800.8830 Coal/191a: Airgram
The Secretary of State to the Ambassador in Brazil (Caffery)
A–241. The Department has been discussing with the War Shipping Administration the whole question of coal shipments to Brazil, which constitutes the most difficult shipping problem with reference to the American republics. The following tabulation shows the status of coal shipments in August and those projected for September:
(All figures in thousands of long tons)
| Total | Lloyd Brasileiro | WSA and Other Vessels | |
| August | *45 | 16 | *29 |
| September | |||
| August carryover | 11 | 10 | 1 |
| September proper | 63 | 3 | 60 |
| Total | 119 | 29 | 90 |
It will be recalled that the proposed schedule envisaged 20,000 tons a month in Lloyd Brasileiro vessels and 50,000 tons in United States-controlled and other vessels. The War Shipping Administration, as you will note, is planning to make up in September most of its August deficiency (11,000 tons of which actually sailed out on September 1 and was included in the 62,000 ton figure cabled to you).
It is imperative that Lloyd Brasileiro carry its own part of the load if the total shipping schedule of 70,000 tons of coal and 28,000 tons of other cargo is to be met. Prospective sailings of Lloyd Brasileiro boats in September and October are very few. This places the major part of the burden on the United States shipping tonnage.
In this connection you might point out to the Brazilian authorities that the Lloyd Brasileiro is always reluctant to carry low value cargo, such as coal, newsprint, rails for the steel mill at Itabira, fire brick [Page 742] (which, it refused utterly to carry), and other similar materials going largely to official Brazilian projects.