The ownership of this tonnage is shown in the following table.

Great Britain owns about 2,700 merchant vessels totaling over 16,600,000 gross tons and her merchant fleet stands number 1 among the merchant fleets of the world.

The United States stands number 2 in rank and owns over 1,500 merchant vessels of 9,000,000 gross tons. These vessels do not represent our foreigntrade fleet alone, however, but include vessels in coastwise trade and vessels in the Shipping Board's idle fleet.

As a matter of fact, at the beginning of 1934 there were only 429 American vessels, aggregating 2,702,000 gross tons, actively engaged in our foreign trade.

Ocean-going merchant fleets of principal maritime nations as of Jan. 1, 1934

[Figures are for vessels each of 2,000 gross tons or over and exclude Great Lakes vessels]

Source: United States Shipping Board Bureau, Department of Commerce.

GROWTH OF WORLD SHIPPING

In passing, it may be of interest to record that the entire world merchant fleet, including vessels each of 100 gross tons or over and including wooden vessels, sailboats, barges, and other vessels not of seagoing types, total approximately 31,000 vessels aggregating over 65,000,000 gross tons.

The following table shows the growth of this tonnage at 5-year intervals from 1900 up to date. The growth of American shipping and of British shipping is also shown. In the case of American shipping, vessels on the Great Lakes are excluded.

As indicated in the table, a large part of the United States merchant fleet was built during the World War period and is now over 15 years old.

WORLD TONNAGE IN FOREIGN TRADE ONLY

The total world tonnage of ocean-going vessels engaged in the foreign trade alone aggregates approximately 37,400,000 gross tons. This figure excludes tankers which must be specially considered because of their particular type of service. It also excludes vessels that are engaged in the foreign trade on the Great Lakes and it is limited to vessels each of 2,000 gross tons or over. The distribution of this tonnage among the principal maritime nations is shown in table III, on page 435.

Growth of world tonnage,

British tonnage, and American tonnage (excluding Great
Lakes vessels) since 1900

Growth of world merchant tonnage since 1900

[Figures show gross tonnage of merchant vessels each of 100 gross tons or over]

TABLE III.-Vessels, each of 2,000 gross tons or over, normally employed in the carriage of goods and passengers in the international trade as of Dec. 31, 1933

SHARE OF SHIPPING OF PRINCIPAL NATIONS IN THE CARRIAGE OF THEIR OWN FOREIGN TRADE

The vessels of principal foreign nations carry over 50 percent of their own water-borne foreign trade, while American vessels carry only about one-third of the water-borne foreign trade of the United States. This is shown on table IV.

TABLE IV.-Percentage of water-borne foreign trade of principal nations carried in their own vessels

[NOTE. The above percentages were compiled from most recent information available as to the entrances and clearances of seagoing vessels with cargo.]

MODERN TONNAGE IN PRINCIPAL MERCHANT FLEETS

Chart 5 shows the percentage of seagoing merchant tonnage owned by the principal maritime nations on January 1, 1934, which has been built within the past 10 years.

A glance at the chart is sufficient to show that the United States is behind every other principal nation in the percentage of its merchant fleet represented by modern tonnage.

In cargo vessels, which make up a large share of our fleet, the United States has replaced only 1 percent of its tonnage in the past 10 years while Great Britain has replaced 41 percent, Germany 31 percent, France 15 percent, Italy 14 per cent, and Japan 17 percent.

In tanker tonnage the United States is far behind every other maritime nation in modern tonnage, its percentage being only 11 percent as compared with 51

percent for Great Britain, 41 percent for Germany, 49 percent for France, 18
percent for Italy, and 61 percent for Japan.

Taking into consideration all types of vessels, the United States has built only
11 percent of its entire merchant fleet since January 1, 1924. During the same
period Great Britain has built 42 percent, Germany 38 percent, France 25 percent,
Italy 28 percent, and Japan 21 percent.

Gross tonnage of merchant fleets of six principal maritime nations on Jan. 1, 1934,
classified according to age

[Figures are for vessels each of 2,000 gross tons or over. They exclude Great Lakes vessels and the Shipping
Board's idle fleet]

Source: United States Shipping Board Bureau, Department of Commerce.

