Page:EB1922 - Volume 31.djvu/1210

1156

of fishing companies was greatest in igia.when there were 60, with 34 land stations and 39 floating boiling plants and 160 whaling vessels. The total value of oil from the different fields (S. Shetland, S. Georgia, N. and S. America, E. and W. Africa, and the northern seas, Ireland, Hebrides, Faroes, W. coast of Norway and Spitz- bergen) was (in millions of kr.) 4-5 in 1908, 15-8 in 1910, 29-1 in 1912, 34-5 in 1914, 35-5 in 1916, 28-5 in 1918, and about 60,000,090 kr. in 1920. Whaling is operated chiefly from the towns of Sande- fjord, Tonsberg and Larvik. The share of Norway in the world's production of whale-oil amounted to nearly 50% in 1920.

Mining. Norway is not an especially rich mining country, the ores and minerals being mostly of poor quality. The oldest and most important branch of mining industry is the working of copper ore and sulphuric pyrites, large quantities of which are extracted at Loken in the district of Meldalen, at Roros and at Sulitelma, while more scanty supplies are met with at many places, especially S. and E. of the Trondhjem Fjord. The production of iron ore increased rapidly after the beginning of the 2Oth century, and in 1915 it ex- ceeded in weight that of copper ore and pyrites; in 1906-10 the production of the former was 72-3% and of iron ore 24-5% of the total mineral production in weight, whereas in 1911-5 the pro- portions were 46-3% and 48-4% respectively. On the other hand the value of the copper ore and pyrite products in 1906-10 was 81-3 % and of iron ore 10-5 % of the total value of production, and in 1911-5 the proportions were 63 and 29% respectively of the value produced. However, the production of iron ore will doubtless play a steadily increasing part, partly because of the extensive deposits of iron, chiefly in N. Norway, estimated by official experts at 175,- 000,000 tons, yielding about 100,000,000 tons of iron, partly because of the rapid development of the electrolytic methods for the smelting of iron ore, two important plants having actually been laid down for this industry, one at Ulefoss (1910), another at Tinnfoss, both in Telemark county. During 1914-6 the latter had an average yearly production of 6,300 tons of iron. For the present the exportation of iron ore has a far greater importance than the production of iron, export taking place from the vast deposits in northern Norway be- tween Pasvikelven on the E. and Langfjorden in the W., with the great undertaking in S. Varanger, E. Finmark. During the period between 1905 and 1910 separation works were constructed here with quays, railways, etc. for export on a large scale, which commenced in 1910 and already in 1913-5 amounted to about 550,000 tons of slack and briquettes yearly. The number of workers employed at that period was 1,350.

In addition to copper and iron, silver is found in Norway at Kongs- berg, nickel at Evje in Setesdal a little N. of Christiansand, titanium ore at Kragero, Arendal, Ekersund and Tvedestrand, while there are stone quarries of different kinds in many places, but mainly round about Fredrikstad and Fredrikshald, Ostfold county; from here stone is supplied to the quays at Rosyth. Roofing slates are quarried in Valdres and at Voss. Digging and stone industries in 1914 occupied 6,556 workmen and in 1918 8,424. The weight of the total production of minerals and ore in 1914 was 1,210,000 tons and in 1918 540,000 tons, the values being 22,720,000 kr. in 1914, and 37,130,000 kr. in 1918. The value of the production from the mining works from the beginning of the century up to and including 1918 amounted to a total of 375,000,000 kroner.

Manufactures. Norwegian industry was up till about 1890 es- sentially based on home consumption. But when the problem of the conversion of water-power into electric power was solved, it began to develop on an export basis. A rapid development during the ten years following 1890 was followed about the end of the century by a period of decline, which continued till 1904, when the first indication of a new and still greater advance manifested itself. The culminating point was reached in 1917, and during 1918 a period of depression again set in, which was still prevalent during 1921. A scale for the growth of industry is provided in the number of work- years (of 300 working-days) indicated by the aggregate of the country's industries, the figures being 92,000 in 1897 and 214,000 in 1918, an increase of about 133 %. Progress, however, more clearly appears from the statistics of the amount of wages paid, which amounted in 1897 to 72,000,000 kr. and in 1918 to 619,000,000 kr. ; the increases here were up to 1910 103 %, to 1914 225 %, and to 1918 756%. The average yearly wage of a workman was 785 kr. in 1897, 987 kr. in 1908, and 2,886 kr. in 1918, per working-year. After 1918 wages rose to treble what they were that year.

