President
I. EXPORTS
Figures encouraging Vol. up even in recession In Sept. Oct. highest & 2nd highest ever.
Construction
History of export achievement across world.
In days before rapid communications.
In days when people knew some had to move for work
2 mths Motorways
1893–1910 Cape—Cairo railway—Rail head to
400 miles Bulawayo 400 miles in 400 days
Switch Exports—pattern of world wealth redistributed
In 1978—1980—exports to oil—exporting countries greater than to U.S. [end p1] p2
II. COMPETITION
10 miles a day laying railway in North America.
Middle East—severe Experience in Kuwait—prices cut to ribbons.
N.B.—Kuwait—small firms who constantly get own business p3
III. GOVT ROLE
A. Export Credit
Last year is £17 billion worth of insurance for exports.
(ii) supported £3,000 million worth of finance at preferential (consensus) interest rates (7¾–8¾)
(iii) Rapid Matching Facility to match exceptionally soft credit terms for overseas competitors.
B. Aid £1b.—60%; bilateral
—40%; multilateral
Bilateral—fully tied to p4
British goods and services.
Small part reserved for [end p2] particular project basis—can use aid to help secure project.
Ind. Steel Plant—£150m. [? Mexico] “ ” —£30m.
Multilateral—£4 billion market.
C. Political & Diplomatic help.
Do help British firsm
Political support can be a [?] factor.
Trade—Cecil visited 30 countries p5
Peter Rees—Algeria Peter Carrington—Nigeria
M.H.T. Last recess £300m. of export credit to Nigeria for new capital AJUBA [sic] [IV.] COMPANIES
We can do nothing if Co.'s are not competitive & efficient on price, quality, delivery.
Were losing out.
Now great improvement.
2 things—23½ million employed
3 million unemployed [end p3] p6
British causes
(1) huge wage increases unrelated to productivity—Difficulty of teaching that If you try to keep up with inflation you simply keep inflation up.
As prices rise—jobs fall There is a connection between [?X'sive] pay & unemployment.
Just as OPEC found p7
increased oil prices meant lower oil sales
So—higher the unit cost of labour—the less we sell.
Burden then on govt spending to ease lot of unemployed
2nd home grown cause
Perpetuate old jobs old working practices at the expense of new ones. p8
Jobs are lost because industries fail to meet needs of their customers. [end p4]
V. Interest Rates—Govt
Last recession—negative
This—positive. p9
VII. sic
Have to earn our living in a world which can CHOOSE.
Must stay competitive
Must penetrate new markets
Great FEATS of VICTORIAN engineering—not achieved by Govt.
Nor were construction projects overseas the product of central direction. p10
Reward of risk-taking & enterprise of engineers & contractors
Lesson is there for to-day
Construction industry is central to our future prosperity.
I wish you well.