MODERN CARGO FLEETS OF PRINCIPAL NATIONS

Cargo vessels make up the largest percentage of the tonnage of the foreign-
trade fleet of the United States. Most of our cargo vessels were built during the
World War period. The small percentage of sea-going freighters built for the
United States since 1922 in contrast with such vessels built for Great Britain,
Germany, France, and Japan is shown on chart 6.

In the building of modern cargo vessels, Great Britain is far ahead of every
other principal maritime nation. From January 1, 1922, to January 1, 1934,
about 4,900,000 gross tons of cargo vessels have been built for British ownership
as compared with 925,000 gross tons for Germany, 450,000 gross tons for Japan,
310,000 gross tons for France, and only 113,000 gross tons for the United States.
While, as a result of the Merchant Marine Act of 1928, 32 vessels of the com-
bination type were built under the mail-contract provisions of the act and 10
others under the construction-loan provisions, nevertheless, no cargo vessels
except 2 freight-car carriers were constructed as a result of the act. Conse-
quently, the participation of the United States in the construction of cargo ton-
nage since 1928 has been much less than that of other nations.

Cumulative gross tonnage of sea-going freighters built since Jan. 1, 1922, at the
beginning of each year from 1923 to 1934, inclusive

MERCHANT TONNAGE BUILT IN PRINCIPAL NATIONS SINCE THE BEGINNING OF 1928

Chart 7 shows the merchant tonnage under construction in five principal
maritime nations at the end of each quarter since the beginning of 1928.

At the beginning of 1928 there were under construction in the shipyards of
Great Britain about 1,580,000 gross tons of ships while in the United States the
tonnage under construction was not over 100,000 gross tons. From the beginning
of 1929 to 1931 the merchant tonnage under construction in the United States
increased gradually to a peak of 300,000 gross tons on June 30, 1931 but thereafter
it declined rapidly until it reached a low of practically zero on July 30, 1933.

The chart also shows the comparatively large amount of construction per-
formed in shipyards of Great Britain for foreign account during recent years.
Out of 1,580,000 gross tons under construction in British shipyards on January
1, 1928, not over 1,200,000 gross tons were for British account, the balance
being for the account of other nations. The green area on the chart shows the
extent of British building for the ownership of other nations. The United States
has built practically no vessels for foreign account since the World War.

Merchant tonnage, in gross tons of vessels each of 100 gross tons or over, under
construction in 5 principal maritime nations since the beginning of 1928
[Source: Lloyd's Register of shipping.]

Merchant tonnage, in gross tons of vessels each of 100 gross tons or over, under construction in 5 principal maritime nations since the beginning of 1928-Con.

COMPARISON OF TONNAGE, SPEED AND AGE OF PRINCIPAL MERCHANT FLEETS The strength of a merchant fleet cannot be measured by gross tonnage alone. The questions of speed and age must be taken into account.

In order to show the relative standing of the merchant fleets of various nations, table V is here introduced.

TABLE V.-Comparison of merchant fleets of principal nations from the standpoint of size, speed, and age

[This table applies to vessels, each of 2,000 gross tons or over, normally employed in the carriage of goods and passengers in the international trade, as of Dec. 31, 1933]

Source: United States Shipping Board Bureau, Department of Commerce.

Table V is very informative, as it shows that while from the standpoint of tonnage the United States merchant fleet stands second, from the standpoint of speed it stands fifth and from the standpoint of age it stands eighth.

The merchant fleet of Great Britain stands first in each case and from the standpoint of both speed and age the merchant fleets of Japan, Germany, and France stand ahead of the United States.

VESSELS BUILDING OR RECENTLY BUILT ABROAD

Reports in the technical press of contracts recently placed in the shipyards of Great Britain show considerable activity in the construction of cargo vessels of plain or refrigerated types and of oil tankers as shown on table VI.

During the past 5 years the construction of high-speed cargo vessels built by Japan is particularly interesting. Most of this tonnage has been constructed in accordance with the ship construction act passed by the Japanese Imperial Diet in September 1932, which allocated 11,000,000 yen for the replacement of 400,000 gross tons of obsolete vessels with 200,000 gross tons of modern highspeed cargo vessels. Many of the new vessels which have been constructed are reported to have developed a speed of 18 knots on trial.

Table VII shows that from the beginning of 1929 to the middle of 1934 there have been built in Japan no less than 39 cargo vessels of high speed, representing a total tonnage of 277,000 gross tons. While these vessels were built ostensibly for the silk trade they would be effective as naval auxiliaries in time of a national emergency.