204 THE BALANCE OF INDEBTEDNESS, 1918-28
as a fair average for the freight upon the average inward cargo
for the year 1926. This proportion of £21,000 upon £397,000
gives the estimate that freight charges amounted to 5-3 per cent.
of the value of cargo carried. But expenses in Australian ports,
other than cost of fuel, amounted to 21 per cent. of the gross
freight which leaves the net freight charge at 4:2 per cent. of
Tarte XLIV
Freight Charges on Imports, 1920-8
Year.
1920
1921
1922
1923
1924
1925
1926
1927
1928
Recorded
value of
ymports.
£m.
98-974
163-802
103-066
131-758
140-618
157-143
151-638
164-717
148-117
Freight
as per-
centage
of cargo
(estimated).
Price
index.
1,363
1,038
959
1,061
1,029
1,008
1,000
992
a72
Freight
index.
3,671
1,343
1,060
1,014
4,067
908
1,000
993
021
Freight
as per-
centage
of cargo
(correcied).
&
54
4.6
4.0
43
3-8
4-2
4-2
2.9
Cost of
inward
freight.
£m.
11-084
8-845
4-743
5-271
6-047
5-971
6-369
6-918
b-776
the invoice value of the typical cargo.l The method used by the
customs authorities for arriving at the value of imports for
revenue purposes adds 10 per cent. to the invoice value, and the
figures should, strictly speaking, be reduced by one-eleventh.
But, since the value of the typical cargo was obtained on the
basis of the recorded figures, and the freight figures published
by the steamship companies were reckoned as a percentage of
the recorded value of imports, the customs figure has been
retained in the next table. A lower cargo value and a higher
L At first sight it is somewhat surprising that the cost of freight does not differ
more widely for the Canadian and Australian trade. Rates of freight, however, are
not determined on mileage alone, since the number of ports and the expenses in
loading and discharging ships are important considerations for the shipowner.
Conditions in the Canadian and the Australian trade are, in fact, vastly different.
Ships sailing from Britain to Australia usually carry good cargoes of manufactures
and both the outward and homeward voyages contribute fairly to the cost of the
round trip. Cargoes to Canada, on the other hand, are usually very small, and
a higher rate proportionately to distance is charged than for the Australian voyage.
This seems to explain the relatively small difference between this figure and that
of 3-5 per cent. obtained by Viner for Canada.