From 50 Years Ago: Progress of Industries.

Once a year a statistical collection is presented by t he Ministry of Commerce and Industry which is unique in being the most exhaustive that is available in any one publication. These are the statistics of industrial capacity and production, which have been reproduced in t he st at ist ical pages over t he last t hree weeks. The Ministry has created history this year by bringing out its report in time! And these data, nowhere else readily available, certainly merit careful analysis and scrutiny. They do not, however, give a complete picture of the industrial scene. This is partly because of certain inter-ministerial conventions which presumably make this otherwise complete account of industrial production leave out the iron and steel industry for example, and leaves the reader guessing whether the production figures of industries in the public sector have been fully incorporated or not. The report is not specific on these points. These statistics of capacity and production also leave out the electricity, mining and food industries, presumably because of the same inter-ministerial conventions. The picture is not complete for another reason, for the report itself is on the correct official lines and information presented reads like departmental notes, prepared without a clear purpose or design. This is not to belittle the value of the report, but only to suggest how it could be enhanced

The overall impression that one gets is one of progress. Some new capacity was set up during the year, there has been greater utilisation of existing capacity and production has increased in most of the industries. If one leaves out cotton textiles and sugar, the index of production rose, according to the report – one should not ask how the weights were redistributed, this is not explained – to 155.9 during the first nine months of 1958 from 146.9 in the same period of 1957. If cotton textiles and sugar are included, the index goes down to 142.7 from 144.8.