Via U. S. Ship

White House orders for a 2,000,000-ton shipping pool for aid to Britain last week (see p. 15) caught U.S. ship lines in the midst of their busiest, most harassed period in history. On all the seven seas except the North Atlantic, U.S. shipping has tried to take over from the flagging British the great task of moving the bulk of the world's freight. Before war began the U.S. overseas fleet (then 1,749,689 active tons, 87% over age) often ran almost empty on its Government subsidies, carried only around 30% of the nation's foreign trade. But by last week almost all of Britain's big merchant marine had been withdrawn for war duty, and the U.S. fleet was puffing and panting with the hopeless task of carrying as many as possible of the cargoes the British used to move.

Exclusive of coasters in China and India, Britain still has about 60 vessels of 600,000 tons outside of war duty, but even these 60 are being used only to transport essential foodstuffs and goods from one part of the Empire to another, or occasionally a load of food to England. For all practical purposes, the British merchant marine is no longer a competitor for the world's seaborne freight. Gone from their normal trade routes are the ten British ships formerly operated between North and South America, the 25 operated from the U.S. Atlantic Coast to the Far East, countless others. Most of the Free Dutch and Norwegian ships are also in war service in the North Atlantic.

Where British vessels have been withdrawn, U.S. ships have moved in. Vessels withdrawn from European and Mediterranean trade under the Neutrality Act of 1939 are being used to up tonnage on other routes 50% to 700%, and old ships have been called back into service. In March of 1939 only 17 U.S. ships sailed to Africa; now there are 51. Ships going to the Far East have increased in number from twelve to 82, to India from twelve to 25 (see chart). Sailing totals have increased even more. Examples: Robin Line and American South African have upped sailings to Africa from 24 to 100 a year; American Export has 54 sailings to India against nine; American President Lines has increased round-the-world sailings from 26 to 39.

Not since before the Civil War has the U.S. been such a factor on the world's ocean trade routes. Thanks to Hog Island's mass production of freighters, the U.S. hoped to become a seafaring nation after World War I, but lost standing quickly in the 1920s to nations whose young men took to sea as naturally as young Americans took to automobiles: England, Denmark, Norway, The Netherlands. Despite subsidies totaling $3,500,000,000 in the last quarter century, U.S. ship lines--with wages and operating costs higher than their foreign competitors--rarely made money.

By last week, thanks to their business boom and to sale or charter of old vessels at scarcity prices, they were in black ink for fair. American Export (which increased its tonnage of freight carried from 522,482 in 1938 to 933,952 last year, its miles traveled from 1,042,590 to 1,392,391), boosted its net income for the nine months ended last September to $5,895,000 from $216,631 in the 1939 period. Other typical 1940 earnings reports: Moore-McCormack, $5,274,911 against $354,416 in 1939; American-Hawaiian, a $3,431,169 profit against $992,524 in 1939. Shipping shares have enjoyed a spectacular boom on the New York Stock Exchange, rising about 150% since war's outbreak--faster than any other group--while the Dow-Jones industrials average was declining from 129.4 to 115.72.

Yet despite all efforts by U.S. lines to keep freight moving over the oceans, there is too much work for the 2,247,633 tons of U.S. shipping (exclusive of tankers) now in ocean service. With Nazi sinkings averaging about 60% more than building of new ships by Britain and the U.S. together (TIME, April 28), ships grow more precious by the hour. In Australia and New Zealand are piled up tons of butter and cheese which England needs desperately. Attempts to move the big Australian wheat crop were abandoned several months ago for England can get its wheat by a shorter haul from Canada. Only a fraction of the 840,000 bales of wool which Britain arranged last October to send from Australia to the U.S. has arrived. Shipments of chilled and frozen Argentine beef to England (which needs it badly) dropped from 367,982 metric tons in 1939 to 280,242 last year, an estimated 131,000 tons at the outside this year. Unable to move 12,000,000 stems of Jamaican bananas bought at two shillings a bunch, Britain has presented them to the Jamaicans for disposal. Not even all the U.S. steel on which Britain has priorities can be carried.

Thus, with ship shortages all over the world, biggest unanswered question at week's end was what would happen to foreign trade, if any large part of the President's 2,000,000-ton pool is taken from the overseas fleet.

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