Custom Manufacturing Activity Slows But Export Opportunities Increase

5 Dec 08

Australian custom manufacturers enioyed a bumper month throughout October which came to a sudden halt in November. Search activity for custom manufacturing services slowed 7% on the October figures but the dollar value of manufacturing opportunities fell almost 89% on the October figures, or almost 77% on the monthly averages for 2008.

Of the limited manufacturing opportunities seen through November, most were for the medical, mining, renewable energy and power generation industries.

But there is a silver lining to this dark grey cloud. Enquiries from overseas sources have continued to rise on the back of the lower Australian dollar. The ManufactureLink manufacturing network experienced good quality leads coming in mostly from Europe, the Middle East and the USA. Enquiries from overseas included ones for precision medical devices, complex, short-run prototype manufacturing and items manufactured from hard-to-source materials.

Another plus in the figures released is that despite the November downturn, many manufacturers are still very busy completing orders taken throughout October. So for these manufacturers, the slow-down has given them the opportunity to clear production schedules ahead of the traditional busy Christmas shutdown period.

About ManufactureLink

ManufactureLink operate the Australian custom manufacturing and engineering network which is an online network of more than 360 suppliers and design engineers, and over 1600 buyers.

Each month ManufactureLink compiles a comprehensive report on manufacturing activity recorded through their website, manufacturing directory and online sourcing system. The full report is distributed to ManufactureLink's registered suppliers each month.

Subscribe free-of-charge to the Advanced Manufacturing Bulletin and be kept informed about manufacturing industry news and new manufacturing technology.