Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-06-05
|DECL|NE IN RUBBER
PRICE CONTINUES
Tire Makers Favored by Re-
cent Drop in Value OF
Crude Product.

Crude rubber prices are lower today
than at any time since February, 1872.
Stocks are extremely high at London,
Liverpool and New York. On its face,
this would seem to indicate that the
raw material situation of the tire and
rubber manufacturing companies was
extremely advantageous.
More automobiles are now in use and
wearing out tires than ever before
There are around 100000 cars in this
country alone. These machines, will
require requirements within the next
year, in all probability. The number of
tires to be replaced is problematical,
but certainly 100000 castings should
be conservative estimate for this de-
mand.
Auto Production.
The automobile industry now is gain
ing steadily in production, and while IT
Is not likely that total production will
reach the point touched in 1929 some
Is, 000, 900 to 100000 tires probably
will be required for original equipment.
The sales opportunities are there for
the tire manufacturers. Cotton textiles
used in tires are not high. Rubber Is
low, and yet few manufacturers would
be willing to forecast the volume of
profits. These depend in no small part
on Judging accurately what the price OF
rubber will do.
In the Straits Settlements, the main
source Of supply a tapping holiday was
declared in May. No trees were sup
posed to be tapped in that month SO
demand could make progress in catch
ing up with supply. Some experts de-
clare the experiment was a failure.
Ofhcials of the Department of Com
merce here say it is too soon to de-
termine its success or failure. Tho
amount of rubber which will come on
the market in the next month or so
will indicate whether the tapping holi-
day was observed or not.
1t is known that most of the large
companies observed the restrictions, but
about half the worlds rubber Is pro-
duced by the independent small planter,
with holdings of about 10 acres each.
These are usually Malays, Chinese or
other Eastern peoples and they seem
indifferent to price, so far as production
is concerned. It Is explained that they
have to sell no matter what the price.
Tapping restrictions can hardly be said
to apply generally to them. In fact,
when the price Is low, the small planter
simply collects and sells more rubber.
Stocks PiIing Up.
Rubber stocks now are higher than
ever and are still piling up. The low
price means that a smaller amount Of
4
will aid in consumptive demand. The
exports from Malaga for the last week,
which were the first that might be ex-
pected to show any change as result
of the holiday, were about on the usual
| level
These factors appear to indicate .
continuation of low prices, but rubber
manufacturers have counted on similar
situations before and suddenly found
that they could not fill their demands
at low price, whereas they had to sell
their tires in competition with other
concerns who had made tires from low
priced rubber
Average stocks of tires are lower than
| for this date last year. This Is specially
noticeable in the stocks of the smaller
dealers who carry fewer than 100 tires
at time. The same Is true of water
proof rubber footwear, of which there
are about 5,75o,000 pairs in dealers
hands, as compared with 6.015,H1 o
year ago. or 253 pairs per dealer.
Rubber has had perhaps as wide Q
range of price as any commodity. AS
recently as 1909, rubber sold for SO o
pound. That was when the main sup
1 ply was wild rubber. Current quota
tons for smoked ribbed sheets are be-
low, ii cents.
| (Conyrfeht fq20N