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position in the iyre industry of the world. In the years 1925 to 
1926, 54 per cent. of the crude rubber used industrially in the 
world was utilised in the manufacture of tyres in the United 
States. In those years, United States industries used, in the 
nanufacture of all kinds of rubber goods twice as much crude 
rubber as the industries of fhe rest of the world. 
11. The tyre section stands apart from most of the other sections 
of the industry in other particulars than in the quantity of rubber 
it absorbs. It is on the whole a modern development of the trade 
and requires large scale units for economical production. It 
lemands a widespread sales organisation in which the trade is 
sufficiently large to permit of specialisation. The number of firms 
sompeting for world trade are comparatively few in number. Many 
of these own branch factories or have working arrangements with 
factories in countries other than those in which the parent com- 
pany is domiciled. The British Goodrich Company was estab- 
lished in England in May, 1924, and during 1927 and 1928 several 
ovhier foreign manufacturers such as Michelin, Firestone, 
Goodyear, Pirelli and others have established factories in the United 
Kingdom for producing their own tyres. Similarly the Dunlop Tyre 
Company of Great Britain has branch factories or is in association 
with linked factories in the United States, Germany, France, 
Australia, Canada and Japan. These world-wide associations do not 
seeur to a similar degree among manufacturers making other forms 
of rubber goods. 
12. Trade statistics of imports and exports do not reveal changes 
mn policy on the part of the large firms of international character, 
who in their turn are more interested in the progress and develop- 
ments of their competitors than in the totals of imports and exports 
of different countries. A change in policy of any one of these 
arge firms may affect very notably the import or export trade 
figures of any given country in a particular year. A case in 
point has occmrred recently in the United Kingdom, 
As will be seer later in this report the average annual value of 
syres and tubes imported into the United Kingdom in the four years 
1924 to 1927 was £3,450,000. In 1928, due mainly to the opening 
n the United Kingdom of factories owned or controlled by foreign 
firms, recorded imports fell to less than £1,000,000. Even if, in order 
‘0 avoid any overstatement of the effect on imports caused by this 
change of policy on the part of these foreign firms, it be assumed 
ihat all imported cars were landed with a full new equipment of 
tyres (which is not the case), and that these were omitted 
‘rom the recorded imports of tyres, the total imports of tyres 
could not exceed £14 millions as compared with an average of 
nearly £3% millions in the preceding years. Conversely a change in 
policy of these large firms as a result of which they should close their 
ocal factories in the United Kingdom might lead to another expan- 
Special 
zharac- 
teristics 
of the tyre 
industrv. 
Effects of 
dolicy of 
larce firms.