2 QUARTERLY SURVEY OF THE GENERAL ECONOMIC POSITION. Introduction. 1. This Quarterly Survey, the fourth of its kind, follows the same general plan as its predecessor. That is to say, it takes the form of a commentary upon material furnished in the current (September) number of the Statistical Digest, Series A. The final sections, however, have been expanded to take account of the results of the Ministry of Labour's Man-power Survey. 2. The arrangement is as follows: Firstly (I) the shipping position is set out and analysed.