In 1897, out of 9,422 industrial works 3,799 or about 30% had mechanical motive-power ; in 19 1 7 about 55 % of the 20,375 industrial works possessed mechanical motive-power, electric motors included ; while during 1897-1918 the population rose 23 %, the average num- ber of persons engaged in all groups of industry rose 98-8 %.

Numbers of persons employed in industries (in thousands)

Increase

o/ /o

Population of the country (in rooo's)

Increase

o/ /o

1897

1905 1910

1915 1917 1918

70 87

112 136

148 139

25

60 94

112

99

2,157 2,315 2,395 2,509 2,629 2,655

7 ii 16

22 23

In spite of the immense growth of Norwegian industry, the annual value of imports increased during 1911-5 to a yearly average of 596,000,000 kr., while in 1915-8 it reached an average of 1,400,000,- ooo kroner.

Value of Imports.

For consumption

%

For production

V

/o

1896-1900 1906-1910 1918

58-4 52-9 36-8

41-6

47-1 63-2

The most important industrial commodities exported are: (i) pulp, cellulose and paper, (2) products of the mining industries, (3) electro-chemical and electro-metallurgical products, (4) canned goods. In 1913 the products of these branches of industry represented 89 % of the export trade. The following tables show in which direc- tion the various branches of industry developed during the World War: Industrial Exports: in million kroner.

Total value

Pulp, Cellulose, and Paper

Ores

Electro- chem., Electro- metal, prod.

Canned Goods

1913 1916 1917

193-6 536-1 520-0

83-9 169-7

137-5

18-5 32-5 26-1

45-o 182-7 216-0

25-7 5'-3 63-5

Distribution of Imports and Exports.

Countries

Percentage of Norway's imports

Percentage of Norway's exports

Percentage of total trade of Norway

Germany Great Britain & Ireland Sweden United States Other Countries.

1913 29-80

24-76

14-35 6-64

24-45

1918 II-OI

28-96 17-66 15-94

26-43

1913 20-84

24-3I 6-19

7-95 59-29

1918 11-27

41-45 12-84

o-93

33-52

1913 26-02

24-57 io'9i 7-19

3I-3I

1918 li-n

33-65 15-84 10-30

29-11

How the turnover of Norwegian trade increased during the present century appears from the following table (some figures for the previous century being given for comparison) :

Imports million kroner

Exports million kroner

Total

Value per inhab. in kr.

Imports

Exports

Total

1861-5

75-0

54-5

129-5

45-75

33-22

78-97

1881-5

158-2

114-8

273-0

82-40

59-80

142-20

1901-5

289-0

I83-5

472-5

127-89

81-19

209-08

1911-5

596-4

422-7

1019-1

246-96

175-02

421-98

1916

1353-7

988-3

2342-0

542-11

395-81

937-92

1917

1661-8

791-4

2452-7

647-93

308-65

956-58

1918

1252-6

755-0

2007-6

477-35

287-75

765-10

1919

2583-7

782-1

3365-8

1920

3029-9

1241-8

427I-7

The import value of the most important goods in 1920 was as follows (in million kr.) : grain 260, meat and pork 53-6, eggs 14-3, sugar 113-7, coffee 31-5, clothing 66-7, shoes and boots 44-2, woollen ware 128-9, cotton goods 128-4, silkware 19-2, coal and coke 343-5, petroleum and benzine 65-4, metals 310-6, fertilizers 10-6, machinery 102-2, ships 367-2, automobiles 45 and wine 46-2.

The values (in million kr.) of the most important exported goods in 1920 were: fish 158-9, canned goods 40-4, fish-oil 26-2, condensed milk, etc., 13-1, timber 109-8, wood-pulp and cellulose 224-6, paper 222, artificial fertilizers (Norwegian saltpetre) 60-4 and ships 42-2. In addition, foreign goods to the value of about 59,000,000 kr. were reexported.

A calculation of the value of foreign trade based on the prices obtaining in the normal year of 1913 gives the following results:

Imports million kroner

Exports million kroner

Imports Index fig.

Exports Index fig.

1913

1920 . 8 months 1921

(Jan.-Aug.)

339-3 518-3

263-2

252-9 218-5

137-5

IOO

153 ,

78

IOO

86

54

From this it will be seen that there was a very striking decrease of exports as compared with the last normal year before the war. The greatest decline occurred in such groups as fish, canned goods, timber, wood-pulp and cellulose, paper and cardboard and unworked metals, the most important articles of the country's export trade. As regards imports, industrial raw material showed a special decrease as compared with 1913.

The industries of Norway were organized into a national confedera-