 The Struggle for SurvivalMalcolm Falkus
Chapter 3 in Always under Pressure, 1988, pp 46-60 from Palgrave Macmillan Abstract: Abstract Knowing of the great expansion achieved by the gas industry during the 1960s and 1970s, it is hard to comprehend just how real appeared the threat to the continued existence of the industry during the first decade of nationalisation. Yet the threat was real enough. Milne-Watson recalled later how it seemed at one stage as though ‘we were threatened by a competition so severe that it would eventually kill this great industry’; and R. S. Johnson also recalled that around the middle of the 1950s ‘it seemed that our industry was doomed’. The problem for gas was one of price. Costs rose, especially coal costs. In consequence, gas became increasingly uncompetitive and it was difficult for the industry to maintain its traditional load let alone enter new markets. As a result, the total sales for North Thames stagnated throughout the 1950s and domestic demand actually fell. Far from the optimistic sales forecasts of the early 1950s there was now a desperate struggle to maintain existing levels as costs rose inexorably. Keywords: Coal Price; Domestic Consumer; Domestic Sale; Industrial Consumer; National Coal (search for similar items in EconPapers) There are no downloads for this item, see the EconPapers FAQ for hints about obtaining it. Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:pal:palchp:978-1-349-10316-4_3 Ordering information: This item can be ordered from DOI: 10.1007/978-1-349-10316-4_3 Access Statistics for this chapter More chapters in Palgrave Macmillan Books from Palgrave Macmillan |
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