION OF TOHAN RUBBER CO. 



Maui mplished its purpose, the Tohan Rubber Co., formed 



in I ebruary, 1914, was di-v4vcd m August 31. It was composed 

 medical rubber tubing manufacturers and nineteen dealers, 

 with the object of bringing up the prices of the article by clearing 

 ■ iff the makers' stocks. 



JAPANESE RUBBER IMPORTS AND EXPORTS. 



"""Till report ol I nited States Deputy Consul General J. W. 

 * Ballantine, of Yokohama, on Japanese foreign trade gives 

 the total Japanese imports for 1912 and 1913 as $308,258,154 and 

 $363,256,960, and the total Japanese exports for these two years 

 $262,436,957 and $314,965,186. The Japanese imports for the two 

 years from the United States amounted to $63,253,847 and 

 $60,959,364, and the exports to the United States to $84,017,030 

 and $91,868,612. 



The part of the report devoted to Japanese rubber imports and 

 exports is particularly interesting. The chief imports of rubber 

 manufactured goods into that country for 1912 and 1913 are 

 shi iw ii in the table In li u 



tUBBI R IMPORTS INTO JAPAN. 



Insulated electric wire : 



From 1912. 1913. 



United States $129,912 $47,836 



Germany 1,237,458 706,4' '5 



Great Britain 1,305,778 244,638 



Other countries 10.265 2.567 



$2,683,413 $1,001,536 



Tires chiefly for bicycles: 



From 



United States $22,609 $8,835 



Great Britain 526,111 492,387 



Germany 4,100 15,774 



Other countries 1,630 277 



$554,450 $517,273 



Imports from United States included : 



1912. 1913. 



Crude rubber and gutta percha $159,914 $90,712 



Rubber boots and shoes 41,285 41,845 



Manufactures not otherwise specified 284,464 241,152 



The aggregate Japanese imports of india rubber and gutta 

 percha were: 1912, $1,508,502; 1913, $1,719,019. Of this total the 

 United States furnished: 1912, $159,914; 1913. $90,712. Every 

 year shows an increase in the Japanese imports of rubber, about 

 one-half of which comes from the British Straits Settlements. 



Among the exports sulphur amounted in 1912 to $869,147; in 

 1913 to $986,456. Of this aggregate the United States received: 

 1912, $443,603; 1913, $358,457. 



Japanese imports and exports, it will be noticed, both showed 

 for 1913 an increase of about 20 per cent, above 1912. Trade with 

 the United States alone, on the other hand, displayed a reduction 

 in imports of 5 per cent, and an advance in exports of 8 per cent. 



YOKOHAMA RUBBER IMPORTS. 



A consular report for the years 1912 and 1913 shows the fol- 

 lowing imports of rubber al Yokohama. 



Tons. Value. 



1912 532 $823,274 



1913 614 848,407 



It will interest American manufacturers to know that the 

 Japanese government proposes to lay a cable between Nagasaki 

 and Shanghai. 



The permanent market committee of the Rubber Growers' As- 

 sociation has discontinued the recording of plantation rubber 

 weights in hundredweights, quarters and pounds, h ring sub- 

 stituted pounds for the other denominations. 



