industries. Transportation troubles developed from 1944 onwards. During the war most plants were running on a 16-hour per day basis, but they are now having to come down to one 8-hour shift a day, the continuous plants excepted.
With rising wages, labour costs have been rising. Only figures for 1937-40 are available. The following tables shows the percentage cost of direct labour on production cost, up to the shipping room door, and the percentage cost on production cost of all direct and indirect labour, including executives, etc.
Year
|
1937
|
1938
|
1939
|
1940
|
A
|
54.3
|
55.8
|
58.4
|
60.7
|
B
|
63.2
|
62.4
|
63.1
|
64.3
|
A = percentage cost of direct labour on production cost.
|
B = percentage cost on production cost of all direct and indirect labour, including executives, etc.
|
U.S. PRODUCTION IMPORTS AND EXPORTS OF HAND-BLOWN AND HAND-PRESSED DOMESTIC WARE. UNITED STATES TARIFFS
In the period 1935-38 annual imports ranged between 1.3 and 3 million dollars foreign value, and 2.3-5.4 million dollars landed value duty paid. They were 15-30 per cent. of the sum of the U.S. production value plus landed value of imports, that is, of the total consumption value. Landed value of imports averaged about 4 million as against an average consumption value of about 16 million.
Imports, especially from Japan and Czechoslovakia, increased over the period 1935-37, but declined markedly from 1938-41, especially from those countries. After 1941, except for the United Kingdom and Sweden, they practically ceased. Meanwhile, U.S. annual production had advanced to 19 million dollars.
Assuming that U.S. national income will be 75 per cent. higher than pre-war, and that consumption will follow this increase, the U.S. Department of Commerce has estimated that with the tariff the same as 1939, the annual consumption should be about 25 million dollars, of which about 7.5. million would be imports duty paid. If the tariff were reduced 50 per cent., it estimates that consumption might rise to about 26 millions with duty paid imports at about 10 million. If the tariff were increased by 50 per cent., consumption might be 24 million with duty paid imports of about 4.8 million, and the U.S. industry might be expected to expand. Employment in the U.S. industry would vary, according to these estimates, between 5,000 and 10,000.
U.S. exports of domestic glassware increased substantially during the war. By far the greater proportion was machine-made ware, but the proportion of hand-blown and hand-pressed, although small, has been increasing, as the following table shows :
Year |
1942 |
1943 |
1944 |
1945 |
Total exports |
$3,396,639 |
3,406,756 |
4,800,325 |
8,051,664 |
Exports of hand-blown and hand-pressed ware |
$370,977 |
586,445 |
677,594 |
907,527 |
The chief markets are Canada, South Africa, Cuba and the Central and South American Republics.
|