years up to 1936 increased in 1937 and 1938, and on January Ist, 1939, amounted to 1,614,475 gross tons divided among 2,272 vessels. The average size of the Swedish merchantman tends to increase with the disappearance of sailing ships and the increasing popularity of motor ships. The subdivision of the Swedish fleet at the beginning of 1939 was:

Percentage of whole.

54.0

438

Shipping Movement. The following table shows the shipping tonnage cleared from Swedish ports in recent years:

The steady rise in Swedish shipping cleared from home ports was interrupted in 1938 while the tonnage of foreign shipping showed practically no change. The recession in the case of the former reflects of course the decrease in foreign trade: in shipping tonnage the drop was less than 4 per cent from 1937 while the loss in the value of merchandise exported was considerably

more.

About 22 per cent. of the Swedish shipping and about 24 per cent. of the foreign shipping in 1938 left Swedish ports in ballast.

The nationality of the foreign vessels cleared from Sweden in 1937 and 1938 was the following:

It will be seen that while the United Kingdom has fallen from fifth to sixth place among foreign flags in Swedish waters, our actual share has not decreased, the percentage of British shipping in the whole maritime movement remaining at 4 per cent., with Swedish shipping claiming 41.6 per cent. and foreign shipping as a whole 58.4 per cent. of the total. Sweden's percentual share in shipping movement in previous years has been 1937 42.3 per cent., 1936 43.7 per cent., 1935 45.7 per cent., 1934 47.3 per cent., and the decline, though gradual, is constant.

Laid-up tonnage.-Swedish shipping was well employed in 1937 but the general level of activity fell during 1938, and the beginning of 1939 shows no improvement. The situation can be seen from the following figures which include all ships over 100 tons laid up for lack of employment or for repairs or classification, provided the crew has been paid off:—

Analysis of the figures for April 1, 1939, reveals that no less than 91 vessels with a dead weight tonnage of nearly 190,000 were in the 1,000/1,999 tons displacement class. Only 15 larger vessels were out of commission on that date.

Freights. Freight rates reached their peak of recent years in September 1937 but sank rapidly in the closing months of that year. During 1938 the downward trend was continued though the tempo was less violent. No improvement has been shown in the early months of 1939 and the general freight index number for March is the lowest for nearly three years. following table shows the position clearly, the index number bearing relation to the basic figure of 100 for 1913:

The

Receipts of the Swedish merchant marine amounted to 357 million Kr. in 1937, compared with 295 million Kr. in 1936. and 280 million Kr. in 1935. Time charters abroad added 22 million Kr. in 1937, 16 million Kr. in 1936 and 15 million Kr. in 1935. The 1937 total was made up of 332.5 million Kr. from freights, 24 million Kr. from passenger receipts and 77 million Kr. from mail subsidies. No less than 87.9 per cent. of the freight revenue came from foreign voyages, and a very considerable portion of this sum was earned in voyages between non-Swedish ports. It is interesting to note that in 1937 as in previous years the Swedish merchant marine earned more money in voyages to the United Kingdom than to any other country. The leading countries' contributions were:

fully

Shipbuilding.-Swedish shipbuilding yards were occupied in 1937 and 1938, and the record figure of tonnage launched in 1936 was exceeded the following year and again in 1938. Last year's output was 40 vessels of 166,464 tons, some five thousand tons more than in 1937. Of the 40 vessels launched, only two were steamers. This specialisation in motorship construction would appear to explain the success of Swedish yards in keeping their stocks occupied. A more or less uniform type of vessel apparently results in savings which can effectually fend off foreign competition. Of the 1938 construction 68 per cent. of the tonnage, 113,205 tons made up by 23 vessels, was for foreign owners. Seven tankers aggregating 62,371 tons were launched. At the end of the year the tonnage actually in construction at Swedish yards amounted to 28 vessels of 146,550 tons, while orders on which work has not yet been started amounted to 46 vessels of 364,000 tons, a grand total of 74 vessels of 510,150 gross tons, a figure which has never been exceeded in the history of Swedish shipbuilding.

Railways. During 1938 the length of the railways operated by the State increased from 7,679 to 8,031 kilometres, whereas that of the private railways decreased from 9,095 to 8,849 kilo

metres.

The number of passengers on the State railways rose from 44.4 million to 46.7 million, and on the private railways fell from 35.1 to 34.8 million.

The amount of freight carried by both groups fell by about 10 per cent.

