British Engineering and the New Zealand Market, 1945-60
Britain's lack-lustre industrial performance after the Second World War is seen through the mirror of an important external market, New Zealand. The spotlight is on the failure of British exporters of diesel electric locomotives and heavy electrical plant to make the most of apparently excellent opportunities in New Zealand between 1945 and 1960. British firms occupied dominant positions in the relevant segments of the New Zealand market in the early post-war period, but frittered their advantage away. Development and production expertise was in limited supply, and was spread too thinly. Cartel pricing alienated public sector customers in New Zealand and encouraged them to give orders to other countries. While these are not novel charges to lay against British manufacturers, there is considerable value in having them confirmed by evidence from a peripheral market that has been relatively neglected by business historians.
The Murupara Project and Industrial Development in New Zealand, 1945-63
In New Zealand, after the Second World War, the share of manufacturing in GDP rose relative to the share of agriculture. Although the government lacked a clearly articulated industrial policy, it was increasingly drawn into the promotion and support of firms in manufacturing. The Murupara pulp and paper scheme was the most spectacular instance of state intervention in the first two postwar decades. Tasman, the company set up to operate the pulp and paper mill, was a joint venture between the state, a New Zealand construction firm called Fletchers, and British multinationals. Tasman soon became New Zealand's leading exporter of manufactured products. The need to secure the market for Tasman's newsprint exports was one of the main reasons for the negotiation of a partial free trade agreement between New Zealand and Australia in 1965. This article explains the early history of Murupara, and discusses its contribution to industrial development and diversification in New Zealand.
Report on equipment availability for the ten-year period, 1967--1976. A report of the Equipment Availability Task Force of the Prime Movers Committee
Data are tabulated on the availability and outage rates for all types of electric power generating plants operating in the U.S. during the period from 1967 through 1976. The power plant types include fossil-fueled, nuclear, hydro, and pumped storage. The outages include those scheduled for maintenance and normal operation and unplanned or forced outages. (LCL)