The depreciation in the Australian
dollar has seen manufacturing exports up sharply, led by high-value companies
selling into global supply chains.
The Australian Financial Review reports recently that transport equipment exports and machinery &
equipment categories have seen exports grow by 9.9 and 11 per cent in the last
year.
"Perhaps traditional
manufacturing is not doing so well, but high-tech, high-value manufacturing is
booming,” the Australian Industry Group’s John O’Callaghan told The AFR,
adding that the highest-value global supply chain was in defence and aerospace.
Companies such as Boeing, Lockheed
Martin and Thales valued Australian SMEs as suppliers for their innovation,
engineering and other sets of expertise, as well as the political stability of
the market and its nearness to Asia. He cited suppliers to Thales for its
Bushmaster, Quickstep and Marand Precision Engineering.
"These are Australian companies, building the most complex pieces
of machinery in the world today. They employ hundreds of people and build
skills capacity in this country," said O’Gallaghan.
To this one could also add Austal – now a major shipbuilder for the US
military as well as some other countries with its specialised mostly aluminium
vessels, made in Australia as well as overseas sites in the US and The
Philippines. There has also been some
reports that Incat in Tasmania now has stronger overseas ship building orders
also.
Maybe mass scale manufacturing is unwell, but there are some very smart
smaller companies moving to fill the gap, many operating in highly competitive
niche areas of hi tech manufacturing outside the defence and aerospace areas
where they are thriving, albeit from a small base. They tend to operate below the radar of the
general public, but they really are very smart operators, even in areas such as agriculture and solar cells [Dyesol]. One could also add the computer software
company Atlassian – but does it truly manufacture?
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