there was a perceived shortage of ships due to wartime losses, whereas in reality, the total tonnage of the British merchant fleet in 1919 was only 700,000 gross tons less than it had been in 1913, while the worldwide merchant fleet had actually increased. Many ships were still operating on government wartime contracts far from their normal commercial trading routes, reducing the number available to service the civilian trade. From March 1919, the government began deregulating the shipping market as it released ships from its service. In May 1919, the British government lowered the excess profit duty from 80 to 40 per cent. These factors in combination with post-war optimism lead to vastly inflated ship values to create a boom which lasted until the late spring of 1920. This boom resulted in a massive increase from 1919 onwards, when 88 shipping company prospectuses were issued at Cardiff, fuelled by the belief that the freight rates which had been inflated by wartime requirements would continue indefinitely. Reardon Smith was not immune to such a belief, and in August 1919 floated the Leeds Shipping Company, followed in October by the Cornborough Shipping Line, both with a massive nominal capital of £400,000. While both companies were well subscribed, both had to pay very high prices to acquire ships. By 1921 the good times were over, with shipowners chasing maritime trade that had decreased by 20 per cent since 1913. The resulting shipping recession was to run almost to the outbreak of the Second World War. Despite the grim economic outlook, Reardon Smith misjudged the market and continued to expand, establishing the Oakwin Shipping Co. Ltd in 1920 with capital of £100,000. In 1926, its ships were transferred to the St Just Steamship Company. As a result of this transfer of assets, the Oakwin became the largest shareholder in the St Just. Expansion still continued, with the Unity Shipping & Trading Co. Ltd being created in September 1921 with capital of £30,000 to operate only one ship, the Meropi, which had been purchased from Greek shipowner C. D. Calafatis. When this was sold in 1929 to C. Lemos, the company was wound up. In 1921, Reardon Smith also established the Reardon Smith Line with capital of £1,000. It was renamed the Reardon Smith Navigation Co Ltd in May 1928 following the renaming of the St Just Steamship Co Ltd. By 1922, the fleet had