| Summary: | This chapter charts the expansion of the Furness Group from 1902 to 1909 as they responded to the growth of American liner competition and shifting environmental conditions by engaging in other trades and amassing other resources. It analyses trends in trade, freight rates, tonnage, profit; the Furness Group’s profitability between 1900 and 1909; changes in patterns of growth; the North Atlantic trade stalemate between 1902 and 1909; the poor financial performance of Manchester-based liners; the Furness Group’s attempt to develop new liner trades beyond the North Atlantic into the Persian Gulf, South America and Australia; developments in tramp and contract trades; fleet expansion and consolidation; and insurance, salvage, repair, and provisioning interests. It concludes that by changing the composition of the Furness Group’s interests between 1902 and 1909 the company developed new and productive trade interests beyond the North Atlantic and escaped the trade deadlock. They would adjust the direction of services and expansion again in 1910, once the demand for shipping services resurfaced.
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