Last week was post-war planning week around the U.S. convention circuit. As businessmen met to exchange ideas and forebodings, there was one encouraging overtone to their conversations: they agreed to "some sort of post-war planning" for their own industries. That meant they had at least stopped regarding a post-war collapse as inevitable, begun figuring out how it might be avoided instead.
Shipping. In San Francisco, 800 shipping moguls at the American Merchant Marine Congress sponsored by the Propeller Club found that 1,152 new vessels had been added to their fleet since their last meeting. What would they do with such a fleet after the war? The Maritime Commission's bigmouthed, ruddy-faced Captain Howard L. Vickery warned the shipowners that "this is our opportunity, and we may not have another, to plan. . . ." They liked one of his suggestions especially. "I told the British," he boomed, "we were going to take a crack at the tramp trade after the war." The proposed weapon: the U.S.'s new ugly ducklings.
As for the world's regular trade routes, which they now ply at great profit with little or no competition, the shipping men agreed that the U.S. merchant marine could and should dominate them even when the low-cost Danes, Italians, etc. return to the sea. Methods: 1) Cash reserves must be built up to pay in full for efficient new tonnage now, cushion competitive losses later. 2) Economic changes abroad must be studied in advance, and new kinds of service devised. 3) An international understanding on trade routes and tariffs is essential. So are continued U.S. Government subsidies.
Alcoa. In Philadelphia, shortage-harassed metalmen tried to key their Metal Show to the dear unborn days when they can turn from production to sales. Biggest display was by Aluminum Co. of America, now so pressed for production that most of its exhibits were small pieces of aluminum finishes, not actual finished products.
Alcoa is more than conscious of the fact that U.S. aluminum capacity will soon be six times what it was in 1939, and that one-third of it will belong to new competitors and the U.S. Government. Alcoa's own capacity will be at least 1,100,000,000 Ib. a year, instead of pre-war 327,000,000 Ib. Some 70% of its output is going into aircraft (less than 30% was so used in 1939) and Alcoa knows that won't last.
Some substitute post-war markets it already plans to invade: >An aluminum design was submitted for the Tacoma Narrows Bridge. Alcoa is glad that was not accepted, but plans to bid on many another bridge job after the war.
Other architectural uses: store fronts, window frames. Said one Alcoa man, "If anyone wants to make a million, all he has to do is bring us a perfected window frame." A mere 5% of that market, he estimated, would call for 30,000,000 Ib. of aluminum a year.
> Until defense interfered, Alcoa was busy on the cigaret foil market, claims the tobacco industry could save $500,000 a year in freight costs by using aluminum foil instead of tin. Aluminum beer kegs are already used by Ballantine and others.
Many other food, milk, drug and cosmetic containers could be made of aluminum.