The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1920-02-15
OUTLOOK FOR RUBBER
INDUSTRY IN A N { R A
IS MOST FLATTE RI \ 6

Ardmore now being considered the .
rubber center of the southwest with |
two rubber tire factories. the people /
Of this section are becoming interest. /
ed in the development OF the rubber |
business. The following statement
by Col. Samuel p. Colt, head Of the
largest rubber companies In the
world, We're made at a recent banquet
OF the Rubber Association of America
and are reproduced because Of their
bearing on the local rubber industry:
Excellent Outlook for 1920
The outlook for the year 1920 in
the rubber industry is most flattor.
ing. Today the demand for all lines
of rubber goods exceeds the supply.
1t is not q question Of selling goods.
It Is n question Of producing them.
In other words we could turn out 80
per cent more product than We are
able TO do " III our present manufac-
turing facih 'es the entire output
would b. disposed Of without diff
Guilty. TO meet our steadily increas- l
ing business we arc enlarging sub
stantially our manufacturing capac'
ity by building additions to our mills,
and in several instances new units.
The year 1919 has been tho banner
year in the rubber manufacturing
business. At the time OF the armis-
tice it was our opinion that with the
virtual Ge4-lng Of the Great War and
the stopping Of government orders
there would necessarily be q falling
Off in the volume Of sales Of rubber
Goods, but such has not proved to
, 30 the case.
While all lines Of rubber goods
such as footwear. mechanical goods,
druggists sundrlos. etc. show an in
crease, the most marked develop
ment has been in the tire industry.
The United States Rubber Company
and other large tire manufacturers
have been Unable TO supply the de-
mand for tires the past year, and the
construction by our company now in
progress will at least double our ca
p9city for tires within less than n
year. 1t is now estimated that there
are in use $500 600 automobiles and
500 000 trucks
When the question is asked: What
,s the matter with our troneys? l
would supply the fundamental diff.
Guilty is the encroachmcnt thereon
Of the automobile and the automobile
truck, and with the Improvement and
development Of our highways l can
see no room for trolley lines along
sparsely populated sections. My opin-
ion Is that the tracks of many su.
burban trolley lines will eventually
be taken up Therefore, while the
development Of the rubber tire has
been tremendous during the past five
years there Is every reason to believe
that IT is today comparatively speak
ing, in it's infancy. The effect OF the
development Of the pneumatic tire
upon both passenger and freight traf-
fic, or in other words upon our rail-
roads. has, l am convinced, not yet
been realized
:. Rubber Prices Normal in 1919
The price Of crude rubber has been
normal during the year. having aver
aged about 4j cents per pound. It
Is estimated that 20 per cent OF the
crude rubber consumption Of the
world, in 1919, was by American
manufacturers. With the opening
up OF Europe, one might look for
som increase there, but would pre-
dict that the United states will con-
tinue to consume more than half the
worlds crude rubber product for
years to come. We plainly lead the
world in rubber manufacturing. Prices
Of fabrics entering into tires and
other goods have ranged higher in
1919 than ever before, the indications
being that we have not yet seen the
limit Of high prices.
The development Of plantation rub.
Der in the east has continued unabat-
ed. The increased production upon
our own estates in Sumatra has fully
euualed the estimate for 1919, and
we look for n steady increase of pro-
duction in the future. 1t is most for
tunate for the rubber industry that
the cultivation Of the rubber tree in
the coast regions OF the east proved
practicable, for had we to depend up.
on the wild rubber of Brazil and
other sections, the supply would be
so inadequate and the prices so eX-
orbitant that it is difficult to see
how the tire industry could have
reached its present stage Of develop
mcnt, to say nothing Of the future.
II is plainly evident that tho re-
suit of the phenomenal depreciation
in foreign exchange has been to cur
ta4 American exports. However, with
the opening up Of Europe our rubber
export trade has increased TO such
an extent that it is now larger in
volume than before the war. More.
over. with permanent change for
the better in the foreign exchange sit
Iuation, which is expected to follow