CONSULAR REPORTS.

Vol. LVII.

COMMERCE, MANUFACTURES, ETC.

MAY, 1898.

No. 212.

CARRIAGE AND WAGON WHEELS IN EUROPE.

The following reports are replies to an instruction sent by the Department of State, on August 17, 1897, to the consuls-general in Europe, at the request of a wheel manufacturer in Pennsylvania:

AUSTRIA-HUNGARY.

I have the honor to report, in compliance with the Department's inquiry as to the quantity and value of carriage and wagon wheels and the material therefor imported into Austria-Hungary in 1896, that there have been, in the last two or three years, inconsiderable shipments from the United States of hickory carriage wheels. This importation was due to a fashion which sprang up, to all appearances, spontaneously, and which has now practically gone out of vogue. At present, the wheels for trotting sulkies are the only species which can boast of a regular import from the United States, and they come by way of Germany; it is, therefore, impossible to ascertain the correct figures as to the extent of the trade.

The following kinds of woods are used in Austria-Hungary for the manufacture of wheels: Ash for spokes and fellies, elm and ash for hubs, and beach for fellies of ordinary vehicles.

Carriage wheels can not be suggested as an article for import into Austria-Hungary, because this Monarchy has an extensive supply of the woods needed for their manufacture.

Machinery used in the production of carriage and wagon wheels, if not made in Austria, is imported from Germany, and is much cheaper than ours; but, above all, the low wages make the home product cheaper at the present time than any foreign manufacture.

No. 212-1.

I

The wagons and vans in this country are of such different types, and their various shapes are so dear to their respective owners—either being the product of their own inventive genius or having their origin in many local and provincial customs-that they can only be built on the spot" and at varying prices.

CARL BAILEY HURST,

VIENNA, December 4, 1897.

Consul-General.

BELGIUM.*

The customs authorities do not keep a separate record of carriage and wagon wheels imported into or exported from Belgium. If wheels are finished, they are classed with carriages, duty 12 per cent ad valorem; but if in the rough, they are classed with wood, other than oak and walnut, and pay a duty of 10 per cent ad valorem.

The only material imported into this country from the United States for the manufacture of carriage and wagon wheels is hickory. The latest commercial statistics show the following importations. of carriages and wagons into, and exportations from, Belgium during the year 1896:

* In Commercial Relations for 1895 and 1896, vol. 2, p. 22, in the table showing the exports of Belgium for 1894, carriages are given as being exported to the value of $13,210,078. Consul Roosevelt (his attention having been called thereto), under date of September 14, 1897, explains this entry as follows:

"Under the Belgium tariff classification Nos. 29 and 60, machinery (carriages) embraces all kinds of carriages for railway and tramway use. Under classification 60, all kinds of carriages, other than railway and tramway carriages, are embraced. The misleading error in Commercial Relations occurred by placing 'carriages' immediately under 'machinery,' instead of placing the word in parentheses, as follows: 'Machinery (carriages).'"'

DENMARK.

The Danish statistics, with few exceptions, include the imports of all articles made of wood under the general term "manufactures of wood." Figures, therefore, dealing with the imports of wheels and material therefor can only be approximated by men familiar with the trade.

No ready-made wheels are imported into Denmark. For work wagons, trucks, drays, and heavy vehicles, the material used for wheels is oak, supplied principally by Denmark itself, the balance coming from Sweden. Such wheels must, according to law, measure at least 4 inches across the tire; this rule applies both to country and city.

For carriages, buggies, road carts, and light vehicles, the wheels are made of American hickory, obtained exclusively from importing houses in Hamburg. It is safe to say that the wheels of all the cabs in this city are made of hickory.

I have consulted Mr. Larsen, of the firm of N. Larsen & Co., No. II Smallegade, the largest manufacturers of wagons and carriages in the Kingdom. He estimates that there is imported annually 20,000 hickory spokes and 500 rims (fellies). The manufacture is only for domestic consumption, and Mr. Larsen thinks the supply about equals the demand. This firm itself consumes about one-half of the annual import of hickory. He is also of opinion that during the present year (1897) there have been imported about 3,500 rough hubs. The orders for this market being so small, dealers find it more convenient to buy from Hamburg, especially as the American exporter is averse to making such small shipments. The population of the Kingdom is about 2,200,000, and, although the quantity of material imported. may seem insignificant from an American standpoint, if it meets the demand, as Mr. Larsen says-and he is a competent judge-it is difficult to see how it can be increased, unless an export trade in wheelwright supplies is developed, and there does not appear to be any prospect of this.

I have also been in consultation with Messrs. Sally Meyer & Co., No. 1 Laderstrade, dealers in carriage and wagon supplies, and quote their letter to me in full as follows, in translation:

In reply to your letter, we must remark that ready-made wheels are not imported into Denmark. Although the duty on ready-made wheels is 64 öre (1.7 cents) per Danish pound (1.102 American), we do not doubt that the Danish carriage builders would find it to their advantage to import them from America; but our manufacturers are, in this respect, very conservative, and, for a middleman, it would be very difficult and risky to carry a stock which must necessarily consist of many sizes. If a capable firm would send a sample or consignment lot here, it

would undoubtedly lead to business. When the wheels have been introduced and found to be good, they could be imported for our own account. This applies, however, only to wheels for light vehicles. Wheels for working trucks can not, in our opinion, be imported. The duty on such heavy articles amounts to too much, and our forests furnish so much ash and oak, of which the wheels are made, that foreign competition is excluded.

On the other hand, we import via Hamburg a good deal of American hickory rims and spokes. We have many times tried this import from the United States direct, but always with unsatisfactory results. We have always ordered the very best goods, and they have always sent us goods very much inferior to those (American goods) we buy from Hamburg merchants. The reason probably is that Hamburg imports more in a week than the whole of Denmark would import in a year; but the principal reason why we can buy the rims cheaper through Hamburg may be found in the fact that Hamburg imports the wood in its natural form and works it into rims, while we must import the rims already shaped, in which condition they take up more space, and freight is higher. These rims are used exclusively for light-draft vehicles, and we believe the yearly import amounts to about 300 four-wheel sets. The duty on these is only 31 öre (8.3 cents) per 100 pounds Danish.

It would seem from the foregoing that there is no market here at the present time for heavy wheels from the United States; that we already control the market, through Hamburg, in wheel material for light-draft vehicles, and that there is an opening for the readymade wheels for the latter. These could be stored in the "free port" duty free and exhibited in the city through samples, or a trial shipment could be consigned direct to a dealer in Copenhagen, at the risk and account of the American exporter. The Danish merchant wants the privilege of seeing and handling the goods before investing his money, and, in my opinion, this is the only way in which American-made wheels can be introduced. The three principal dealers in Copenhagen are: H. E. Bonner, Vestergade 28; Sally Meyer & Co., Laderstrade 11; Nienstadt & Co., Vester Boulevard 20. ROBERT J. KIRK,

COPENHAGEN, September 18, 1897.

Consul.

FRANCE.

With reference to Department instruction of August 17, 1897, concerning the quantity and value of carriage and wagon wheels and the material therefor imported into France during the year 1896, and particularly regarding kinds and quantities imported, those most suitable for the market, and the best means of increasing American trade therein, I have the honor to inform you that I have made thorough inquiry with regard to the subject and regret to state that the import from the United States is practically “nil.”

I have consulted several prominent manufacturers, and, besides the fact that they prefer to manufacture their own spokes, hubs,