From the Rolls-Royce experimental archive: a quarter of a million communications from Rolls-Royce, 1906 to 1960's. Documents from the Sir Henry Royce Memorial Foundation (SHRMF).
Article from 'The Electrical Review' analysing world electrical exports from a German perspective, with data from 1913 to 1928.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 61\2\ scan0046 | |
| Date | 27th September 1929 | |
| SEPTEMBER 27, 1929. THE ELECTRICAL REVIEW. 515 of your less enterprising fellows. The writer does not know of any corresponding series in French, but in this language they are not so much required, as a perusal of Moffat’s “Science French Course” (University Tutorial Press, 5s.) will suffice to turn one’s school knowledge into the right paths. Italian presents few difficulties to anyone who he has reached a fair standard in French, especially if he begins with Hugo’s “Italian Grammar Simplified,” which is obtainable from railway bookstalls at 3s. Although for commercial purposes it is of far less value than Spanish, Italian is of great and increasing value to students of electro-technics. But never try to learn Italian and Spanish concurrently, or you will suffer so much from brain fag that you will make little progress in either! --- The World's Electrical Exports. A German View of the Situation. FOR the first time since the less informative report was placed before the Economic Conference at Geneva a few years ago, the Central Union of the German Electrical Industry (Centralverband der Deutschen Elektrotechnischen Industrie) has undertaken a compilation and comparison of the figures available for the whole world. These mainly concern the export and import trade of the countries concerned; the figures relating to production are still inadequate. The first part of the report deals with the development of the entire world exports of electrical products, showing that between 1913 and 1928 inclusive there was an augmentation in value of about 150 per cent., a far greater advance than in world exports generally, which is a sign of the constant advance in the use of electricity. The following table is given of the world exports of electrical products in 1913, 1925, and 1928, the figures being shown in millions of German marks, together with the percentage share in the exports held by each country in the years in question:- THE WORLD’S ELECTRICAL EXPORTS. Millions of German marks. 1913 1925 1928 Germany ... 330 366 536 United States ... 112 356 448 Great Britain ... 157 356 377 Holland ... 12 54 105 Sweden ... 14 40 81 France ... 30 78 69 Austria, Hungary, and Czecho-slovakia ... 10 54 67 Switzerland ... 24 47 66 Belgium ... 10 18 38 Canada ... -- 15 20 Denmark ... 2 12 19 Japan ... 2 11 19 Italy ... 8 12 16 Total ... 713 1,419 1,864 Percentage of the aggregate exports. 1913 1925 1928 46.4 25.8 28.8 15.7 25.1 24.0 22.0 25.2 20.2 1.7 3.8 5.6 2.0 2.8 4.4 4.2 5.5 3.7 1.5 3.6 3.6 3.5 3.4 3.6 1.4 1.3 2.1 -- 0.9 1.1 0.2 0.9 1.0 0.2 0.8 1.0 1.2 0.9 0.9 100.0 100.0 100.0 It will be seen that Germany increased its exports from 330 million marks in 1913 to 366 millions in 1925, and further to 536 millions in 1928, the latter representing an advance of only about 70 per cent. over 1913. On the other hand, the exports from the United States during the same period rose from 112 to 448 million marks or about fourfold, while the exports from Great Britain (157 millions in 1913 and 377 millions in 1928) more than doubled, and those from Holland were eight times larger. The percentage share of most of the other countries mentioned in the table made good progress, although the absolute figures which come into consideration are not of very great importance. The main characteristic of the situation is that Germany, which accounted for 46.4 per cent. of the aggregate world exports in 1913, declined to a percentage of 25.8 in 1925. Since then the volume of the world exports has increased by about 440 million marks, of which about one half has devolved on Germany, so that the German share in the world exports in 1928 rose to 28.8 per cent. The Central Union does not consider that Germany will be able to regain its pre-war position, and it will be regarded as a success if the present German share can be maintained. The report proceeds to show that out of the total value of the German exports in 1925 amounting to 366 million marks, 273 millions represented deliveries in Europe; the corresponding figures for 1928 were 536 millions and 419 million marks respectively. Among the European markets the highest place is credited to Great Britain, which absorbed goods to the value of 51 million marks in 1913, 69 millions in 1925, and 87 millions in 1928. German “overseas” exports represented 90 million marks in 1913, 93 millions in 1925, and 116 millions in 1928, South America in each case being the largest purchaser. The growth in the German exports since 1925 has been mainly due to machines and apparatus, Europe having absorbed in 1928 78 per cent. of the total German exports, while the percentage share of overseas countries has declined since 1913. Deliveries on reparation account increased from 10 million marks in 1925 to 22 millions in 1928. On the other hand, the imports of electrical products into Germany rose from 22 million marks in 1925 to 49 millions in 1928, these imports being principally special products. In the case of the United States, the report states that the manufacturers there dispose of about 60 per cent. of their exports in the American Continent; they dominate North and Central American markets almost completely and are growing in influence in South America. Besides the geographical proximity of these southern markets, financial penetration is said to play a large part, while at the same time the Americans grant longer credits than any European country. The greatest support of the English industry is stated by the report to be found in the Dominions and Colonies which take about two-thirds of the total exports. For the rest the British exports are said to have made no progress since 1925, and from 1926 have even fallen as a percentage of the world total. At the same time imports into Great Britain have increased from 104 million marks in 1925 to 126 millions in 1928, or over one-third of the exports, the reason cited being declining competitive capacity owing to the lack of “rationalisation.” After referring to the development of the export trade of Holland, Sweden and Japan, the report comes to consider the question of the production of different countries. The value of the output of the United States is stated to have reached 7,000 million marks in 1927, as against 1,400 millions in 1914, and to have further increased in 1928. The production of Germany, which was estimated at 1,300 million marks in 1913, is computed at between 2,600 and 2,700 million marks in 1928. In the case of England the output is estimated at 1,093 million marks in 1924, the Swedish at 131 millions in 1927, the Dutch at 94 millions in 1927, the Russian at 308 millions in 1926-27, and the Japanese at 465 millions (year not stated). | ||