State Railways; Results, 1938.-Operations on the State railways during 1938 resulted in a new record figure for revenue,

namely 250 million kronor, or 10 million kronor more than for 1937. Passenger traffic receipts rose by 7 per cent., but those from goods traffic fell by 1 per cent. Goods carried per month, excluding Lapland iron ore, averaged 894,800 tons, as against 964,800 tons in 1937. The chief items which tended to offset the diminished receipts arising from decreases in the volume of staple exports were the increased imports of automobiles from Germany and increased receipts from the Lapland iron ore railway.

Expenditure, however, increased more than revenue, and the operating surplus fell from 48.7 to 44.9 million kronor. After deduction of other charges, amounting to 33.2 million kronor, the net surplus was 11.7 million kronor.

During recent years the success of the State Railways has been due mainly to falling rates of interest and to increased revenue from the Lapland ore railway. Very large sums have been invested in the maintenance and renewal of track and rolling stock.

Electrification.-The electrification of the Swedish railways, which was commenced as early as in 1910, is proceeding rapidly. Of the 7,987 kilometres (nearly 5,000 miles) of railroad operated by the Swedish State no less than about 3,400 kilometres (2,100 miles) are at present electrified, including practically all lines in South and Central Sweden and a considerable part of the Norrland line. Electrification work is being pushed on steadily, and this year's scheme comprises electrification of about 320 kilometres (200 miles) of track. In all, over 80 per cent. of the traffic on the State railways is at present conducted with electric power.

The largest private railway, the Göteborg-Dalarna-Gävle Railway line, is at present changing over to electric traction on some of its lines. The electrification of its most important line, Göteborg-Mollerud-Amal, has just been completed. The line has a length of 164 kilometres (103 miles) and, including sidings, this electrification comprises over 215 kilometres (135 miles) of track. The same company is at present electrifying its line from Mollerud to the Norwegian frontier, about 60 kilometres (38 miles), and this work is expected to be completed during the course of this autumn. The whole stretch from Trälleborg, the Swedish train-ferry port to the Continent, up to the Norwegian frontier will then be electrically operated, and in a couple of years the line on the Norwegian side of the border to Oslo will also be electrically run. The electrification of the Göteborg-Amal line has taken about two years to complete, and has entailed a cost of about 4,500,000 kronor. The railway company in question has also placed orders for about 7,000,000 kronor for rolling stock, which is being delivered by the Swedish General Electric Company (ASEA).

Nationalisation.-In March, 1939, a bill was introduced into the Riksdag containing measures for the unification of the Swedish railway system". It proposes that all of the privatelyowned railways should be nationalised on a voluntary" basis, but, as a precaution a law to enable the Government to expropriate private railways has also been drafted.

The total cost of the scheme is estimated at approximately 330 million kronor, to be defrayed in the course of five years. A considerable part of this sum, namely about 180 million kronor, represents State liability for the payment of the debts of the railway companies, which, largely owing to competition from road services, are for the most part in a strained financial position.

The bill is based on the reports, submitted in October, 1938, of the Railway Committee of 1936. On this committee all of the non-socialist parties were also represented.

Road v. Railway Goods Traffic.-In 1936 the Government ordered an investigation to be made by the Board of Roads and Waterways of the question of the transport of goods by motor vehicles.

According to the report issued towards the end of 1938, there were 16,482 motor trucks and 2,718 trailers engaged in the public conveyance of goods, which means that 31 per cent. of the total number of lorries and trailers are used as common carriers, as differentiated from those used by firms, etc., for the transport of their own goods.

Of this total number 2,679 had a maximum loading capacity of 2 tons, 9,481 a maximum of 3 tons, 3,635 of 4 tons, 484 of 5 tons, and 203 of over 5 tons loading capacity. The number of motor lorries with trailer was 2,190.

The heaviest trucks were those best utilized, the average distance covered by these being about 85 miles a day. The average income per day is 26 kronor for truck without trailer, and 33 kronor with trailer.

It is computed that during 1937 a total quantity of 41 million tons of goods were forwarded by these public vehicles, and the money collected for such service was 134.5 million kronor. The service represented 640 million ton/kilometres. The total quantity of goods carried by all Swedish railways during the same period amounted to 46.1 million tons. Expressed in work done, the railways accounted for 5,606 million ton/kilometres, for which was paid 230 million kronor. Owing to joint traffic over State and private lines there is some duplication and the quantity should be reduced to 36 million tons. According to this estimate, the motor vehicles carried 15 per cent. more goods than the railways, but the transport work is only about oneninth as great, due to the much longer hauls by rail.

Civil Aviation.-The budget for the financial year 1937-8 provided for a subsidy of Kr. 937,500 to A/B. Aerotransport, the