H,— 44,

The association and the federation co-operated with the Dominion in the production of a special supplement entitled " Manufacturing in New Zealand," consisting of forty-eight pages. This effort resulted in good publicity for articles of New Zealand manufacture. The Canterbury Association held its fifty-seventh annual general meeting on the sth November, when the membership of the association stood at 192. The Winter Show and Exhibition of Industries was held on the Bth August, when over fifty manufacturing firms were represented. In future it has been decided to devote even more attention to the good work of bringing the goods of Canterbury manufacturers under the notice of the buying public. The Canterbury Association has investigated various forms of publicity, which will be put into effect when opportunity occurs. A notable feature has been the delivering of radio talks from station 3YA by members, which is regarded as valuable propaganda for the stimulation of interest in New Zealand industries. Each year the Dunedin Association sponsors a " Made in New Zealand Week," which aids materially the stimulation of a buyer's preference for New-Zealand-made goods. The effort held in May last compared more than favourably with those of previous years in regard to the number and standard of the displays. Contributing factors to the success of these displays were the special industrial supplements published by Dunedin newspapers and appropriate radio talks delivered from broadcasting - stations. In addition, striking street illuminations were provided by the Dunedin City Council. The membership of the association has not varied to any extent from the figure at which it stood last year —namely, 150. STATISTICS RELATING TO MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. The latest available statistics relating to the manufacturing industries of the Dominion are for the year ended 31st March, 1936. Reference to improved industrial conditions generally was made in the previous annual report covering the 1934-35 year. It is pleasing to record that this improvement continued throughout the following year, as is evidenced in the 1935-36 figures. By comparison with the 1934-35 statistics those for 1935-36 reveal a distinct betterment in the position of the manufacturing industries. The figures indicate that the total number of factories operating were the highest number yet recorded, rising from 5,270 in 1934-35 to 5,536 in 1935-36. Similarly, the figures show that a new record high level for factory employment was attained during the 1935-36 year (86,588), which exceeded the previous high figure of 1929-30 (82,861) by 3,727. The improvement in conditions resulted in many factories working to capacity. This point is perhaps better illustrated by reference to the marked increase in overtime worked by many factory employees and the decrease which resulted in the hours of short time recorded. The statistics reveal that the hours of overtime increased from 2,121,279 in 1934-35 to 2,689,647 in 1935-36, which represents an advance of almost 27 per cent, in the total number of hours of overtime worked. On the other hand, the hours of short time recorded for the manufacturing industries decreased by nearly 9 per cent, or from 2,111,650 hours in 1934-35 to 1,924,697 hours in 1935-36. The following table summarizes the principal statistics for the years ended 31st March, 1935 and 1936, and provides the basis of comparison in the figures for the two periods ; —

22

" V ear ' Index Numbers, 1935-36 1934-35. 1935-36. < 1934 ~ 35 = 100 >- — T~ Establishments (number) .. .. 5,270 | 5,536 105 Persons engaged — b j Males (number) .. .. .. j 59,874 65,197 109 Females (number) .. .. .. j 19,484 21,391 110 Total (number) .. .. 79,358 86,588 109 Salaries and wages paid— £ £ To males .. .. .. 11,602,983 13,046,105 112 To females .. •• •• 1,641,390 1,798,262 110 Total .. .. •• 13,244,373 14,844,367 112 Motive power (horse-power) .. .. 721,223 733,167 102 £ £ Cost of material used .. .. . . 52,084,741 59,940,393 115 Other expenses .. . . • • 9,002,456 9,606,824 107 Value of products .. •• •• 79,324,473 90,014,748 IllAdded value .. . . .. ■ • 27,239,732 30,074,355 110 Value of — i £ £ Land and buildings .. .. 23,159,573 23,985,510 103 Plant and machinery .. .. 44,108,877 43,453,369 99 Total .. .. •• 67,268,450 67,438,879 100