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HIPBUILDING in England, save S for government work, has suf- : fered a tremendous setback as a result of the war. This fact is pat- ent to everyone who has studied ship- ping and shipbuilding of late. It is also manifest, from equally unmistak- able evidence, that the cost of build- ing ships in England has tremendously advanced since the war. Today a ship can be built quicker and at lower cost in American yards than abroad, even if it were possible to persuade British shipbuilders to accept contracts. A number of angleson the British shipbuilding industry have lately been studied by the Journal of Commerce (Liverpool) and prove in statistics what has been well known generally to observers. Contrasted with the same date last year, the showing on June 30 this year was as follows: June 30, June 30, 1915, 1914, tons, tons, gross. gross. Vessels in hand......... 1,506,925 1,722,124 Vessels commenced during three months ended.... 172,325 403,383 Vessels launched during three months ended.... 148,214 444,877 ‘Vessels completed during three months ended.... 252,867 572,115 Indicating not only the same- de- ‘cline, but also reflecting how slowly the work under way progresses— doubtless due to the right the govern- ment frequently exercises of with- drawing men from private work for immediate national needs—is another table, contrasting the end of June with the end of March, just past. This table is as follows: June 30, Mar. 31, 1915, 1915, tons, tons, gross. gross. Vessels in hand. a “ Shar, 1,506,925 1,587,467 ‘Vessels commenced during three cee ne see 172,325 292,421 Vessels launche uring ‘ three months cades ‘Eek 148,214 267,612 Vessels complete uring © three months ended.... 252,867 332,270 Where the Shrinkage Comes When the various. districts are studied comparatively it is seen that, with the exception of Hartlepool, Whitby and Sunderland, all shipbuild- ing centers show a decrease in mer- cantile tonnage in hand at the end of June as compared with that at March 31. In the Hartlepool and Whitby district the total is about 10,- 000 tons higher, while at Sunderland the increase is only 1,500 tons. At Belfast’ the drop amounts to 19,480 tons (280,180 to 260,700 tons); at Bar-? row, Maryport and Workington, 800 Merchant Tonnage Under Construction Shows tons (2,685 to 1,885 tons); and at Liv- erpool and Birkenhead, 4,265 tons (28,330 to 24,065 tons). Similar computations made approxi- mately by Lloyds Register and Shipping, covering the first year of the war and computed at the end of the four quarters, show ships under cony struction in such a way as to make clear how slow is the progress of some of the building operations from quarter to quarter. These figures should, however, be taken in conjunction with the fact that a large number of vessels returned as building are really not being pro- ceeded with, or are being constructed very slowly: Decrease No. rom of Gross previous Date. vessels. tons. quarter June 30, 1914 477 1,722,124 168,732 Sept. 30, 1914. 486 1,723,550 *1,426 Dec. 31, 1914. 462 1,627,316 96,234 Mar. 31, 1915 471 1,587,467 39,849 June 30, 1915 442 1,506,925 81,542 *Increase, Between June 30, 1914—one month before the war—and the end of June, the net decrease in mercantile tonnage in hand was 213,199 tons. From the foregoing it will be seen that, if the completion of contracts had been car- ried out as promptly as was the case before the commencement of hostili- ties, there would have been exception- ally few of the ships now on the stocks still uncompleted. The 442 mercantile vessels, with an aggregate gross tonnage of 1,506,925, under construction at the end of June, have an average tonnage of 3,409, as compared with an average of 3,370 tons on March 31, and of 3,522 tons on Dec. 31, 1914. The statistics given in Lloyds returns do not, however, take into account vessels of under 100 tons each. One ofthe vessels building on June 30 was over 40,000 tons gross, one be- tween 30,000 and 40,000 tons, one be- tween 25,000 and 30,000 tons, one be- tween 20,000 and 25,000 tons, nine be- tween 15,000 and 20,000 tons, four be- tween 12,000 and 15,000 tons, four be- tween 10,000 and 12,000 tons, 27 be- tween 8,000 and‘10,000 tons, 28 be- tween 6,000 and 8,000 tons, 35 between 5,000 and 6,000 tons, 52 between 4,000 and 5,000 tons, 34 between 3,000 and 4,000 tons, 32 between 2,000 and 3,000 tons, 30 between 1,000 and 2,000 tons, 25 betwéen 500 and 1,000 tons, and 15 between 100 and 500° cons. 389 were 1908. Sicady De- crease—lInteresting Data on Increased Value of Merchantmen The fluctuations in the cost of a typical 7,500-ton steamer are tremen- dously illustrative of the effect of the war on the cost of shipbuilding in British yards. For instance, the line of progress starts at £42,500 at the end of the second quarter of 1914 (al- most the exact start of the war) and rises steadily without variation through . the space of one year to £82,500. The two most recent previous “peaks” . were £58,000 late in 1912, and £67,000 in 1902, with deep valleys between running as low as £36,000 early in Reducing this chart of costs to quarterly dates, the showing is as follows, the figures being pounds sterling: First Second Third Fourth quarter. quarter. quarter. quarter. 1898 nedeiileiend hus he epee 48,600 54,500 1899 55,800 50,500 48,800 51,600 1900 52,600 53,800 52,000 60,700 1901 54,200 49,200 49,500 47,600 1902 43,000 46,000 48,000 47,600 1903 46,000 50,900 39,700 39,200 1904 39,100 38,800 38,500 40,500 1905 40,500 36,500 42,500 44,500 1906 40,000 43,500 41,600 40,600 1907 40,800 40,200 39,400 38,500 1908 37,000 36,500 36,000 36,100 1909 36,200 36,300 36,350 38,000 1910 37,600 36,400 37,100 40,200 1911 41,500 43,300 45,500 47,000 1912 49,500 51,400 54,000 55,500 1913 54,500 54,000 50,900 48,000 1914 45,000 43,000 50,000 62,500 1915 82,500 aeeelelene nese pavie oreteie sie eiecela A Study of Ship Costs Commenting on this showing, one English observer states: “Tt is impossible at the present time to state exactly what a new vessel of the size mentioned would cost in Great Britain insofar as there is no such vessel on the market; it is im- possible to contract for such a steam- er for anything like early delivery, and it is doubtful if a ship builder could be induced to name a price and guarantee delivery. “Then, again, it depends upon whether a steamer is owned in this country or abroad, as a neutral vessel is able to command a much higher price than if under the British flag. The risk of government requisitioning is a serious one, and cases could be mentioned where vessels have been sold when under government requisi- tion which could.have fetched 25 per cent more if they had been free, while a 7,500-ton steamer, built last year, which has been requisitioned, and is worth about £82,500 if free, would fetch only about £73,000 if forced on the market, that figure having just been offered. “The record price obtained so far