18 THE COLLIERY GUARDIAN January 7, 1916. the reduction in the output; absenteeism among the men; and the high wages of miners, who received a 15J per cent, advance in June, and a further 5 per cent, in December. The year has been comparatively free from serious disputes, the only - trouble worth mentioning being a brief stoppage of some Dewsbury and Batley pits in May. But absenteeism has shown a tendency to increase as the rate of wages has improved, and this has, of course, affected adversely the tonnage of coal raised. However, since a number of prosecutions were taken in ‘the courts and substantial damages awarded there has been a distinct lessening of the complaint. The enlistment of men, the congestion on the railways, and consequent shortage of empty wagons, and absen- teeism from work have combined to keep the output much below a reasonable maximum. It is estimated that the loss of output from the above causes was from 20 to 25 per cent., as compared with the normal working of the pits. It is worthy of note that the Yorkshire Coal Exchange in May passed a resolution requesting all alien traders to absent them- selves from the market during the duration of the war. As to the future, the outlook is full of uncertainty, but conservative opinion anticipates the continuance cf high prices, with further reduction of output, although it is hoped that no more miners will be allowed to enlist. There is a feeling that the Price of Coal (Limitation) Act is operating unfairly, the margin of 4s. over prices at Maximum and Minimum Quotations of West and South Yorkshire Coals for each Month in 1915. Blast- furnace coke A Best South Yorkshire steam coal.f Haigh Moor coal.J Yorkshire washed nuts.§ Unscreened gas coal.§ Best York- shire rough slack. § Yorkshire coking small . § s. d. s. d. s. d. s. d. s. d. s. d. s. d. s. d. s. d. s. d. s d. s. d. s. d. s. d. January | 10 6-13. 6 14 3-16 0 15 0-18 0 10 6—13 0 9 6-12 6 7 6—96 6 6— 8 0 February 13 6-15 0 17 3—20 6 20 0—21 0 12 6-14 0 11 6—12 6 8 6—10 6 7 6—9 0 March ' 15 0—24 0 20 6—27 0 20 0—22 0 13 0—15 0 12 0—15 0 10 0—12 0 8 0—10 6 April 1 20 0—24 0 25 0—6 19 0—21 0 14 0—17 0 14 0-15 6 11 0-12 6 9 6—12 0 May 22 0—24 0 23 0—26 0 18 6—20 0 15 6—17 0 14 0—15 6 12 0—13 0 11 0—12 6 June 23 0—25 0 17 6—23 0 18 6—20 0 16 0—17 6 14 0—15 6 13 0 — 14 0 12 0-13 6 July 21 0—25 0 17 6—22 0 19 0-20 6 16 0-17 6 14 0—15 6 13 0—11 0 11 6-13 6 August 20 0—23 0 19 0-20 6 19 0-20 0 15 6—17 0 13 0—14 6 12 0—14 0 11 0-11 6 September 15 0-17 0 19 3-20 0 19 0—21 0 15 6—16 6 13 0-14 6 11 9-13 0 9 6—11 0 October 15 0—17 6 19 3-20 0 20 0—21 0 16 0—16 6 13 6—14 6 11 9—L3 6 9 6—11 0 November 19 6-24 0 19 6—20 6 10 0-21 0 !6 0—16 6 13 6—14 6 12 6—13 6 10 6-12 0 December 23 0—24 0 20 0—21 0 i 1 20 0—21 0 16 0—16 6 14 0-15 0 12 6—13 6 11 0-12 0 * At ovens West Yorkshire. f F.o.b. Hull. I At pit London. § At pit West Yorkshire. the corresponding period of a year before being quite inadequate, having regard to increasing costs and higher wages. It is probable that an- attempt well be made to induce the Government to raise the maximum increase permitted, by at least a shilling. All through the year the scarcity of empty trucks has been a serious difficulty, causing many pits to lose time and output. It is reported that during the past year the railways have carried in the aggregate, one-third more material than in any other single year since returns were made,7 and the scheduled requirements of the Government for 1916 are even heavier still. It is at least likely that private traders will have to suffer. As an attempt to relieve -the congestion on the railways, it is considered to be quite possible that a more or less complete system of pooling mineral trucks will be introduced. Another possibility is the commandeering by the Government of supplies of coal for munition works, and perhaps to a less extent, for works of public utility. The following is a summary of the various branches of the coal trade of the district :— House Coal. London Markets.—Merchants were already very short of coal at the beginning of the year, and this fact, with the gradually declining output of the pits and the grow- ing shortage of trucks, gave rise to an exceptionally strong demand. There was keen competition for any prompt parcels which came into the open market, and prices mounted rapidly. Best qualities of house coal, which were particularly scarce, increased as much as 5s. per ton at the pit during January and February. .Merchants raised their prices to the public by 2s. a ton, and their decision a month or so later to remit this increase in regard to secondary qualities, and half of it in regard to best coal, came somewhat as a surprise to the trade in West Yorkshire. The spring and summer months did not bring much relief of the pressure; in fact, the demand continued almost on a winter scale, as mer- chants hardly needed the advice of the Board of Trade ■that they should stock every ton of coal that they could procure and find room for. They bought for stock as never before, paying as much as 19s. 6d. for Silkstone best, as compared with 13s. a year before. In these circumstances the making of the annual contracts was of more than usual interest. Sellers displayed no eager- ness to enter into contracts, until the position became more settled. The fixing of lowest summer prices in London at 34s. for best, and 29s. for stove coal indicated that an advance in contract prices of 5s. 6d. to 6s. per ton was expected, and, in fact, most of the business done was on this basis. Forward business, however, was to some extent checked until the Bill introduced by the Government for limiting prices took final form, and for the remainder of the year the maximum prices allowed by that measure became the general rule, com- mitments