Increase in Inter-Island Traffic.

“A bright spot in the working year of the railways is provided by the figures of the inter-Island traffic, which constitutes a convenient system of through booking by rail and sea,” said the General Manager of Railways, Mr. P. G. Roussell, in a statement made recently.

“In spite of the depression, this business shows an encouraging increase of 3,600 tons for the year,” Mr. Roussell said. “The details show, too, that with the spreading of information about this convenient system the general public is taking advantage of it. The total of 20,100 tons, includes, of course, many large lines, but the bulk of the traffic was in comparatively small lots, representing many thousands of consignments.

“The far-ranging effects of even this one branch of railway enterprise are seen in the fact that during the year the Department paid, out of through-booking revenue, £28,300 in sea freights, £1,690 in cartage, and £4,500 in wharfage, covering practically every port in the Dominion.”

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£1,000 a Day in Advertising.

The London and North-Eastern Railway Company has faith in advertising.

Mr. Thomas Hornsby, General Manager, said that his company spent £1,000 every day of the year on advertising. This year nearly 200,000 posters of 90 varieties, covering a total area of 280,000,000 square inches of colour, had been produced. To advertise North-Eastern holiday resorts alone, three thousand advertisements, covering 5,500 inches, were inserted in ninety-four newspapers.

Industrial Traffic Management in U.S.A.

“The importance which the United States attaches to the business of traffic management is shewn by the fact that the subject has recently been submitted to a Government survey, following which a report has just been made public by the Department of Commerce” (states Modern Transport, London). The paper goes on to observe that the survey was undertaken in co-operation with national and local traffic organisations with the object of revealing sources of waste. It is pointed out that, even in the States, transportation expenses are amongst the least understood of the major cost elements in business. In medium-sized businesses they were found to average 25 per cent. of the total operating costs of the undertaking, and in many instances were much higher. Even in very large industries at least 10 per cent. of the total costs were found to represent traffic charges. Some of the more important sources of loss in business administration are shown to consist of failure to obtain proper rates on consignments and to combine less-than-car load shipments into car loads, or carelessness in checking freight accounts, or neglect in the prosecution of claims on the carriers, and lack of precaution to ensure efficient packing. Well-managed traffic departments, it is stated, invariably yield profits, besides ensuring the even flow inwards of raw materials and speedy distribution of the finished product. In the United States effective traffic management in commercial undertakings is now taking its place as a major phase of business activity.

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