Port of Manila

Media

Part of The American Chamber of Commerce Journal

Title: Port of Manila
Language: English
Source: The American Chamber of Commerce Journal Volume XXV (No. 4) April 1949
Year: 1949
Rights
Fulltext: BUILDING CONSTRUCTION IN MANILA: 1936 TO 1949 Compiled by the Bureau of the Census and Statistics from data supplied by the City Engineer's Office. MONTH 1 1936 I 1937 1938 1939 1940 | 1941 1945 1 1946 1 1947 1 1948 1949 | (Value) | (Value) | (Value) | (Value) (Value) | (Value) (Value) | (Value) | (Value) | (Value) 1 (Value) January P 540,030 P 720,110 426,230 P 694,180 P 463,430 Pl,124,550 P 891,140 P — P 1,662,245 P 3,645,970 P 6,571,660 P4,807,320 February . 479,810 434,930 1,063,050 662,840 1,025,920 467,790 — 2,509,170 3,040,010 3,270,150 6,827,005 7,286,630 March . . 411,680 396,890 1,300,650 671,120 641,040 — 3,398,910 7,498,560 8,100,700 April . . 735,220 659,680 670,350 770,130 1,029,310 1,139,560 962,420 408,640 335,210 462,020 3,125,180 8,295,640 7,370,292 8,570,410 May . . . 400,220 1,063,570 740,510 1,496,700 3,968,460 3,904,450 5,564,870 June . . . 827,130 459,360 754,180 809,670 542,730 418,700 2,444,070 5,898,580 10,217,840 July . . . 302,340 691,190 756,810 495,910 357,680 609,920 1,741,320 3,062,640 9,875,435 7,771,487 August . . 368,260 827,660 627,790 684,590 622,050 661,860 590,380 306,680 1,418,360 1,015,250 4,889,640 7,326,570 7,428,260 7,770,310 7,568,950 September 393,100 777,690 554,570 530,830 7,095,860 October . . 663,120 460,720 971,780 718,190 645,310 738,700 699,040 639,030 4,630,550 6,747,240 5,368,800 November 320,890 972,310 461,580 485,100 315,930 1,364,310 4,373,390 7,088,283 3,424,125 December . 648,820 849,160 503,230 1,105,910 333,490 67,553 1,605,090 5,034,600 4,924,320 4,507,580 Total . P6,170,750 P7,530,690 P9,280,560 P9,053,250 P8,234,460 P5,692,273 P12,186,150 P47,526,905 P73,907,248 P82.792.569 P20.194.650 Annual Average P514.229 P627.557 P773.380 P754.438 P686.205 P474.356 Pl,015,513 P3,960,575 P6,158,937 P6,899,381 P6,731,550 Electric Power Production Manila Electric Company System By J. F. Cotton Treasurer, Manila Electric Company 1941 Average — 15 316 000 KWH Kilowatt Hours im!) um January..................... 33 745 000 27 301 000 February................... 31 110 000s’ 26 021 000 March......................... 34 615 000** 26 951 000 April............................................ 26 871 000 May............................................. 28 294 000 June . . ’....................................... 29 216 000 July.............................................. 31 143 000 August........................................ 31 993 000 September................................... 32 012 000 October........................................ 33 943 000 November.................................... 32 661 000 December.................................... 35 104 000 TOTAL........................ 361 510 000 • 11 “vised •• Partially estimated The increase in March over February output is due mainly to February having only 28 days. The increase over March, 1948, was 7,664,000 KWH, or 35%. Port of Manila By R. L. Bary General Manager, Luzon Brokerage Company IN the meeting of the Manila Arrastre Service Ad visory Committee with the various brokers asso ciation on March 25, 1949, the matter of transfer of cargo from the piers to the Manila Terminal Bon ded Warehouse came under discussion with very little resultant change in policy. The brokers raised objection to the transfer of cargo to the Terminal Warehouse when such cargo is covered by permits, but Mr. Fermin Francisco, repre senting the Philippine Ports Terminals, Inc., pointed out that this is done in most cases to protect the cargo and in other cases, is necessitated by the crowded con dition of the piers. Whether or not the goods are covered by delivery permits, even though the threeday period of grace following completion of discharge of carrying vessel has not expired, goods which can be damaged by exposure to weather are often put in the Terminal Warehouse to protect them against damage, and Mr. Francisco further pointed out that in such cases, no transfer charges are made and no storage fees are imposed before the expiration of the free storage period. Mr. Francisco referred to the meeting of the Manila Arrastre Service Advisory Committee on April 19, 1947, in which the following clauses were agreed upon and which are still in effect: (a) On all cargo transferred to the Terminal Warehouse within the free-storage period and taken delivery of within the said period, no transfer and storage charges shall be collected. (b) On cargo transferred to the Terminal Warehouse within the free-storage period, and taken delivery of after its expiration, only storage charges shall be collected. (c) On small shipments not exceeding 10 packages for which the delivery permit has been filed and partial delivery made within the free-storage period, no transfer and storage charges shall be collected if delivery is made within 5 days from date storage begin. The representative of the brokers requested re duction in charges of goods transferred to the Ter minal Warehouse after expiration of the three-day period, but it was pointed out by one of the represen tatives present that the charge of Pl per ton per day was intended as a penalty because if the Terminal Warehouse is to charge the same storage fee as that charged for bonded warehouses of various brokers, it would be impossible to handle the volume of business that would result and further, it would place the Ter minal Warehouse in competition with privately-owned bonded warehouses. It was also called to the atten tion of the brokers that in cases where goods cannot be removed from the piers because of delay in securing delivery permits or other causes, they have the privi lege of transferring their goods to their own ware houses under guard, thus saving their customers