Henry Kaiser's Dream

The West Coast's astounding Henry J. Kaiser (TIME, March 3, 1941, et seq.) gave some astounding reports on his part of the shipbuilding program last week. This month, he said, his three West Coast yards will deliver a ship a day; Oregon Shipbuilding Corp. alone will deliver twelve Liberty ships from its eleven ways.

The time record on these ships is astounding too. In World War I, West Coast yards averaged 309 days, from keel-laying to delivery, on 8,800-ton merchant ships. Standard time for World War II's 10,400-ton Liberty ships is 105 days. But three weeks ago a Kaiser yard delivered a Liberty ship just 86 days after its keel was laid; early this week, another was delivered 74 days after keel-laying; by week's end his Oregon yard is due to deliver three at once, and the third will have been completed in only 60 days from keel-laying. For next month, Kaiser's goal is: 36 days from keel to launching, plus another twelve days for outfitting. With German submarines in the Gulf, such records are needed to keep the U.S. afloat. But their post-war implications are something else, for they mean a sharp reduction in traditional ship-building costs. The U.S. merchant marine has long been held back by the fact that U.S. costs (particularly labor) are higher than those of foreign yards, making Government subsidies essential.

The present emergency shipbuilding program involves many shortage-induced special costs, such as the $200-300 it takes to train each additional welder. Despite such extras, Henry Kaiser's yards have reduced their overall man-hours per ship by some 25% since the program started. In certain subdivisions the reduction runs up to 70%, thanks to the repetitive methods possible with large orders. (Last week Henry Kaiser got an order for 80 more Liberty Ships.) These reductions in man-hours may mean that, after the next peace, U.S. shipbuilders (if they still get large orders) can maintain the U.S. standard of living and still compete with the world without Government aid. "That," said Henry Kaiser last week, "is precisely my dream."

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