already entered into being adjusted accord- ingly. Many collieries became fully sold of their output of house coal. Indeed, for several months, owing to the diminished output there has been no coal at all of the very best qualities on offer in the open market, and as the year ended most collieries were a month or more' in arrear with contract deliveries, while all other qualities were also very scarce. The difficulty of the collieries in keeping pace with the heavy demand has been intensified throughout the year by transit delays due to the congested state of the railways. It has been no uncommon experience for trucks loaded for London and the South to occupy from four to six weeks before returning to the pits. Collieries have in many instances been compelled to refuse to allow their wagons to be sent to these distant markets, while many railway trucks usually available for the coal trade have been monopolised by the Government for war purposes. Consequently, there has been a chronic shortage of empties, which, to a considerable extent, has aggravated the scarcity of coal. Wagon hire rates have risen 50 per cent., as allowed by the Price of Coal (Limitation) Act. Before the latter came into operation, even 100 per cent, over normal rates was paid. The Coastwise Trade.—In the first two months freights were so high that comparatively little West Yorkshire coal was shipped from the Humber ports. With rates as high as 14s. 6d. for the South Coast and 13s. 6d. to London, it was cheaper to have coal delivered by rail, in spite of the increased wagon hire, and, except that buyers with own boats continued their shipments, coastwise transactions were on a small scale until April arrived,, when easier freights brought an immediate expansion of business. Freights dropped gradually to 8s. Goole to London, and Is. 6d. more for the South Coast in September, and between these months a fairly satisfactory trade was done, though supplies were always scarce, prices high, and boats of suitable tonnage far from plentiful. From that point freights again rose until they became almost prohibitive, reaching 15s. Goole to the South Coast, and 14s. Goole to London. As in the early months of the year, attention was again diverted to rail-delivered coal, but with only partial success, on account of the general scarcity of supplies. In fact, in November and December coal was so difficult to secure that boats were delayed at both Hull and Goole. Taking -the year as a whole, the coastwise trade has been considerably less than the average volume, on account of the difficulties mentioned. The Local Markets.—Hardly at any part of the year have supplies of coal equalled the demand, for as soon as a quieter state of the retail trade afforded the oppor- tunity, merchants were anxious to lay in stocks, so that the pressure on the collieries was maintained. Prices rose by about 2s. per ton in January, and the usual reduction of Is. on April 1 did not take place. On June 1 the coal owners raised their price list by 3s. 4d. all round, and practically from this time values have approximated with the maxima under the Limitation Act. Contracts, subsequently revised according to the terms of the Act, were, prior to its passing mostly at advances compared with a year ago of 4s. 6d. to 6s. per ton, the better qualities realising relatively the higher price. The increased call for best qualities has been a feature of the year, but these have been particularly scarce. The shortage of all sorts became more pro- nounced as winter approached, and the demand increased. Some merchants had begun taking up their ground stocks as early as September, and by Christmas there was little coal left at the depots. Both collieries and merchants were behindhand with their deliveries. In many towns arrangements have been made for the limitation of merchants’ profits, by fixing the maximum selling price at 6s. higher than at the corresponding date in 1913, this sum being taken to comprise 4s. 9d. increased pit price, and Is. 3d. higher distributing costs. Gas Coal. The collieries producing gas coal have never been able to satisfy the demand, which has been maintained at high pressure all through the year. In January, when the reserves at the gas works were very low, and. there were no stocks at all at the pits, several colliery owners estimated the reduction in their output at 20 per cent., and they intimated to contractors that deliveries would be reduced to a corresponding extent. The gas engi- neers, who in June 1914 declined to buy their usual tonnage, in the expectation of lower prices in the open market, experienced a great difficulty in getting supplies at any price, there being so little to spare after meeting contract requirements. In a month prices rose by 4s. to 5s. per ton. The position was complicated by the congestion on the railways, and some gas works, whose stocks were approaching exhaustion, were in so serious a position that efforts were made to induce the authorities controlling the railways to give special facilities for the carriage of gas coal. As the time for the renewal of the annual contracts approached, many gas engineers, view- ing with anxiety the continuous shrinkage in the output, came into the market much earlier than usual. A number of contracts were placed in February at 4s. to 5s. over the expiring rates, but in the next month coal owners decided tentatively not to accept less than 6s. advance. This ultimately became the prevailing rate, and even as early as the beginning of May many collieries were already fully sold. The difficulty was not on the part of the collieries in securing the advance named, but on the part of the gas coal buyers, in covering their requirements at that figure, as in most cases the collieries were