Evening star., 1947-05-11
King Georges Prestige Greater After Car d.

Outlook Brlehtens
for the Nation's s
Railroads
By r. e. Atble1afe
| NEW YORK American railroads
are about to have their freight car
supply increased for the nrst time
since the war years. = portends
eventful relief Of the critical short
age Of shipping space.
Rapidly rising Output Of new
freight carr. soon will outweigh the
railroads retirements Of overage
equipment, much Of which has had
to be used long beyond It's normal
life.
This month may mark the turn
ing point. At the latest, railroad
men say, it win come by midsummer.
4 Whenever Il occurs. it win mark
the initial mile-post In the program
to solve car shortage that has
hamstrung various sesments Of the
Nations economy.
WIN Retire Old Carr.
No quick Improvement Ia car sup
ply is looked for, however. As new
box cars, hoppers, gondolas and
other types appear In volume. the
railroads may be expected to step
UP retirement Of the more than
SOC, 900 cars estimated to be 26 or
more years of age.
Warren G. Kendall. chairman Of
the car service division Of the Asso-
citation Of American Railroads,
warns that st will be some months
before new cars are received In the
volume needed" while shipping re-
quirements are expected to continue
at a high level.
Aided by increased deliveries Of
materials, principally steel, con-
tract car builders and railroad car
shops in March lifted their produc-
ton 36 per cent over February, while
April output of 4,12S cars was close
to so per cent ahead Of the March
figure.
Steel Coming Through.
Hopes for attainment Of the goal
of 10000 new cars . month, agreed
upon as needed to relieve the short
age which has hampered movement
Of farm and industrial products,
rest on promise Of the steel industry
to deliver ISL 900 tons monthly for
new cars and $1,000 tons for repair
shops. Latest figures show 68,747
bad order" cars awaiting repairs
as Of April !.
Steel rolling mills are scheduled
to start filing requirements for the
1o,000-car program in July. which
would mean that this rate OF pro-
duction might be attained in Sep
tember or October.
On order by the railroads May l
were 102,0s5 new freight cars,
enough to occupy the industry for
10 months If the 10,000-car level Of
output is maintained.
To do this the individual producers
need a steady now of "car set" !"
which include all the steel parts in
car. A box car. for example, re-
quires 92o body steel items.
shippers' Needs Great.
The car builders say they have
10000 such gets. on order but
undelivered, with approximately
half these orders dating back into
1916.
Prospective improvement in the
freight car supply comes none too
soon. Here are factors in the pres-
ent situation:
Number Of serviceable freight cars
on April l was 1867 ,52s, a decline
Of 5,931 since January and Of more
than $4,000 in the past two years.
Regional shippers advisory boards
estimated an increase Of 33.2 per
cent in second-quarter carloadings
over the similar 1916 period will be
required to meet shippers needs.
The boxcar shortage, described
as the worst in 20 years, continues
to be the most acute situation.
AAR officials estimate require
ments Of this type at $1,000 . year;
in the six months ended March 81
only 6,173 boxcars were delivered;
total ownership of this type car
declined by nearly $4,000 units In
the past year.
Brighter Side.
Despite all this, there are . few
rays of light appearing.
r. v. Fletcher. former AAR
president and chairman Of its
Transportation Study Committee,
said the railroads are meeting "at
least 90 per cent Of the demands for
cars" despite the smaller number
of serviceable units available.
The roads loaded 10,518,015 cars
in the first 13 weeks Of 1947, higher
than any similar period since 1880
and an increase Of 81 per cent
over the first 1916 quarter.
Appealing for continued prompt
handling Of all equipment by ship
pers and receivers, Mr.. Kendall said
recently: Maximum efficiency in
car handling has been. and viii
continue to be, our best insurance
for q reasonable car supply"
distributed By the Associated Prsss.)
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