Donald Trump

The trade war between the US and China presents both challenges and opportunities for Australian businesses, writes Innes Willox. While it is often said there are no winners in a trade war, the current impasse between the US and China is having mixed and some unexpected impacts on Australian businesses. Ai Group members are telling … Continue reading Australian winners and losers in US China trade war →

The World Bank has reaffirmed its forecast that global economic growth will improve to 2.7 per cent this year, with an improvement in manufacturing and trade, market confidence and commodity prices. According to the World Bank, advanced economies are showing signs of improvement, particularly Japan and Europe. The seven largest emerging markets – China, Brazil, … Continue reading World Bank forsees pickup in manufacturing and trade →

A number of US steelmakers are expanding capacity and upgrading mills in the same region where Australian company BlueScope Steel operates its highly profitable North Star mill. According to BlueScope, its North Star mill in Ohio achieved a profit of $211 million in the first half of 2016-17, which accounted for 35 per cent of … Continue reading BlueScope rivals encroach on company’s profits →

Manufacturers are in a healthy position to ride major drops on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) like the one seen this week, a leading economist has assured. Greg McKenna, AxiTrader’s chief market strategist, has told Manufacturers’ Monthly there isn’t much cause for concern despite the ASX suffering a $26 billion loss on Thursday, claiming that … Continue reading Australian manufacturers ‘well prepared’ after $26b slide on ASX →

Samsung Electronics is planning to expand its American production, according to The Australian.  The initial investment is expected to be around US$300m (A$399m). Samsung expects to move some production of oven ranges from the USA to Mexico and the move is expected to generate about 500 jobs. Samsung is hoping to take advantage of potentially … Continue reading Samsung to make American manufacturing great again →

For Australian manufacturers, experts believe that there will be not much change now that the USA has left the TPP. University of Western Australia’s head of Economics Professor Peter Robertson told SBS in November 2016 that it would be “business as usual” for Australian manufacturers. Australia has free-trade agreements with the USA and there are … Continue reading TPP down, business as usual for Australian manufacturers →