unable to quote for within 25 to 50 per cent, of the tonnage usually offered. There was more than usual buying by works in the London district and the South, and in some instances the 6s. advance was exceeded by Is. to Is. 6d. On account of the heavy consumption of coking slacks, less than the normal quantity of unscreened coal was offered, while the call for nuts for manufacturing purposes kept these qualities scarce. The passing of the Act limiting the prices of coal was followed by the necessary adjustment of contract terms, which in effect reduced the advance to probably an average of 4s. 9d., besides steadying current prices at a corresponding level for the remainder of the year. The falling-off in the consumption during the summer enabled gas works generally to lay in fairly good stocks, but in the last few months these reserves have been seriously depleted. The still diminishing output has been insuf- ficient to maintain full contract deliveries, which have fallen into arrear, and there has been so little gas coal on offer in the open market that some of the bigger authorities have been purchasing slacks and even secon- dary qualities of house coal, in order to eke out their limited supplies. The export of gas coal to France has been on a fairly heavy scale, and as better prices have been obtainable for this business than for inland sales, this has helped to maintain the strength of the market at the maximum allowed by the controlling Act. Italy has also taken fair quantities, but the restrictions on the issue of export licences have prevented much business with Scandinavian countries. Manufacturing Coal. This branch of the trade has passed through very much the same experience as gas coal. Industrial activity, and specially in the iron and steel and woollen trades, which have been extensively engaged in supplying war materials, has been increasing. Overtime has been the rule, and the consumption of factory fuel has been exceptionally heavy. As the output has been less, there has been great difficulty in securing sufficient supplies, especially of nuts, which have been exceedingly scarce all the year. In April, when there was a strong demand from the Middlesbrough district, nuts realised as high as 17s. at the pit, which was an increase of 6s. since the beginning of January. As the year advanced and the scarcity became more pronounced, Government officials intervened in the interests of works engaged in making munitions, the distribution of fuel, especially nuts, being more or less controlled in order to prevent any check in the output of war materials. This, of course, made the position of firms not engaged on Government contracts all the more difficult, and com- plaints of shortage were general. In fact, the only period of comparative ease during the whole of the year was during the Lancashire wakes in the late summer. Supplies were then fairly plentiful, but the relief was only temporary, and large consumers have had no opportunity of laying in stocks to any adequate extent. In the main, collieries have had little difficulty in getting 6s. to 6s. 6d. advance, even 7s. in the case of specialised qualities of washed nuts, for the renewal of contracts. Coking smalls have practically doubled in value during the year, and apart from any question of price, the supply, except for a short period in the summer, has been insufficient, nuts and large coal, crushed, having been used by coke makers. At the time of writing, consumers of factory fuel of all sorts are largely dependent on hand-to-mouth supplies, and the outlook, with its. possibilities of further diminished output at the pits, is far from assuring. Washed Furnace Coke. The hopeful view which makers of washed furnace coke took at the beginning of 1915 was very quickly justified by events. In January, average samples of coke could be bought at 10s. 6d. at the ovens, but with greater activity in the iron and steel trades, a heavy call for coke sprang up, until in March, 24s. and even 25s. was realised, and supplies were scarce even at that figure. Additional ovens were brought into use, but increased quantities were required by the Frodingham district, and the Midlands, as well as the iron and steel works in -the Leeds district, and the full output was readily absorbed at very high prices until August. From that point a rapid change came over the situation. A lessened demand from the Midlands and Leeds district, more than from Frodingham, brought about a sudden drop in prices. Whereas in June makers of washed furnace coke were not over anxious to contract forward at as high as 25s. per ton, in September and October coke could be purchased for prompt delivery at 15s. The depression did not last long, however; there had been no chance for stocks to accumulate before the demand for home consumption revived, plus a strong call for export to France, and prices jumped up almost to their former level as quickly as they had fallen. In the last two months about 23s. at the ovens represented about the average price, and for export relatively higher prices were obtained, in some exceptional cases sales being made at 28s. f.o.b. Hull. As the year closed, local works were finding it difficult to get coke in sufficient quantities, and there were advocates that the Govern- ment should intervene to relieve the situation by check- ing exports. In spite of the abnormal prices of coking smalls, makers of washed furnace coke will have had a good year, both the output and the average price realised being much larger than in 1914, while the. Government has been anxious to secure the maximum output of by- products, in order to increase the supply of high explosives. The general opinion is that the present firmness of the market is likely to be maintained for some time.