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F.—ECONOMIC SCIENCE AND STATISTICS 125 
Since 1929 road competition has become increasingly severe. It 
would seem fair to estimate, therefore, that in 1933 at least 15 or 16 per 
cent. of the total decline of 28 per cent. since 1923 is due to road competi- 
tion, giving a loss of at least £11 millions due to this cause. 
It is much more difficult to assess the loss of railway goods traffic due 
respectively to bad trade and road competition. Some indication may be 
obtained from a comparison with the Index of Production and the 
Quantitative Index of Imports compiled by the Board of Trade. ‘These 
figures have been available since 1924, and between that date and 1930 
the Index of Production of manufacturing industries rose from 100 to 
106°3, while during the same period the Quantitative Index of Imports 
rose from 100 to 111°4. If we make the assumption that in the absence 
of road competition the merchandise and live-stock traffic receipts of the 
railways would have increased in approximately the same proportion, 
say by 6 per cent. between 1924 and 1930, these receipts would have 
increased from {51-6 millions to £55 millions in 1930. In 1930, however, 
they actually amounted to no more than £47-3 millions, representing, if 
this argument is valid, a diversion of {7-7 millions. In 1927 there was a 
eneral increase in freight rates of 7 per cent., and assuming that this did 
fot cause a diminution in aggregate revenue, this would mean that the 
loss was the more significant. Since then, however, many rates have 
had to be reduced. 
Taking passenger and merchandise traffic together, the total loss of net 
revenue to the railways due to road competition between 1923 and 1930 
may be estimated at not less than £16 millions. 
In order to view the position in true perspective, it is necessary to 
disgress a little at this point and consider the growth of road transport and 
the causes of its development from the side of the motor transport industry. 
Since the war the development of motor transport has been remarkable. 
Though there were some 307,000 motor vehicles in use in Great Britain 
in 1914, the number had fallen to 189,000 in 1918, owing to the restric- 
tions of the war period. The railway strike of 1919, however, greatly 
stimulated the use of motor vehicles and by 1920 the number in use had 
grown to 551,000. By 1923 it had soared to 1,131,000. In 1928 it was 
just over 2 millions, and it reached 2} millions in 1933. 
_ Up to 1925 the most numerous category of vehicles was the motor- 
cycle, but since that year the number of private motor-cars has exceeded 
the number of motor-cycles. Motor-cycles increased in number con- 
tinuously from 373,000 in 1921 to 705,025 in 1929, but in 1933 they had 
decreased to 540,594. 
The growth in the number of private motor-cars as at August 31 in 
each year is shown in the following table : 
1921 242,500 1928 877,277 
1922 314,769 1929 970,275 
1923 383,525 1930 1,042,258 
1924 473,528 1931 1,076,128 
1925 579,901 1932 1,118,521 
1926 676,207 1933 1,195,982 
1927 = 778,056 