the penalty charge. The matter of reducing the present rate of Pl per ton per day to P.50 per ton per day is now under consideration. Other matters under consideration before the meeting included the piling of cargo on the pier, but little change can be expected. Mr. Francisco pointed out that it was often necessary to pile damageable cargo in various parts where roof-protection is avail 155 able in order to protect it from various elements, and this prohibits orderly piling. Whatever roofing there was on Pier 13 is being removed preparatory to start ing rebuilding, and, while this is a temporary handi cap, it is expected that one berth at Pier 13, two berths at Pier 9, and two berths at Pier 5 will have covered sheds before the rainy season begins. Piers 7 and 11 will be operated as they are. The other three berths at Pier 13 and the two berths at Pier 9 will not be available until, at least, the end of the year due to this reconstruction program. Ocean Shipping By F. M. Gispert Secretary, Associated Steamship Lines EXPORTS continued to show a favorable increase for the current year over last year. During February of this year 85 vessels lifted 199,143 tons, as compared to 79 vessels lifting 143,414 tons during February, 1948. Principal exports carried during the month under review, compared with exports during Feb ruary, 1948, are as follows : February l!)i9 February 1!>48 Alcohol.................... 28 tons — Buntal fibre .... 21 ” — Coconut, dfesiccated 8,545 ” 6,245 tons Coconut oil............. 2,598 ” 2,259 ” Concentrates, copper 2,127 ” 177 ” ” gold . 297 ” 14 ” Copra....................... 38,655 ” 84,950 ” Copra cake, meal . . 5,310 ” 5,453 ” Embroideries .... 367 ” 43 ” Fruits, fresh ...... 70 ” — Furniture, rattan . . 709 ” 424 ” Gums, copal........... 50 ” 37 ” Hemp....................... 66,735 bales 62,678 bales Household goods . . 231 tons 85 tons Junk, metal............ 20,211 ” 4,374 ” Logs......................... 988,350 board feet 632,704 board feet Lumber.................... 2,918,245 ” ” 200,239 ” ” Molasses... 1,332 tons — Ores, chrome .... 28,150 ” 26,600 tons ” iron. 5,657 ” — ” manganese . . 1,400 ” — Pineapples, canned . 2,634 ” — Rattan, palasan ... 54 ” 120 tons Rope........................ 82 ” 18.9 ” Rubber..................... 129 ” 18 ” Shells........ 62 ” — Skins, hides............ 154 ” 29 ” Sugar, raw............. 59,373 ” 13,385 ” Tobacco................... 778 ” 199 ” Vegetable oil pro ducts .................... . 27 ” 307 ” Wines....................... 125 ” 13 ” Transit cargo .... 1,410 ” — General cargo .... 1,982 ” 4,320 ” Inter-Island Shipping By G. F. Vander Hoogt Manager, Everett Steamship Corporation HEARINGS are being held by the Public Service Commission concerning a general increase of inter-island freight rates, which increase is con sidered vitally necessary by the inter-island operators. The Philippine shipowners have submitted financial statements in support of their position, and the state ments show that the companies operating these ser vices are unable to earn sufficient to provide reserves for necessary repairs, dry-docking, etc., to say nothing of building up reserves for fleet replacement. Indi vidually, a number of operators have suffered actual operating losses and, without an authorized increase in the rates, some operators will without doubt be forced to cease operations entirely. Naturally, such increases will be opposed by shippers, but it appears that if such relief is not granted to the operators soon, the services will no doubt be curtailed to such an extent that serious inconvenience will result to all shippers and the public in general. It is hoped that the Public Service Commission and other authorities will have sufficient incentive to maintain and improve the inter-island transportation service. Land Transportation (Bus Lines) By L. G: James Vice-President and Manager, A. L. Ammen Transportation Co., Inc. OF primary interest, both to pre-war and post war operators of bus services are current hear ings in the Public Service Commission on ap plications for the conversion of temporary operating rights under which all so called post-war bus trans portation facilities are operating, to regular status with Certificates of Public Convenience giving speci fic rights for a specified period of time. Thousands of holders of temporary certificates have applied for regular certificates. In most cases, operators holding pre-war rights on the lines concerned are strenuously opposing these applications. Several recent decisions of the Commission may serve to establish a general policy which seems to provide a solution more or less satisfactory to the contesting parties and which may be used as a broad basis for the granting of regular operating rights to “temporary” operators. In these decisions, which have been based upon compromise agreements be tween applicants and oppositors, temporary certifi cates have been converted to regular certificates with the following limitations: 1. That the operating rights shall be granted for a 5-year period, without extension. 2. That no increase of present equipment will be granted. 3. That no application for additional trips, ex tension of lines, or additional lines will be enter tained. 4. That Certificates of Public Convenience granted under this authority will be non-transferable. These provisions enable both applicant and oppositor to determine exactly where each stands and to plan accordingly. The operator now under tem porary status has a five-year period within which to recover his investment and to make plans for ulti mate liquidation. The pre-war operator holding per manent operating rights can look forward to not more than five years of a gradual disappearance of his competition and build up his fleet of buses during that period to meet the actual need of the public on the lines that his operations cover. 156