July 6, 2021
The Australian Manufacturing Outlook survey revealed confidence that the Australian economy is growing, with more companies signaling they intend to bring manufacturing operations back to Australia. Nearly one quarter (22%) of respondents have already reshored operations, with nearly half of companies’ overall manufacturing capacity (48%) targeted to return to Australia by 2023. Western Australia, Northern Territory and South Australia are poised to lead the nation’s charge on reshoring over the next three years according to respondents, with a focus on creating local jobs and growing priority sectors such as lithium batteries, defence and space, and capitalising on their respective geographic advantages. The rise to reshore has been driven by the need to future-proof critical supply chains in the face of market change and disruption, to minimise risk and protect jobs in key industries. This is coupled with the Federal Government’s support through the Modern Manufacturing Strategy and strong consumer preference (89%) towards our nation producing more products,…