Mfg Mfg

Ok I’ve failed completely…

I had a chat to someone that I thought I’d explained Australian manufacturing to. No progress…

I explained that although there has been a demise in Australian manufacturing, that there had been far less a demise of Australian manufacturers.

Confusion.

I explained that Australian manufacturers have simply moved their manufacturing offshore but as companies they are still manufacturers.

Ok, I that got through to them.

Then I had to explain that this transition wasn’t just about costs being lower in Asia.

It had also been driven by the wild fluctuations in our currency, driven as it is by forex traders, which makes business and financial planning virtually impossible, especially for export where revenues are often in foreign currencies.

In fact we have one of the most fluctuating currencies on the planet.

There is a fix to this problem –  little special pockets of Australia that operate solely on US currency and fully automated manufacturing.

Or we get the government to take control of the currency again, if not fully then partially, just enough to discourage the traders.